Several times a year we do strength cycles at our gym in Boulder. Normally we do them in the Winter, Fall, and Spring. We will be ending 2022 with a bang before the upcoming holidays. Please check your email with details on the dates/exact schedule for next month.

At Boulder CrossFit, we follow a version of the Wendler Cycle. This cycle is based on 90% of your one rep max lift (also called your training max). When you see a 5×5 at 65% that number is based on 90% of your 1rm, not 100%. Yes, a little math is involved here.

We follow this cycle because we want to keep the lifting simple, easy to follow, and effective. A strength cycle is only as good as the person following it. Not to say the Wendler cycle is the absolute best of them all but we follow it for those reasons. We are a CrossFit gym and at the end of the day, we still want to hit those fun metcons we are accustomed to.

These 3 main functional lifts, (squat, deadlift, and press) are vital to everything we do in and out of the gym. Want to get better at Olympic lifting? Better start working those legs and shoulders. Want to just move pain-free and build a better foundation that can be replicated outside of the gym? Squatting, picking weight up off the ground, and pressing load overhead is a great place to start.

We get it. Sometimes strength cycles can be boring/repetitive. Our advice is simple. Trust the process, stick to your percentages, and don’t push yourself past the prescribed lifts each week (even if you feel great). And as always try to find some fun in the process and not be so focused on getting to the end goal so fast.

Hopefully, at the end of the 5 weeks, we will all be high-fiving each other after some HUGE pr’s.

Happy lifting!