New Format, Rules, Etc.

During my recent trip to California, I visited as many gyms as I possibly could, and one of the things that set some gyms apart was how they ran their classes. I quickly saw that the gyms with the best athletes also had the best coaching and class format. This is to say that they ran their classes efficiently with structure and purpose. At Crossfit Invictus, I watched a young lady practicing O-lifts with the guys, then completely kill the WOD. Something tells me she is doing more than just showing up once a week, hitting just the WOD, and going home. Yes, at Crossfit we believe their is validity and progress to be gained from short 15 minute workouts, but that is because we put in the extra work before and after the WOD.

Further, I read CJ Martin's new format for his gym on the Crossfit Invictus blog, and I think that we could all gain alot from following a similar format at our affiliate as well. Granted, we must alter some of it to fit our situation, but as we work to help the gym grow, a structured class will help monumentally with our ability to train more athletes.

I have posted CJ's article here for you to read as well. Please consider it an example of what we are ultimately working towards.

Go With the Flow - New Gym Routines and Procedures
Written by C.J. Martin

All gyms have a natural flow to them - a pattern by which members arrive, situate themselves and prepare to have a great workout. For some, it’s sprinting in and joining the already-in-progress group warm-up (ahem, “A”-Game), but for others it entails some pre-WOD mingling and catching up with friends. I love this, and heartily encourage it as our community is what makes CrossFit Invictus so different from other places. Nonetheless, I am proposing some new rules that will improve both your socializing and athletic performance. So next time you are in, go with the following flow of the gym:

1. Check-In at the Front Desk - This is not optional. You all have really cool little key fabs or membership cards. Please scan them when you arrive.
2. Gather with Friends at the Back of the Building and Roll - Some of the best tools in the gym are the black foam rollers and lacrosse balls (individual and those taped together). In my opinion, they are not being used nearly enough. Rolling some of your tight muscle groups helps get needed blood flow to them, loosens them so they will contract and relax better, and generally improves their functionality for the athletic endeavor you are about to embark upon. And the great thing is, you can roll and socialize at the same time. Yes, your conversation might be interrupted occasionally by a yelp, but that’s just good fun and provides for some comedic relief. So gather there and roll while you catch up with friends.
3. Dynamic, Skill-Based Warm-Up with Group - Once group session begins, your coach will put you through a dynamic warm-up. Recognize that this is not only a warm-up, but also an opportunity to put your body in ideal positions. Use this time to reinforce proper mechanics. For instance, when you lunge, think about how you lunge in a split jerk or split clean. Are you grooving that ideal pattern, or are you forward on the toe and too narrow? Make the most of this time and perform each movement perfectly.
4. Strength/Skill Work - No ego. Nobody is impressed when you deadlift 400 lbs. and herniate two discs in the process. Strive for virtuosity here. Move well and your numbers will progressively skyrocket. Move poorly and you might get some big numbers for a while, but you also run the risk of missing valuable training sessions because you are nursing injuries. This is your chance to perfect movements without a clock pressuring you to move quickly. Take the opportunity to be perfect. Once you have been consistently perfect, then begin to be consistently perfect with big weights.
5. Timed Workout - Go hard . . . and be damn-near perfect. I can accept slight deviations of form when you’re hitting it at high intensity, but you should be striving for perfection. (And if your coach’s interpretation of “slight deviation of form” is different from yours, you are the one who is wrong. Listen to your coach and slow down.)
6. Clean Up - Once you have completed your workout, please give us a hand by wiping down the bars and placing everything back where you found it. There is, however, one caveat: Be respectful of those who are still working out. It’s better to cheer someone on or relax than walk right in front of them with your barbell and weights. Nobody likes to be last, particularly when everyone else is cleaning up around them. Wipe down your bar and do a little static stretching while you cheer for others, then you can put your gear away and give them a hand with theirs.
7. Log Your Performance - If you don’t have a Performance Log, your coach will be chatting with you this week. They are essential to tracking your athletic progress. You will never know if what you are doing is effective unless you can track what you have been doing. This is the best $15 investment you will make in your fitness.
8. Post-WOD Recovery Work - If your coach puts you through a post-WOD recovery drill (stretching or additional skill work) please view it with the same respect you view the first portions of the workout. Recovery is instrumental to getting more fit. If you slack here, it will show. If your coach ran out of time, you’re not excused from stretching. Most of you know our protocols for post-WOD stretching, and even if you don’t, any stretching after your WOD is better than none. Get it done - your body will thank you.
9. GHD Machines - Almost as neglected as the foam rollers are our beautiful GHD machines. End your workout the way you began it, by socializing near the back wall. Jump on the GHD and knock out 10 sit-ups and 10 hip extensions. Then let a friend on to do the same. Switch on and off until you have done somewhere between 30-50 sit-ups and extensions.
10. Grab Your MMMM Good Meal or Invictus Shots - Invictus Shots help you recover quicker by replacing depleted glycogen stores in your muscles. Shoot one immediately after your workout and your muscles will start recovering quicker - which means you might not be as sore the next day. Grab a meal for later while you’re at it. They’re delicious, nutritionally balanced and inexpensive - plus, you didn’t have to cook it.

Courtesy of CJ Martin of Crossfit Invictus


As I said, our gym is a slightly different situation, but that's not a reason why we can't follow a similar format. Obviously there's no need to check in currently. I know you're there, but if you've seen the new whiteboard, then you know that I'm keeping track of who is coming, so go add a tick mark next to your name when you come in, add any goals to the board as well, and congratulate your friends on their recent PRs.

It is necessary that everyone is on time. This is not just so that you are there for the entire class, but it is difficult to conduct class when everyone is at a different point in the workout. Similarly, everyone in the class will be doing the same workout. We can still modify and sub movements based on ability or injury, but those cases excluded, everyone needs to do the same workout. It is impossible to appropriately coach two separate workouts at the same time. One person doing a different workout than everyone else requires a different warm up as well as lessens the coach's ability to provide the best possible instruction for the other members. If you want to do a different workout than what is being coached in class, please schedule private training. We would be more than happy to meet you outside of class times and work with you one on one.

What I hope to achieve is a flow of events where we are able to complete everything we need to within our hour, so that we don't hold anyone up, and so that people who want to work on a skill have time as well. This starts with everyone arriving on time. We will start movement prep at five after. During those first 5-10 minutes you are there, this would be a good time to roll anything that is sore or nagging. Once we start movement prep, I'd like to see a moderate effort. The other day when I was training with Jason, I could see that he was hitting the movement prep with the same intensity and effort that he puts into the WOD. To be totally honest, this is more effort than is necessary for movement prep, but I like where his head is at. I don't want to see anyone exhaust themselves before the workout, but movement prep is your warm up, so go hard enough that you're starting to sweat.

After our movement prep, we will begin the scheduled WOD. If it is a strength WOD, we will pair up according to max lifts and rotate on the bars. As CJ noted, leave your ego out of this, do it right. If you can't perform the movements correctly, we will keep the weight light and focus on technique. For example, if you cannot squat below parallel, you have no business squatting with max weights. On squat days, you should spend the time developing a proper squat by practicing your form with light weights and stretching if that is hindering you from being able to squat. Check your ego, develop a perfect squat, and then when you start adding weight again, your gains will be tremendous. No one is impressed by your max lifts if you're miss a month because you're injured from it. Further, no one is impressed if your big squat is above or barely parallel. We are about virtuousity, strive for perfection.

If it is a metcon, we will go over the movements briefly, and then begin. If there is one thing I have learned, form is everything. I have never done a sub-4 Fran, but I promise you, you can't take even one rep away from me. I won't lie to you, really focusing on form will slow you down a little, but you'll gain much more from doing it correctly than you ever will from doing it fast and sloppy. Don't worry about your times, they are only a measure of YOUR progress. I could train everyday for the rest of my life and never beat Usain Bolt, but I can beat my own times for years as long as I stay focused and consistent.

After the workout, please enjoy the comfort of our floor. CJ makes a great point, nobody likes to be last, so take a seat, cheer your friends on, and clean up afterwards. A note about cleaning up, I know it's not our members, but often times when I come into the gym (especially on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays), the gym is a mess. There are dumbbells, medicine balls, plates, boxes, bars, sand, tape, candy, garbage, etc all over the place, strewn across the floor. I have been trying very hard to keep the gym as clean as I can considering we have such limited space. I really appreciate any help with putting anything back neatly. My hope is that if we consistently have a clean and neat gym, others who use it will recognize that we keep it in order and will begin to clean up after themselves as well.

You all have training logs from John, please remember to bring them with you, you can even store it in the gym so you never forget it. We will do a group cool down stretch to maintain flexibility and relax the muscles. This is also a good time to address any personally unique flexibility issues. When we finish, you can also use the trigger point balls to release some muscle tension in particularly overworked muscle groups. With any time remaining, I suggest working on a skill. It may be a set of GHD situps, some pullups, double unders, rowing, whatever you're struggling with.

I see big things for us all in the future. I have been working really hard to improve our classes. I hope that this new format is a step towards a more efficient class, and a better overall experience for everyone.