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Hey Reader,

I hope the 2025 CrossFit Open went well for you.

Many of my competitive clients outdid themselves this year, and all of them are fitter humans than last year.

I am super proud to be their coach and play a part in their success.

Now that the 2025 CrossFit Open is in the books the focus shifts to laying a foundation for 2026.

Most athletes will jump right back into their usual training, but if you want to make real progress, you need a plan.

The best in the sport don’t just maintain intensity year-round.

They phase their training year to build their base, strengthen their weaknesses, and refine their skills before layering intensity back in.

Keep reading below to learn exactly how to do that.

So that you can crush your 2026 training goals.

This Week's Training

Day 1 - 3/24/2025 A) Hang Power Snatch + High Hang Power Snatch - 3.2 reps every 2 min x 5 sets B) Front Squat - 30X1; 3 x 10 @ 63-67%; rest 2-3 minutes C) Metcon - MAP 8 15 Min AMRAP 10 Cal Ski Erg 10 DB Thruster 40/30# 10 Burpee Over DB View Training Week

Be sure to snap a pic of your training and tag @WillMurtagh_DPT on social!

Deep Dive

3 Keys to Building a Stronger, Fitter You After the 2025 CrossFit Open

The 2025 CrossFit Open is over—what now?

You’ve pushed your limits, tested your fitness, and likely uncovered some strengths and weaknesses.

Instead of diving straight back into high-intensity training, this is your opportunity to reset and build the foundation for an even stronger performance in 2026.

Many athletes make the mistake of maintaining Open-level intensity year-round.

That approach might feel productive in the short term, but it leads to stagnation, injuries, and burnout.

Without a structured plan, your body never gets the chance to develop the base that long-term progress depends on.

Your current training should follow a progression that allows you to grow your engine, strengthen your muscles and connective tissues, and refine your technical skills.

Before layering intensity back in.

Below we'll outline how to do so and give you a 12-week plan to implement these strategies.

Why Most Athletes Plateau After the Open

If you’ve ever felt like your Open scores stay the same year after year, you’re not alone.

Many CrossFit athletes finish the Open and go right back to their usual training, expecting to improve simply by working harder.

But without a deliberate structure to your season, real progress becomes almost impossible.

One of the biggest reasons athletes plateau is a lack of a dedicated base-building phase.

When you train at high intensity year-round, your body never has the opportunity to develop the underlying qualities that drive peak performance.

This cycle leads to three common issues:

• Stagnant performance
• Increased injury risk
• Frustration and burnout

But, a structured base-building phase will not only set you up for better performance in 2026.

It will also help you stay healthier, train more consistently, and enjoy the process of getting better.

3 Keys To Optimize Your Training In 2026

Key #1: Aerobic Base Building

Your ability to sustain effort over long durations determines how well you recover between workouts, maintain consistent pacing in metcons, and handle higher-intensity efforts when competition season returns.

When your aerobic system is well-developed, you burn fuel more effectively, delay fatigue, and recover faster between movements, sets, and training sessions.

Too many athletes focus only on short, high-intensity efforts and neglect this foundational energy system.

Without a solid aerobic base, you’re more likely to redline early, struggle with repeatability in workouts, and feel gassed when moving between high-skill movements.

To build your aerobic capacity, focus on longer, less complex workouts where you can sustain effort without hitting a breaking point.

Metcons should range from 10-30 minutes, for multiple intervals while keeping a controlled pace rather than pushing into an all-out sprint.

Rowing, biking, running, and ski erg intervals are great tools for this phase before switching to classic CrossFit movements.

How to Structure Your Aerobic Work

• Long, steady metcons with moderate intensity, ensuring you stay at or below your threshold for the duration.
• Interval training with equal or slightly shorter rest periods to develop repeatability (e.g., row 1:1 work-to-rest).
• Steady-state sessions at low intensity (zone 2 heart rate) to improve aerobic efficiency without excessive fatigue.

Key #2: High Time-Under-Tension Strength Training

Strength is more than just moving heavy weight—it’s about control, joint integrity, and resilience under load.

Time-under-tension (TUT) training helps you build muscle mass, reinforce tendon and ligament strength, and improve movement efficiency so you can handle heavier weights later in the season.

If you immediately return to max-effort lifting after the Open, your body never gets the chance to reinforce the structures that support heavy loads.

This is where injuries often occur.

Joints and tendons take longer to adapt than muscles, and without a dedicated phase focused on slow, controlled strength work, you risk setbacks.

For more TUT strength training use:

• Slow eccentrics,
• Tempo work
• Paused reps

All of which will increase muscular control, improve positional awareness, and enhance joint stability while increasing the duration you are under load.

How to Implement High-TUT Training

• Repetition range: 6-12+ reps per set with a focus on controlled movement.
• Tempo work: Slowing down the eccentric phase (lowering portion of the lift) to build tendon resilience.
• Pauses at key positions: Holding tension at the bottom of squats or during deadlifts to improve stability.

Sample Movements for TUT

• Paused squats – Improve bottom-end strength and control.
• Slow eccentric deadlifts – Reinforce posterior chain and grip endurance.
• Strict gymnastics work (pull-ups, dips, handstand push-ups) – Develop upper-body control and joint stability.

Progression Strategy

Before increasing weight, focus on extending time under tension.

This means longer pauses, slower eccentrics, and greater rep volume before adding load.

The goal is to build structural resilience first, so when it’s time to lift heavy again, your body is prepared.

Key #3: Building Skill Volume in Isolation

Skill execution under fatigue is a defining factor in CrossFit performance.

But if you only practice complex skills during metcons, you’re limiting your ability to refine mechanics and increase volume.

Fatigue impacts motor learning, and poor movement patterns become ingrained when you only train skills in high-intensity settings.

Instead of relying on competition-style workouts to improve your gymnastics and barbell proficiency, use this time to train skills in isolation.

Breaking movements down into strict variations and controlled progressions allows you to develop better coordination, strength, and technical consistency before layering in intensity.

How to Develop Skill Volume

A step-by-step progression ensures you’re reinforcing proper mechanics at every stage:

1. Strict strength work first – Master strict muscle-ups, handstand push-ups, and chest-to-bar pull-ups before adding kipping or fatigue.
2. Pair skills with cyclical work – Use low-fatigue modalities like rowing or biking between skill sets to reinforce mechanics without exhaustion.
3. Introduce non-interfering movements – Combine skills with movements that don’t directly fatigue the same muscle groups.
4. Introduce interfering movements – Add movements that involve the same muscle groups to challenge the skill and its muscle endurance.
5. Gradually add intensity – Once strict strength is in place, layer in more dynamic variations before testing in full metcons.

Example progression:

1. Pull-Ups EMOM
2. Pull-Up + Assault Bike EMOM
3. Pull-Up + Box Jump Sets
4. Pull-Up + Toes To Bar Sets
5. Pull-Up + Assault Bike + Double Under AMRAP Intervals
6. Pull-Up + Row + Burpee Max effort WODs

By isolating and refining skills now, you’ll build a technical foundation that holds up under intensity.

When it’s time to reintroduce these movements in competition-style settings, they’ll feel more efficient, repeatable, and second nature.

Putting It All Together: Your First 12 Weeks

This 12-week structure ensures steady progress by gradually layering intensity, strength, and skill work without burning out.

Weeks 1-4

• Prioritize low-intensity aerobic work (intervals, EMOMs) to build endurance.
• Focus on TUT strength training with paused lifts and tempo reps to reinforce joint integrity.
• Develop strict skill work under low fatigue (gymnastics progressions, controlled movement patterns).

Weeks 5-8

• Slightly increase the intensity with longer efforts and moderate loading.
• Add load to your strength training.
• Blend skill work with cyclical elements (e.g., rowing + bar muscle-ups) to reinforce mechanics under light fatigue.

Weeks 9-12

• Introduce higher-intensity MetCons, ensuring sustainability.
• Progress to heavier loads and TUT strength training.
• Layer in skills with non-interfering and interference (fatigue-based scenarios) to prepare for competition-style workouts once you show you can perform the skill consistently with volume at each phase.

Setting Yourself Up for a Breakthrough Year

Most athletes plateau because they rush back into high-intensity training without addressing weaknesses.

By building your aerobic capacity, refining skills, and reinforcing strength, you create a foundation that sets you up for peak performance in 2026.

Commit to this structured approach now, and 2026 will be your strongest year yet.

If you would like me to assess your current training and help you come up with a plan to crush your 2026 goals CLICK HERE to book a risk-free consultation!

This Week's Blog Post

11 Burpee Alternatives For Full-Body CrossFit Training In this guide, I’ll introduce you to 11 burpee alternatives that keep the versatility and intensity of the regular burpee while addressing your specific needs. Read Here

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Talk to you soon, Reader!

Dr. Will Murtagh, PT, DPT, MS, CSCS, CISSN Physical Therapist | Remote Fitness Coach P.S. Click here for a free consultation on how to train-pain free and look and perform better in under 12 weeks. ​ ​​​​

155 Mill Road, North Haven, CT 06473
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