October 8, 2016
Written By: Meaghan Gonzalez
A handbook on rules and proper gym etiquette is not given to you when joining the gym, so we have decided that this would be the perfect topic to kick off our series of educational blog posts for you. In a nut shell, the coaches at Shifted expect all members to act like decent human beings who pick up after themselves and have respect for their gym and its members. Now that doesn’t sound too challenging does it? It should be a piece of cake, however, every gym manages to have a few members who just can’t quite master the proper gym etiquette guidelines. Read along to ensure that you are not that person and that you are living up to the Shifted Standard.
Gym Rules:
1. Be on Time
2. Be respectful and pay attention when the coach is explaining the workout
3. Respect your gym and the equipment
4. Keep the chalk in the chalk bucket
5. Practice Good Hygiene
6. Cheer on your fellow CrossFitters
7. Always practice good reps
8. Don’t Cheat
9. Supervise your children at all times
10. Have a positive attitude and have fun!
1) Be on Time
Arrive to class with enough time to sign in, change, use the bathroom, etc. Classes will always start right on time so please be ready to go. We understand that occasionally things come up and your only option is to arrive five minutes late or not at all, but please don’t be that person who is a distraction by habitually showing up late. If you are more than five minutes late, please choose a different class time to attend.
2) Be Respectful and Pay Attention When the Coach is Explaining the Workout
We want our programming to be completely inclusive to anyone looking to improve their fitness which is why we offer two separate programs during each class time. For a coach, this is a much more challenging feat than coaching a single program especially when the class size is large. Please hold your side conversations until after all aspects of each program have been clearly explained to everyone. We want all of our members to be confident with what they are doing and leave no room for mistakes.
3) Respect Your Gym and the Equipment
We all need to take part in keeping our gym clean and organized. To start, please be sure that all of your belongings are kept inside of a cubbie. If there is not an available cubbie, please keep your things as close to the cubbies as possible.
During your workout, please do not EVER drop empty barbells or barbells with 10lb plates only. This will severely ruin our barbells and plates. Also, please protect our dumbbells and kettlebells as well by not ever dropping them. When loading a barbell, you must load largest plates to smallest plates. The plate closest to the center takes the brunt of the drop and should therefore always be your largest plate. When dropping barbells, you must be aware of your surroundings and follow your barbell down to ensure that it does not move into someone else’s space.
After your workout is complete, be sure to wipe down your area and everything that you used and then put all equipment back where you found it.
4) Keep the Chalk in the Chalk Bin
This one is pretty self-explanatory. When putting chalk on your hands, stick your hands in the chalk bucket. Don’t carry any chalk with you to your workout station, keep it all in the bucket.
5) Practice Good Hygiene
When your aroma enters the room before you do, adjustments need to be made We ask our members to always wear deodorant and pretty please make sure that you are regularly washing your CrossFit gear. Knee sleeves, wrist wraps, shin guards, grips, and hats all need to be thrown in for a good washing at least once a week. Along with our smell, let’s also take care of our sweat. Please utilize the towel service that we offer and keep a towel near you at all times. If you sweat on the area around you or any of the equipment, please wipe it up. If you are an excessive sweater, wipe yourself off throughout your workout to prevent you from leaving a sweat trail around the gym. No one wants to work out in someone else’s sweat so please manage your sweatiness!
6) Cheer On Your Fellow CrossFitters
The reason we all love CrossFit so much is because of the community. Be an active and encouraging member of your community and cheer on every last person until the end of their workout. Once everyone has finished you can then begin the cleanup of your things.
7) Always Practice Good Reps
When we talk about good reps, we are talking about having awareness during your movements and not cutting reps short to earn a higher score and higher placement on the whiteboard. If you have a mobility limitation or an injury that does not allow you to achieve full range of motion in a movement, we fully support you making a modification. However, if you do not have a limitation, then we expect nothing but good reps out of all of our members. If you are unsure about whether or not you are reaching full depth in a wall ball or if your chin is going over the bar in your pull-up just ask a fellow classmate or your coach for confirmation.
8) Don’t Cheat
Don’t be that person! Nobody cares if you don’t achieve the top spot on the whiteboard, but everyone cares if you cheat. We understand that occasionally you may lose count of your rounds or reps during your metcon, but we also understand that some people may be adding on a few additional reps to their score in order to reach a higher placing on the whiteboard. For those of you who fall under the second category, we want to assure you that it has not gone unnoticed. For example, I personally have performed probably two million repetitions of every movement imaginable. This allows me to know exactly how long it should take to perform 21 repetitions of anything. If you complete your 21 repetitions in an extraordinarily fast amount of time and your name is not Rich Froning, chances are I noticed that you did not complete all of your reps or were not performing your reps to the standard. Don’t cheat yourself and don’t cheat your fellow CrossFitters by adding on a few extra reps or subtracting a few seconds from your time. Remember why we are all here in the first place. We are here to improve from where we were yesterday and without accurate scoring, we will never be able to accurately track our progress. Let’s all make a pact to just come in to the gym, kick ass, earn our score, post it accurately, give a high five, and repeat tomorrow.
9) Supervise Your Children At All Times
Please make sure that if you bring kids to the gym, you are keeping an eye on them at all times (before, during, and after your workout) It is very dangerous for kids to be running around the gym while weights are being lifted and also dangerous for them to be playing on the equipment without supervision. We have started the creation of our designated kid’s area and plan to improve it as time goes on to make it a more enjoyable place for kids to be. We really appreciate your attention to this rule to provide a safe environment for everyone.
10) Have a Good Attitude and Have Fun!
Shifted is YOUR safe place to enjoy yourself, escape from all of life’s stressors, and be surrounded by positive and encouraging people. Appreciate this community and space that we all have created and always enjoy your time spent here. Be an uplifting spirit that someone is looking forward to being around each day.
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