Dropping unloaded bars, dumbbells, and kettlebells are an automatic 50 burpee penalty. Respect the equipment.

Don't ever drop our bars empty. don't even think about it. If you dream about it you're wrong.

In all seriousness, our box policy is to keep hands on the bar until it's below waist level unless you really are in danger. Ego dumping 95 or less from overhead is not only unsafe, it's also very lame.

NO DROPPING EMPTY BARS! 30 burpee penalty!

We made wood plates for pvc pipes. Now it looks like were making them for training bars!

No dropping empty bars or KB's at our gym. Just be safe and aware of the people around you at all times.

NO.BAD.WRONG. #1 way to my dark side/shizz list. No one drops an unloaded bar, KB or a bar with wooden technique plates. Like the other commenters, it's automatically 30 burpees.

I feel very fortunate when I was beginning in Crossfit to have had a coach who would say things like "F(#$ the barbell and F(*# the floor just try the damn lift" - even when the damn lift was a struggle to lift an empty bar. The gym was and still is full of beat up equipment, bent bars, broken bumpers, holes in the wall and an unmatchable community. I respect people more than equipment and I respect them enough to allow them to try harder than they are certain they can manage without the self-limiting timidity that comes from worrying about property damage. Those wood plate have a place in training. So does allowing people to drop an empty bar without recrimination.

No dropping empty bars, kb's etc. hands on the bar til waist height then guide it down, we don't have a penalty, but I like 50 burpees. We also have a rule, if you use the 5kg bumpers you must use the wooden plates too. Those bumpers bend easily and they cost 3x more per kilo. No one likes to lift with taco-ed plates.

Starting using them as an inexpensive solution for my boys. My seven year old weighs in at about 40 pounds and even an aluminum bar with 10lb bumpers is way too much for him, so I switched to wood. I can make them myself on the cheap, and it gets him excited about working out, in that he feels like he is one of the big guys.

As for dropping empties........not.

30 burpees for everyone present in the gym or 30 burpees for the person who dropped only?

Improving people's lives - Nice work, SnoRidge!

We use the wooden training plates, but still dont let members drop a bar with a training plate on. Only bumpers can be dropped. The wooden plates are great for proper set up position so people dont get confused on where the start position is.

15# Training bars. With 10# bumpers, you've got a 35#er that can safely be dropped, if needed (but at that load, it is highly unlikely that the client will need to bail-out).

I have maybe a dozen unfinished wood training plates in my basement that we where going to use - But then we got 15# bars and the wood plates where obsolete.

Casey, that is an excellent policy, which basically would solve a pet peeve I have - I hate it when a lifter drops a bar with less rubber poundage than metal (like 10# plates on a 45# bar) ... That really ruffles my feathers.

Thanks Tom W.! We are one lucky box to have someone like Rona!

I agree with fern. If someone is working hard and misses a lift, why would I punish them?

I would agree with fern, i would rather have someone with out fear or breaking something, drop empty or not. I can replace a bar, having someone catch a bar to avoid dropping it cant replace a torn muscle.