Newsletter

The week opens with a 3RM back squat test on Monday into a two-part bike and goblet squat conditioning piece. Tuesday adds strict pull-up gymnastics (a baseline test coming off Murph prep) then a 16-minute AMRAP of row, lateral burpees, and heavy clean and jerks. Wednesday hits a 3RM deadlift into 10 rounds of GHD and rope climbs. Thursday is pure upper-body stamina — four rounds of running with descending bench press and wall walks. Friday opens with light on-the-minute power snatch doubles then 3 rounds of 50 wall balls and 25 toes to bar. Saturday is a partner row and double under piece. Sunday is a 20-minute running clock with an 800m opener then an AMRAP of lunges, DB push press, and farmer carry.

The 3RM tests on Monday and Wednesday are your starting numbers for this cycle. Record them in BTWB — you'll be coming back to these lifts.

The first week of a new cycle is not a week to push to failure. Monday and Wednesday both have 3RM strength tests — these are baselines, not maxes. The goal is a heavy, clean, repeatable triple that you can build from over the coming weeks. Go too hard and you either miss the lift or move poorly — neither of which sets you up well.

This is also the week to lock in your recovery habits before the loading ramps up. Good sleep, consistent hydration, and daily mobility work now will compound over the next 6–8 weeks. Use GoWOD before each session this week — the activation routines are programmed around exactly the movements you'll be doing each day.

Over the past four weeks we've covered the CrossFit nutrition framework's big three: real food first, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. This week we tackle the part most people skip: quantification — knowing roughly how much you're eating.

You don't need to weigh every gram of food forever. But most people have no idea how much protein they're actually eating, or whether their total intake matches what their training demands. Spending even two or three weeks tracking your meals gives you a baseline — a reality check against what you think you're eating versus what you're actually eating. That awareness, once you have it, doesn't go away.

The CrossFit nutrition recommendation is to eat enough to support your performance and body composition goals — not to starve, and not to eat mindlessly. For most CrossFit athletes training 4–5 days per week, that means roughly 0.7–1g of protein per pound of bodyweight daily, moderate carbs timed around training, and healthy fats filling out the rest of your calories from whole food sources.

One big event this Sunday and then a huge week starts Monday — get your list ready.

Sunday's class workout is "The Guarantee Fairy" — 800m run then an AMRAP of lunges, dumbbell push press, and farmer carry on a 20-minute clock. Here's the home version. Grab two dumbbells and get it done.