First up is OPT. The Optimum Performance Training blog is run by James Fitzgerald, former Crossfit Games Champion, and consistently high performer in the Crossfit community. James takes a different approach to training others than most Crossfit gyms. Each of his clients have met with him individually for both a performance assessment as well as a Biofeedback reading. He also sends them to a local Homeopath for further evaluation. He does this in order to individualize each program he writes. His clients usually train on their own with periodic technique sessions with James and his trainers. These sessions are focused on correcting positions in the lifts and focusing more on the basics than getting an actual workout. He claims that individualizing Crossfit programming is a higher order Crossfit Methodology.

His blog is a more generalized approach to this method. James analyzes the performance of his “Big Dawgs” and adjusts his programming accordingly. His program changes as the user changes. So for those of you that follow James programming and aren’t posting times, you aren’t getting necessarily what you need. By keeping a close eye on the Big Dawgs performance, james can keep each and everyone of them progressing at the same rate. It seems to me that he is focused on the GPP side of crossfit with the realization that workouts don’t have to take 30 minutes to get results (in fact, they don’t even have to take 20…) and it is important to be both strong with weights and be able to move your body under control.

After a little prodding i got some trends that he sees in Crossfitters as a whole (actually more like the people he trains but i think they are global trends), and they are the same that i have seen.
Number one is that they are weak in the olympic lifts, both in technique and in strength. In my opinion that means there needs to be a focus on them.
Number two is the lack of competence in the basic gymnastics movements. James mentioned to me that he is taking his training more towards a strict gymnastic bias. To me that means he is focused on building a strong foundation before he jumps back into super high intensity. He is ok with sacrificing his time to make himself better. I say he is a wise man for doing so.

I like his nutritional info posted daily. It is a bit over my head but he has a reason behind the madness and i think its pretty legit.

Would i do these workouts?
No doubt, but there are some things that i would make sure. I would call or email james and let him know who i was and what i was looking for out of his workouts. Let him know my goals and get some feedback from him on his purpose over the next couple months. I would then make sure that i posted everything i did on his blog so he has his finger on my pulse at all times. I trust his judgment as a trainer so i would have no problem committing to his program.