In education, there is a methodology of instruction called Scope & Sequence. The scope is the laying out clear and concise objectives to accomplish in a program or specific domain of knowledge. The sequence is the order in which those objectives are presented to the learner. The end result is to guide learners and practitioners through a large body of knowledge and information to complete an objective that is greater than the sum of all the parts. It is a tried and trued method for knowledge transference and is the organizational methodology I use in this course.
The leading objective that we are here to accomplish is simple. To RX any standard Cross-Training workout that has barbell movements in them.
Now, let’s break that statement down. To RX any standard Cross-Training workout that has barbell movements in them. That’s the scope of this program. But isn’t that rather broad and ambiguous? It most certainly is! Let’s break that Scope down to the Sequence of steps so that there’s more clarity in how you’ll progress.
1. There are 5 athletic movement levels assigned in the RX Barbell program. Every movement that is a part of this program will be ranked as follows: Beginner, Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, and Upper-intermediate. As you approach the intermediate and upper-intermediate levels, it will be about time you’ll have the ability to RX workouts.
2. You’ll be assigned to a movement level based on 3 factors: gender, weight, and current strength for movement. This will be calculated with a spreadsheet that you can download in the Program Design Part 1 lesson.
3. Each movement level will have a range. For example, a 135 lb female who has a 5 Rep Max (RM) of 110 lb will have an estimated 1RM of 126 lb. This puts her in the pre-intermediate stage for back squatting. The range for her specific bodyweight for pre-intermediate is 126 lb to 135 lb so once she has a 1RM above 135 lb she will be in the intermediate stage of programming. Sounds like a lot of numbers? Not to worry, the spreadsheet does all the calculations for you.
4. The goal is to move through levels for each movement. The more advanced you are with your levels the closer you are to RX’ing the barbell portion of the Cross-Training workouts that come up in your programming.
In a very pragmatic way, I have organized the course to be goal-oriented so that at every part of the way you have a clear understanding of where you are at in the levels and what you need to do to level up.
Now that you have a birds-eye view of the organization of the program, let’s focus on the next lesson where we will begin developing your individual and custom weightlifting program.