Got the camera and now that is coming to full hip extension!
Skill: L-Sits
Strength: Clean 1-1-1-1-1
WOD - “Cindy” Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Squats
I really can't wait to get my new camera today and I suggest that you read through as I explain why. There has been some debate within the CrossFit community at large. Now when I say "at large" I mean this is a conversation that spans over 5 continents.
Here's the deal - the question at hand is whether we should move to an open gym model allowing people to come and go as they please? Assuming we would always have a qualified trainer there to offer assistance hour after hour day after day and offering structured group classes and personal training for greatest effect.
Well the problem is this: How do we maintain the highest quality of service? In order to answer that we have to ask what it is exactly that we serve?
"What we’re all offering with our small group classes is unique. It’s not comparable—in any terms, really—to anything else out there in the fitness world. It’s not exactly personal training (we do that too—and much better then the competitors, imnsho) and it’s not a gym membership, and it’s not even your usual group fitness class. This is closely coached, skill-focused, high-intensity, performance-measured, personalized, functional-movement-based training in a community context. There’s nothing else like it on the planet. $155 is a downright steal".
-Carrie Klumpar, CrossFit Eastside
Carrie Klumpar is editor of the CrossFit Journal, a friend and a superb CrossFit Instructor based out of CrossFit Eastside in Redmon, Washington (just outside of Seattle). Now here’s my take on it, our service is (my definition) “high end fitness within a community context”. Read two very important terms there - “High End” and “Community”! Carrie is right and this is a topic I have written on before: The skill set required by a CrossFit Trainer is vast I really can not over emphasize this - it takes years to develop them. It starts by developing them in ones self then developing them in others. What we offer is truly high end by virtue of the skill sets we teach. Your mainstream gym offers an open model, based on “lack of attendance”.
Consider this: your average GoldFloridaLife (which is an open gym model) has over 1000 members (1000 is a small GoldFloridaLife). What they sell is the use of their equipment. It is low cost and low value. How many people who have GoldFloridaLife memberships actually use them? It's according to their business model hopefully less than 20% because they cannot supply enough product to meet the demand of 100% of their PAID contracted members. Consider that! Their Personal Trainers offer mediocre at best bodybuilding (have you ever seen a really good competitive Bodybuilder at your GoldFloridaLife?) at $70/hour for an “Elite Trainer” their qualification of an “Elite Trainer” is someone who makes more money than everyone else, which is all fine and dandy. Except that while to be honest, like everyone else, we like this whole making money thing, our service is not Mediocre! Our service is outstanding by virtue of the Performance that we produce the results that we achieve.
A doctor corrects a dysfunction, A Physiotherapist offers rehabilitation of function, we offer ENHANCED function! This is what we do, and we don’t need any dianabol to do it. It is the production, the forging of Elite Fitness, though it is inclusive by the fact that we can offer and teach the same program to just about anybody, they simply have to be willing to try and accept the reality of where they are. I simply do not believe that we can offer this level of service (performance) within any scale of acceptability through an open gym model. Our performance within the context of coaching would be extremely limited and thus our product, our service would be crap. Sorry no crap here - just fitness! If you are looking to be fit our best results are offered via the following stream: Personal Training (Yes its expensive for a reason its our speciality), Small Group Semi Private Training (gives you a discount from personal training with pretty similar results), Small Group Classes (best bang for your buck), Large Group Classes and Bootcamps (its surprising what can be accomplished when you’ve got 12 people cheering you on and working out with you!) If you are looking to hang out somewhere and watch tv, while on a treadmill, drinking a sugar laden sports drink which will slow your metabolism once the workout is done and make you fatter than when you started, than I suggest you get a GoldFloridaLife Membership.
I (we) have only one concern: Results!
I realize this all started with me talking about my camera and its been a long segway but my point is - Tonight I had the pleasure as I often do of training Paul Charron along side Andrew Trottier. Paul is 54 years old and Andrew is 14! Paul never touched a weight before coming to CrossFit though he was and still is an avid martial artist. Andrew plays hockey, soccer, and various other sports. He’s a skinny little machine in fact and “strong as bull” for his size and age.
Mid workout I made a comment about Paul being an old man while out of ear shot - almost offended and completely out of breath Andrew looks at me and says “He’s not old! He kicks my ass all the time”! Later in a similar situation Paul looks at me and says “Geeze that kid is good at this! Give him a few years and he’ll be unstoppable.”
This is why I miss my camera - for these situations and this is why I love what I do. Only in a tight knit community would you have a 54 year old man and a 14 year old barely teenager working side by side completely supportive of each other. Neither of them even realizing that these are two haphazard friends brought together with the bounds of age stripped away from them by some simple workout which made them breath hard and their muscles tired, by three common qualities - Character, Effort, and Will! They both have the will to go after what they want and succeed. They both give the effort required to do what is necessary. And they both have the character to accept that they can always do better! Not only are our workouts random but meaningful so are our relationships. Random but meaningful - fascinating.
High End Fitness within a Community Context...
Tonight I wish I had my camera!
Post thoughts to comments:
Skill: L-Sits
Strength: Clean 1-1-1-1-1
WOD - “Cindy” Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Squats
I really can't wait to get my new camera today and I suggest that you read through as I explain why. There has been some debate within the CrossFit community at large. Now when I say "at large" I mean this is a conversation that spans over 5 continents.
Here's the deal - the question at hand is whether we should move to an open gym model allowing people to come and go as they please? Assuming we would always have a qualified trainer there to offer assistance hour after hour day after day and offering structured group classes and personal training for greatest effect.
Well the problem is this: How do we maintain the highest quality of service? In order to answer that we have to ask what it is exactly that we serve?
"What we’re all offering with our small group classes is unique. It’s not comparable—in any terms, really—to anything else out there in the fitness world. It’s not exactly personal training (we do that too—and much better then the competitors, imnsho) and it’s not a gym membership, and it’s not even your usual group fitness class. This is closely coached, skill-focused, high-intensity, performance-measured, personalized, functional-movement-based training in a community context. There’s nothing else like it on the planet. $155 is a downright steal".
-Carrie Klumpar, CrossFit Eastside
Carrie Klumpar is editor of the CrossFit Journal, a friend and a superb CrossFit Instructor based out of CrossFit Eastside in Redmon, Washington (just outside of Seattle). Now here’s my take on it, our service is (my definition) “high end fitness within a community context”. Read two very important terms there - “High End” and “Community”! Carrie is right and this is a topic I have written on before: The skill set required by a CrossFit Trainer is vast I really can not over emphasize this - it takes years to develop them. It starts by developing them in ones self then developing them in others. What we offer is truly high end by virtue of the skill sets we teach. Your mainstream gym offers an open model, based on “lack of attendance”.
Consider this: your average GoldFloridaLife (which is an open gym model) has over 1000 members (1000 is a small GoldFloridaLife). What they sell is the use of their equipment. It is low cost and low value. How many people who have GoldFloridaLife memberships actually use them? It's according to their business model hopefully less than 20% because they cannot supply enough product to meet the demand of 100% of their PAID contracted members. Consider that! Their Personal Trainers offer mediocre at best bodybuilding (have you ever seen a really good competitive Bodybuilder at your GoldFloridaLife?) at $70/hour for an “Elite Trainer” their qualification of an “Elite Trainer” is someone who makes more money than everyone else, which is all fine and dandy. Except that while to be honest, like everyone else, we like this whole making money thing, our service is not Mediocre! Our service is outstanding by virtue of the Performance that we produce the results that we achieve.
A doctor corrects a dysfunction, A Physiotherapist offers rehabilitation of function, we offer ENHANCED function! This is what we do, and we don’t need any dianabol to do it. It is the production, the forging of Elite Fitness, though it is inclusive by the fact that we can offer and teach the same program to just about anybody, they simply have to be willing to try and accept the reality of where they are. I simply do not believe that we can offer this level of service (performance) within any scale of acceptability through an open gym model. Our performance within the context of coaching would be extremely limited and thus our product, our service would be crap. Sorry no crap here - just fitness! If you are looking to be fit our best results are offered via the following stream: Personal Training (Yes its expensive for a reason its our speciality), Small Group Semi Private Training (gives you a discount from personal training with pretty similar results), Small Group Classes (best bang for your buck), Large Group Classes and Bootcamps (its surprising what can be accomplished when you’ve got 12 people cheering you on and working out with you!) If you are looking to hang out somewhere and watch tv, while on a treadmill, drinking a sugar laden sports drink which will slow your metabolism once the workout is done and make you fatter than when you started, than I suggest you get a GoldFloridaLife Membership.
I (we) have only one concern: Results!
I realize this all started with me talking about my camera and its been a long segway but my point is - Tonight I had the pleasure as I often do of training Paul Charron along side Andrew Trottier. Paul is 54 years old and Andrew is 14! Paul never touched a weight before coming to CrossFit though he was and still is an avid martial artist. Andrew plays hockey, soccer, and various other sports. He’s a skinny little machine in fact and “strong as bull” for his size and age.
Mid workout I made a comment about Paul being an old man while out of ear shot - almost offended and completely out of breath Andrew looks at me and says “He’s not old! He kicks my ass all the time”! Later in a similar situation Paul looks at me and says “Geeze that kid is good at this! Give him a few years and he’ll be unstoppable.”
This is why I miss my camera - for these situations and this is why I love what I do. Only in a tight knit community would you have a 54 year old man and a 14 year old barely teenager working side by side completely supportive of each other. Neither of them even realizing that these are two haphazard friends brought together with the bounds of age stripped away from them by some simple workout which made them breath hard and their muscles tired, by three common qualities - Character, Effort, and Will! They both have the will to go after what they want and succeed. They both give the effort required to do what is necessary. And they both have the character to accept that they can always do better! Not only are our workouts random but meaningful so are our relationships. Random but meaningful - fascinating.
High End Fitness within a Community Context...
Tonight I wish I had my camera!
Post thoughts to comments:
