2024 Season: Final Phase Cycle for Invictus Athlete and Invictus Masters
Written by Holden Rethwill

Invictus Athlete

Introducing the final phase of our 2024 season. This cycle will begin on April 22nd and will take us through the end of August.

Overview

Our next training cycle is going to consist of two segments that are built around our favorite time of year. This also happens to be the time of year where we feel that the most competition specific training should occur! The first segment will be more focused on semi-final (or regional for the old school folks) style training. In this segment expect to see previous workouts from these competitions pop up as well as some of our own that we’ve developed over past seasons. Aside from the metcons evolving to more of a semi-final style – as opposed to the style more prevalent in the open or quarterfinals – the biggest shift will come in the daily formatting. Monday’s and Friday’s will be more upper body biased. Tuesday’s and Saturday’s will be more lower body biased, and Wednesday will be our primary skill work breakdowns.

This first cycle will consist of intense training to peak all athletes for their semi-final weekend(s). Then, starting on June 3, we will have two options for our athletes:

Invictus Athlete / Masters (Option 1) – This will be the regular training program. This second phase of the cycle will transition into more aerobic work and strength training to get your body bulletproof. Think of this as getting a head start on your off season training. Expect to see primary sessions taking around 90 minutes and prioritizing both strength work and gymnastic skills. This will take you through the end of August when we will start our official ‘off season’ program.

Invictus Athlete / Masters Games Training (Option 2) – This is a new product for anyone who will be competing at the Games OR for anyone who would like to follow along with our CrossFit Games athletes. This track will include conditioning pieces from previous CrossFit Games events as well as higher volume to replicate the rigors often endured during Games week. Alongside that, our lifting progressions will be further along and you’ll see both increased percentages as well some higher rep (volume as the kids say these days) strength endurance. This program is built to have athletes peak for the CrossFit Games as well as Masters Games.

Biggest Takeaway

Our three main focal points for the duration of this cycle are the following:

Build strength
Enhance gymnastics and skill abilities
Increase sport specific performance

Sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it?

That’s because we believe these should be the three main tenets of training throughout the entire year, regardless of where you’re at in the season. Signaling a change in cycle simply means that we’ll be adjusting our lifting progressions, changing up the skill work a bit, and introducing new additional work that will continue to build you into a well rounded athlete. All of this is done in order to adapt to the current point in the CrossFit Games season. At the end of the day, we will still be focusing on the three tenets that every athlete – whether you’re aspiring to compete in local throwdowns or at the games – needs in order to enhance their performance.

So, whether you’re an athlete preparing to go to semi-finals, an athlete preparing to do a local competition, or even an athlete in off-season mode, this phase will have everything that you need to prepare you to succeed.

General Athlete Primary Session Daily Outline:

All primary sessions can be completed in 75-90 minutes depending on the day. If you’re someone that struggles staying on a timeline and cannot complete all the work in this time, or are someone that trains on a shorter clock, we’ll be happy to help you determine what to prioritize with your time.

Monday – Max Effort Upper Day (emphasis on vertical pressing/jerks and olympic lifting) + 1-2 Accessory Pieces + Semi-Final and Games Style Metcons
Tuesday – Max Effort Lower Day (emphasis on olympic lifting, squats, and deadlifts) + 1-2 Accessory Pieces + Semi-Final and Games Style Metcons
Wednesday – Gymnastics Skill Day (emphasis on both pushing and pulling gymnastics progressions) + 30-40 minute EMOM
Thursday – Swimming + Zone 2 Work
Friday – Dynamic Effort Upper Body Day (emphasis on vertical and horizontal pressing) + 1-2 Accessories + Semi-Final and Games Style Metcons
Saturday – Dynamic Effort Upper Body Day (emphasis on jerks) + Horizontal Pressing + 1-2 Accessories + Partner Based Metcon

Invictus Masters

Introducing the final phase of our 2024 season. This cycle will begin on April 22nd and is 15 weeks long, with de-load weeks built in. The 15 week macro cycle will be divided into two segments.

Masters Cycle

Our next training cycle is going to mimic the Athlete cycle and will consist of two segments that are built around our favorite time of year. This means we will be taking you through semi-finals weekend and then also transitioning to the two options mentioned above! In the first segment expect to see previous workouts or similar formatting from Semi-Finals pop up as well as some of our own that we’ve developed over past seasons. Aside from the metcons evolving to more of a semi-final style – as opposed to the style more prevalent in the open or quarterfinals – the biggest shift will come in the daily formatting. Monday’s and Friday’s will be more upper body biased. Tuesday’s and Saturday’s will be more lower body biased, and Wednesday will be our primary skill work breakdowns.

The first segment will consist of 6 weeks of training followed by a week of tests/retests coming in week 7.

During that next 6 week chunk of training we’ll evolve from the semi-final style metcon to more lifting and aerobic focus with an emphasis on building strength for strict gymnastics movements. If you want qualify for the Masters CrossFit Games or want to train like a Masters games athlete then you can upgrade to our Invictus Athlete / Masters Games track. This option will adapt some of the daily metcons to reflect more of a games-style approach which typically ends up being a really fun type of training!

General Masters Primary Session Daily Outline (Phase I):

Monday – Upper Day (Olympic lifting) + 1-2 Accessory Pieces + Semi-Final and Games Style Metcons
Tuesday – Lower Day (emphasis on olympic lifting, squats, and deadlifts / heavy strength day) + 1-2 Accessory Pieces
Wednesday – Gymnastics Skill Day (emphasis on both pushing and pulling gymnastics progressions) + 30-40 minute EMOM
Thursday – Swimming + Zone 2 Work
Friday – Dynamic Effort Upper Body Day (emphasis on vertical and horizontal pressing) + 1-2 Accessories + Semi-Final and Games Style Metcons (longer duration)
Saturday – Dynamic Effort Upper Body Day (jerk progressions) + Horizontal Pressing + 1-2 Accessories + Partner Based Metcon / Interval Based Metcon

We will have a dedicated cool down option for most sessions as well. We will provide a breakdown of Phase II when we get closer to that start date.

Want to get the most out of this cycle?

We’ve stated over the last few cycles that in order to build yourself into the best athlete possible we recommend adding on the additional sessions bundle. If you’re someone who has the time to train twice a day and has specific gaps in your game that need fixing, then we highly recommend that route for you. In addition to that, if you’re someone who only trains once a day but knows that some of these additional session options would fit better into your training needs then the bundle is still a perfect option for guided adjustments to your individual training.

If that’s not you, or you’re someone who just wants to build some strength, enhance your gymnastics abilities, and out-breathe the people at your local competitions, you’re still going to get everything you need with our daily primary sessions. The olympic lifting progressions, strength fundamentals, accessory work, gymnastics breakdowns, and sport specific metcons that you’re going to get in this cycle are built to enhance you in all facets of competition.

Additional Session General Outline:

All additional sessions should be completed in 60-90 minutes as well. We do not recommend hitting every option every day – instead, identify any deficiencies you may have and then prioritize your additional sessions based on those. If you struggle to determine which is the best option for you then reach out and we’ll be glad to point you in the right direction.

Monday – Plyometrics, Strength Accessory, Gymnastics Skills, Monostructural, Optional Team Conditioning
Tuesday – Strength Accessory, Power Output, Mixed Modal, Zone 2 (running bias)
Wednesday – Rotational Strength, Strongman, Mixed Modal (machine and running bias), Monostructural, Grip
Friday – Strength Accessory, Mixed Modal, Skill Work, Additional Mixed Stimulus Conditioning
Saturday – Strength Accessory, Grip, Swim Progressions, Monostructural (machine bias), Running

Join the cycle

Don’t miss out on the final phase of this cycle! Whether you have competitive CrossFit goals, or simply want to perform your best in the gym every day, Invictus has a program for you. Get started today and peak for your summer goals!.