In the Age of Opinion, where every viewpoint is validated by a 'like' button, even the most groundless myths can harvest support. Never before have so many borne the burden of miseducation by so many others.
We are not immune. Their is no social 'herd immunity' for knowledge. CrossFit coaches are not impervious to trend, groupthink, or 'social logic.'
A recent poster on a CrossFit board asked, "What's the best overall system for gaining strength: Starting Strength, CrossFit Football, or Hybrid Athletics?" The answer, of course, is yes. And no. And a thousand other sources, too. We must continue to strengthen the CrossFit body by learning, adapting and amalgamating information that will benefit the whole, rather than always turning within for answers.
Facts are cheaply available. Data is the newest commodity. Wisdom, though....and perspective? Must be earned. Dan John has these. So do Mark Twight, the late Mel Siff, Verkhoshansky, Medveyev, Charlie Francis....and the 60-year-old-motherloving-HIT-fan at the bodybuilding pump-n-go down the street. They know something that you don't. Find out what that is. Throw it up on the wall, with the rest. See what sticks.
If CrossFit continues its current rate of new Affiliate growth - which IS possible - its numbers could triple as soon as 2013.
Why is it possible, when even Gold's Gym, 24 Hour Fitness, and Bally's haven't reached that mark? Simple: the world is different.
In the franchise model, every gym is the same. This creates consistency in the mind of the consumer, which is great in the short term...but not in the long.
"I went to Gold's last summer while I was visiting my cousin in Utah. I didn't really like it....so I won't join here."
When the CrossFit message was new, the same stereotype (if you've been to one, you've been to all) pervaded. Now, though, different CrossFit boxes are perceived differently by consumers. Some will feel more 'at home' in an Affiliate who puts a higher value on competition; some will feel alienated. Some distance runners will choose the CrossFit Box with more rowers and Endurance-based WODs; some powerlifters will make the switch to CrossFit because the Box has Atlas Stones and, man, I've always wanted to play with those....
Specialization is a bone of contention among Affiliates. Whether you perceive your specialization or not, though, your potential membership recognizes your accent. Yes, you're speaking English...but in a way that's different and charming.
Imagine the number of CrossFit Affiliates tripling in your city within the next two years. You're being pressured from the top (HQ) down (don't worry, it's a good pressure.) You're also being pressed by the consumer: how are you different than CrossFitShakeWeight down the block? That's bottom-up pressure, from the grassroots.
Specializing doesn't mean embracing one aspect of CrossFit at the expense of all others. It just means moving a little off-centre.
"We do powerlifting, but our real specialty is our endurance program: we cycle indoors and outdoors, and we have weekly pool time."
"Well, we're similar to CrossFitMoshPit, but we really love to focus our energy around getting people stronger."
"We love CrossFit, and we put the community ahead of competition."
You may not want to specialize; consider, then, what sets you apart from the others. Those are your strengths. In the same way that you hope double-unders don't come up during the Open, you hope that your new prospect doesn't ask about Yoga and mobility classes. Those are your weaknesses. They will be exposed.
If you're currently planning for 2012 (and you should be,) consider where everyone ELSE will be at this time next year...
450 pages of great stuff on the brain, learning, coaching, and education. This is the program that we created to help kids (and adults) learn better through CrossFit; to our great surprise, it's also been a huge growth area for our Box.
The Ignite! Enrichment Through Exercise book is a glimpse into the brain, including anatomy, chemistry, circuitry...and easy to understand. If you want to get your message into schools; get teachers into your gym; or deliver more education-based programs to supplement your CrossFit and CrossFit Kids offerings, there's nothing better than Ignite!
It was my first day on the job as a treadmill salesman, and I was spending it buried in bubble wrap.
It was a massive 'build' - the construction of dozens of fitness machines, for time, with only assorted L-shaped hex keys to help me. I learned a lot about organization, productivity, and filling scratches without obvious bleed-overs. We worked a 20-hour day, and afterward I swore that I could understand Mandarin from reading page after page of multilingual directions.
A few hours later, a polished by dreary-eyed sales team of one proudly opened the doors at 8:55am. I was surprised that there were no crowds. After a few minutes of finding the 'right' radio station, adjusting the lighting, restacking the pile of mats, dusting the medicine balls....well, I did all of those things again. I was shocked that I wasn't being overrun.
Around noon, I'd had three coffees and was jittering away behind the desk, reading books about salesmanship (Always! Be! Closing!) when the door chimed. It was a curious visitor from next door - a Weight Watchers' club, which we would later torment on Saturday mornings by eating donuts in the front window of the shop - and she was looking for.....a scale. For her bathroom.
There's not much worse, in the fitness industry, than making your first sale and handing back the change from a twenty. The only thing worse: NOT making the first sale. I blew it.
At 5pm, I turned the sign back to 'CLOSED.' My boss came in to check my totals: $4.50 for a set of bar clips. I felt like I had to apologize. But, I pointed out, "...there's no traffic here!" If we'd opened in the mall - site of my job immediately previous - we'd have had five HUNDRED people in the store, walking on treadmills and talking about fitness. Right?
Yes, she said. Yes. Five HUNDRED people. Walking on treadmills. Waiting for their wives. Looking for a public restroom. Kicking the...treadmill belts. You get it.
The next day, a tall guy came in at 10. He wanted a treadmill. I sold him one. It was easy.
That was the day - my third on the job - that I learned what a 'destination business' meant. When you're good, they'll come to you.
You cannot spread your message by building fences.
Critics of CrossFit are now able to make a living by creating an identity of "CrossFit Outsider." This is important, because it validates the CrossFit notion; it provides a 'yin' to the would-be CrossFit Community 'yang.'
When you criticize a system in which people have made an emotional investment, you're questioning their wisdom AND system of personal values. Since decisions are made emotionally more often than logically, placing a would-be friend on the defensive is a recipe for failure.
A few months ago, I had an epiphany that I outlined in Windows and Walls. I've made this mistake over and over again: "What's your workout like? Oh, you're doing it wrong. No, that's wrong. That book is wrong. I don't agree...." in doing so, I've just shown a potential new client that we're different. You're in another tribe. If you want to talk, we'll have to do so over this wall....
This predicament, of course, isn't limited to CrossFit. "With us or against us" has become the mantra of nations, religions, football teams, and other equally-important groups. The solution - more windows, more inclusion - isn't easy to swallow, because our brains are hard-wired to group, categorize, and separate. Our race, though, and our greatest ideas have spread and flourished best when unhindered by the "OR" obstacle.
Exposing your clients to another Affiliate in the same city? Yes, some may leave. Some may join. It may be a case of two steps forward, and one step back. But it's still forward progress. Alienating your base by building up walls will have folks looking for windows...or making their own.
Consider this case: someone you love ends your relationship. You're heartbroken. Years later, though, you can't recall what you ever saw in that person. This is the brain's ego-integrity defense: to attack the person who can't share your feelings.
Another example: in a parent-teacher interview, your child's instructor says, "She just can't focus. Maybe you should consider having her tested..." Do you immediately agree, or immediately doubt the teacher's ability to HOLD a child's attention...and then, her ability to teach objectively at all...and then, her professionalism...and then, her motives, her paycheque, her credentials.... it's a sad, but natural extension of our evolution.
Sorry, Robb. See you at the Games again this year?
By the way, Robb's wife runs one of the best business blogs around for CrossFit Affiliates: Nikki Violetti
The Ignite! Enrichment Through Exercise book is now shipping!
Ignite! is the application of CrossFit-style workouts, Interventions, and Weekly Challenges to enhance learning. We've used it in classrooms, in homes, in our own Ignite! Academy; we've been successful with clients who have autism; ADHD; Asperger's; brain injury; stroke....and gifted students looking for Enrichment, or advanced learning opportunities.
This is our philosophy, our methodology, and our passion.
If you have a CrossFit Kids program, or you'd like to help (or become a better learner yourself...) give it some thought.
Yesterday, we did our first visit of the new school year to a local high school. We've been in schools for months now, but hadn't made it around to this particular school yet.
We were there to talk about Ignite! - the ways to improve learning, focus and attention in students through exercise - but were startled to find that several classrooms had already added treadmills beside the desks.
I was shocked: a school Board spending money on treadmills to improve learning... without increasing access to exercise? Without coaching on solid fitness habits? Without realizing the resources already available to them?
But of course not. Change means purchase, in our culture. The 'fitness' paradigm pervades even the classroom. On a good-better-best scale, this is still a 'good': teachers recognizing the need to stimulate BDNF during learning times. At least we're part of the conversation, now; our mandate simply changes to educating teachers on the BEST implementation of exercise in the classroom. Big hurdle overcome.
If you're running a CrossFit Kids program, and want to start running groups in schools, you're not alone. We've been pursuing the in-school market for three years, and have made significant inroads (including two co-operative studies between our Affiliate and local school Boards.)
First, read Spark! by John Ratey. This is why it's our moral imperative to get exercise INTO the classroom in any way possible. (Want the BEST way? The Ignite!Enrichment Through Exercise book comes out next week. As CrossFit coaches, you'll be immediately able to recognize ways that CrossFit and learning overlap.)
Next, find your State's white paper files on education delivery, philosophy...and curriculum. If you can match your service to the curriculum goals of the program, then you're working from inside the machine. If you can't find a clear correlation, then make sure to use the language of the Learning Strategy or curriculum guidelines, at least.
Third, if you can't make your program applicable to the curriculum guidelines, consider another angle. Here are three:
Ignite! Enrichment Through Exercise. I'm one of the developers of this program, and it has been HUGE. The opportunities for new markets with reliable income is great; the ability to HELP kids learn better, focus...or just plain care about education is tremendous.
Anti-Bullying. In Canada at least, the anti-bullying movement has taken a massive priority for most extra-curricular funding. We have several MMA fighters at our Box, and we visit schools to deliver a video featuring the fighters (or invite schools to bring kids in to talk to them.)
Anti-Aggression workshops. On the other end of the scale is the teacher training for dealing with aggression in the school setting. To be frank, it's poor. In an overly-aroused state, a student is unable to make clear choices - and is also unable to bring himself down to a calm level. After we did a presentation on Ignite! to 120 social workers last week, several approached us to provide an answer to the anti-aggression problem. We'll be putting together a course over the next few weeks that bridges the Ignite! curriculum and the anti-bullying workshop. You can build your own (or just ask politely, and I'll share ours.)
More than ever, it's critical that teachers, parents AND students hear the message of practical fitness and solid eating habits. It's not just a potential market anymore.
"I wish I had time to join the gym, but I'm too busy helping [parent/spouse/child/students] get to all of their [sporst/appointments/jobs/homework]."
There is a small, golden subset of your membership for whom these aren't excuses: they're real conditions they've placed on their life. In short, they would rather help someone else than do something for themselves.
Perhaps it's an avoidance technique - they're scared, and procrastinating. On the other hand, perhaps their sense of fulfillment in life comes through the delivery of service to others. Perhaps yours does, too. It's noble.
We both know that these folks NEED exercise. They need it more than anyone: if not to keep themselves healthy and sane, then to better provide care to those who need it. Often, they need stress relief, and frequently they need to find a sense of self beyond the health and welfare of others.
Good scenario: they take time to exercise daily to stay strong and healthy for others.
Better scenario: they use CrossFit to build up strength and esteem; to develop their own sense of self-worth; to derive joy from their own accomplishments instead of the one-off triumphs of their kids or spouse.
Best scenario: they lead others into CrossFit.
There are some who don't care about the Open; who don't mind a smallish deadlift; whose Lululemon don't match their Under Armour. They care about the community, though: they show up and post pictures when they can't compete; they send friends and family and talk about CrossFit on facebook. They invite others - each temporarily sick, weak, or lame - to do the Friday night 7pm group that no one else attends. And people come because it's Theresa asking, and not Coach.
The key to their consistency is their perception of need. You DO need these folks, the quiet leaders who reinforce the foundation of empathy (but not sympathy) in your Box. Your members need these folks, too: who will recognize when a member has been missing for a week; is having trouble at work; or simply needs an easy WOD to feel like they're winning at something. I'm lucky enough to have a few Theresas on duty.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. "You know, T, I think Elvira is going through something. If you're coming on Friday, would you invite her?" A hand up, offered by Theresa, is sometimes preferable to an invitation from Coach.
