Varied Not Random #69: Should Gym owners care how members look or how they perform?

[@spencergsmith]

As co-owner of an Affiliate, I only care how members look in so much as it affects their health - for example, if they are extremely obese, I want to lower their body fat to prolong their longevity and improve the quality of their life. Similarly, I only care how my members perform if it pertains to form (safety, movement efficiency, etc.) or intensity (I don’t want people to sandbag frequently, or else they won’t see results). Aside from these principles, I really only care that people are progressing in their fitness and enjoying the time they spend in the gym and with the community.

[@coachscottfrancis8355]

Love two aspects of the “programmer w/ a broken heart”: 1) Big Lebowski references! 2) Great discussion of solid programming vs. human nature.

[@toddm3208]

Guys, I can’t even thank y’all enough for taking time and answering my question. I really, really appreciate y’all’s hearts and the wealth of knowledge y’all offer.

[@DrRichardNorris]

Have a similar issue…legacy of programming with filling the hour with strength and metcon with little time for mobility and none for a cool down. Have broached this before (am a self-employed coach). When delivering feedback it’s best delivered intent on relationship and outcome. Such programming becomes predictable and not ‘constantly varied). In our UK and Ireland coach group we discussed the value of building community and coaching using a one focus WOD like a 5x5 back squat to allow for a great warm-up, mobility (who doesn’t need more of that), cool down and some great coaching opportunities whilst building relationships. Can agree on the nutrition front. A quote comes to mind: When the why is strong, the how is easy. (Jim Rohn) Ultimately, we can only control what we can and, as a reformed control freak, learn to let go what we cannot, always remembmee remembering that “Change is inevitable, growth is optional” (Quote mine). On the soda subject…what does Jeremy’s wife say? (Have a similar issue at home - no soda is my rule, less so my other half’s. Set out now as a very rare allowance). They’re her parents. That may impact the approach and relationships all around.

[@coachscottfrancis8355]

Re: Jeremy’s Grandparental nutrition boundary: I had to have a SERIES of strong discussions with my parents about checking labels for our kid’s food allergy before their behavior changed. I think it’s important to recognize the power & momentum behind other people’s habits. Not just in terms of their nutrition choices, but also perhaps their being the ones who set boundaries or give advice for younger generations. It was rough, since her allergy was serious, and I ended up coming in behind my folks & taking away food on a regular basis during visits. I was looked at as the bad guy by my kid & an unwelcome reminder of unmet standards by my folks, but it was necessary until they were able to get themselves on board.

[@arkastrengthconditioning3705]

Thanks Pat and Boz for your feedback, highly appreciated I love the open door policy, started already with some new individuals one on one nutrition. My wife would love your answers. Thanks again

[@denisethomas7]

Pat - your distain for the weekly benchmark tests template was beautiful. Lol! I laughed out loud.

[@beckjacob]

Love "The Chief"! That was one of the first benchmarks I ever did that involved moving a barbell. I try to program a Hero WOD on the 22nd of every month and will usually pick one week during summer and just do Hero WODs for that week. For the rest of the year I sprinkle benchmarks and Hero WODs in where, for me, they make sense.

[@thenomad01]

related to the 10x250m row. It's like Pat's Track day and sprint interval programming. I used to try ANYTHING else row, bike, skip a day... But after letting a batch of 10x100m sprints wreck me one week,and then doing them again after a month or two... and seeing my times improve... I no longer want to miss a track day...

[@coachscottfrancis8355]

Thank you, gentlemen.

[@JWSIUC]

Such an enjoyable podcast. Similar to this episode, I doubt this is a full episode,but as a garage gym athlete, wondering if you could give some tips and ideas on equipment maintenance and general cleaning / upkeep? Everything from the stall mats to keeping a barbell in good condition. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Josh J.

[@MrJessethebody1]

Long Live The Chief! Love that workout. Thank you for all you do guys. These podcasts are amazing. I also burned right through all the episodes.

[@timlanglais1701]

First of all, a big congratulations on a fantastically programmed Games, Boz. The return to core progressions was awesome (and we all know Elizabeth should use squat cleans ;-). I am a huge fan of this podcast--it's like ear candy (pint of ice cream?) for the programming nerd. My wife and I have been doing Crossfit since 2011 and up until the pandemic hit, we were affiliate members. Now we workout in our back yard and have our choice of programming. In several episodes you've juxtaposed strength + metcon style days versus 1 WOD per day programming, with the sentiment being that 1 WOD is enough. But I was wondering if you could put this in the context of recovery. How much does your ability to recover dictate what program to follow? My wife tends to prefer the Strength + MetCon style of programming. While familiarity plays a part in that preference, my wife is also able to recover more quickly. So my questions are, how do you measure recovery? And how does that play into your choice of programming? (Full disclosure, I subscribe to Linchpin so you know where my loyalties lie).

[@kabear]

Love the podcast - I've been burning through all the episodes the past few weeks. For the coach wishing his folks looked a little more impressive via better nutrition, whew... I *am* that gym member, and hopefully I can point out some things from the other side that might be helpful (a couple months delayed - I hope they see it!). Sorry for the essay I'm sure this will become. For further background, I'm also ... experienced (10 years) but not advanced? I ride that line - I'm someone who's thought about taking a Level 1 or interning as a coach but have decided not to because there are (mostly gymnastic) movements I still can't do (thanks for that episode!). Unless I'm wearing a particularly well-fitted shirt, you're not going to assume I'm very athletic, and I probably look fat at first glance. But if I'm not the walking/visual billboard, I'm certainly the talking one - I am the greet-new-folks-at-the-door-and-do-your-salespitch-for-you kind of member. Boz talked about seeing the potential in your members, but the best coaches I've ever had were the ones who actually *explicitly expressed* that to me. I was completely, vehemently unathletic until finding crossfit at 25, and while I enjoyed it and enjoyed making progress, I didn't (and don't?) really believe or understand my full potential. And then, like, now, I didn't *look* athletic. The most motivating coach I ever had was at my first gym, because he was the one who - on the regular - would just notice my movements or strengths and make remarks like, "you were built for this," or comments about how quickly he thought I could get my first pull up or my first pistol if I kept practicing because I had potential, etc. (Or just bring me heavier weights mid-workout.) I really believed that he believed I could be a competition-level athlete if I tried, and that made me believe in myself in a way I hadn't before. I'm fully aware that nutrition is where I fail on hardest, though it's definitely much better than it was pre-crossfit. And a lot of the good habits I do have came from nutrition coaching and challenges that I did in my first 5 years - whole 30, paleo challenges in the gym, etc. Those are pieces that have been lacking in all the gyms I've been in since my first box. And for folks like me, I think a little bit of external motivation or goal-setting can go a long way. (In fact, the earlier episodes of this podcast have inspired me to finally track my diet again, and aim for some protein and fruits and veggies macros.) So, rather than just teaching them about better nutrition, setting up small (not overhaul) challenges like the mentioned in the episode might be a great way to go. I really have missed those in all my gyms since that first one. Also in terms of external motivation, the one thing none of my coaches has ever done is push me to do a competition. I'm such a terrible runner I've never felt confident enough to sign up for one on my own, but I know I would be an easy pushover if any coach ever brought it up - it's also one of the only things I could see pushing me to try to really dial in on my nutrition. Because generally, I'm fine with how I look and how I eat - it does hold me back in a couple of ways, but the tradeoff of foods/freedom in my diet has never been worth the change. So also, if you've got members that you see a lot of potential in but they have less interest in better nutrition, encouraging them to join in a competition, and helping them see the ways better nutrition will aid in their performance could also be a starting point or means of tipping the scales for them. So, TL;DR: As great (and inspiring!) as the garage/home gym crossfitters are, there are a lot of us who are in the gym because we need/want external motivations and encouragement. So *tell* us that you see that potential in us, and then give us achievable challenges and goals that will help us reach that potential. On the flip-side, one advantage of having a couple good crossfitters who don't *look* like crossfitters is that we're sometimes better salespeople for the folks who are otherwise too intimidated to walk into a crossfit gym. If I say 'crossfit is for everybody,' its sometimes more believable than if that message comes from someone who "looks" like a crossfitter. Also, those types of folks are often more comfortable talking to me in class :D (And I admit, there is a very great deal of personal satisfaction to be found from looking unassuming but then totally smoking fitter-looking members in some workouts.)

[@laurengraham5475]

I love that you wrote all this out. I think there is too much conflation of leanness = fitness. Not necessarily true, and really reinforces some body image projection that could be toxic (not always; there are health and longevity gains to be made when taking someone from morbidly obese to obese or overweight, but it doesn't necessarily hold true when going from overweight to "normal" weight, and there can actually be detrimental health impacts that REDUCE health and longevity when getting to "elite" leanness).

[@dougclouse7342]

Thank you, love the podcast. Possible question for a future episode: If a crossfitter sees their limits and knows that they'll never be very fast or even able to do some skills, yet is competitive by nature, what is a strategy for the future? Find something they are good at and focus on that outside of Crossfit, or chip away at Crossfit and be thankful for what they can improve upon? (or both?) What is the benefit of continuing with Crossfit if, for example, they could focus on only rowing or olympic weightlifting, where they are competitive? I'm 55 years old, have been in Crossfit for 5 years, and am tall and thin.

[@patrickstarks6576]

Personally the 10x250m row It's one of my favorites, I love row sprints (250 & 300s) it remind me of 1 that coach Jesse @ Lynnwood crossfit programmed : 10 rounds trade with your buddy, 250m row while your buddy plank, You row while they plank for the same time. No rest in between swaps just back-and-forth 10 total rounds of each . It was a hoot!!

[@ezegroup22]

Give me that 10-250m rows. I want to do it tomorrow. Sounds like a nice workout!

[@benjaminsmith2911]

Question for a future episode or rapid fire: Where do you think the methodology will evolve next? What experiments are affiliates or people trying that you two think are interesting? What do you look at and say 'That isn't exactly what we teach at the seminars, but that's an interesting experiment and I think it's exploring good ideas'?

[@1260848688]

As a follow on to the benchmark discussion, what would you recommend as a set of WODs to use on a periodic basis as way to measure progress across the movement and time domains?