Sunday 4.13.14

Looking good in their Club shirts!

Restoring order in the gym:

During The CrossFit Open, we felt it important to allow everyone the opportunity to complete The Open workout.  In order to do this, we relaxed the rules a little bit, to allow people to stretch out how they personally needed to, to complete workouts while other workouts were programmed, and to otherwise divert from the scheduled programming.

Now that The Open is over, its now prudent for the gym to return the the regular scheduled training to restore order in a continually growing atmosphere.

The class structure:

*The program is the program that needs to be followed at the gym.  The coach has a job to do, which includes helping you complete a WOD you may not feel like doing, and if everyone comes in with their own workout it makes it completely difficult (sometimes impossible) to maintain any order in the gym.  Not to mention, CrossFit works because of community.  The new members need the ones who have been here longer to help guide them.  The current members need newer members to push them and keep them motivated.  We all work together to improve everyone.

There is a reason Diablo CrossFit has three teams going to Regionals this year (not to mention the Individual athletes).  And it's not because they are creating super teams, or their programming is revolutionizing.  It's because they have built up a huge community working out together.  Watch their cheering section at Regionals this year!

* Class start times are extremely important.  From the moment a class begins, there is 10 minutes provided to warm up.  If you need more time to warm up, then show up a few minutes early and begin the process.  The coach needs to get the entire class through the skill/ strength portion and then the WOD.  The coach needs everyone's attention at the same time to explain how the WODs will work and to modify or scale as needed based on ability, injury, etc.

If you show up late to a class, you can have the option of waiting for the next class, or warming up and jumping in to do the WOD first, then the strength/ skill portion second with the following class.  Switching up your programming regularly is another key to success.  Feeling what it's like to do a max effort lift or a high level skill after a WOD can change things dramatically.

* Specialty Classes:  If you workout in a specialty class, there are only two times you can complete the workout; during the specialty class time or during Open Gym.  We provide Open Gym in the morning and evening precisely so workouts can be made up without taking away from the regularly scheduled classes.  If those times do not work for you, then a return to the normal class programs until your schedule can be worked out.

* Sometimes coaches will allow athletes to do something different for different reasons.  Perhaps the athlete has an injury, or is working towards a specific competition, or is working on a skill, etc and needs to do a different workout.  In those cases, Open Gym should be used first.  If the Open Gym times don't work for you, you need to seek out permission from the coach leading the class on a day to day basis.  One coach can not give permission for you to do your own thing in a class coached by someone else.

Example: If Holly suggests a workout to you , but you show up and Tyler is coaching, you need to check in with Tyler to make sure he is OK with it, can accommodate the space, and can assist you with anything you need in your.  That last part is the most important.  The coach should and wants to be available to assist you in any aspect of training.  Sometimes, your communication, or lack of, can help or hurt the assistance they could provide.

If you do receive permission to do your own workout, then you should utilize the back portion of the gym, whenever possible, so the coach can maintain order during the class times.

* Equipment needs to be placed back in its proper locations after the workouts.  Notice I said "placed", not dropped, pushed aside, or thrown into the wall creating a large hole.  These accidents do happen, but please help us minimize the incidents by maintaining your wits about you after a grueling workout.


I'm excited as we move forward.  The Open was fun, but it consisted of traditional CrossFit style couplets and triplets and lacked any true variance.  Now we can return to the normal Compound-style training we have done in the past, utilizing not only CrossFit, but the countless training styles that helped us create some great programming over the years!