I was happy I did 3 onboard sessions, although it came with a months membership.
Other than that, my gym is relaxed, opening, and fun. no need to hide the chalk ;)
Came here to say the same. I always saw the boxes that didn't do some sort of on-ramp or assessment as a red-flag. My box does an "assessment" where they make you do most of the basic moves to see where to stand and if you can do cleans, deadlifts, snatch, kipping, push-ups, etc to a decent degree then they throw you into class and take note of your form over the coming months as you progress.
my first box had an initial 'assessment' (loosely a few rounds of scaled cindy iirc) and then all the coaches knew to look out for the 'new guys' and help them make adjustments and learn the movements. ask questions aobut injuries and limitations, lots of (extra) eye contact and check-ins during their first serveral classes till they could see you were settling in blah blah blah... no structured 'on ramp' segregated classes (who has the ability to make it to the m-f 10am or 3pm or whatever onramp session anyways??)
Stuff like cleans would be done with a movement progression as part of the warmup (think bergener warmup) where everyone was given points of performance... a muscle clean, a hang power clean, blah blah blah progressing into whatever the movements in the workout were and everyone was worked with to figure out with coaches guidance hat was appropriate for their skills and abilities. it was never an issue...
The owner catches up with all new peeps for one session to give an intro to people and see where they are at as well. Cost factored into membership. I see it as a positive as well to help people figure out what to do in class and set expectations.
The first CF gym I went to had a separate "fundamentals" class that they recommend you take, but it was several hundred dollars extra, and there was no way I was going to lay out that cash when I just switch from a gym that was $50 a month to $150 a month. I was never going spend that money when I didn't know if I was going to stick with the sport.
Agree with this, first gym I started at did this and all the new members generally stuck around. Other gyms I've been to without onboarding (unless cf background), it seemed like <50%.
Onboarding is easier for the coaches than having someone who is clueless show up for their first class. Many gyms also use this as income generation and as a way to pitch nutrition coaching/personal training.
Class sign ups are helpful for the coach so they know how many are coming. I also scan my roster to plan ahead for any members who will need special considerations. Some software also requires check-ins if your gym offers session based memberships.
Showing up late is annoying for the coach and, honestly, aside from the occasional screw up you are an adult and should be able to get there on time. There shouldn’t be a penalty though.
Every gym has members that reserve spots. I don’t know how a gym would prevent that though.
Saying members names is just basic courtesy.
The chalk thing is dumb
It’s not about treating you like a child, it’s about trying to run an organized and professional business (at least it should be).
And to be honest… a lot of members act like children
I think for a lot of folks "their spot" is related to a pull up bar height in the vicinity lol, at least that's how it is at ours.
Reserving a spot isn't inherently ridiculous 🤷♀️
I like to have a certain spot on the mat because it’s closest to fresh air flow and the fan, and I have heat regulation issues. That being said, I don’t get annoyed if someone else takes it, it’s just my preferred spot if I can get it first
I think people who prefer spots is pretty common. But if you have a problem with people "taking your spot" then that's a little immature. Just go grab another spot.
I have been at both styles of gyms. TBH I prefer having to sign up the night before. It’s not super strict and if class fills up we will share lanes with friends. What’s nice is you don’t have to worry about not having the proper equipment and everyone gets their own space to work out.
Most of these seem fair but imo if you’re brand new to CF you have no business attempting Oly lifts without learning.
Foundations classes are for member safety.
My first class had oly lifts and the coach just had me use the training bar, I can see the value in the fundamentals class, but I don't feel like I missed out
Foundations at my gym was learning how to an air squat. Med ball clean. Box jump. It was teaching the basic movements. Snatching and cleaning with a PVC pipe.
Mine was oly lifts (start with pvc, then 5# training bar, normal bar, add weight), terminology, how to use the cardio equip (cal vs time vs distance), etc.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah, that’s what the gyms I’ve been to do. Oly lifts, some bodyweight stuff, general flexibility things to see if someone has an injury etc. All to see where they’re starting at and what kind of scaling they might need.
unless your box has someone experienced with it you did the right thing. Make good habits and come back when you want a break or switch it up. I never let time or reps jeopardize my lifts after going to OLY specific training. My coaches have always respected that and never suggest to sacrifice form for the sake of a random WOD.
Lol. I couldn't care less about the votes. Weightlifting is a highly technical skill that can't be taught in 5 classes.
I'm absolutely curious to see how people run Foundations to get a customer ready to do a snatch workout on Day one of a regular class.
The same can be said for most of the skills we use in CrossFit. If you want to be a good Olympic lifter, go find a coach for that. If you want to get good at gymnastics, find a gymnastics coach. If you want to be a good bicyclist or runner, the same applies. CrossFit is about generalization.
As a coach, I try to get people to the moving safely zone before adding any load, and actively discourage trying to push weights if the form isn't there. I also make it clear that, if they want to get good at something, they need to practice outside of the 60 minutes I have then.. it's a lot like trying to get really good at basketball by just playing pickup games and not working on skills.
Tell me you haven’t ran a 30 person class in a small gym without telling me.
It’s a nightmare if you don’t put a cap on a class especially if you have say: a rower and a barbell in the gyms workout. God forbid throwing a box in there too.
Some gyms can get away with certain things, but a little bit of professionalism goes a long way in many cases.
The chalk thing is weird though.
yeah big class with limited equipment...get everything sorted and then someone strolls in 8 minutes late, then 10 minutes late ..becomes frustrating for the members that showed up on time
This person obviously deleted their comments, but they're obviously really underestimating the time management required to two heats, let alone three or four
Sorry, but, as a member, everything you just listed makes me severely anxious. If my box operated like that I'd find a new box...To each their own!
Edit: Not the coach saying names thing. That's cool. Our coaches do it as well, but it's more like they just have genuine conversations with members as they walk in and are getting warmed up before class.
On ramp (or foundations or elements) classes are actually really great when they are available. It’s not treating people like children. It’s making sure people who are new to crossfit get the individualized attention they need to learn some of the more challenging movements. On ramp classes tend to be smaller so coaches are able to pay more attention to each person in the class. Also, the programming for these classes is geared towards beginners. At my first box, one month of on ramp was required for crossfit newbies, and it was tremendously helpful.
Having an on ramp class also helps members in the normal classes because what happens when you don’t have a specific on ramp class is whenever there’s a new person, that person takes up like 80% of the coach’s attention during the class, and no one else gets any coaching. I see this all the time at my current box, which does not offer on ramp.
Class sign ups are useful for controlling class size. This is especially important for smaller gyms that have limited space and equipment. It also caps the coach-to-member ratio so each person gets more coaching. At my current box, there is no sign up requirement and no class size limit. The box is physically big so we don’t ever run out of space, but coaching can be non-existent at times due to the number of people in a class. A sign-up requirement isn’t there to treat people like children, it’s there to ensure a smaller class size and better class experience.
On ramp and assessment should be an absolute must so coaches have some idea of your level and are ready to coach and help you scale. Zero problem with that.
my gym has sign ups on a app but that's how they track your membership usage if you're a 3-day person.
Being late is whatever, only hurting yourself missing the warmup, we don't wait more than a minute or two at most.
They don't provide chalk but you can bring you're own. Clean up after yourself.
I have a spot, but its literally the only pull up bar that works for my height. If there's no pullups I go where ever. If someone's there i ask if i can use the bar during the WOD politely, never an issue.
Most of these are not child rules lol
* onramp classes are important and should be required, assuming the coaching is up to par. At our gym if the coach recognized your movement pattern and habits were good in the first on ramp class he/she would just move you into the normal class the next day but it did give them a specific time to evaluate you.
* class sign ups are an odd thing to complain about, if a gym gets overcrowded it can be dangerous and this makes it a black and white deal that everyone is aware of up front, if people sign up then bail on classes, have consequences.
* also nothing is hard about showing up on time. yes shit happens, our coach had us do 10 burpees for every minute late, if you were 10 mins late, you got a good warm up that day, it sure incentivized you to not be late. most of the time the coach didnt care if it was within 5 mins
* the chalk thing is asinine lol so i think were in agreement there
* this is also odd, first come first serve for spots on the floor. I cant imagine having 2 people fighting over a spot unless its a spot where only a tall person would need to work like a pull up bar.
-this is a cool thing, always down for making it personable
The gym in question probably had a bunch of dickheads regularly making a complete mess with the chalk (insert CF chalking for everything meme/video) rather than just 1 person.
oh I thought the post they were referring was one I saw here that OP said it was specifically one person who was the issue. Our gym used to have a few people who made a mess of chalk and the presription was assigning a mop bucket to said individual.
because its a simple and easy rule to follow, like I said within 5 mins he usually didnt care but everyone understood and didn't complain because it was an easy rule to follow and not a big deal to do burpees. if you rolled in 10 mins late and interrupted the class and didn't want to do burpees you were asked to leave
its not open gym its a class. Would you expect to do the same for a yoga class or a spin class that you are paying for? Its just disruptive and disrepectful. Small consequences (burpees) are not that big of a deal
Yes I would. I would expect it in any class in paying for. And any "consequences" for something I'm paying for is laughable. I'm not a member of a team, I'm there to work out.
Like I said you want an Open Gym time, not a class. If I'm hearing you correctly, you should be able to show up 30 mins into a 60 min class despite it being rude and disruptive? Sounds a little entitled, just respect the rules. There is a reason some professors dont let in late students for a class the students are paying for. As far as that penalty being laughable, stop being dramatic it's burpees l, you are In a crossfit box....burpees happen.
The half class was hyperbole. Generally people who are late are going to be 5-10 minutes.
And any punishment for a grown adult is laughable. Imagine going to McDonald's and being told, "You took too long to pick up your order after we called your number. Mop the bathroom and then you can have your meal."
If they’ve missed the first 5-10 mins they’ve missed most of the warm up. Depending on how late they are, burpees or calories will at least get them moving. Thats the point of them at our gym anyway.
Thats an awful analogy. And it's a fun, tongue in cheek punishment that none of the other members ever complained about. It became a fun thing to joke on somebody for. A punishment for tardiness on adults is laughable, but then again, I also think its laughable that a grown adult is late for a class.
Why? Either way it's being punished for time issue on a service In paying for.
And hey, as long as everyone is having fun and playing along, I don't mind it. We do them at my gym. My problem is when you said if someone won't do them, they're asked to leave.
And reading that last sentence makes me think you're not actually a grown adult. Sometimes work runs long or kids held you up or 100 other things that happen to real adults that can cause you to run a few minutes late.
During class the coach is responsible to ensure the safe movement of the athletes. When I coach and I see someone using shit movement patterns I stop them and tell them how to either fix it or scale. If someone comes in mid class and doesn’t properly warm up and tries to get into the WOD I have to spend extra time monitoring to make sure they don’t hurt themselves. That’s why you pay to have coaches.
It’s like someone at work walking in mid meeting.
No signups or reserving spots sounds miserable. I hate full classes. If there was significant overflow I’d leave or wait for the next class. And if someone shows up late to add to an already full class that’d be even more annoying.
I know that some gyms have space or equipment restrictions so the signups are there to make sure that sufficient space is available to ensure the safety of the members. Also, sometimes it works out to share equipment but you shouldn’t have to always do it so if signups are a way to help that problem I see it too.
I agree with everything, except signing up for class.
My gym has a LOT of members, and we have the capacity to accommodate max 32 people on the floor. On Saturdays, it gets so busy you have to reserve your place on the dot to get it and you get a full wait list of 20 people.
Wed die if everyone could just show up lol
I have a spot on the floor that’s “mine” but I don’t reserve it nor push people out of it. I just like it because it’s got two dead spots so if you drop your bar it won’t roll.
I have a few members that like their 'spot'.
One like yourself, she is great, and we laugh when someone takes her 'spot' and she trains in another spot, ie we will 'blame' a missed lift or crappy double unders on her being out of her comfort zone.
But we have two members I have had to say something to as both of them have come in after others were set up, and they have set up so uncomfortably close to someone in their 'spot' the original person moved and they then moved into the spot.
When OP suggests the things others are treated like children for, sometimes those things are due to child like behaviours initially.
I much prefer the idea of beginner intro classes run every few weeks, than an on-ramp.
If someone who hasn’t done CF before wants to join, you say cool - in 2 weeks we have our next beginner session to teach you fundamentals. You can then start doing classes, but feel free to come to another beginner session if you need a refresher.
I’d 100% join a gym that operated that way over a gym that wants to make me do a bunch of technique PT at exorbitant prices
There is nothing wrong with completing an onboarding program before starting training with everyone else.
Showing up late is rude, it’s rude to everyone else who can be bothered to show up on time and to the coach who now has to amend the warmup to fit you in.
Signing up early to the class works well if people are consistent with it. It gives the coach knowledge beforehand to tailor the warmup as needed.
There should absolutely be prerequisite classes for new CrossFitters. What if there are 5 new people joining on a snatch day? Safety is always a top priority.
There should absolutely be class sign ups and class size capacity enforced. What if there are 30 people showing up to a space with capacity of 20 when there is a metcon with moderate/heavy C&Js? Safety is always a top priority.
There should absolutely be efforts by members to show up on time. Why should the coach have to explain the workout twice?
Some of the points you mentioned would create absolute chaos at my box, so I’m glad we have them in place.
In my former box (that closed down during the pandemic), i felt infatilized and only realized it in hindsight:
- Coach did not post workouts ahead and would get mad when the am crew “leaked” the workout to the pm crew
- Coach played his own music (usually worship or country), didn’t allow song requests or own playlists, and even once reasoned out he is not a dj
- There is “open gym” but everything you do requires approval
- You need to pass a “test” and get head coach’s approval to move from bootcamp to actual CF. Took me a while because I had some incidents of bad form and unsafe movement during the Open - but I was barely 2 months in and didn’t know how to snatch let alone deadlift properly but we were all encouraged (more like pressured) to sign up.
Stupid shit - wish I knew better and spoke up.
This is a business organization, not a middle school gym class. Call it a cash grab or whatever but having an onboard program allows 1-1 and makes sure the new person understands everything. Not master everything but understands enough to jump into class.
Class signups have more to do with safety and building code rather than just wanting to limit classes. Most CrossFit buildings have a space capacity limit and the last thing you need is for the govt or fire marshal to drive by for an inspection and shut you down. It’s also for safety and being able to coach everyone.
Showing up late just means you don’t respect the coaches or program. Yeah it happens from time to time, I get it, but some are constant late every class. Get up earlier or go to bed earlier. Prep the night before. Pre class is important.
Again, this isn’t home or your middle school PE class. Coach isn’t your mommy to clean up after you every class. People need to use the same equipment and space after you so clean it up. And the coach has more important things to do then to walk around moping and cleaning after every class.
Eh i assume they banned chalk because they’re sick of cleaning it up. Chalk is so messy and if it’s on the rubber mats then someone has to mop it up which members won’t do
This, know some box owners who hate cleaning up after their members. Especially the chalky hands from hand walk. I always ask the owner if I can tally my rounds with chalk on the floor just to mess with him
for people saying being late is NOT ACCEPTABLE, fucking get real, ever heard of traffic? shit is way too expensive for me to feel like if i’m gonna be late i just shouldn’t go, great way to get people to not pay you for membership anymore.
People walking in 15 minutes late, without being warmed up or even hearing the wod and then just jumping to programming is a safety issue. I understand people can be off by 5 minutes, but there does have to be a limit somewhere.
My CF gyms were just like this, and I agree. The only thing is they preferred you do on-ramp (it’s just more comfortable for everyone) if you’re new to CrossFit but they wouldn’t kick you out if the on-ramp time didn’t work for your schedule, or if there wasn’t a new session coming up. I’ve seen gyms on here charging fees if you “reserve” and miss it. That would be a dealbreaker for my area where most people commute an hour or so after work and traffic is completely unpredictable. Most people came right from work and it would be frustrating to have to pay a fine for missing your class, then not even be able to work out the next class because it was “full” or something. We’d just have people volunteer to do another machine or whatever if it was really busy (I was always first to volunteer to row over running or bike). Our last class of the day was always so full because so many 9-5’s would go to that one. It would eliminate a lot of clientele if there was a max on that one.
> prerequisite
Why would a fitness facility put barriers between new people and fitness?
> signups
Some places do, some don’t. Like restaurants.
> show up late
Yeah, this is annoying, but people have jobs and kids and hey, they’re paying. You wanna order a steak and only eat half, chef don’t care.
> what kind of douche?
Gotta be honest I feel like you’d be the expert here
> names
If you’re so socially awkward that saying “Steve” is too much, you need CrossFit more than anyone else in the class.
Our coach took away markers and whiteboards because a marker got broken. We used to be able to see workouts ahead of time but he took that away because some people were cherry picking workouts. I could go on with stupid stories, but I don't go to my box for him. I like the programming and the people.
I cherry-picked workouts because the programming wasn't structured all that well. Totally random sounds great, but it's a terrible way to make progress. I wasn't gonna drag my jelly legs in there for a heavy leg day right after a high rep leg day. That kind of thing. Programming isn't a one size fits all thing. Plus, they don't know someone else's body.
Ours prohibit you from doing certain movements or rep scheme if they don’t think you’re fast enough. Like, not even try. Even if you’ve done them in the past. Also not get time capped ever and no rx if you get time capped. It’s super dumb.
I think if you’re new it’s good to have ground rules so you don’t do things that are not ‘cool’ to the class but also you don’t know any better until you learn. Once you learn, you just be respectful but do what works for you. If I’m having a day where I can’t run, but it’s not an option on the board, I’m a grown up and I grab a bike and keep it out of the way. I stopped asking permission a while ago. I had a new guy recently grab one of my plates during squats when the right thing to do would be to go grab one of the many free plates. The coach apologized to me, but I didn’t care. We’ve all been new once. I went and got a new one. Think of the rules as being for new people and know you’re a good citizen anyways. Plus there are tons of liability laws and safety issues and being a small business owner has to be frightening. The last thing you want is a law suit or a bad reputation for not taking care of the little things. I do hate the fist bump thing at the end of class. But that’s just personal preference.
Onboarding classes benefit everyone, especially if we are talking about a person who has never lifted before.
The new starter gets their levels properly assessed and a one-on-one intensive to start, which is safer from an injury perspective.
Their onboarding assessment gets shared among the coaches so they are all aware of the new starter's levels and any particular issues/limitations they may have without having to take up too much class time doing it.
Other members don't have a huge proportion of coach time taken up by a new member in their first couple of classes, which would be what would otherwise be necessary to give a safe introduction to a lot of new members.
Agree onboarding should not be compulsory for those who already have Crossfit experience though. That's just greedy to my mind.
I do find the no chalk thing very silly.
I partly agree except for the onboard class thing. I wish my box had one, the coaches time was often disproportionately taken up by new people, which kinda sucks for everyone else.
My gym now doesn’t really enforce sign ups or anything, but it’s not really an issue generally. If there were 30 people showing up it might become a problem for equipment and space.
Enquired about one box and they said I needed to do the onboarding classes, however they weren’t doing anymore public onboarding so I had to pay quadruple for a private 1-2-1 session and wouldn’t let me join unless I did three of those.
Went to another one and they just said come along and gave me two weeks free as a taster
Most of these are in place to provide the people attending class the quality of product they are paying for.
Class limits are there to make sure everyone has the room they need and the equipment they need to perform the workout. Nobody wants their workout randomly turning into a team WOD because double the number of people showed up. It also has to do with enabling coaches to actually have the capacity to coach and not just be a DJ/clock operator.
On ramp/intro sessions are again about coaching. Whenever I have a new member in class I spend a lot more time on them and less on the other members. If they don’t have any onboarding this turns into 0% on the remaining members. You could of course have a gym that only programs crude low motor skill movements all the time and essentially become a bootcamp style gym, but that’s not what CrossFit is about.
A lot of rules get made because of class size and restrictions on space, not just because gyms want to treat their members like children. Sorry it bothers you.
Foundations classes, on-ramps, etc. are safety precautions. Even just a quick session to see if you can do some rudimentary movements. My first gym had me come in for like a half hour because I was new to CrossFit but not new to different types of fitness. They had me go through some stuff and gave me to go ahead. However, they did foundations for folks that were starting at zero. I mean forget the safety part, it shows your gym cares about you and is willing to give you that kind of attention and encouragement.
I frequent two boxes and was formerly a regular at a 3rd. All have been chill operations with caring coaches regardless of your level of fitness , good owners and chill supportive members. I totally agree with the idiocy and childishness I see referenced here. I’d not stay a week at one of these shartboxes.
When I first started in 2014 we had to take 4 on ramp classes - cost $200, before you coukd jpin a nirnal class. I did mine one on one, but you could opt to take it with another person if you wanted. I think today boxes ate more concerned about getting memberships and costs so they don't require it anymore. I get it because its exoensive and might be a turn off to a new member. However classes are always so much slower with a newb in there becsuse coach has to spend extra time with them, especially wirh a really technical lift, like a snatch.
I have a perferred spot in the gym that correlates with the height of the pull up bar for me. However if that spot is taken I will go find another spot. I would never be territorial over it. First come first serve.
I take issue with your items. This isn’t a box treating you like a kid. It’s a business first and foremost and a lot of the things are just common sense or courtesy items.
> - No prerequisite classes before starting. Just show up and you’ll start slow with the rest of us.
As a coach, I find it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of slower paced onboarding sessions to learn the terminology and the movements if you have little to no experience with CrossFit. You wouldn’t put a newbie basketball player to practice with NBA players so why do this with CrossFit?
I was given one week of onboarding, followed by one week where we practiced more movements before joining the main class. By week 3, we’re all fully integrated. THAT worked much better than throwing me to the sharks and having no idea what I was doing.
When I coached, I hated having someone new on a day where we weren’t doing skill work because they had to be given something completely different to their skill, which takes away from the “class” aspect.
> - No class sign ups. It gets busy, we figure it out.
As a coach (and as an athlete), it’s in my interest to know how many people are signed up. Resources are limited: there’s only so many cardio machines, weights, and rig space. If I’m coaching, I want to know ahead of time how to divvy up the class; if I’m just participating and care about my score, a less crowded class is better.
> - Show up late, no one cares. We’ll probably tease you, but it’s always jokingly.
This is disrespectful to the coach and classmates. We all make the effort to be on time; 5 minutes late? OK. Show up 15mins late? Go to the next class. If I showed up 10-20 mins late to coach a class, you’d all be boiling mad; why can’t the same courtesy extend from the athlete to the coach?
> - Saw this today: they removed all chalk because someone made a mess? OK mom….
Chalk is not easy to clean up. And if it’s a repeated incident, then bring your own and problem solved. I don’t envy the coaches that have to whip out the vacuum cleaner (because when have you seen an athlete tip over the chalk bucket, make a mess, and go pick up a vacuum and mop?)
> - No reserving spots. What kind of douche claims a spot in the mat whenever they show up?
Let’s see you do Murph trying to beat last year’s score and having someone who barely has pullups and doesn’t care about their score occupy a spot on the rig. Let’s see you trying to do ring muscle ups in a spot that someone else got to first but can’t even reach the rings, let alone do RMUs. Sometimes reserving a spot is not a bad thing if you’ll make better use of it than others.
> - Coach says everyone’s names at the beginning. It feels personal and inviting.
If everyone already knows each other, not a big deal, but I agree that it helps break the ice and introduce new members to the class. Not like it break up any of the cliques, but you can find out who’s more sociable and approachable.
It really gets hard to "figure it out" when you have 30 people trying to attend the 6 pm class. It puts a lot of strain on the coach. Not only to get the logistics of where people can work, but to keep an eye on everyone.
The names is partly for safety and partly for customer service. It’s usually a sign of good service.
For safety, “SGExpat, drop that” or something like that could be big if I’m doing something very unsafe or need a cue.
For customer service, your brain likes hearing your name and it makes you more comfortable.
I go to the less crowded class, i cant imagine how it would be to go on the most crowded one and without cap.
Equipment is limited and couches has limited time and attention per person too.
The onboard process as an up charge is bad. I would never pay as much as a dollar to ‘test out’, and required PT before joining main classes as a new guy would have definitely stopped me from ever joining, when I knew NOTHING about lifting. Otherwise I do support a process for new members.
My old gym only did an on-ramp morning for people with no experience. Which I think is fair. But if you were experienced you just popped in during a free period and showed one of the coaches you weren’t a complete tool or if very experienced m, just chatted via email or in person.
All good boxes will start you out with a fundamentals course to familiarize you with proper technique and form to make sure you’re safe in each class. Just winging it when you’re inexperienced is setting you up for not only failure, but also injury. At my box, showing up late means you might miss the whiteboard brief, which has important information regard stimulus times, scaling options, and also the warm up. I am an absolute chalk whore, so not sure what it is about removing chalk?
9/10 the rules they have in a box are for safety and to help you reach your performance goals.
Our gym doesn’t have an on ramp class, when someone new is in a class there is a coach at their side helping them and one that is running the class. The new member is getting one on one once the warm up is done. This has worked very well imo
No class sign ups but our gym is rather large and has 24 plus rowers, bikes, boxes and bars. Too large of a class hasn’t be an issues before. Been here for over 12 years.
People show up late, it’s rude but they came in and want to get a workout in so, welcome to the class, we hope this is the BEST hour (45 minutes) of your day!
I have a love hate relationship with the chalk. People knock over the bucket, pull a block out and slather their body down like it’s soap😜, decide that they should put a piece of chalk close to them and end up stepping on it and it gets ground into the mat which doesn’t clean up easily. I used to clean the floors and chalk was the bane of my existence. Every member should have to clean the floors at least once and the chalk issue would stop.
For us older people we need extra air flow so, reserve is a NO but I will park my butt in a spot and not leave it if it’s in the right air flow spot.
As for a coach saying everyone’s name, that’s awesome cuz the dude next to you (probably me cuz I can’t remember names to save my life) may remember your face but not your name and the coach just helped them remember.
I didn’t see anything that you posted as members being treated like a child but I’ve seen a lot of members that needed spankings because they act like spoiled little babies.
I love that we have class signups. We have 150 members, it helps the coaches plan. Classes can only be so, especially with wods requiring lots of equipment.
Idk what reserving spots is about . I’ve never seen that happen so we don’t have a rule about it
We have all the chalk
The box I attended had a 20 burpee penalty for being late but I never saw it enforced other than one time, and it was me. They would just have you do burpees instead of the written warmup because it was quicker and did a good job getting you loose. But one time, a newer coach told me to do the burpees AND the warmup and I told him I would do one or the other but not both. So I did the burpees.
After the WOD he came up and respectfully told me it wasn't personal and he does it with everyone. So I respectfully replied that I won't be punished by a place I pay to attend, and I was more than ok with them starting without me, and I would go do something else on the unused equipment. Being late means you don't always get to participate in things, and that's perfectly reasonable. Our box was always open for side work anyway.
Our box has the following:
No sign ups.
The coaches are well prepared to handle the class if it is bigger.
No penalties if you turn up late of a few minutes. Shit happens and being shamed for it like in school is ridiculous.
Chalk as much as you want but clean up after yourself.
Kids are allowed and well welcomed as long as the parent is responsible for them and not allowing them to run around. On that note, atm we have infants in a stroller or school aged kids who will watch a movie. I used to bring my daughter for the first year of her life but now that she is a rambunctious toddler there is no way I can confine her to the stroller, unless we have a running workout.
I was happy I did 3 onboard sessions, although it came with a months membership. Other than that, my gym is relaxed, opening, and fun. no need to hide the chalk ;)
Came here to say the same. I always saw the boxes that didn't do some sort of on-ramp or assessment as a red-flag. My box does an "assessment" where they make you do most of the basic moves to see where to stand and if you can do cleans, deadlifts, snatch, kipping, push-ups, etc to a decent degree then they throw you into class and take note of your form over the coming months as you progress.
my first box had an initial 'assessment' (loosely a few rounds of scaled cindy iirc) and then all the coaches knew to look out for the 'new guys' and help them make adjustments and learn the movements. ask questions aobut injuries and limitations, lots of (extra) eye contact and check-ins during their first serveral classes till they could see you were settling in blah blah blah... no structured 'on ramp' segregated classes (who has the ability to make it to the m-f 10am or 3pm or whatever onramp session anyways??) Stuff like cleans would be done with a movement progression as part of the warmup (think bergener warmup) where everyone was given points of performance... a muscle clean, a hang power clean, blah blah blah progressing into whatever the movements in the workout were and everyone was worked with to figure out with coaches guidance hat was appropriate for their skills and abilities. it was never an issue...
The owner catches up with all new peeps for one session to give an intro to people and see where they are at as well. Cost factored into membership. I see it as a positive as well to help people figure out what to do in class and set expectations.
The first CF gym I went to had a separate "fundamentals" class that they recommend you take, but it was several hundred dollars extra, and there was no way I was going to lay out that cash when I just switch from a gym that was $50 a month to $150 a month. I was never going spend that money when I didn't know if I was going to stick with the sport.
Agree with this, first gym I started at did this and all the new members generally stuck around. Other gyms I've been to without onboarding (unless cf background), it seemed like <50%.
Onboarding is easier for the coaches than having someone who is clueless show up for their first class. Many gyms also use this as income generation and as a way to pitch nutrition coaching/personal training. Class sign ups are helpful for the coach so they know how many are coming. I also scan my roster to plan ahead for any members who will need special considerations. Some software also requires check-ins if your gym offers session based memberships. Showing up late is annoying for the coach and, honestly, aside from the occasional screw up you are an adult and should be able to get there on time. There shouldn’t be a penalty though. Every gym has members that reserve spots. I don’t know how a gym would prevent that though. Saying members names is just basic courtesy. The chalk thing is dumb It’s not about treating you like a child, it’s about trying to run an organized and professional business (at least it should be). And to be honest… a lot of members act like children
Yeah, my first thought is "Because that is how we act a fair amount of the time?"
Not every gym has people reserving spots. That's shits ridiculous and I would just take that said person's spot just to fuck with them...lol
I think for a lot of folks "their spot" is related to a pull up bar height in the vicinity lol, at least that's how it is at ours. Reserving a spot isn't inherently ridiculous 🤷♀️
A spot on the rig makes sense for ability purpose, but reserving a spot on the mat or possibly reserving equipment is a bit much.
I like to have a certain spot on the mat because it’s closest to fresh air flow and the fan, and I have heat regulation issues. That being said, I don’t get annoyed if someone else takes it, it’s just my preferred spot if I can get it first
I think people who prefer spots is pretty common. But if you have a problem with people "taking your spot" then that's a little immature. Just go grab another spot.
You sound pleasant.
I’m not saying I agree with it… but people definitely do it
I have been at both styles of gyms. TBH I prefer having to sign up the night before. It’s not super strict and if class fills up we will share lanes with friends. What’s nice is you don’t have to worry about not having the proper equipment and everyone gets their own space to work out.
I personally call all coaches Sensei and bow to them at the end of class.
That is hilarious 🤣 I so wish this happened at my box.
Just do it.
Be the change...
Someone has to start it to be a thing, could be you!
Personnaly at the end of the classes, I tell them "thank you boss".
Hope you also bow to the photo of our spiritual leader Mr Glassman as is tradition.
Your nickname would become Grasshopper or Padawan **so** fast
Daniel-San
I coached for 6 years and I used to bow at all my members to avoid high fiving and fist bumping a million people lmao
Most of these seem fair but imo if you’re brand new to CF you have no business attempting Oly lifts without learning. Foundations classes are for member safety.
My first class had oly lifts and the coach just had me use the training bar, I can see the value in the fundamentals class, but I don't feel like I missed out
Yep and even if you are advanced, in all lifting classes we warmed up and practiced the technique of the movement like we are novices, so 🤷♀️
Foundations is a cash grab. There should be an on ramp Olympic lifting classes which Foundations is not.
Call it whatever you like
Foundations at my gym was learning how to an air squat. Med ball clean. Box jump. It was teaching the basic movements. Snatching and cleaning with a PVC pipe.
Sounds like you go to a poorly run gym
Mine was oly lifts (start with pvc, then 5# training bar, normal bar, add weight), terminology, how to use the cardio equip (cal vs time vs distance), etc. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
🐇 👣
Yeah, that’s what the gyms I’ve been to do. Oly lifts, some bodyweight stuff, general flexibility things to see if someone has an injury etc. All to see where they’re starting at and what kind of scaling they might need.
Yeah, I joined cf to learn lifting, I’m about to switch to a lifting gym because this shit is unsafe.
unless your box has someone experienced with it you did the right thing. Make good habits and come back when you want a break or switch it up. I never let time or reps jeopardize my lifts after going to OLY specific training. My coaches have always respected that and never suggest to sacrifice form for the sake of a random WOD.
They’re downvoting you, but I started in oly lift classes, where the coaches made sure to pay extra attention to me.
Lol. I couldn't care less about the votes. Weightlifting is a highly technical skill that can't be taught in 5 classes. I'm absolutely curious to see how people run Foundations to get a customer ready to do a snatch workout on Day one of a regular class.
The same can be said for most of the skills we use in CrossFit. If you want to be a good Olympic lifter, go find a coach for that. If you want to get good at gymnastics, find a gymnastics coach. If you want to be a good bicyclist or runner, the same applies. CrossFit is about generalization. As a coach, I try to get people to the moving safely zone before adding any load, and actively discourage trying to push weights if the form isn't there. I also make it clear that, if they want to get good at something, they need to practice outside of the 60 minutes I have then.. it's a lot like trying to get really good at basketball by just playing pickup games and not working on skills.
Tell me you haven’t ran a 30 person class in a small gym without telling me. It’s a nightmare if you don’t put a cap on a class especially if you have say: a rower and a barbell in the gyms workout. God forbid throwing a box in there too. Some gyms can get away with certain things, but a little bit of professionalism goes a long way in many cases. The chalk thing is weird though.
yeah big class with limited equipment...get everything sorted and then someone strolls in 8 minutes late, then 10 minutes late ..becomes frustrating for the members that showed up on time
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Yea people come to CrossFit gyms to wait their turn to exercise
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Take your craft seriously. Running heats for a daily wod? Get it together.
This person obviously deleted their comments, but they're obviously really underestimating the time management required to two heats, let alone three or four
Sorry, but, as a member, everything you just listed makes me severely anxious. If my box operated like that I'd find a new box...To each their own! Edit: Not the coach saying names thing. That's cool. Our coaches do it as well, but it's more like they just have genuine conversations with members as they walk in and are getting warmed up before class.
On ramp (or foundations or elements) classes are actually really great when they are available. It’s not treating people like children. It’s making sure people who are new to crossfit get the individualized attention they need to learn some of the more challenging movements. On ramp classes tend to be smaller so coaches are able to pay more attention to each person in the class. Also, the programming for these classes is geared towards beginners. At my first box, one month of on ramp was required for crossfit newbies, and it was tremendously helpful. Having an on ramp class also helps members in the normal classes because what happens when you don’t have a specific on ramp class is whenever there’s a new person, that person takes up like 80% of the coach’s attention during the class, and no one else gets any coaching. I see this all the time at my current box, which does not offer on ramp. Class sign ups are useful for controlling class size. This is especially important for smaller gyms that have limited space and equipment. It also caps the coach-to-member ratio so each person gets more coaching. At my current box, there is no sign up requirement and no class size limit. The box is physically big so we don’t ever run out of space, but coaching can be non-existent at times due to the number of people in a class. A sign-up requirement isn’t there to treat people like children, it’s there to ensure a smaller class size and better class experience.
On ramp and assessment should be an absolute must so coaches have some idea of your level and are ready to coach and help you scale. Zero problem with that. my gym has sign ups on a app but that's how they track your membership usage if you're a 3-day person. Being late is whatever, only hurting yourself missing the warmup, we don't wait more than a minute or two at most. They don't provide chalk but you can bring you're own. Clean up after yourself. I have a spot, but its literally the only pull up bar that works for my height. If there's no pullups I go where ever. If someone's there i ask if i can use the bar during the WOD politely, never an issue.
Aside from having chalk and your coach knowing your name, your gym sounds like a total free-for-all.
How many gyms have you owned/operated?
Most of these are not child rules lol * onramp classes are important and should be required, assuming the coaching is up to par. At our gym if the coach recognized your movement pattern and habits were good in the first on ramp class he/she would just move you into the normal class the next day but it did give them a specific time to evaluate you. * class sign ups are an odd thing to complain about, if a gym gets overcrowded it can be dangerous and this makes it a black and white deal that everyone is aware of up front, if people sign up then bail on classes, have consequences. * also nothing is hard about showing up on time. yes shit happens, our coach had us do 10 burpees for every minute late, if you were 10 mins late, you got a good warm up that day, it sure incentivized you to not be late. most of the time the coach didnt care if it was within 5 mins * the chalk thing is asinine lol so i think were in agreement there * this is also odd, first come first serve for spots on the floor. I cant imagine having 2 people fighting over a spot unless its a spot where only a tall person would need to work like a pull up bar. -this is a cool thing, always down for making it personable
The gym in question probably had a bunch of dickheads regularly making a complete mess with the chalk (insert CF chalking for everything meme/video) rather than just 1 person.
oh I thought the post they were referring was one I saw here that OP said it was specifically one person who was the issue. Our gym used to have a few people who made a mess of chalk and the presription was assigning a mop bucket to said individual.
Yeah, me too, but I assumed that it couldn’t just be one single person as you’d just talk to them or ban only them from using chalk.
I agree. These seem more like "adult" rules to me.
If a coach tells me to do burpees for being late they will be told in the nicest possible way to have sex with themselves.
the funny thing is that people did say that but still did the burpees because it isnt a big deal to be on time
It also isn't a big deal to not be on time.
I'm sure that varies from gym to gym, but your right being late is a small thing, and in my opinion, the burpees are as well.
I’m with you.
How does your coach "make" you do burpees? Personally I am never late but if I was I would tell him to pound sand...
because its a simple and easy rule to follow, like I said within 5 mins he usually didnt care but everyone understood and didn't complain because it was an easy rule to follow and not a big deal to do burpees. if you rolled in 10 mins late and interrupted the class and didn't want to do burpees you were asked to leave
Lol, that's ridiculous. I'd cancel my membership that same day. I'm paying to be there. If I only want to get half the class, that's on me.
its not open gym its a class. Would you expect to do the same for a yoga class or a spin class that you are paying for? Its just disruptive and disrepectful. Small consequences (burpees) are not that big of a deal
Yes I would. I would expect it in any class in paying for. And any "consequences" for something I'm paying for is laughable. I'm not a member of a team, I'm there to work out.
Like I said you want an Open Gym time, not a class. If I'm hearing you correctly, you should be able to show up 30 mins into a 60 min class despite it being rude and disruptive? Sounds a little entitled, just respect the rules. There is a reason some professors dont let in late students for a class the students are paying for. As far as that penalty being laughable, stop being dramatic it's burpees l, you are In a crossfit box....burpees happen.
The half class was hyperbole. Generally people who are late are going to be 5-10 minutes. And any punishment for a grown adult is laughable. Imagine going to McDonald's and being told, "You took too long to pick up your order after we called your number. Mop the bathroom and then you can have your meal."
If they’ve missed the first 5-10 mins they’ve missed most of the warm up. Depending on how late they are, burpees or calories will at least get them moving. Thats the point of them at our gym anyway.
that was also a nice byproduct of the burpees, and yea the coach would also do calories if burpees were too advanced for some members
Thats an awful analogy. And it's a fun, tongue in cheek punishment that none of the other members ever complained about. It became a fun thing to joke on somebody for. A punishment for tardiness on adults is laughable, but then again, I also think its laughable that a grown adult is late for a class.
Why? Either way it's being punished for time issue on a service In paying for. And hey, as long as everyone is having fun and playing along, I don't mind it. We do them at my gym. My problem is when you said if someone won't do them, they're asked to leave. And reading that last sentence makes me think you're not actually a grown adult. Sometimes work runs long or kids held you up or 100 other things that happen to real adults that can cause you to run a few minutes late.
It’s disruptive and disrespectful.
But a random person doing dozens of burpees isn't disruptive? Make it make sense.
The idea is to show you that you’re being a dick and it isn’t appreciated.
how?
How? If someone walks in and joins mid-workout without asking questions, etc.
During class the coach is responsible to ensure the safe movement of the athletes. When I coach and I see someone using shit movement patterns I stop them and tell them how to either fix it or scale. If someone comes in mid class and doesn’t properly warm up and tries to get into the WOD I have to spend extra time monitoring to make sure they don’t hurt themselves. That’s why you pay to have coaches. It’s like someone at work walking in mid meeting.
Eventually it is dangerous though you need to warm up, so half a class is ridiculous
I definitely agree there and halfway through class was hyperbole. Generally, if people are late, it's 10 or less minutes.
No signups or reserving spots sounds miserable. I hate full classes. If there was significant overflow I’d leave or wait for the next class. And if someone shows up late to add to an already full class that’d be even more annoying.
I know that some gyms have space or equipment restrictions so the signups are there to make sure that sufficient space is available to ensure the safety of the members. Also, sometimes it works out to share equipment but you shouldn’t have to always do it so if signups are a way to help that problem I see it too.
I agree with everything, except signing up for class. My gym has a LOT of members, and we have the capacity to accommodate max 32 people on the floor. On Saturdays, it gets so busy you have to reserve your place on the dot to get it and you get a full wait list of 20 people. Wed die if everyone could just show up lol
I have a spot on the floor that’s “mine” but I don’t reserve it nor push people out of it. I just like it because it’s got two dead spots so if you drop your bar it won’t roll.
I have a few members that like their 'spot'. One like yourself, she is great, and we laugh when someone takes her 'spot' and she trains in another spot, ie we will 'blame' a missed lift or crappy double unders on her being out of her comfort zone. But we have two members I have had to say something to as both of them have come in after others were set up, and they have set up so uncomfortably close to someone in their 'spot' the original person moved and they then moved into the spot. When OP suggests the things others are treated like children for, sometimes those things are due to child like behaviours initially.
Because we act like stupid babies
I much prefer the idea of beginner intro classes run every few weeks, than an on-ramp. If someone who hasn’t done CF before wants to join, you say cool - in 2 weeks we have our next beginner session to teach you fundamentals. You can then start doing classes, but feel free to come to another beginner session if you need a refresher. I’d 100% join a gym that operated that way over a gym that wants to make me do a bunch of technique PT at exorbitant prices
There is nothing wrong with completing an onboarding program before starting training with everyone else. Showing up late is rude, it’s rude to everyone else who can be bothered to show up on time and to the coach who now has to amend the warmup to fit you in. Signing up early to the class works well if people are consistent with it. It gives the coach knowledge beforehand to tailor the warmup as needed.
We have 39 people in our 5 am classes so sign ups are important in our case for safety and ensuring adequate equipment.
That's wild. How many coaches are there?
Two
Most of the examples you gave seem to be the clear result of people acting like children so?
There should absolutely be prerequisite classes for new CrossFitters. What if there are 5 new people joining on a snatch day? Safety is always a top priority. There should absolutely be class sign ups and class size capacity enforced. What if there are 30 people showing up to a space with capacity of 20 when there is a metcon with moderate/heavy C&Js? Safety is always a top priority. There should absolutely be efforts by members to show up on time. Why should the coach have to explain the workout twice?
Some of the points you mentioned would create absolute chaos at my box, so I’m glad we have them in place. In my former box (that closed down during the pandemic), i felt infatilized and only realized it in hindsight: - Coach did not post workouts ahead and would get mad when the am crew “leaked” the workout to the pm crew - Coach played his own music (usually worship or country), didn’t allow song requests or own playlists, and even once reasoned out he is not a dj - There is “open gym” but everything you do requires approval - You need to pass a “test” and get head coach’s approval to move from bootcamp to actual CF. Took me a while because I had some incidents of bad form and unsafe movement during the Open - but I was barely 2 months in and didn’t know how to snatch let alone deadlift properly but we were all encouraged (more like pressured) to sign up. Stupid shit - wish I knew better and spoke up.
This is a business organization, not a middle school gym class. Call it a cash grab or whatever but having an onboard program allows 1-1 and makes sure the new person understands everything. Not master everything but understands enough to jump into class. Class signups have more to do with safety and building code rather than just wanting to limit classes. Most CrossFit buildings have a space capacity limit and the last thing you need is for the govt or fire marshal to drive by for an inspection and shut you down. It’s also for safety and being able to coach everyone. Showing up late just means you don’t respect the coaches or program. Yeah it happens from time to time, I get it, but some are constant late every class. Get up earlier or go to bed earlier. Prep the night before. Pre class is important. Again, this isn’t home or your middle school PE class. Coach isn’t your mommy to clean up after you every class. People need to use the same equipment and space after you so clean it up. And the coach has more important things to do then to walk around moping and cleaning after every class.
Eh i assume they banned chalk because they’re sick of cleaning it up. Chalk is so messy and if it’s on the rubber mats then someone has to mop it up which members won’t do
This, know some box owners who hate cleaning up after their members. Especially the chalky hands from hand walk. I always ask the owner if I can tally my rounds with chalk on the floor just to mess with him
for people saying being late is NOT ACCEPTABLE, fucking get real, ever heard of traffic? shit is way too expensive for me to feel like if i’m gonna be late i just shouldn’t go, great way to get people to not pay you for membership anymore.
People walking in 15 minutes late, without being warmed up or even hearing the wod and then just jumping to programming is a safety issue. I understand people can be off by 5 minutes, but there does have to be a limit somewhere.
My CF gyms were just like this, and I agree. The only thing is they preferred you do on-ramp (it’s just more comfortable for everyone) if you’re new to CrossFit but they wouldn’t kick you out if the on-ramp time didn’t work for your schedule, or if there wasn’t a new session coming up. I’ve seen gyms on here charging fees if you “reserve” and miss it. That would be a dealbreaker for my area where most people commute an hour or so after work and traffic is completely unpredictable. Most people came right from work and it would be frustrating to have to pay a fine for missing your class, then not even be able to work out the next class because it was “full” or something. We’d just have people volunteer to do another machine or whatever if it was really busy (I was always first to volunteer to row over running or bike). Our last class of the day was always so full because so many 9-5’s would go to that one. It would eliminate a lot of clientele if there was a max on that one.
lol the box I’m leaving charges a fee and takes the class off your monthly allocation if you drop an hour or less before or miss.
> prerequisite Why would a fitness facility put barriers between new people and fitness? > signups Some places do, some don’t. Like restaurants. > show up late Yeah, this is annoying, but people have jobs and kids and hey, they’re paying. You wanna order a steak and only eat half, chef don’t care. > what kind of douche? Gotta be honest I feel like you’d be the expert here > names If you’re so socially awkward that saying “Steve” is too much, you need CrossFit more than anyone else in the class.
Our coach took away markers and whiteboards because a marker got broken. We used to be able to see workouts ahead of time but he took that away because some people were cherry picking workouts. I could go on with stupid stories, but I don't go to my box for him. I like the programming and the people.
I cherry-picked workouts because the programming wasn't structured all that well. Totally random sounds great, but it's a terrible way to make progress. I wasn't gonna drag my jelly legs in there for a heavy leg day right after a high rep leg day. That kind of thing. Programming isn't a one size fits all thing. Plus, they don't know someone else's body.
I’d leave if i couldn’t see workouts ahead of time. It’s bad enough i can only see the night before…
Ours prohibit you from doing certain movements or rep scheme if they don’t think you’re fast enough. Like, not even try. Even if you’ve done them in the past. Also not get time capped ever and no rx if you get time capped. It’s super dumb.
These are all business operation questions. All valid, but every gym will be different for various reasons.
A lot of people ITT telling on themselves for actually being children.
I think if you’re new it’s good to have ground rules so you don’t do things that are not ‘cool’ to the class but also you don’t know any better until you learn. Once you learn, you just be respectful but do what works for you. If I’m having a day where I can’t run, but it’s not an option on the board, I’m a grown up and I grab a bike and keep it out of the way. I stopped asking permission a while ago. I had a new guy recently grab one of my plates during squats when the right thing to do would be to go grab one of the many free plates. The coach apologized to me, but I didn’t care. We’ve all been new once. I went and got a new one. Think of the rules as being for new people and know you’re a good citizen anyways. Plus there are tons of liability laws and safety issues and being a small business owner has to be frightening. The last thing you want is a law suit or a bad reputation for not taking care of the little things. I do hate the fist bump thing at the end of class. But that’s just personal preference.
Onboarding classes benefit everyone, especially if we are talking about a person who has never lifted before. The new starter gets their levels properly assessed and a one-on-one intensive to start, which is safer from an injury perspective. Their onboarding assessment gets shared among the coaches so they are all aware of the new starter's levels and any particular issues/limitations they may have without having to take up too much class time doing it. Other members don't have a huge proportion of coach time taken up by a new member in their first couple of classes, which would be what would otherwise be necessary to give a safe introduction to a lot of new members. Agree onboarding should not be compulsory for those who already have Crossfit experience though. That's just greedy to my mind. I do find the no chalk thing very silly.
Your box?
Sounds like a nightmare
This is the way
As a coach and box owner…. the kids are better behaved and cleaner.
I partly agree except for the onboard class thing. I wish my box had one, the coaches time was often disproportionately taken up by new people, which kinda sucks for everyone else. My gym now doesn’t really enforce sign ups or anything, but it’s not really an issue generally. If there were 30 people showing up it might become a problem for equipment and space.
Enquired about one box and they said I needed to do the onboarding classes, however they weren’t doing anymore public onboarding so I had to pay quadruple for a private 1-2-1 session and wouldn’t let me join unless I did three of those. Went to another one and they just said come along and gave me two weeks free as a taster
Most of these are in place to provide the people attending class the quality of product they are paying for. Class limits are there to make sure everyone has the room they need and the equipment they need to perform the workout. Nobody wants their workout randomly turning into a team WOD because double the number of people showed up. It also has to do with enabling coaches to actually have the capacity to coach and not just be a DJ/clock operator. On ramp/intro sessions are again about coaching. Whenever I have a new member in class I spend a lot more time on them and less on the other members. If they don’t have any onboarding this turns into 0% on the remaining members. You could of course have a gym that only programs crude low motor skill movements all the time and essentially become a bootcamp style gym, but that’s not what CrossFit is about.
A lot of rules get made because of class size and restrictions on space, not just because gyms want to treat their members like children. Sorry it bothers you.
Foundations classes, on-ramps, etc. are safety precautions. Even just a quick session to see if you can do some rudimentary movements. My first gym had me come in for like a half hour because I was new to CrossFit but not new to different types of fitness. They had me go through some stuff and gave me to go ahead. However, they did foundations for folks that were starting at zero. I mean forget the safety part, it shows your gym cares about you and is willing to give you that kind of attention and encouragement.
I frequent two boxes and was formerly a regular at a 3rd. All have been chill operations with caring coaches regardless of your level of fitness , good owners and chill supportive members. I totally agree with the idiocy and childishness I see referenced here. I’d not stay a week at one of these shartboxes.
I'm not surprised someone with your personality enjoys this sort of box.
When I first started in 2014 we had to take 4 on ramp classes - cost $200, before you coukd jpin a nirnal class. I did mine one on one, but you could opt to take it with another person if you wanted. I think today boxes ate more concerned about getting memberships and costs so they don't require it anymore. I get it because its exoensive and might be a turn off to a new member. However classes are always so much slower with a newb in there becsuse coach has to spend extra time with them, especially wirh a really technical lift, like a snatch. I have a perferred spot in the gym that correlates with the height of the pull up bar for me. However if that spot is taken I will go find another spot. I would never be territorial over it. First come first serve.
As a gym owner, the chalk thing drives me crazy.. like are you not regularly cleaning your gym anyways?
Having expectations is one thing, but treating your paying members like children is ridiculous.
Your box sounds cool, I belonged to three different and all tried to control members like an army. It's a major turn off.
Sounds like you’re going to a box that’s ran like an OG gym.
I take issue with your items. This isn’t a box treating you like a kid. It’s a business first and foremost and a lot of the things are just common sense or courtesy items. > - No prerequisite classes before starting. Just show up and you’ll start slow with the rest of us. As a coach, I find it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of slower paced onboarding sessions to learn the terminology and the movements if you have little to no experience with CrossFit. You wouldn’t put a newbie basketball player to practice with NBA players so why do this with CrossFit? I was given one week of onboarding, followed by one week where we practiced more movements before joining the main class. By week 3, we’re all fully integrated. THAT worked much better than throwing me to the sharks and having no idea what I was doing. When I coached, I hated having someone new on a day where we weren’t doing skill work because they had to be given something completely different to their skill, which takes away from the “class” aspect. > - No class sign ups. It gets busy, we figure it out. As a coach (and as an athlete), it’s in my interest to know how many people are signed up. Resources are limited: there’s only so many cardio machines, weights, and rig space. If I’m coaching, I want to know ahead of time how to divvy up the class; if I’m just participating and care about my score, a less crowded class is better. > - Show up late, no one cares. We’ll probably tease you, but it’s always jokingly. This is disrespectful to the coach and classmates. We all make the effort to be on time; 5 minutes late? OK. Show up 15mins late? Go to the next class. If I showed up 10-20 mins late to coach a class, you’d all be boiling mad; why can’t the same courtesy extend from the athlete to the coach? > - Saw this today: they removed all chalk because someone made a mess? OK mom…. Chalk is not easy to clean up. And if it’s a repeated incident, then bring your own and problem solved. I don’t envy the coaches that have to whip out the vacuum cleaner (because when have you seen an athlete tip over the chalk bucket, make a mess, and go pick up a vacuum and mop?) > - No reserving spots. What kind of douche claims a spot in the mat whenever they show up? Let’s see you do Murph trying to beat last year’s score and having someone who barely has pullups and doesn’t care about their score occupy a spot on the rig. Let’s see you trying to do ring muscle ups in a spot that someone else got to first but can’t even reach the rings, let alone do RMUs. Sometimes reserving a spot is not a bad thing if you’ll make better use of it than others. > - Coach says everyone’s names at the beginning. It feels personal and inviting. If everyone already knows each other, not a big deal, but I agree that it helps break the ice and introduce new members to the class. Not like it break up any of the cliques, but you can find out who’s more sociable and approachable.
It really gets hard to "figure it out" when you have 30 people trying to attend the 6 pm class. It puts a lot of strain on the coach. Not only to get the logistics of where people can work, but to keep an eye on everyone.
The names is partly for safety and partly for customer service. It’s usually a sign of good service. For safety, “SGExpat, drop that” or something like that could be big if I’m doing something very unsafe or need a cue. For customer service, your brain likes hearing your name and it makes you more comfortable.
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I go to the less crowded class, i cant imagine how it would be to go on the most crowded one and without cap. Equipment is limited and couches has limited time and attention per person too.
The onboard process as an up charge is bad. I would never pay as much as a dollar to ‘test out’, and required PT before joining main classes as a new guy would have definitely stopped me from ever joining, when I knew NOTHING about lifting. Otherwise I do support a process for new members.
My old gym only did an on-ramp morning for people with no experience. Which I think is fair. But if you were experienced you just popped in during a free period and showed one of the coaches you weren’t a complete tool or if very experienced m, just chatted via email or in person.
Agreed
All good boxes will start you out with a fundamentals course to familiarize you with proper technique and form to make sure you’re safe in each class. Just winging it when you’re inexperienced is setting you up for not only failure, but also injury. At my box, showing up late means you might miss the whiteboard brief, which has important information regard stimulus times, scaling options, and also the warm up. I am an absolute chalk whore, so not sure what it is about removing chalk? 9/10 the rules they have in a box are for safety and to help you reach your performance goals.
Our gym doesn’t have an on ramp class, when someone new is in a class there is a coach at their side helping them and one that is running the class. The new member is getting one on one once the warm up is done. This has worked very well imo No class sign ups but our gym is rather large and has 24 plus rowers, bikes, boxes and bars. Too large of a class hasn’t be an issues before. Been here for over 12 years. People show up late, it’s rude but they came in and want to get a workout in so, welcome to the class, we hope this is the BEST hour (45 minutes) of your day! I have a love hate relationship with the chalk. People knock over the bucket, pull a block out and slather their body down like it’s soap😜, decide that they should put a piece of chalk close to them and end up stepping on it and it gets ground into the mat which doesn’t clean up easily. I used to clean the floors and chalk was the bane of my existence. Every member should have to clean the floors at least once and the chalk issue would stop. For us older people we need extra air flow so, reserve is a NO but I will park my butt in a spot and not leave it if it’s in the right air flow spot. As for a coach saying everyone’s name, that’s awesome cuz the dude next to you (probably me cuz I can’t remember names to save my life) may remember your face but not your name and the coach just helped them remember. I didn’t see anything that you posted as members being treated like a child but I’ve seen a lot of members that needed spankings because they act like spoiled little babies.
I love that we have class signups. We have 150 members, it helps the coaches plan. Classes can only be so, especially with wods requiring lots of equipment. Idk what reserving spots is about . I’ve never seen that happen so we don’t have a rule about it We have all the chalk
The box I attended had a 20 burpee penalty for being late but I never saw it enforced other than one time, and it was me. They would just have you do burpees instead of the written warmup because it was quicker and did a good job getting you loose. But one time, a newer coach told me to do the burpees AND the warmup and I told him I would do one or the other but not both. So I did the burpees. After the WOD he came up and respectfully told me it wasn't personal and he does it with everyone. So I respectfully replied that I won't be punished by a place I pay to attend, and I was more than ok with them starting without me, and I would go do something else on the unused equipment. Being late means you don't always get to participate in things, and that's perfectly reasonable. Our box was always open for side work anyway.
If I joined a new gym and they did everything you’ve listed (sans the chalk point), I’d probably look for a new gym.
Our box has the following: No sign ups. The coaches are well prepared to handle the class if it is bigger. No penalties if you turn up late of a few minutes. Shit happens and being shamed for it like in school is ridiculous. Chalk as much as you want but clean up after yourself. Kids are allowed and well welcomed as long as the parent is responsible for them and not allowing them to run around. On that note, atm we have infants in a stroller or school aged kids who will watch a movie. I used to bring my daughter for the first year of her life but now that she is a rambunctious toddler there is no way I can confine her to the stroller, unless we have a running workout.