As CrossFit Petram grows we will have an increasing range of skill in our athletes. Some athletes are just starting their first week of CrossFit, while others have been going at it for over three years now. This makes programming and scaling workouts that suit everyone challenging.

Workouts are scaled so that everyone is working at a similar relative intensity. This way we can have a Games level athlete next to a beginner, and they are both taxing the same metabolic systems and working on challenging but doable skills. The problem arises when we have every athlete that scales a different piece of the workout.

Enter The Tiered Programming Model

We believe the solution to this is the tiered programming model. In the upcoming weeks you will notice that most workouts will have three different options associated with them: L1, L2, and L3.

These three levels are associated with different skill/fitness levels. L1 represents a typical "scaled" or beginner athlete. L2 is for "Rx" athletes. L3 is for "Rx+" or competitive athletes (this level is reserved for those looking to compete in the sport of fitness).

Choose Your Fitness Level

Level 1

As stated above this is for our beginner athletes. If you've been attending classes for less then 4 months this is probably you. The movements are meant to progress into more advance movements. It may be tempting to jump up to L2 as fast as you can, but if you focus on the fundamentals your time at any CrossFit gym will go much smoother.

Level 2

Level 2 is where the bulk of a CrossFit gym's athletes reside. If you are able to complete at least 4 of these you belong in this group:

1.5x Body Weight Back Squat
Body Weight Clean and Jerk
5 Consecutive Kipping Pull Ups
1.75x Body Weight Deadlift
10 Strict Push Ups
Run A 9:00 Mile
1 Ring Muscle Up
10 Consecutive Double Unders
10 Second L Hang

Level 3

You belong in this level only if you plan on competing, whether at regionals or locally. These athletes are working on skills outside of regular class time and should be on a separate strength program. If you plan on doing our L3 workouts please get the OK from the class's coach. To be considered for this group you must be able to do at least 4 of the following:

5 Ring Muscle Ups
2x Body Weight Back Squat
Run A 7:00 Mile
1.5x Body Weight Clean and Jerk
Sub 3:50 500 Meter Row
2.5x Body Weight Deadlift
40 Consecutive Double Unders
30 Second L Hang
Beat Up Coach Nick and Take His Lunch Money

The Take Away

Not every one of our workouts will have this tiered system with it, but most will. This system is intended to increase the level of organization of our workouts and provide motivation to take your fitness to the next level (literally).

We will be adding this system on a trial basis. If we feel that it is not meeting these objectives we will find a model that suits our gym better.

Accept The Challenge So You May Feel The Exhilaration of Victory! - George Patton

A New Way To Scale CrossFit Workouts