Ginny is a 5 time Regional competitor who has consistently been in the top .001% of females who compete in the sport of Crossfit. I am her husband. I am a Crossfit programmer. She is a Crossfit programmer and athlete who knows what it takes to train with the Regional Podium and the CF Games at the forefront of her mind. You can read below about my programming history, our team's history, the successes that CFOKC has had in CF competitions in the past, and some of the ideas that we are striving to follow with this training. Most of the motivation to create a CFOKC Competition Team came from the same motivations that started BHT.
In short, we are sick of CFOKC sitting on the sidelines and watching other gyms go to the Crossfit Games.
We want our athletes to succeed. We want to foster and breed athletes that succeed. We want to help create an environment where this happens daily. It is my educated opinion that CFOKC is the most underrated competitive gym in the Crossfit world.
CFOKC's owner, Jason Boag, was a pioneer and a champion for Crossfit in Oklahoma. He is one of the first athletes to go to the CF games and is also in the Elite group of athletes that have qualified to go to the Crossfit Games. He was a Prebok athlete and Competed in Aromas. He created an environment here that helped to raise up an Elite crop of male athletes in the OKC area.
In 2012 at the NC Region we had a team place 5th, a female place 4th, and a male place 24th. In 2013 we had 5 athletes go to the NC Region. In 2013, CFOKC finished 13th in the Worldwide Open. The females brought home a 4th and 18th at Regionals. The males 7, 13, 20.
We started this Competitor Team journey because we want to see a CFOKC team standing atop the NC Regional podium....and we want to see what it takes to have a shot at the CF Games podium.
Check out our team goals page.
This is an edited version of what is on my original training site:
The Origin of Black Horse Training
My wife has competed in the South Central and North Central Regions. Last spring (2013)was her fifth games season. I have programmed for her for almost 5 years. In 2012 and 2013 she took fourth in the North Central Region. in 2014 she was 24ish weeks pregnant and we live streamed NC Regional coverage from home.
I am a fourth year orthopedic surgery resident which means I went to 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and I am finishing my fourth year of surgical training. I am basically like an indentured servant. If I was not such a Crossfit Nerd, I would not have time for this. For some reason, I am that nerd so I make time.
This started as a way for my wife to work on her weaknesses, to get stronger in the Oly lifts, and have a step-wise and periodized program that would allow her to "see" as many movements and combinations of movements that she could as she prepared for The Games season. As I began programming for more and more people, it turned into something much more than that.
By October of 2012 I was writing programming for 4 of CFOKC's athletes and had coached the CFOKC Regional team who placed 5th that year. I was writing supplemental stuff for our team that was going to compete at HOA that November and 2 more of the Regional athletes from my gym asked me to put together a program for them. I knew I needed to change the delivery method of my programming. That is when I decided to write the Black Horse Training blog
The Black Horse name did not exist until the Nov 2nd 2012 weekend. On the road to a team competition, one of the athletes was trying to say that we were going to be the "dark horses" of the weekend. Instead she said "We are going to be like the Black Horses". The name stuck.
At some point in the 2012/2013 season, a few the gym athletes began referring to me as BHT, the name stuck again.
These are some of the coaches that I would call "Inspirations to The BHT Programming":
I love the book Block Periodization by Vladimir Issurin. This book is one of the best training books I have read. It is broken down in a way that is easy to follow and it has helped form a lot (basically all) of my methods of periodization.
I love Louie Simmons. Not everything about him. I love the way he takes already elite athletes and makes them more elite. His methods are undeniable. The way he trains his football athletes to avoid soreness is the impetus to a lot of what we do.
I love Breck Berry...a lot. My wife and I started our Crossfit Journey in his original Crossfit Jenks gym. Most of my opinions about an elite community of athletes comes from my experience at Jenks. Breck fosters an environment that spits out elite athletes at an alarming rate. His Crossfit classes are run better than any I have seen, it is as if he is simultaneously a drill sergeant and an artist. His phenomenal programming, his ability to motivate, and his competitive drive make him a hero of mine. I realized he was not human the first time I watched him do "Helen". If he had not avulsed his bicep at The Games this year (they were in 7th when it tore), I have no doubt Crossfit Jenks would have been on The Games podium. Some notable athletes that started in Breck's Gym: Breck Berry (4 time individual, 1 time Team CF Games Competitor, 5th at CF Games 2007)Justin Allen (2 time Games Competitor, 17th at CF Games 2013, 4th NC Regional 2014), Ginny King (5 time regional Competitor, 4th NC Regional 2012, 2013), Paige Millspaugh, Chrisina Merlo, and Denver McPhail, to name a few.
I love Jason Boag. I remember the first time I walked in the CFOKC doors. I felt at home, like I had brought Jenks with me. His coaching was innovative and motivating. His class structure and style rivaled a Breck Berry class. His mere presence at OKC is the spark that allowed this to even be possible.
I love Ben Bergeron. His history with games athletes is unparalleled. He breeds them. Much of what he talks about ends up regurgitated on this site. He is a great programmer and much of my games prep is right out of his philosophy.
I love Rudy Nielson...well...I love his programming and most of his outlook on the sport. I love what Outlaw has done for the sport. I stumbled upon "The Way" about a month after he started and thought I had struck gold. I think his training methodology is genius. I don't like how being "an outlaw" means alienation from one's gym and I try to steer clear of that. In fact, my views on programming were shaped by that fact. I was sick of seeing so many high level athletes be present in one gym but never WOD together. I was sick of seeing so many CF athletes searching for a program. Following programming from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Rudy, Boag, and Breck are the only ones on this list I have shared a beer or two or three or four with. The aforementioned and Rippetoe are the only people on this list that I have met personally...fun times.
I read, read about, and follow Dan John, Mark Rippetoe, Mike Burgener, Greg Everett, Doug Chapman, Skip Miller, Gayle Hatch, John North, Justin Thacker, Chris Sommers, Diane Fu and a whole lot more. Each of these coaches have books, programs, and training sites that have also contributed to the BHT madness.
I have recently become a podcast addict and I listen to Barbell Shrugged, Attitude Nation, and School of Greatness regularly.
All of the aforementioned programs and programmers have helped shape BHT's methodology.
I am a surgeon specializing in the musculoskeletal system.
I have coached/programmed for my wife for close to 5 years.
I am Crossfit Level 1 certified (pre and post level 1 cert test).
I have programmed for upwards of 10 Regional athletes.
In 2012 we had 5 individuals go to the NC Regional and post a 4th, 7th, 13th, 18th, and 20th.
I have coached 4 Regional teams at 2 different gyms. I have written programming for a few different competitions... and I have written all of that so you will know that I COMPLETELY NERD OUT ON CROSSFIT PROGRAMMING.
In between cutting people and studying the human machine, I research programming. I plan it and I obsess about it. I think about it when I wake up, while I drive, eat, shower, and sometimes I think about it while I work.
Below is a list of ideas, proclamations, motivations. It is the backbone of what was done with BHT. You could sub "CFOKC Competitor Team" anytime you read "BHT" and you will get the same result.
Black Horse Manifesto
This started out as a few disclaimers and soon became a list of proclamations about BHT's intentions. These proclamations cover the motivations behind BHT and general principles that BHT are based upon. I originally called it BHT philosophy, but after recent suggestions this has become the Black Horse Manifesto:
- There is a difference between a Crossfitter and a Crossfit Athlete.
- This program is not for Crossfiters. This program is for Crossfit athletes. Athletes who have set their sights on Regionals and The Games. Crossfitters do not need this much extra volume. Crossfit Athletes NEED more than what they get in the average Crossfit class.
- A Crossfit season exists.
- While this may not seem like a shocking realization, it is an important concept to grasp. It is important because it gives us a date to be ready for. Crossfitters must to be ready for the unknown and unknowable. Crossfit Athletes must be ready for The Open, ready for Regionals and ready for The Games. We know that this season exists and BHT is a design to plan for that season.
- BHT is not the solution.
- You are the solution. Crossfit competitions are not for the feint of heart and neither is training for the Crossfit season. Each of you have a history that has led you here. A superior VO2 max, a love of competition, a love of fitness, a genetic predisposition, a will, a drive, an ambition, a set of athletic skills and experiences etc. You provide the effort and the time to improve your general physical preparedness (GPP). BHT is just a road map. You will get out what you put in.
- BHT is intended to relieve stress.
- I started programming because I am a huge Crossfit nerd and I saw an opportunity to put that to good use. When my wife started to compete, I realized something. What I realized was this: Unless she had a specific plan that attempted to address ALL that Crossfit TM would throw her way, day to day programming could become overwhelming. I think that for Elite athletes, there is anxiety that accompanies trying to decide what extra work to do on any given day. A well planned program can help to relieve the anxiety that comes with trying to be prepared for The Games season. BHT is designed to help relieve that anxiety.
- BHT is to be done in conjunction with class.
- This requires a large commitment of time and effort, I know. I FIRMLY believe that in order for a gym to foster an environment that breeds competitors, the competitors need to be in class with the Gen Pop. Each one of you started there. Each one of you WODded next to some competitor that you hoped you would someday be able to keep up with. I believe it is your responsibility to spur on those that strive to be like you. By being in class you can help to continue developing a gym that is chalk full of EFA's. Our classes were long ago retooled with our competitors in mind, so do them. The WODs are well programmed and contain all the classic Crossfit movements you need to continue to develop your GPP.
- This type of training takes a commitment that you have to be committed to.
- POOP or get off the POT (I am so PG right now). Make the decision to be awesome and don't look back. Crossfit as a sport is fun and stressful. It is emotionally draining and rewarding. Some weeks/days you will enjoy the challenge, others you will dread coming to the gym. Get over it. If this is something you want to commit to and are ready to commit to, then freaking commit to it. That being said, Life is exponentially more important than Training. God, fiances, wives, husbands, kids, babies, jobs, dogs, sister wives...there is a very long list of things that take precedence. Crossfit should be a fulfilling experience that fits into your life. When it comes to Games prep, make sure you are ready for the sacrifice then: "Go hard or go home".
- BHT should supplement five training days per week, keep it short but effective
- My recommendation is 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off. It doesn't matter what day you start or end.You can make the programming fit into your week any way you like, but rest days could legitimately be the most important days of your training. . Try to complete BHT in under 1:30 a day (if you can keep it under an hour, do that). Some days will be too much. If you have to cut volume, cut what you are good at. Continue to focus on the areas you are weakest.
- There is a difference between Practice and Training.
- Skills, especially new ones, are practiced. At the heart of every goat/weakness there is a solution. Successful diagnosis of the limiting factors of these goats is the only thing that will eliminate weaknesses, or at least provide a plan to manage those factors. When performing Crossfit skills it is important to ask yourself, "Am I using this as an opportunity to increase my GPP, or perfect a skill". The approach to those two questions are very different. Your Isabell time will increase as your virtuosity with the snatch increases. Your attention to the fundamentals and essentials are the basis for having virtuosity in that movement. In the midst of "the beast that is Isabell", virtuosity of movement is not in the forefront of most competitor's minds. What is on their minds is snatching the weight 30 times and doing it very fast. In practicing the snatch, we pay attention to that detail. We take time. We nitpick. We teach and ingrain muscle memory. This is all practice.Training is where we put that muscle memory to use in order to increase GPP. Isabell for time is not usually an opportunity to diagnose and immediately correct snatch technique to teach muscle memory. Practice complex movements so that you can use them while you Train to adapt and improve GPP and maximize intensity.
- Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance...Proposed solution: Periodization.
- There are so many movements in Crossfit that you can't cover them in one week/month. If you only attack a weakness when it shows up in a WOD, how will can you eliminate that weakness? What movements give the best "bang for your buck"? What will best prepare me for The Games Season? The solution is periodized training. Training that is progressively focused on eliminating weakness, cultivating strength, and increasing GPP. This concept requires a program that constantly builds on itself and is regulated to introduce and attack new movements. BHT's periodization is loosely organized as follows: Initially we went through a Strength Cycle, this was before BHT was called BHT (8 weeks before the first post). Then we began an 8 week Explosive Strength Cycle. From there 4 weeks of attacking weakness and beginning to prime the Metcon/GPP Engine. Then, 4 weeks of Engine building while still attacking some weaknesses and working on efficiency. Then, The Open begins and we continue to develop explosive power and flexibility while we "train through The Open" (more on this later). Regionals are announced and we focus/narrow our training to "train for Regionals". Finally, we will broaden our training to be "Ready For Anything" as some of you will be 'training for The Games"
- Train through The Open.
- This is a method that is not appropriate for everyone. Some of you could quit the open wods with minutes left in each of them and still qualify for regionals. Some of you will qualify by the skin of your teeth. You have to be honest with yourself and realize which of these two scenarios describes you. I will program the open WODs once during the week. If you are that first athlete, you should probably only do the WOD once. If you are the second athlete, your week will take a little more strategy in order to determine when and how many times you will do the WOD. Those of you who can "train through the open" and not let this 4-6 week period dominate your training will be better equipped to handle what Regionals has to offer.
- Train for Regionals.
- These WODs will be known and knowable. The competitors/teams that do not prepare for every aspect of this stage of the competition will be watching 3 other competitors/teams step onto the podium.
- Train to be Ready for Anything...Games Prep
- After regionals we will reassess and begin preparation for The Games. First, we will rest. Then, we will revisit strength, broad fitness and GPP/Engine building. Finally, we will again attack glaring goats and strategize efficiency of mavements. The Games as a single event is mostly unpredictable, to the naked eye. A close look at the programming styles of past Games as compared to Regionals and past Games compared to each other will give us a ton of insight into what is in store for the Games Bound BHT Athletes.
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