CrossFit Hackney: 16 Week Juggernaut Method – Part 1: The Guidelines

Chad Smith, owner and head performance coach at Juggernaut Training Systems in Laguna Hills, CA, designed the Juggernaut Method (JM).  Smith says that the JM grew out of a training cycle he had used on his athletes.  The concept is a mix of three main influences: Jim Wendler 5/3/1 (progressive overload and repetition max), training of the great Doug Young (final limit sets, AMRAP as CrossFitters know it) and Block Periodization (accumulation, intensification and realization).

Juggernaut Guidelines:

1. 1. Big Movements: The focus for the next 16 weeks will be on big, compound, multi-joint lifts that will yield the greatest strength and mass GAINZ, whilst building inter- and intra-muscular coordination.  Be prepared to deadlift, strict OHP, Squat and Bench press, as these are the best bang for your buck exercises.

2. 2. Starting light and making incremental GAINZ to drive up overall results: Starting out light will give athletes the ability to progress for a longer period of time.   Successful lifts create a positive mindset that motivates athletes to continue progressing in the right direction both mentally and physically – “Making lifts makes you stronger, Missing lifts don’t.”  We want athletes to successfully achieve all repetitions with perfect form, without the need of a spotter.  Missing reps and poorly performed reps are a bad habit that you do not want to get into, keep your starting weights conservative and stay out of this bad habit.

3. 3. Move your weights up from week to week: This is very necessary if you want to make progress and is the most basic form of progressive overload. Do you want to make progress?  How much to increase by from week-to-week is a complicated issue and the team at Momentum Training will be on hand to help you with this.  We want you all to be motivated and push your weights and repetitions as hard as possible without failure.

4. 4. Setting rep records:  Repetition records are an integral part of the JM.  The intention of the JM is to change the focus slightly away from the typical 1rep MAX mentality but to set new 10RM, 8RM, 5RM and 3RM maxes. Rep records can be used to compare projected maxes using the following equation:

((Weight x Reps Performed) x 0.33) +Weight = Projected Max

Example: If in the 10’s phase I deadlift 100kg for 25reps

Projected Max = ((100kg x 20reps) x.033) +100kg = 182.5kg

5. 5. Simplicity:  Keep It Simple Stupid!  The KISS philosophy is a great way to approach the JM.  Focus on big lifts (point 1),  good technique (point 2) and making small improvements each session (point 3) will deliver the greatest long-term results. Consistency is KING, so be patient and you will see the RESULTS.

The next post will explain the Juggernaut programme and the CrossFit Hackney training plan.