The System

A native of Pori, Finland, Mikko Salo claimed the title of “Fittest Man on Earth” by winning the 2009 CrossFit Games. Today, Salo is still based out of Pori, and has been working as a firefighter by day and training and coaching CrossFit by night.

One of his top students is fellow countryman and Rogue athlete Jonne Koski, whom Mikko guided to a 1st place finish at the Men’s Individual Europe CrossFit Regionals in 2014. Mikko is known for his engine, workout capacity and SISU.

About the programming

The System is based on the fact that in CrossFit you need to have skills, strength, power, and endurance to be able to compete in this sport

The System has a goal that you will reach your maximal athletic potential.

In The System, we will create rock solid aerobic base where we rely on. We don’t forget to develop our skills and strength numbers either.

The goal is to have such a big engine and skill base that we can use our strength and power. Like in the Open workout 16.2 - You had to have a big engine to be able to show your strength.

I will create The System's workouts and test most of them before you have a chance to do them. In The System, we don’t do super long sessions because I want to keep each session short and intense.

There are two versions of The System - The Original and Once a day programming. The Original programming has five (5) training sessions a week and four (4) optional sessions a week based on your ability and chances of training. The Once a Day programming is a hybrid version of The Original template. It has five training sessions per week and it’s meant for people who can't train twice a day. Basically the only difference is the overall volume. The workouts are exactly same in both templates with small modifications. The Once a Day template has one full recovery day (Sunday). Thursday is an active recovery (swim, run, row, ski...) or a full rest day (if needed). In Once a Day template sessions will last from 60 minutes to maximum of 90 minutes. The goal is still to keep the sessions short enough to maintain the intensity up.

The programming is periodic and the emphasis varies throughout the year.

You will have all workouts for the week on Sunday. The idea is to train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Then on Thursday a rest day. Training again on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday is a rest day.

You can modify your week based on your school, work, physical or mental stress level, etc.

I'll answer your questions on WODconnect within 24 hours.

Sincerely,
Mikko

Workout plan

The basic idea is to have five (5) training sessions a week. The goal is to train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Then on Thursday rest day. Training again on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday is a rest day.

Tracking

Tracking is easy with WODconnect's mobile apps (for iOS, Android and Windows Phones) and web application.

Community

You'll be a part of team of athletes on the same program. Cheer and help others while on this path to greater conditioning.

Example of The Original programming

AM

Squat snatch
3-3-3 @ 70–75%
2-2-2 @ 75–80%
1-1-1 @ 77.5–85%
DNG sets. Rest 60–120 s between sets.

Every 90 s for 6 sets:
3 DNG power clean + 1 split jerk
Start 65% and build to technically heavy.

Back squat
3-3-3-3-3-3
Build to a heavy set of 3. Rest 2–3 min between sets.

4 rounds for quality:
12/12 dual KB Bulgarian split squat
25–15 V-up
25–20 back extension
Rest as needed between rounds.

PM

In 12 min, build to a technical heavy-ish:
1 power snatch

EMOM 30:
1: Max power snatch
2: Max bar-facing burpee
3: Max T2B
4: Max cal Echo
5: Rest
Score is total reps + cal. Go sustainably hard and try to keep your numbers.
Barbell — M: 65/45 kg, F: 45/32.5 kg
Goals: Power snatch 12–8, BFB 15–10, T2B 25–15, Cal M:20–15 F:16–12

3–5 rounds for quality:
Max −1/−2 reps strict pull-up (band if needed)
Max −1/−2 reps strict dip (band if needed)

Example of Once a Day programming

Example day

Push jerk
3-3-3-3

Weighted pull-up
3-3-3-3
All with heavy weight. Rest 60–120 s between sets.

10 sets:
200 m run
15–8 C2B
200 m run
12 STOH
Rest 90 s after each set.
Adjust — Run: 200–150 m or 500/450 m bike erg
C2B or pull-up: 15–8 (UB sets are the goal)
Barbell — M: 135/95 lbs, F: 95/65 lbs

4–3 rounds for quality:
15–12 dual DB Incline seal row
15 dual DB bench press

4–3 rounds for quality:
20–15 dual DB biceps curl
20–15 tricep extension (band or cable)

The System Life

The Life is training template designed for the people who have busy working schedules and dont have time to train 5-7 times week.

The Life has three well balanced sessions every week.

The Life will make sure that you still train progressively and your training is carefully planned.

The Life will suite for your busy working schedules or if you have also other hobbies.

Have a strong Life

- Mikko

”I competed in crossfit for four amazing years. But then my passion for my career won my passion for crossfit. I got a job as a consultant and the days spent at the office started to be more regularly 10 hours long. From the very start I knew that I needed to cut down my training hours. The problem was, not a single program did have fewer than five workouts and that was too much. I also enjoyed more and more doing other sports along crossfit. Nevertheless, I still wanted to enjoy of doing a structured, well planned program and to train hard when I train.

That’s why I asked Mikko to create The Life. A program that fits into a life filled with also other things than crossfit. The life includes three perfectly programmed workouts that take into account the demands of a busy life and hours spent at the office. The Life is designed for the ones who believe in quality, not quantity. The best thing is I don’t need to decide which part to leave out, The Life is a program that everyone has time to do as a whole. I’ve also helped Mikko with telling for example about the demands that an office job with a lot of sitting sets to lifting weights.”

Isa Kaipainen

Join The System Life now $34/month

Example of The Life programming

Example day #1

Every 90 s for 6 sets:
3 TNG power clean + 1 split jerk
Start 60% and build to technically heavy.

Every 90 s for 6 sets:
3 DNG power clean + 1 split jerk
Start 60% and build to technically heavy.

Back squat
6-6-6-6-6, all with RPE 8.5 load
Rest 2–3 min between sets.

20 rounds for time:
5 C2B or pull-up
(adjust volume to 4 or 3 if needed)
Rest 5 min.

5 rounds for time:
20 dual DB bench press
M: 22.5/15 kg, F: 15/10 kg
Rest as needed between rounds, but it is for time.

Accumulate as few sets as possible:
100 V-up
60 back extension

Example day #2

Deadlift
9-9-9
Dead stop reps. All sets at the same technically heavy weight. Rest 2–3 min between sets.

20 min AMRAP:
12 wall ball
9 T2B
6 power snatch
Adjust by ability —
T2B: 9–5
Barbell: M: 75/55 lbs, F: 55/35 lbs

3–4 rounds for quality:
15 dual DB Incline seal row
15 tricep extension (cable or banded)
12 Lu raise
12/12 DB upright row

Example day #3

Every 90 s for 8 sets:
1 squat snatch + 1 low hang squat snatch
Keep weights at 70–75%.

5 sets — 3 min on / 90 s off:
15/13 cal bike erg
15 lateral bar-over burpee
+ max squat clean in remaining time
You should have at least 1 min for cleans.
Barbell — M: 185/135 lbs, F: 135/95 lbs
Heavy-ish but doable; 12–8 reps each set is the goal.

Rest as needed.

EMOM 12:
1: 15–5 sHSPU, kHSPU or pike push-up
2: 3–1 rope climb
3: Rest

Accumulate:
60 weighted sit-up (feet anchored)
36–45 weighted back extension

UNBREAKABLE

A hybrid program with five sessions a week. Built for athletes who want to develop a big engine and real-world strength without spending their life in the gym.

What's included

One long aerobic session (60–120 min)
One machine interval day
Two strength days with some conditioning
One metcon / CrossFit-style interval day

Each session lasts 60–90 minutes (long aerobic up to 120 min).

No high-skill movements. Accessible, scalable, and built to keep you training consistently.

Example day

Deadlift
Build to RPE 8.5 load; 3 reps
Then 3 × 6 @ 90%
Dead stop reps. Rest 2 min between sets.

6 sets:
30/24 cal ski
10/10 one-arm KB hang snatch
10 heavy-ish DB bench press
Rest 90 s between sets
KB — M: 32/20 kg, F: 24/12 kg

Accumulate:
100 V-ups
50 back extensions