Introduction
The landscape that is CrossFit has grown rapidly in 2013. I remember opening the doors back in 2010 and there being only 20 affiliates and now there is 80+. I spent the first 18months of trading having to educate each and every person that came through the doors as to what CrossFit is and what makes it so special. Now more often then not I get people coming in and wanting to give CrossFit a go. It's been a very refreshing change. It also has given me renewed faith that when i made the leap of faith to open AFS I was right and it would work.....eventually lol.
This is our 3rd christmas and quite a lot of water has passed under the bridge. We have seen new arrivals with my son Theo, Darren and Tara added Cassidy to their ranks and the Hogbens not only got married but added little Max to the fold. Our membership has also grown quite dramatically in 2012. We started with around 60members and we finish the year with 105. We now run busy classes 5 times a day and have a thriving Angry Gorillas kids club 3 times a week. This growth has thrown up a lot of questions about our Programming, Coaching, Cleaning, and my favourite admin. We have had to evaluate all of these areas to keep moving forward and make the necessary improvements to cope.
The Programme
This is arguably our most dramatic change. When kicking off I found myself rigidly sticking to the principles of CrossFit. Warm up and a Wod job done. This year however we have seen 3 people Qualify in the top 150 for the London Throwdown out of nearly 900 who entered. Our showing in the Divided we Fall competition in the top 65 showed that we have at least 10 very capable CrossFitters who on another day with a slight change of strategy would have qualified in the top 50 if not higher. I took the decision to come away from CrossFit style programming and adopt a more strength and conditioning approach. We have split the year into 4 and are now focusing on peaking in March for the CrossFIt Open and in October for the DWF. I decided to programme for the top 10% of the gym and then encourage everyone else, including myself to catch them. I have to admit I was a little concerned to start with. I asked myself will everyone take to the change? Would we still see improvements across the board? and finally and most importantly would everyone still enjoy it? The overwhelming response was positive. Not only did everyone really enjoy the changes but I have seen phenomenal progress by each and every member. The most important part for me is we now seem to be working together a lot better. We have a common goal and we are helping and motivating each other to get there.
I think it is also important to recognise the people who have really impressed me this year with dedication, development and all round general attitude.
In the male category there really is only one winner. Stuart Mcrae joined on the morning of our opening and I don't think he has missed a week of training (barring holiday) in the past 32months. He has followed the programming religiously and has developed into one of the most complete athletes in the gym.
The female category is a little closer to call. When I first opened the gym it was very difficult to get ladies to buy into the fact that lifting weights no matter how heavy would actually make them fitter, healthier and skinnier (some would still argue against this last bit :). Alison Marron started training here at AFS with serious reservations about lifting weights. I remember our first session ending in tears as she was scared to lift a kids bar overhead. Alison has juggled her own PT business, 5 kids, moving and a Costa addiction to not only convert to CrossFit but to become one of our most dedicated and committed members.
Coaching
As my most fierce critic I know that in previous years we have been guilty of overlooking little faux pars and not always being strict on performance points. 2012 has seen me try to address these points. I worked through the programme over the course of these last 12 months ensuring that coaching was of the highest priority building in detailed progression to help our members improve. Myself, Dave and now Darren have all passed the BWL Level 1 weightlifting course this year with the level 2 top priority in 2013. Reflecting on my own coaching performance I have taken onboard some constructive criticism. I have tried to be more rewarding in my praise as I have been told I'm miserable ;) With another 12 months under my belt I feel that I have developed a keener coach'e eye. Picking up on inefficiency very quickly and being able to put a plan in place straightaway to make positive change. Over the course of 2012 we have added Gibbo to the coaching staff mainly on weekends. He brought a very different twist to the Wods which was very refreshing and went down very well. Hopefully he will get involved even more in 2013 before leaving us for New Zealand.
Cleaning & Admin
I've bunched these together as they are my least favourite. For the first 6 months or so I spent a lot of my time with the marigolds on and the hoover glued (sometimes stuck up ;) ) to my ass. Kala will tell you that I hate cleaning however it had to be done. Around August time I asked Kirsty Mcrae if she would help me out and thankfully she did. She has done a cracking job and with the growth expected next year she may be getting a few more hours (if she wants them). Admin shmadmin...it's gotten done just about. I can just about make it out so thats all that needs to be said about that. So long as the WOD is posted you guys are happy I hope?
Departures
With all this growth obviously comes the sad bits. We lost James who went on to pastures new to open his own gym. Having introduced him to CrossFit having spent years telling him how great it is I am immensely proud of my best friend for getting amongst it and really exploring the potential that I have known he always had. Here's wishing him and Sarum CrossFit all the best for 2013.
2013....................
So 2013 is upon us. The excitement of the unknown is once again here. What are our new years resolutions? In January we will be increasing our Barbell Club sessions to twice a week. We are also starting our AFS Fat Killers Club to help anyone who wants to lose weight. In March we see the return of our Andover's Fittest competition and in October we will once again be taking a crack at the DWF. We will also see the launch of a new website so keep an eye out for that.
To finish I would just like to say a big thank you to all of our members. You have each contributed massively in growing our little family. Without you all AFS wouldn't be the fun, vibrant, happy place I look forward to coming into every day.
With our increase in memberships the gym is getting to be a very small place at times. We are looking at options for moving but this will not be for at least 2 years. As a result we are going to have to be tighter on class timings. On many occasions I have walked into the gym to find members about to start a workout in the middle of the gym 5mins before a class is about to begin. I find nothing more awkward then asking people to move out of the way. As a consequence I am going to be a lot stricter on Open Gym timings from now on. The platforms, the cages and the area in front of the discs is for people not wanting to take part in the class. At class times the Pull Up Rack, ropes and area in front of the changing rooms is for class participants only!! Thank You.
With our increase in memberships the gym is getting to be a very small place at times. We are looking at options for moving but this will not be for at least 2 years. As a result we are going to have to be tighter on class timings. On many occasions I have walked into the gym to find members about to start a workout in the middle of the gym 5mins before a class is about to begin. I find nothing more awkward then asking people to move out of the way. As a consequence I am going to be a lot stricter on Open Gym timings from now on. The platforms, the cages and the area in front of the discs is for people not wanting to take part in the class. At class times the Pull Up Rack, ropes and area in front of the changing rooms is for class participants only!! Thank You.
