Rather than thinking of the workout options as "beginner, intermediate, and advanced;" consider them as suggestions to best accomplish the intended stimulus of the workout based on your goals as an athlete. Determine the workout track that fits your goals and perform every workout within those parameters instead of switching from one track to another every workout. If your goals eventually change for one reason or another, then you may decide to switch to another track which is perfectly fine! 

 

Keep in mind the movements and weights are only suggestions that can be further modified or scaled to fit individual abilities. Certain high level skills like muscle ups and handstand push-ups will not be programmed for Green Circle athletes as those more technical movements are not necessary to be healthy and fit. Pull-ups, on the other hand, are actually a good measure of optimal strength-to-body-weight ratio. Muscle ups might come in handy for a Blue Square athlete who is rock climbing. The handstand push-up is exclusively a CrossFit movement that is really only necessary for those competing in the Open or other CrossFit-specific competitions; the dumbbell press programmed for Green and Blue will address overhead strength without adding the degree of difficulty that is presented with the handstand. 

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You may have decided you are a Black Diamond athlete because you love to do the CrossFit Open each year. Since the Open traditionally has movements in it like muscle ups and handstand push-ups, then when they show up in workouts  you should do progressions to help you acquire those skills even if you don't yet have them (or have them mastered). Those who are unable to do a handstand push-up can sub a modified HSPU off of a box or scale with ab mats vs. performing DB presses. On the other hand, there may be a Green Circle athlete who is able to do HSPU and/or MU and chooses to do them in this workout because they happen to like those skills, but not because they now wish to compete. Their goals have not changed.

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In regards to weights, there will be many instances when a Green Circle athlete is capable of performing movements at the weights programmed for Blue Square or even Black Diamond, but doing so would likely slow down cycle time and power output. Since the goal of the Green Circle athlete is health and fitness, they will likely experience higher intensity and cardiovascular benefits by performing the workout at the weights suggested for Green Circle.   

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We hope these fitness tracks provide direction but also freedom to tailor your workout specifically to your needs. Don't forget to also consult with the class coach who can help you further fine tune your workout to keep you progressing toward your goals.