Growth and Change

Last week I was sitting in the office, thinking about the "old days" here at CFRR.  Back when we only had one side to the gym, a boom box that played our music and we HAD to go outside on the concrete to wod, because there just wasn't enough room for all of us inside.  There were no fans, and we didn't use mats for our precious little knees, as we burpee'd away in the parking lot.  As I was reminiscing, I thought about my old 7pm crew.  Back before I was a coach and back when "The Sport Fitness" was just friends in a garage, gettin' sweaty (ha!).  Don't get me wrong, I am BEYOND THRILLED at the growth that CFRR has seen in the last 3 years, but with growth comes changes and, well...Aggie just doesn't do well with a whole lotta change!

7pm class waaaaaaay back in the day :)

Out of all the changes I have seen here in the last 3 years, the one that sticks out the most (aka,  irritates me the most) is probably THE most important one of all....Camaraderie.  Back when I was in the 7pm class, our warm up pretty much consisted of friendly, sarcastic banter, laughter and a lot of shit talking - all in good fun, of course!  Landon would give us the 3-2-1-GO and shit got real.  No more laughter, just hard ass work.  BUT -  and I want this to be heard LOUDLY!!! - When we saw a member of our class struggling, we encouraged them to keep moving.  If you were one of the first people done, you cheered and screamed "every rep counts!" or "Finish Strong!" for EVERY single person until they finished.  NEVER did we start to put away our equipment until the timer went off or every person had completed the wod.  We were a TEAM.  No single person mattered, we did it together.  Camaraderie is one of the main components of CrossFit, that I feel, holds the key to people succeeding or quitting.

OK, so let me get to my point about growth and changes....

We're seeing new people in the gym every week, which is a FANTASTIC thing!  But what's happened, is now you have classes that have been together for years, some classes that are almost all new members and other classes that are a mix.   "What's wrong with that?", you ask.  Nothing, EXCEPT for the fact that the veterans of the gym are over here in this corner whooping it up, then the new members are quiet and over there in that other corner trying to remember what the hell a snatch is!  It's like people have forgotten how to interact with each other or something. Yes, there are little cliques, and of course we all have friends that we are going to gravitate to and talk to first, but is it THAT hard to go up to the new guy and strike up a conversation? I don't want my classes to be like that!  I don't want people to just think it's all about them and the clock or being #1 on the board. It's about people with like minds, coming together for the same purpose - health, strength, mental well being, and well...just being wicked awesome!!

Let's go back to what I said about camaraderie being the key to success.  Let's say YOU'RE the new person in a class full of seasoned veterans.  You don't know anyone, but your coach, and you still have trouble figuring out what weight you're capable of, what the movements are, etc...then it's 3-2-1-GO!  You make it through the first 2 rounds, but you're beginning to fatigue.  Out of the corner of your eye, you see those seasoned vets finishing and breaking down their bar, while you're over in the corner still struggling.  How would you feel if you were the last one working and nobody gave a damn?  Would you give up?  Take that same scenario, but change the ending....Out of the corner of your eye, you see those seasoned vets finishing.  They take a few breaths and maybe wipe up some sweat.  Then they come to where you are...clapping, cheering, yelling for you to "keep it up! You're almost done!".   How would that make you feel?  It's a lot harder to give up when you have a team cheering for you, huh?

Does anybody out there get what I'm saying?  YOU could be the reason that somebody finishes, or the reason they even come to class in the first place.  If people feel like no one cares enough to give them a fucking high five as they run by, they're going to give up and quit.  Is being #1 on the board more important than encouraging another human being?  Take the 5 seconds, it won't kill you.

I'll say it again...CAMARADERIE.  Learn it.  Live it. And don't let me catch you breaking down your equipment before everyone is finished - there may be TABATA burpees in your future if you do :)