Monday 111031

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Kevin from CrossFit Kings Point (FL).

"I'm Going Shopping for the Week: What the Heck Should I Buy?" from CrossFit Verve (CO).

"My Dad Taught Me Cash Flow With a Soda Machine" from The Start Up ToolKit.

"Chris LaLanne: Coaching Challenges" from Breaking Muscle.

Question: What do you teach your members about how to implement nutritional strategies in their lives? Are you available to them or just let them figure it out on their own?

Sunday 111030

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CrossFit Threshold (FL).

"When You Wish Upon a Star" from CrossFit Initiative (NV).

"Addicted To Exercise?" from Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times.

"What Has CrossFit Done For You Lately?" from Shoreline CrossFit (CT).

"Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error." -- William Faulkner

Saturday 111029

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CrossFit Orange County (CA).

New athletes that show up at our doorstep for training deserve to have personalized training to learn foundational movements and CrossFit methodologies. If you bring a new client into a veteran's class, a single trainer is often times taken out of the training picture for the "regulars" during that class in order to give some instruction to the potential client. And, if you do not give a new person the proper attention they may feel neglected, unsure of the "program", or worse yet get hurt observing someone else without proper training.

Our goal is to get all our new members trained on the foundational movements and CrossFit methodologies in six sessions. Albeit, they will still need a lot of work but our six-session program seems to benefit all our members. In the beginning, we had the new members go through the (9) foundational movements taught over four 1-hr sessions. This seemed to deter a lot of potential clients because it was tough and a lot to remember. We then followed a popular On-Ramp program that introduced the movements over the course of twelve sessions. We liked the program but feedback from our members took us to our current On-Ramp which is done in six 1-hr sessions. This seems to be the best fit for our new members. We offer three different time slots due to varying schedules of the potential client.

Friday 111028

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CrossFit Montgomery County (MD).

"Waiting For The Inevitable . . ." from Practice CrossFit (OH).

Watch "Guerrilla Burpees" from CrossFit New Zealand.

"Good Times Gone Bad: The Right to Harm Ourselves" from the New York Times.

"There is no choice between being kind to others and being kind to ourselves. It is the same thing." -- Piero Ferrucci

Thursday 111027

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Southern Maryland CrossFit (MD) with a lift and a post: "Your Cert Sucks (Part 1)."

"Guidelines for Dealing With Fat CrossFitters" from Avid Bruxist.

Question: These are two blogposts with strong opinions (above). Do you take a strong stance in your posts? Or do you try to stay neutral and not risk offending members or potential members?

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music -- the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." -- Henry Miller

Wednesday 111026

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CrossFit 1Force is the subject of this week's CrossFit Affiliate Snapshot.

Affiliate Name: CrossFit 1Force.

Affiliate Owner: Jesse Crespo and Erin Kelly.

Affiliate Since: May 29, 2011.

Location: Deptford, NJ.

Square Footage: 3,000 SF.

Number of Members? 100.

Number of Trainers? 1 Male, 3 Female.

Describe your gym culture in one word: Family.

Tuesday 111025

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Not what they wear every day at Bravo CrossFit (NY). Do you hold a Halloween party at your box? Any unique workouts or costumes?

"No Ordinary Moments" from CrossFit West Santa Cruz (CA).

"Why Marketing is Bullshit" from Game Design Scrapbook.

"Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of past grief becomes a source of present pleasure - such is the strange alchemy of the spirit." -- Upton Sinclair

Monday 111024

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"My 3 yr old son doing an overhead squat with a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. He loves CrossFit and his teacher was asking us if we taught fitness classes or something because he was trying to teach all of his friends at school how to do burpees, squats, pushups, box jumps, etc." -- CrossFit Bixby (OK).

"Ever Heard of Milo of Croton?" from CrossFit Hustle (KY).

Affiliate Question: If there are several affiliates in your town, how do you make your affiliate stand out? How do you let folks know you're not all the same?

"Lovers, Haters, and People in the Middle" from Sally Hogshead.

"What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it." -- Dean Smith

Sunday 111023

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Marcus from CrossFit Brighton on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

"Enhancing Corporate Productivity, Community with Group Fitness Programs: The Reebok-CrossFit Paradigm" from Forbes.

"My Fight: The Truth As I Remember It and Live It" from Fitness Beyond Ordinary.

"The Art of Online Portraiture" from the Wall Street Journal.

"You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Saturday 111022

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CrossFit Hustle (KY).

So, you've decided to pursue your dream. The CrossFit bug hit and you dove head first, opening a business and changing lives. Great! Did you get blindsided by the business-side of things? I did, but then I implemented tools allowing me to stay passionate while taking care of business and spending time with my family.

Hire people.
In your gym, you've got athletes that are just as ate up with CrossFit as when you first started learning about power output. Take them under your wing with the intent of teach your classes. Let them have their own style but enforce the standards you maintain as a coach. An internship program for these soon-to-be coaches is a great opportunity to allow them to practice and you to polish them up. Once they pass your test, give them all the shifts they need and you can afford.

Take a look outside your box.
Contrary to our mockery of "Globo-Gym", there are some seriously good trainers out there that know their stuff and teach CrossFit under the radar. Approach them and offer them a job. In the corporate gym, they work long hours and earn very little. If they have a solid following of athletes, they can bring as many as 20 new athletes to your gym, taking care of your new burden of payroll. By the way, convincing once-a-week athletes paying $360 a month (or more) to come train at a much cooler place under the same guy or gal is an easy sell.

Friday 111021

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Kenni broke her big toe but CrossFit Hove (U.K.) devised a way for her to still be able to swing the kettlebell. Have you created modifications like this for members?

"Accountability" from CrossFit Scottsdale (AZ).

"Improving Ourselves and Each Other" by CrossFit Co-Founder/CEO Greg Glassman in the CrossFit Journal.

Try the "Web Economy Bullshit Generator."

"If I had the faith to do it, I'd be a notable madman; now I am an insignificant one, but you see I am not sufficiently ambitious for that fame to set a match to that powder." -- Vincent Van Gogh

Thursday 111020

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CrossFit Affliction (FL).

Jenna (above) is just having fun at her mom's workplace: a CrossFit affiliate. Ever think about how life for your kids will be different because you CrossFit?

"Making the Most of Strength Programming" by Matt Chan, for Rogue Athletes.

"The Must-Have Leadership Skill" from the Harvard Business Review.

"The men and women who change the world are not blessed with exceptional insight. They merely choose to keep pushing, risking, and betting when it would be perfectly prudent to stop." -- Jon Gilson

Wednesday 111019

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CrossFit Joust (MI) enters the CrossFit Affiliate Snapshot.

Affiliate Name: CrossFit Joust.

Affiliate Owner: Melissa Gerharter.

Affiliate Since: 2009.

Location: Ann Arbor, MI.

Square Footage: 5800.

Number of Members? 75.

Number of Trainers? 6, all women.

Describe your gym culture in one word: Supportive.

Tuesday 111018

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CrossFit Primal (IA).

"Does Your Workout Amaze You With Joy and Gratitude?" from CrossFit Medina.

"Why Gen Y-ers Are Better At Customer Service" from Open Forum.

Affiliate Question: What can you do today to improve your customer service? Or can you honestly say that it does not need improvement?

"You are profoundly influenced by the company you keep." -- Greg Glassman

Monday 111017

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Team CrossFit (CA).

Indy Shield CrossFit (IN) remembers Officer Moore: Video.

Affiliate Scenario: Your number one trainer leaves and opens an affiliate in the same town, population 30,000. Can you co-exist and thrive? If so, how do you make that happen?

"This Is Me" from CrossFit Lisbeth.

"One year from now, you will wish that you had started today." -- Rainier CrossFit (WA)

Sunday 111016

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Valley CrossFit (CA).

Training in a gas mask: Post thoughts to comments.

"Unbroken" from Panties in a WOD.

"The Great and Wondrous Dr. J": an interview with the Academy of Achievement.

"The ones who become stars or superstars are the ones who have a head on their shoulders and know how to use it." -- Julius Erving

Saturday 111015

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CrossFit Excellence (OR).

Definitions are important. We in the CrossFit community take pride in our commitment to define the terms that we use. "Core Strength" is not a buzz-word phrase for us. "Intensity" is not a subjective effort based on how you feel that day (or how loud you yell). "Excellence" should not be thrown around lightly either.

Coach Glassman's flagship article that launched the CrossFit Journal was an attempt to define fitness. One of the many revelations I have experienced while listening to Coach is his pointing out that when a word is used by many people who each intend a different definition, the word ceases to have any meaning at all. This is one of the things that first drew me to CrossFit: a commitment to knowledge and truth that is made apparent by being bold enough to define enigmatic terms like "fitness."

Only with clear definitions can you have clear objectives. After all, how can you pursue fitness if you don't really know what fitness is? Your goals can only be as effective as they are well defined. The achievement of any goal requires intentional focus. The intentions are up to you. A clear definition provides the focal point.

Just as we require a definition for fitness in order to obtain it, so we must strive to clearly define excellence if we are to pursue it. So let's take a look at some definitions that are out there now . . .

Friday 111014

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CrossFit Mountain Division (CO).

"Why Train In a CrossFit Box?" from CrossFit Ocean City (MD).

"Are These New Logos a Downgrade Or an Upgrade?" from Fast Company.

"In fact, I believe that if someone starts out on a challenging activity, completely confident that they're going to succeed, why bother starting? It's not much of a challenge. I think it's much better to start out on something that you're not at all sure that you can do. If you overcome and you manage to defeat the obstacles, the satisfaction is so much greater." -- Sir Edmund Hillary

Thursday 111013

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The Graham CrossFit (WA) challenge: Do 10 pull-ups and get a free t-shirt.

Affiliate Question: Do you attend local fairs or (non-CrossFit) competitions? Ever do something like this challenge? Helpful in attracting members/spreading word about CrossFit? Or not?

"Can I Get a Spot?" from Practice CrossFit (OH).

"How Many Photos Have Ever Been Taken?" from 1000 Memories. (Note: Facebook appears to be the world's largest photo library, by far.)

"How you meet the bar, is how you meet life." -- Josh Bunch

Wednesday 111012

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BeachSide CrossFit (CA) enters the CrossFit Affiliate Snapshot.

Affiliate Name: BeachSide CrossFit.

Affiliate Owner: Nathan Doud.

Affiliate Since: August 2010.

Location: Ventura, CA.

Square Footage: 1520 SF.

Number of Members? 63.

Number of Trainers? 1 male.

Describe your gym culture in one word: Raw.

Tuesday 111011

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CrossFit Riverdale (NY).

"Tips for Choosing a CrossFit Gym" from Breaking Muscle.

Watch "Getting to Know A Coach" about Joe DeGain, owner of 810 CrossFit (MI), as featured in the CrossFit Journal.

"The Author's Dilemma: Why Most Business Books Suck" from SoCal Tech.

"101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors From Around the World" from Who Sucks.

Monday 111010

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Tanya Christie (Co-Owner of CrossFit Lincoln) at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

Affiliate Scenario: You have a "high-maintenance" member who wants everything her way much of the time: her favorite barbell, rings, kettlebell, etc. One day, she doesn't get her way and then blows up mid-workout and storms off, affecting the rest of the class with her mood and sudden departure. What do you do? And what should you do about her in the future?

"Not Me!" from Triangle CrossFit (NC).

"What You Can't Fake" from The Future Buzz.

"Are You Gooder at Grammar?": A quiz.

Sunday 111008

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Murphy at CrossFit Goodland (CA).

Two from the CrossFit Journal: "Coaching Fitness From Scratch" and "Making CrossFit a Priority: Opening CrossFit Del Mar."

"A Note to Judges" from CrossFit Journey - Take Two.

"Social Media Saturday: Etiquette" from The Cynical Girl.

"Think before you speak. Read before you think." -- Fran Lebowitz

Saturday 111008

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CrossFit 203 (CT).

If you are a CrossFit Trainer looking to be challenged and inspired, turn to your 45+ population at the gym. When I mention the "Masters" program I have at CrossFit 203, many people conjure up images of geriatric folks hobbling around with canes and silver sneakers. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It is a refreshing change from my days spent in a Physical Therapy clinic, where I routinely treat 60-year-olds who struggle to climb a flight of stairs. In our CrossFit world, it's not uncommon to meet 60+ folks climbing ropes and clean and jerking their own body weight.

I recently had the opportunity to train a Masters Athlete whose goal was to qualify for The CrossFit Games. This particular athlete had a number of flexibility issues, past history of heart, shoulder and back troubles, and needed to make some serious strength gains. The most important aspect of his programming was his mobility. He was instructed on 7 to 8 basic hamstring, hip, ankle, and shoulder stretches that he performed daily. We also put him on a basic linear strength program. He did CrossFit WODs 4-5 times a week at our box, with 3 of those days having a specific strength component. We learned the hard way that anything less than 2-3 solid rest days a week could lead to overtraining and injury, so we made sure to allow for enough recovery between high volume days. When all was said and done, we found ourselves at the Home Depot Center in July with a seventh place finish in the men's 60+ division. My biggest lesson learned was that Master Athletes are a very different breed than those competing as individuals. Focus on mechanics and the quality of the training sessions, less on volume.

Friday 111007

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CrossFit San Ramon (CA).

"From Gymnast to CrossFit Contender": a story about USMC Cpl. Felice Steinberg, a trainer at CrossFit Wilmington (NC).

Got a great "Start Here" page for newcomers to CrossFit? Post to Comments -- and check out what CrossFit By Overload came up with.

"What Makes A Blog Sticky?" from Coherent Social Media.

"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." -- Joe Theismann

Thursday 111006

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"I went on vacation to Spain recently with one of my best friends who is also a CrossFitter, and of all the things we did on vacation, we were most excited about doing CrossFit than anything else. All I can say, is no matter where you are in the world, when you are with fellow CrossFitters, the world is your gym!"

Lauren of CrossFit KOA (NJ), with Jillian of CrossFit 908 (NJ) at the Olympic Sculpture in Barcelona, Spain.

CrossFit CEO/Founder Greg Glassman talks about the origins of the CrossFit classes in "Community Support: An Interview with Fast Company Magazine" from the CrossFit Journal.

Affiliate Question: What do you think when you see one CrossFit affiliate rip on another affiliate in public? Do you have a positive reaction or a negative reaction?

"Still Not Bored" from Shoreline CrossFit (CT).

"The changes are real. Are people going to be doing more e-commerce? Yes. Are people going to be doing more social networking? Yes. Are people going to be more mobile? Yes. Do I think the corporate world is prepared? No." -- Mark Hurd, Co-President of Oracle

Wednesday 111005

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CrossFit Workhorse steps into the CrossFit Affiliate Snapshot.

Affiliate Name: CrossFit Workhorse.

Affiliate Owner: Jeremy Heerdink.

Affiliate Since: 17 Feb 2010.

Location: Ft Campbell, KY.

Square Footage: 2000 sq ft indoors, unlimited outdoors.

Number of Members? 50 active (Another 20-30 depending on work and traveling).

Number of Trainers? 6 Trainers (We are in an all male unit, so no female trainers).

Describe your gym culture in one word: Success.

Tuesday 111004

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"This photo is of my fiance Billy Howard, co-owner of Sin City CrossFit (and myself, Sheena Reese). We were recently engaged on September 17th when he proposed to me during our Fight Gone Bad event! Everything we do revolves around CrossFit. I won't be surprised if our wedding is at the gym too!"

"Just Give 1% (More)" from CrossFit Montgomery County (MD).

Affiliate Question: Are Abmats key equipment in your gym? Or overrated?

"How Not to Use Social Media" from Blog Glue.

"We are our choices." -- Jean-Paul Sartre

Monday 111003

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Max weight push-ups at CrossFit Evolve (CO).

"Are You With Me?" from Guerrilla Fitness (NJ).

"The Creative Brain on Exercise" from Fast Company.

Tonight on ESPN2 at 10pm ET (7pm PT): The last two men's events of the 2011 CrossFit Games. Same time on Tuesday night for the last two women's events.

"That's why you don't panic. That's why you don't overreact. We know very well that things can change at the drop of a dime, so we'll just keep playing." -- Willie Randolph

Sunday 111002

The October Painstorm (courtesy of CrossFit Northeast England):

In 20 min, using 155lb accumulate as many points as possible using the following schedule:

(Use one load throughout, if scaled up or down simply note results in comments.)

Snatch = 10 pts.
Thruster = 5 pts.
Ground To Overhead = 4 pts.
Squat Clean = 3 pts.
Deadlift = 1 pts

Saturday 111001

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CrossFit Rubicon (VA).

First things first. My whole life revolves around PERFORMANCE nutrition. Fine tuning, experimenting, keeping data on every athlete and approach I can get my hands on. Lose those pesky 10lbs? Look good for a wedding? Sure, I can do that for you. I could also put sharp pencils in my ears. What gets me off? Performance. Does "this" or "that" Post Workout Product make any measurable difference in the athletes ability to WIN? Does an extra XX grams of carbs in the XX minute recovery window make nice or make less nice. Any diet followed with even the most basic attention to sanity can get the sedentary to lose that 20lbs they need to rend off. Add CrossFit to the process and they can't avoid the body re-composition unless they are truly wallowing around in a cesspool of sugars. Just get it right 80/20 and hit the WOD every day like a rabid grizzly on meth and you got HUGE performance gains and a visibly different mortal coil. I guarantee it . . . but when is that not enough? More on that later . . .

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get an email from a CrossFitter that asks which school of thought I follow: Zone or Paleo. There has not been a box that I have traveled to to do a Performance Nutrition Town Hall Meeting, a box where I was simply on a social visit while on the road to do a WOD, or even on a break at someone else's seminar or cert, that a WOD slinging games-bound fire-breather, absolute beginner or box owner hasn't asked 'the question'. More often than not the query stems from a desire to be better at life, to inch a bit closer to a grail that is often elusive due almost entirely to the fact that the answer means nothing when the question itself is broken. The most entertaining occasions are when the question is asked to judge my allegiance, a litmus test of sorts to qualify me as friend for foe. "What side of the battle does this guy stand on? Is he with us or against us?"