The Methodology

Goal driven fitness and mobility training focusing on variation of movement and intensity intended to support practical day-to-day activities.

Goal Driven

Most people have a life goal they want to achieve when they start their fitness journey. Whether it's to lose weight, improve athleticism, or be able to move well, the goal is something that is applicable to the real world. However, once the fitness journey starts it can be easy to lose sight of the original goal and start to invest in goals related to the area of fitness itself. Life goals should be defined and checked up on by goal coaches regularly. These goals may change over time but there should always be a goal outside of fitness for fitness' sake.

Fitness and Mobility Training

Fitness and mobility are often seen separate areas of focus for wellness when in reality they are two sides of the same coin. If your body isn't capable of moving through a full range of motion you won't be able to do most functional movements properly which could lead to injury. The less mobile a person is, the more focus should be placed on mobility. Every person should receive a physical and set goals with a mobility coach that should be checked in on regularly. There should also be a large focus on proper form and movement patterns before there is a focus on increasing intensity. Where the CrossFit methodology focuses on a scale-down model, Practical Fitness instead focuses on a scale-up model. A baseline of fitness should be determined and as a member improves they should scale up to new movements, increased intensity, and increased weight where applicable.

Variation of Movement and Intensity

Being prepared for the variety of activities you'll face in life will require your training to also be varied. Focusing too much in one aspect like strength training may make you able to lift heavy objects but you might still find yourself winded when playing with your kids or climbing multiple flights of stairs. Equally too much conditioning may have able to play with your kids for hours, but unable to properly move heavy objects around the house. It's also important that intensity be varied. Some activities you face will require short bursts of energy, like playing basketball or soccer with your kids, or might require longer timeframes of exertion but at a lower intensity, like doing yard work for a few hours.

Support Practical Day-to-Day Activities

The body should be conditioned to handle all of the scenarios one could face in activities related to their life goal. While training should be varied, it should always remain focused and never be added for the sake of variation. It should serve a specific purpose related to a goal.

Class Structure

Each class would be split into 2 parts:

1. The first part would be a 5 minute general warm-up, followed by an open gym format where each person does focused training towards their goal. This could be anything from mobility, conditioning, strength training, sport specific training, etc.

2. The second part would be a group workout focused on metabolic conditioning, made up of varying times and intensities. Generally either an EMOM or AMRAP style workout. The duration of the group workout would determine the amount of focus time for the day.