Today's Workout: 112813

pirate
Power Snatch 3-3-2-2-1-1
Then: EMOM for as long as possible
1 snatch at 80% of daily max
20 double-unders
Thanksgiving: Judgment Day, by Hilary Achauer, CrossFit Journal.
The ‘Bulgarian Method’ is typified as a high-intensity program based on a daily max. In other words, lifters build to a max in their lifts EVERY DAY, and then start the work based on percentages of that max lift. If they’re not ‘on,’ their rep weight goes down.
At their peak, the Bulgarian team also trained twice per day, six days per week…and once on Sundays. But the key was that the volume of work done per week didn’t change: if they were lifting 30,000lbs that week, then their volume per workout was only about 2,500lbs. Many complained that they spent more time warming up than lifting. Many who finished second to the Bulgarians complained of steroid use because of the Bulgarians’ high volume…but it was never really high volume, just high frequency, and there’s a difference.
We use high volume training. We do a lot of reps on most days of the week. Since most Catalyst clients (along with most the Western hemisphere) need a metabolic effect more than they need power, our power training serves our metabolic training. The stronger you are, the more fit, but no one’s competing at weightlifting outside the gym.
The metabolic effect that we’re triggering (with GREAT success) also requires a different type of recovery than the Bulgarians did. We have to synthesize muscle, burn fat, break down lactase, move stuff around. Because our volume is higher, our rest needs are higher.
In today’s workout, if a lifter manages 150lbs on his max power snatch, he’ll perform a total of 2700lbs of volume. But he’s doing that within an hour, plus double-unders, plus warmups, after doing “Cindy” yesterday. A lower-volume day for us would be an average workout for a Bulgarian weightlifter. They substituted frequency for volume.
Our highest-volume days of the week occur on Wednesdays. We do longer METCON, fun “Hero” workouts, and baseline challenges. That means Thursday is usually CNS-dominant: a fast lift, a shorter workout.
If you’re doing two workouts in a day, remember that extra  frequency PLUS volume can’t be sustained forever. You need metabolic recovery AND CNS recovery; unfortunately, as amateur lifters, we’re also amateur recoverers. Take more rest than you think you need, and don’t try to go to metabolic exhaustion every day.

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