How do I know that our programming is better? Because we don’t write it anymore.
If you’ve coached CrossFit or been involved in it for some time, then I’m sure you can understand how negatively that statement can be perceived.
I wrote our gyms group program for almost 5 years before outsourcing it. I’ve spent close to $10,000 on continuing coaching education, and poured countless hours into research in various online forums, podcasts, books, etc.
The simple fact of the matter is that writing a world-class strength and conditioning program, with detailed notes and video explanations that your coaches can access, is a full-time job. I made the decision that I wanted the best for my clients, and came to the hard-fought conclusion that I simply couldn’t provide them the level of detail and value that Jason Brown and his company Box Programming provide. Jason is completing a masters in Exercise Science currently, and has been a contributing author for EliteFTS and T-Nation. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on a closer level for a few months now. Read Jason’s blog here, lots of good info.
In the CrossFit affiliate owners Facebook forum, the common push-back to outsourcing your program is “nobody knows what my clients need better than I do”. You’ll pardon my language here, but that’s bullshit. Unless you have a very atypical gym population (IE you only train college wrestlers), I can guarantee you that the vast majority of your clients are like the vast majority of my clients. They work at a desk job (which manifests as rounding of the shoulders and upper back, and shortening of the hip flexors), which will then inform the training program.
On top of that, the way we train GPP (general physical preparedness), is also not that different if you’re a 30 year male who works at a bank vs. a 50 year old female who works at a call center. If the program being done is based on sound principles; like avoiding constant high intensity and prioritizing lower skill, bigger training benefit movements (think PVC snatch vs. Kettlebell Swing), then it will benefit virtually everyone.
Besides the benefits to my clients, it’s also freed up a ton of my time, that I can now devote to improving our gym in other ways. And, as I mentioned above, it’s really helped our coaching staff tremendously.
I still plan on learning as much as I can with regards to the health and wellness of our clients. I haven’t lost my passion for learning about the body, and how to train it. If anything, the fire burns even brighter now. I haven’t taken my foot off the gas, we’ve just changed lanes. If you’re a coach or gym owner in charge of writing group programming, I’d encourage you to do the same.
See you in health!
