We have a lot of new people in the gym which is great to see! As the gym gets busier, it is important that we have some basic rules in place to make sure the place continues to meet the needs of the group.
1. No kids in the gym please
CFB has a great community, and many of you have children. Occasionally children have been brought to the gym when parents are doing a workout. Although the kids we have seen have been absolutely terrific, we really can’t have them in the gym, except for designated CrossFit Kids classes that are coming soon. The reason for this is that the gym is just too busy. There is no safe place for them to sit. The front (orange) area is a traffic jam during running WODs and class changeovers, and during barbell/kettle bell WOD’s there is no safe place. There was a barbell dropped this week that speared off and went through the side of a gear bucket, another one has bounced through a floor fan. We don’t want kids at risk. Please keep your kids safe, and keep them at home. If you are changing over carer’s (eg mum does 5pm & dad does 6pm), ensure that the kids are under adult supervision at all times. Thanking you in advance.
2. Be on time
Please turn up to the session on-time and complete the warmup that the group is doing (and the warm down at the end). CrossFit is a holistic program and the CFB programming model relies on the group warmup time to teach skills and develop body awareness. We also have a lot of coaching information to deliver quickly at the beginning of each session. It is important that you hear the briefing and do the warmup. We understand that sometimes due to traffic or unavoidable chaos that sometimes there will be an "I made it, sorry I am late" moment. But, it is not cool to consistently turn up late or dodge the warmup. We notice the people that do it consistently, and it is rude.
3. Don't park in the driveway
I know that the parking situation is sometimes tricky, but there is always parking available in Cambridge st (behind the gym). As we get busier, we are going to be using the driveway more and more for warmup and skills work, and we want it kept clear so that it is usable.
4. Don't coach unless you are a CFB trainer on staff
This is a biggy and becoming more and more of an issue for me. There is a distinct difference between supporting your fellow CrossFitter "c'mon, one more rep" and coaching "you need to <insert cue that you have heard>". Coaching each other is well intentioned but not how we roll, and to be honest, even if you get it right technically, it just pisses people off. That is why golfers are penalised for offering advice. If you see something that looks wrong or dangerous grab a coach. Otherwise, focus on your own technique and put your energy into supporting and encouraging. There are a number of people that have been told to stop coaching that are continuing to do it. I will name names next and punish with burpees, be warned.
We love that the place is casual and don't want a lot of rules. The ones listed above are important to ensure that we can continue to deliver high level coaching for you. Thankyou!!!
Cheers,
Matt & Wendy
Okay, so first off. I have broken ALL these rules at least once (and the first two many times). In fact I was racing in here at 6:01am to check out the workout and see if I could still "make it" (I think 7 minutes is my record from getting out of bed to being in the box), or whether to have a rest day. When I saw overhead squats I absolutely didn't want to miss out so am going to have to try to leave work early this afternoon....
However, (and hoping it is appropriate) I would like to make the following comments in support of Matt and Wendy's rules. if I miss a warmup I usually don't perform my workout as well. This is particularly true for any weights oriented session - in fact when I can I try to warm up a bit at home beforehand and make sure that I've triggered any tight muscles. Secondly, even though I've been coming for a long time now, getting reminded of the technique at the beginning of each session helps me to focus on my form. Even if I know the verbal cues, it is useful to watch the demos and reflect on how I can improve. Also, as you say Matt there are a lot of us now, and it is really difficult to organise a session if you don't know how many people are going to turn up.
More broadly, Blythe, Anna and I were talking yesterday morning and commenting on how positive the whole CFB experience is. I think that this is significantly to do with the culture that Matt, Wendy and the other trainers have inculcated at the gym.This is really amazing given how quickly the gym has grown! CFB is like a second home to me, and I feel proud to be a part of it. In no way do I want to undermine that, so bring on the burpees if I slip up in the future!
Posted by: Liz | September 24, 2009 at 06:46 AM
To follow on from Liz, I have also been guilty in particular of 2 and 4 but thankfully I have realised getting to the box a little early gives us a great opportunity to experience the community aspect of being a CrossFitter and I'm learning the difference between coaching and encouraging people to push through.
On the point of being late aside from the rudeness I occasionally go back to the articles section of the CFB site particularly http://www.crossfitbrisbane.com/cfb_articles/training/ the section in this article that refers to not warming up as a form of cheating really hit home, we might try to go easy on the warm up to save ourselves but it is in fact a form of cheating ourselves and those we train with. I have been looking at the importance of the warm up differently ever since and I occasionally revisit the article for inspiration. I encourage people that I train to take the same approach warm up properly so that you can fully enjoy the achievements of your work. Nothing sucks more than having done a WOD and feeling like a fraud (well there are things that suck more but we'll leave Globo Gyms alone for the moment). And the stretch down is important too, we have night right to complain or moan about the intensity of the WODs or about being sore if we aren't taking care of our machines, Improvement in performance isn't just about what we do in the workout component of our day it relies equally on our preparation (diet and warm up) and recovery (also diet and stretch down and active recovery). We only get out what we put in; put in crap food, crap preparation, crap recovery, crap attitude = get out crap performance.
Posted by: Sharif | September 24, 2009 at 03:45 PM