We sat down with Declan Furst, a strength and conditioning coach who has worked with university CrossFit programs for over eight years, to talk about the mistakes he sees repeatedly from students new to structured programming.
The first mistake students make
Q: Where do most students go wrong from the start?
Declan: They treat every week like it is a competition week. There is no variation in intensity, no deload, no planned recovery. They just go hard, go harder, and then wonder why their snatch numbers stall around week six. Periodization exists precisely because the body does not adapt under constant maximum load. You need planned stress and planned recovery working together.
Ignoring the mesocycle structure
Q: What specific structural error comes up most often?
Declan: Skipping the mesocycle entirely. Students often plan one week ahead, maybe two. But periodization requires thinking in blocks of four to eight weeks with a defined goal for each block. Are you building aerobic base? Developing strength? Peaking for a competition? Each phase needs different volume and intensity targets, and they cannot all happen at once.
The role of testing weeks
Q: Any advice on how students can self-correct?
Declan: Schedule a testing week every four weeks. Pick three or four benchmark workouts and track them consistently. If your Fran time is not moving after eight weeks of random programming, that is data, not bad luck. Students often avoid testing because the results feel personal. But without measurement, you are just exercising, not training.
Declan Furst coaches at a regional university performance centre and consults on CrossFit programming for student athletic clubs.