Evolving with the Sport…Introducing Invictus Athlete
Written by C.J. Martin
The evolution of the sport of fitness since 2007 is staggering. At the 2007 CrossFit Games, there were a handful of fitness coaches, several police officers and firefighters, and at least one bald lawyer. Nearly all of us who participated there had to request time off of work and explain what we were going to be doing to colleagues who stared at us like we were describing a medieval cult ceremony. When we gathered into the Castro family barn in Aromas we learned that we would be taking on three events over the course of two days – a row/pull-up/push jerk workout, a 5k trail run, and the CrossFit Total (3 attempts each at back squat, press and deadlift).
Today, the 2007 CrossFit Games program would be a light training day for most competitive athletes, and the men’s weights prescribed in 2007 wouldn’t phase most females. The sport has changed; it has evolved.
Today’s competitive athletes have to master more skills, lift heavier loads, move faster and for longer than ever before. As a result, training volume has increased to allow for greater skill acquisition and acclimation to the rigors of 7-15 event competitions. But many athletes are finding out the hard way that additional volume, unless it is well-planned, can lead to nagging injuries and poor performance. It’s time to train smarter.
Since 2009, we have had the pleasure of coaching more than 30 individual CrossFit Games competitors (not including masters and teams). We’ve written hundreds of personalized programs for athletes who train multiple times per day. Each program has been written with an understanding of structural balance and periodization that has kept athletes healthy and progressing year after year. Now that so many athletes are dedicating time to train multiple times per day, it’s time to share our thoughts on how to do so more effectively.
Over the years Invictus has proudly adapted to the needs of its members. When we realized that one single program didn’t fit the goals of our diverse community, we branched out to three programs – Fitness, Performance and Competition. When we heard that competitive masters athletes were having trouble keeping up with the volume of our Competition program, we added a program designed specifically for masters. Now it’s time to take the next step to serve those who want to train like professional athletes and achieve their highest potential in the sport of fitness.
On January 4, 2016, we will be launching Invictus Athlete. Invictus Athlete will offer multiple training sessions per day, 5 days/week. This comprehensive competition-prep program will incorporate all facets of strength and energy system development needed to compete, as well as gymnastics skill work instructed by our in-house specialist Travis Ewart, and Strongman-based training written and instructed by Julien Pineau.
Team Invictus has been to the CrossFit Games 7 consecutive years, and we intend to go back for an eighth year in 2016. This is the program our team and individual athletes will be following to get back to Carson in 2016, and we hope you and your training partners will join us.
Click here for more information about the Invictus Athlete program, including details about what you can expect out of the program, pricing information, and an overview of the first training cycle.
First question is regarding release of workouts. From australia so would program be released in a weekly block or posted daily. Thank you
The program would be released just like the competition blog, it will be posted the night before around 9:00 pm PST