CrossFit Stapleton 4/13/12

Initial impression

The first thing that I noticed about CrossFit Stapleton was how easy it was to find.  It was conveniently located about a block from I-70 and was very clearly marked.  No driving around in circles like a lost tourist for this guy!  The entrance was really professional and clean.  In fact, the entire gym was very clean, very open and very well equipped.  Nicole greeted me as I walked up to the door.  Aside from being very beautiful, Nicole was about the nicest person I could imagine.  She was very very welcoming and seemed genuinely excited that I chose to come the CFS. 

Warm up

I really liked the warm up.  At one point I mumbled under my breath that I may DNF before the actual workout started. 

21-15-9 of...

Med ball cleans

push ups

sit ups

calorie row or ride

KB snatch

Sean showed each of the movements.  His explanation of the KB snatch actually helped me quite a bit.  Sean's experience with CrossFit was absolutely apparent.  He controlled the tempo of the class and was able to easily manage all 12 participants with ease.  Nicole was floating around and doing an excellent job of demonstrating movements as well.

The warm up was very appropriate and I felt well prepared for the main WOD. 

Following a second explanation of the workout, we were given a 90 second time hack to set up our stations.  There was no putsing around, no time to get cold after the warm up.  Great time management.

Work out of the Day

5 rounds of...

15 Ground to over head weight plate (45/25#)

20 air squats

25 double unders (which I was made to do unbroken)

I really enjoyed this workout.  I honestly would never have done a G2OH with a weight plate in my own programming.  Sets were long enough to provide a challenge but short enough to keep the pace up!

Time- 6:26 rx (first round 1:10)

The T-Shirt

They didn't have blue in my size.... I cried on the way home.  No I didn't.  I got the black one, which is quite form fitting, which is helpful in attracting the ladies!  hey beach muscles, yeah!  It's a "next level"  which is pretty close to "American Apparel"  The logo is pretty massive, I usually go for the subtle look, as you know I am VERY humble.  ha.  They had beanies, which if it hadn't been 75 degrees out I would have jumped on!

The Score

I called my coach, Georgia Maxey, as I left CFS.  I believe I told her "I want to live there!"  Honestly, a great group of experienced coaches.  They seemed genuinely excited and happy that I was going to regionals.  They knew how to run a class, they knew what they were doing!!! that is HUGE for me.  On top of that the space was open, bright and well stocked.  I would recommend this box to anyone and everyone in a 5 mile radius!

Arbitrary score based off of; coaching experience, programing, facility, shawg and attractiveness of female coaches and athletes...

I give CFS a score of....2:33 Fran time.

CrossFit Arvada 4/6/2012

I took this picture from Arvada's website.  In the future I am going to try to make sure to take my own!

Initial impressions

   The first thing I noticed about CrossFit Arvada is that I couldn't find it on google.  I found it on CrossFit main page.  No big deal.  The next thing was that the Workout of the Day (WOD) was not posted as of 9am that day.  Now, I understand that things get busy and posting a workout is about the least important part of coaching/owning a gym.  When I called to see if it was okay to drop in I got a chance to talk to Keith (owner of CFA)  He told me what the WOD was and that it would be fine if I did a drop in.
  The first thing that I noticed when I pulled up to CF Arvada (30 minutes early) was that the bay doors were open and people were coming in and out.  I really liked that, it was rather inviting.  Keith found me wandering around, I guess I looked lost.  He directed me to the locker rooms, which were nice (two showers!)   The box is very large (12,000sf I believe) and very well stocked.  They have a full astro turf section and batting cage.  I believe that they share a space with another strength and conditioning business.
   Before we started the WOD I got a chance to meet, one of the other coaches named Tom.  Tom was awesome!  Having been recently deployed to Afghanistan as a medical officer, we had an instant commonality.  He was very inviting and welcoming.  He made me feel like an instant member of his gym.

THE WARM UP:

  The W/U was written on the board and there was little instruction so I followed the lead of the other members.  It was self paced, which I personally like.  It's how we do it for our Level 2 classes at CF LoDO. 

The WOD:

400m run
21 front squats @ 75% body weight
1 min wall sit
30 split box jumps (I have never done this movement before, I loved it!!)
1 min wall sit
200m run
1 min wall sit
30 split box jump
1 min wall sit
21 front squats @ 75% BW
400m run

Time- 14:16RX

   This was a quad cooker to say the least. Typically I love run based WOD's.....  Ouch!!  It was the good kind of hurt though!  Very well programed, very good mix of static and dynamic movement.  There was 5 of us at the 11:30a class.  Everyone of the other athletes was very nice and introduced themselves to me. 

 The T-SHIRT!

  Olive drab (military green) they also had black, but the last thing I need is another black T-Shirt! 

The quality is pretty good, not quite American Apparel but definitely better than a Haynes 50/50  The logo is the new evolution of man.  Cost was standard, $20.  I only had $19.  Keith said that it would be okay and that I should be more responsible with my money.  He didn't really say that!  The shirt is comfy as can be, I'm wearing it now!!

The Score 

I have decided to affix a score to each gym that I visit, because frankly we CrossFitters love to score things regardless of how arbitrary it is!  I based scoring on overall atmosphere, coaching ability, programming, how cute the girls are and how boss the shwag is. 

 CrossFit Arvada scores  11 cupcakes out of a bakers dozen!

The first "Box Jump"

  In the wake of the recent CrossFit open I have heard the term "CrossFit Community" tossed around more times than I can count.  While I have been participating in CF for over 8 years and have had ownership in three different gyms I'm not sure if I actually belong to this "Community" that everyone keeps talking about.  In fact, up until this year I had never done a CF workout in an affiliate that I didn't own.  While I may be a slightly extreme case it seems to me that the "Community" is a little cliquish, for lack of a better term.  Some gym owners are apprehensive about having someone who coaches at another gym workout with their classes.  Why?  Do they believe that they will poach clients?  Are they insecure about their own coaching abilities and background knowledge??  Or are they just so damn busy running a gym, coaching, and trying to keep up with their own personal fitness that they haven't been able to look outside in months let alone explore their own community??? 
    Owning and running a gym is not as easy as most people think.  I would say that in my first year I worked between 80-90 hours every week, without a full day off for 5-6 months at a time (Thank you Christmas) with a take home pay that averages out to be around $2 an hour.  I am very fortunate to be in a position that will allow me to see the light of day a few times a week.  How do I intend on spending my hard earned time off from the gym???  By visiting other gyms!!  I know, I know....
     I know that, like many athletes, I have become comfortable in my training environment.  In an effort to break out of my comfort zone and give myself a slight psychological edge, I thought it would be a cool idea to drop in to a different gym each week to better prepare me for this years South West Regional competition.  The first gym that I chose was CrossFit Arvada, who will be the subject of my first official "Box Jump" report.  As I was leaving CFA, I had a mini epiphany!  How cool would it be to do a WOD in every single CrossFit affiliate in the state of Colorado!!
    At present count there are 110.... WOW!!!  110 in the state!!!  At risk of sounding like "that guy" there was only 12 affiliates WORLD WIDE when I started CrossFittng!  110 in the state!!!  That is a pretty large community.  Lucky for me I love doing 2 a day WOD's and I love T-shirts!
  
   Follow me as I jump from box to box and share my thoughts on each gyms atmosphere, experience of coaches, programing, my overall experience and most importantly how cool their T-shirt is!