Controlling Chaos

I love the idea of being "generally physically prepared", it keeps me confident in my ability to accomplish any task, within reason. In the Marine Corps as a 5811 Military Police Officer, my tasks stretched from standing a gate and saluting officers to breaching and clearing a structure. Everything in between would be 3-12 mile runs and humps (hike with 30-100+ lbs of gear) to climbing walls and conducting convoys and security patrols in combat zones. So the idea that I had to be physically ready to carry myself and a fallen brother in all his/her gear and weapon was on mind constantly. What happens when the sh*t hits the fan?

The same applies to CrossFit, what happens when the hopper brings out something you weren't ready for or something you just didn't practice enough?  Alot of people struggle with not getting the attention needed or the time under tension to progress or compete with certain loads, movements or rep schemes. Sometimes too much variation weakens our ability to transfer skills or maintain strength.  What I have found that personally works for me is to have a major movement template span across a 2 week period. If you are like me and don't hit Shoulder Press every week your numbers drop or you just don't feel as strong from one week to another. So it is important that I press every week. My work schedule or weekends are crazy so it is important to have consistency that will always allow me to improve or build on if I miss a day or two. I often hear 2 common statements from CrossFitters that can be a factor in their programming, its either "I haven't ---fill in the blank--- in so long" or "I felt like all week long we did so much---blank--my--whatever body part--is done".  My response is usually, "that sucks".  I am not a fan of cherry picking WOD's, I try not to,sometimes you have to suck it up and do the work. However an athlete also has to listen to their body in the event of too much or not enough variation and consistency. So this is how I managed to program my consistencies and variation. Spread over 2 weeks my training FOUNDATION looks like this:
 Sunday         Monday          Tuesday          Wednesday        Thursday           Friday         Saturday
Wk1    rest      Oly ME         Squat            Active Rest       rest/mobility      Oly DE          Press
Wk2    rest      Oly ME         Deadlift         Upper psh/pu    rest/mobility       Oly DE          Press

These are my Strengths but how I implement the strength that day may vary from how my body feels based on the MetCon done the day before. I may use the 5-3-1 method on a Sqaut or Deadlift day, or maybe I will do more of a hypertrophy/endurance style day of training working in accessory movements such as lying HS curl, leg extensions, GHR's or if your lucky enough to have one Reverse Hyper Extensions. I always perform a max effort day for Cleans or Snatches usually in the form of 2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1, then a dynamic effort such as pulls from blocks, segmented lifts, etc. For my upper push/pull day, it's usually weight pull ups and ring dips. The beauty of hitting these movements is that after you do weighted sets (5x5 or 6x3) you feel super light when you go back to unweighted, so you could do a max effort set or something like 2x10-15 at the end. So now that I have my Core Lifts locked in all I have to do is program my MetCon. I generally program for 4-5 days a week, 1 being in a specific domain of time or work. Check it out.
Monday- 3-5 movements, 8-15 mins, with moderate weight and reps
Tuesday- Metcon with a skill I suck at when fatigued (Double unders) usually under 20mins (chipper).
Wednesday- 20minutes+ 5k row/run, Swim or Bike
Friday-Heavy and under 6mins.
Saturday-Something I may have missed over 2weeks, quick and heavy 5-10mins.
I also may use the Core lift from that day in the workout at high reps low weight or vice versa. Ultimately it comes down to what is YOUR goal. Is it weight loss, mobility, cross training or competing. Since mine is competing, I push myself to have strength, versatility and endurance.  Step back and look at how random the Games are you will see the pattern. Push, pull, drag, squat, run, be fast or last longer. That's basically it, make those fit into your routine with progressive overload and things should pan out.  Find what you need to do, plug it and go hard.