The value of good programming

In this blog, Crossmaxx® athlete Bastiaan gives a glimpse into his programming and how it was set up. It is important to know that he is a master athlete of 44 years and that he has been training crossfit for 9 years now. He has been sporty all his life, but he has not really done serious strength training until then.

"In recent years I have always followed a program, varying from box programming to competition programs. The more competitions I started, the more I needed a program that prepared me for that. These programs are often characterized by A, B, C, D and nowadays also sometimes an E and F part, in which different aspects are trained such as strength, gymnastics, condition, accessory, etc. The volume is often very high. My training sessions regularly lasted two hours and often there was a shorter session in the evening. The first years I was able to handle this physically and mentally and I also became fitter. Most of the competitions I participated in I won, with the French Throwdown as the icing on the cake. At one point I started to get more and more small aches and pains and my body could no longer cope with it. I became overtrained and a long-term knee injury was the result, but also my hunger for getting everything out of it disappeared. Eventually I only did the exercises that were on the program, without any passion. Mentally I could not bear it anymore. This had to change and I asked my wife Orla Rejen to do my programming. An important change for me was “less is more”.

Five sessions per week
My training today consists of five sessions per week of two to three parts. Thursday and Sunday are my rest days. The training must be done within an hour and a half. For my strength training we use the westside barbell method. This way is characterized by maximum, dynamic intensity and training with resistance bands and chains. Once a week I do an endurance training, in which combinations are made with running, cycling, rowing and burpees. I also regularly do strongman exercises such as sled drag / pull / push, farmer carries, yoke walks, etc. An important factor now is that I do the training together with my wife and the coaches from Crossfit Apeldoorn. We push each other where necessary, and more importantly, we have a lot of fun together. It is also nice to see that my fitness is not much different from when my workouts were much longer.

'Train your weaknesses'
At the moment, the focus is on strength training and gymnastics. My strength numbers (legs and Olympic lifts) are now at 90% of my 1-rms from before my knee injury in 2017. I expect to be close to my old numbers by 2021. I see my gymnastics as my strong point, but during this period we decided to make it even better. In crossfit they always say train your weaknesses, but we also believe that you should not forget your strengths.

Example weekly schedule
The weekly schedule below is an example of what my workouts look like now. Every day I start with strength exercises. On Mondays these are usually heavy squats or heavy sled push / drag. Endurance training once a week. Twice a week a workout between 8 and 10 minutes, you see this on Monday and Wednesday. During this time you usually see wods of around 10 minutes at throwdowns, which is why they are programmed more often. There is always an interval training and a longer workout.

The training sessions are relatively short. It gives me a lot of peace of mind and I also have a lot of energy to do things with my family and to run Crossfit Apeldoorn.

Of course, a balanced training program is not the only key to success. Important factors are: a healthy diet, adequate rest and not too much stress.

This year I qualified for the crossfit Lowlands Throwdown, but as we know it was canceled. In 2021 I still want to participate in the crossFit French Throwdown, crossFit Lowlands Throwdown and another partner competition with my wife!"

If you are interested in the same type of program, but focused on your wishes and qualities, send a DM to @weeod_trainingsprogram on Instagram.

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Would you like to know more about Crossmaxx® athlete Bastiaan? Follow him on Instagram.