Tangible Evidence of Participation
January 24, 2012 Category: Blog 24 Comments 
Today’s Workout:
“Nancy”
5 Rounds For Time
Run 400m
15 Overhead Squat 95/65
There has been a lack of participation in a few key areas around our box and I want to take the time to bring them to light. Full participation in our program and our community is required of all of our athletes, not optional.
PUBLICLY POSTING WORKOUTS:
Our coaches are going to return to writing down everyone’s name on the whiteboard. This will be to ensure that everyone has space and track attendance. Do not leave the gym without writing up your score. Failure to do so will result in everyone’s favorite motivational consequence: burpees. Like it or not having a measurable outcome to almost everything you do and recording it publicly with time, scaling, etc. is just as much a part of our program as actually doing the workouts. It doesn’t matter whether you are first or dead last you must participate in sharing your scores. If you aren’t counting or don’t care you might as well be drowning in a sea of monotony and boredom on the elliptical while watching the Kardashians on the monitor back at globo gym.
PERSONAL JOURNALS:
A lot of you are doing great with recording your times, weights, and scores in your own journals. There have been a few times lately that I have asked athletes about weights on recent lifts and have been disappointed to find out that they haven’t been keeping track. You know who you are. We are not in the business of letting our athletes come into they gym and shoot into the dark every day. Forward progress can only be seen in the accumulation of workout data. Any serious athlete in any serious training program keeps a journal because there is simply no way to remember every statistic or every variation from every WOD and lift. Write it down. It only takes a few seconds is essential to your progress.
COMMENTS SECTION:
My teachers in high school were big on the whole “show your work” and “tangible evidence of review” trip when they were grading assignments. This was to make sure that I had taken the time to actually put the work in. I spend a lot of time and effort working on this blog to bring you relevant and pertinent information to our training and put up pictures of you guys killing it in our box. Keeping up with the website is important as it is both a learning tool and a place for us to interact outside the gym. This is where the comments section comes in handy. You can post questions regarding technical, logistical, or any other issues and I will answer. You can complain that we don’t run enough, or run too much, or how piss you are about doing 45 Minutes of burpees. Use it to celebrate your PRs, and share how stoked you are about taking 1/3 as long to do “Baseline.” Make us laugh by sharing a link to the new “Things CrossFitter’s Say” video you just found or crack some jokes. Comments prove to me that you are checking out our website. I know we all have facebook, twitter, linkedin, myspace, google +, and grindr but this is OUR space. Our page gets hundreds of hits a day, but the comments section is often empty, or dominated by a few key contributors (thanks guys).
As I mentioned it is not optional to participate in our community if you want to be a part of it. For this reason if we do not get at least individual 5 comments per day the entire gym will do 20 burpees in each class the day after to start their warmup. It is not that hard for less than 10% of our community to check the blog and contribute. Also, if you do not have a score next to your name on the white board you will be doing 20 burpees before your next warm-up. The late burpee penalty is also being changed from this point forward to 20 burpees. These are all very easy things to do, but more importantly are integral to our community. Start contributing; don’t be a lurker (see diagram below).
Post Thoughts To Comments.
Missing Nancy is the bright spot in having the worst sinus infection I’ve seen in years. Any tips for making overhead squats suck less for bad wrists? Taping is not enough to avoid upsetting old injuries, it seems.
I’m actually kinda bummed to be missing Nancy! School starts today, so I’ll see you tomorrow. Ewwwww burpees.
That’s a lot of overhead squats.
I’m still waiting for an answer to my question from yesterday that I left in the comment section…
Haha, I love the rush to comment to avoid burpees. Maybe we should discuss some positive reinforcement options, however. Also, how can I “like” others’ comments?!
Jes- awesome article for some ideas… http://sanfranciscocrossfit.blogspot.com/2009/05/be-nice-your-wrists-work-hard.html
Katie- I love the callout and will do 20 burpees from now on for every unanswered question.
Larisa- The positive reenforcement will be all the laughs and nuggets of knowledge you pick up from participating.
Useful, but more focused on cleans/clean grip, and bending hands back doesn’t really bother me unless things are already more dicey than usual. I think it’s the lateral forces on my wrists in the wider grip I have to use to OHS that are the problem (or at least that’s what the pain says). I might bother you to tweak my positioning next time.
The article may have been specific to a question about the rack position but principles are much the same.
Especially: “Make sure your other soft tissues support a more wrist neutral position”
I agree with Larisa. I have no issue with doing burpess, or even 45 mins of them the last time someone was careless with stacking the weights.. but the fact I was told I was doing them because I did not respect the gym did not sit well with me at all.
My first blog ever. !!! Respect the gym and your work out friends. Burpees?? Got to love them. I know Glenn does
In other news… I think I need a Pomsky (pomeranian husky)!
Source: idressmypets.com via Lauren on Pinterest
I have an ap on my I-pad I really like, maybe it will work for the i-phone to. It’s called WOD. I think I paid around $5 for it. I can bring my iPad to show you if you want.
Just curious, does anyone have a Crossfit iphone app that they really like?
Lauren, see the comment I posted on Larisas . Still figuring this blogging out.
Fan of Nancy…but not of running in the dark.
Will- You were not told you were doing them because YOU did not respect the gym, but because one person did not (or in that case a few over time). We are a team. On the playing field or in practice when one member of a team messes up all teammates suffer. This is just as true in our box. The purpose of motivational consequences is to motivate us all to take ownership in keeping this gym clean and taking care of it. All of our burpee penalties are to inspire people to follow simple protocols of our community, not to demean or punish.
Regarding positive reenforcement. Take for example the conversation today’s post has already generated. You want positive reenforcement? How about getting a good resource to help with wrist issues, learning about the WOD App, or seeing your self hit extension on your clean. Without the motivation of burpees this discussion would not have existed. I agree that I could do a better job highlighting inspiring performances on this blog or maybe instituting an “athlete of the month,” but learning and discussing health, fitness, and related topics outside the gym will only help you get to the next level inside the gym. Which is the entire goal of this community and also the ultimate positive reenforcement.
Lauren- Search for one simply called WOD its pretty good.
also Larisa you for sure need that dog. it is a you sized murphy.
Does anyone know of a good web app for recording WODs and lifts? Possibly one that can integrate with smart phones(when my broke college budget can afford one)?
I dig the graphic. I don’t dig OHS. Ugh…
I use myWOD on my iPhone. It works well and I think it was 99 cents. Keeps great track of everything!
The development and exercise of ‘lurking’ skills is underappreciated.
I am a huge fan of reducing the number of burpees if you are late from 50 down to 20. Now I might be able to crush some PR’s!
Nancy’s my bitch! 10:17.
I apologize to anyone who takes offense to my lack of respect to nancy. I love women.
4 Grunions tonight
1 did knee exercises so hopefully he can play Saturday
3 did “Fight Gone Bad”, all Rx:
Jon Bell 248
Mitch 239
Brett ???
Grunion game this weekend vs. Old Aztecs, 1pm kickoff, Elings Park
Beer at the pitch