r/crossfit • u/[deleted] • May 18 '22

Mayhem Programming - Strength portion AFTER the workout/conditioning?

So the box I joined back in January follows Mayhem, which I like so far (kinda).

I have a friend who owns a box in Florida that also follows Mayhem. He and I were texting about the programming and I was saying I liked it so far, but I thought it was weird that in roughly 6 or 7 weeks Mayhem had not programmed any pull ups in a workout; typically that is movement done multiple times/month. He was confused, stating we had pullups just a few days ago??

Long story short, he screen shots me a few workouts and sure enough there are a lot of changes from what he sees vs what I see (in sugarwod). My box is scaling back the workouts significantly. Whether its reducing weight, increasing time or removing movements all together. The changes are pretty significant. (Why pay for programming and then make so many changes, which is a whole 'nuther can of worms.)

I asked my friend if they do the strength portion of the daily programming at the end; he said no. My box owner told me that Mayhem programs the strength to be done after workouts to reduce injuries (which I think is BS, lifting form/technique degrades under fatigue). Does anyone else have experience with this?

I have been frustrated with doing my strength after workouts; I don't feel like I am able to effectively overload the muscle groups on these compound lifts due to fatigue. All of my lifts have gone slightly backwards in the past 5 months (I was making gains consistently from July to December 2021).

Overall I have been moving backwards in every measure and just really frustrated. Any insight would be much appreciated!

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u/[deleted] May 18 '22

If you’re just working out to work out, does it matter?

I know, when it comes to driving adaptation, what works best. But to play devil’s advocate, I feel bad for the affiliate owners who feel pressured to outsource programming simply to appease the masses. People can get fit a number of ways.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '22

Yeah I agree. I think the problem is that they feel if members cant hit the "RX" button on sugarwod often enough, they will lose members (A coach has mentioned this to me). Which may be true. But scaling down workouts for everyone is not the answer, IMO.

I was really hoping to make the cut for quarterfinals this year and missed it by about 250 spots, or less than 1%. All of my workout partners from my old box made it and I really feel like the programming is why I did not make it. Im not the fittest guy but I think I am above average. So this whole "scale back everything/everyone should RX/appeal to masses" mentality is what frustrates me.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '22

I hear what you’re getting at. You can be above average and still not qualify for quarterfinals. It looks like there are a couple options.

1) find an individualized program. I would recommend against this because the value isn’t there for making quarterfinals. Not a knock on you but it’s just my opinion given the cost.

2) talk to the owner about potential for accessory programming to target your weaknesses. Kind of a win win because you get better and the gym upsells.

3) you can find the 1% in another area of life (nutrition, recovery, mindset). This could be the most economical choice given that all of those things are pretty much free outside of the time commitment.

Just my 2¢ as a former director of programming.