CrossFit NYC: The Black Box

OH THANK GOODNESS A SUB!!!
You're the best Keith. See you all tomorrow :)

I'm going to hold off on thanking Keith until after my 20 minutes is up.

thank you sir may i have another

how much is a rower? if you can get a few people together I don't mind chipping in...

what is a good sub for stc? shoulder issue rears its head again...

If you can't do a skin the cat, you can pull to an inverted hang. If you can't do an inverted hang, it's toes to the bar. If you can't touch your toes to the bar, it's knees to elbows. If you can't do KTE...

A new C2 Model D rower with PM3 monitor costs $850 plus shipping. If we get 3, I think we get a very small discount. I'd be happy with 2 for our small space.

Additionally, we need about $2000 worth of dumbbells. $1200 worth of medicine balls. Probably another $250 for another GHD.

If you don't have money to chip in, then I suggest bringing more friends to join our humble little gym. Tell them it's bootcamp and not intimidating. We need to increase membership.

Lastly, you should all consider doing privates. A little personal attention never hurt anybody.

"Lastly, you should all consider doing privates."

I know we need money and all, but there has *got* to be a better way. And that's assuming we even know a lot of people in the military.

Is there any chance that these rowers might be available on whatever passes for a vulture capitalist circuit for gyms? I know new is preferred, but if circumstances dictate...

Membership could really be boosted with some press. It will reach further than most advertising. I think the NYT may be done with us after their piece a couple years back, but some of the local street papers might be willing to give some coverage. Maybe someone has contacts in the field? Put out feelers - we're all only a few degrees apart.

That Fight Gone Bad for prostate cancer seemed to work well. Could there be another charity event? You know - where people get sponsors and whatnot? A "24 Hours of Pullups for Psoriasis"-type event would allow people to be contacted and informed about CrossFit. The more stunty the event (David Blaine does this well), the broader the coverage could be.

Where are the public service people? The cops/firemen/etc? Certainly a lot of CF seems to be geared towards appreciating their requirements. Getting a couple of Malcolm Gladwell's "Mavens" from those fields in the Box could steer in dozens of new people in short order,

Just throwing ideas out there because at 1 am, anything could sound good.

Guys I've done our little box good. Just got back from my daughter's wedding and I was challenged to a pushup contest by one of her friends. I managed to bang out 10 in my gown and all. Later the photographer asked me to do another set. I know its very few but considering the time and my attire... Will post pics when I get them!

Thanks all...Keith....

you did pushups at the wedding????

That's funny. I was just talking about that last night.
I've made over 500 dollars from push up contests..
I probably would have made more if my line was a little better-

"I bet I can do more push ups than you"

Those are going to be the best pictures! Go girl :)

I pimped Xfit to some fellow cross-country skiers, maybe a few of them will show up in the coming weeks. Don't scare them off! ;)

Hmm...ok - let's throw "bar bets" on the list as a potential revenue stream.

So you went to your daughter's wedding and did pushups in your gown? Then came home to write about it at 3am?

I assume the bride and groom are thrilled. It must have been a really special event.

I was at a bris once and the Mohel was doing skin the cats. Ironic, no?

A2,

The pics from Sunday are up:

http://gallery.surliness.com/helio_summerfest1

There are some really good photos and in a couple of them you actually look like you're playing a decent game of dodgeball ;)

5k = 34:50 on the treadmill

then

5k = 33:00 on the c2 rower

total of 10k today because I am an type A over achiever!

Oh My God I'm laughing so hard that I'm crying!
Those are the funniest pictures and the captions are perfect. hahaha
My favorite is me holding the ball like a hot potato and I look like I'm about to cry!
My throwing form is so terrible it's no wonder I couldn't hit anyone (except that one guy in the head).

On another note I just wrote a long comment on the main site thanking people for their resoponses to a question I posted earlier and it didn't show up! It called my comment spam because I used a few !!!.. How do I get it back?

1) Membership: I've been asking people at work to join. I have been offering one free class for them to try. Is that okay? Or should I say, "it costs x to go to one class -- try it, and see if you like it."

2) Equipment: I say everyone takes one weekend this summer and doesn't drink. For every drink you would buy at the bar, take that money and put it towards this equipment. With all of the drinking stories I've heard about at the box we could raise thousands!

Im more than willing to donate any extra money I can... I like Moon's idea. And I nominate that we put him in some frozen ice outside the box!! We will make millions.

Paul S, you are more than welcome to offer a first free class as that is the Box's official policy. In fact, if someone comes and takes one class and is on the fence, we encourage them to come take another one for free to get a better sense of what we're all about before they decide. So please keep encouraging your co-workers to come try it, especially since they are nearby, if I remember correctly.

I think asking people to stop drinking is too extreme. Instead of water, we'll stock the fridge with beer and charge $6.

Beer. The answer to and cause of all my problems.

26:45

on the hot humid streets of NYC, PR was 23 something doing laps around a Gramercy park few months ago. I'm cooked.

I think you're onto something Kieth.

why not just do the obvious and have a2 finance the equipment with her push-up contests? then she'll be the push-up queen ;)

seriously pulling together 4k between 20 smarter and motivated people should be a snap.

maybe more outdoor classes with more proactive recruitment? i.m trying to get my friend who just re-joined bootcamp to do cf instead.

lastly in terms of marketing materials, i have access to a high-end pro digital videocamera, i'm happy to shoot and edit some high end footage during a few WODs , you can burn to a business card sized dvds and carry in your wallet, leave a permalink on the site, send to locally stations, etc.

keith i'll schedule a private next time, i need help with handstands, handstands, cat skinning, and kips.

Moon in Ice. Sounds like some trendy "molecular mixology" type summer drink that costs $22.

finance the rowers and then increase monthly membership by (monthly payment on rowers/number of members)
credit---the answer to and the cause of all my problems!

Or, alternatively, contact a celebrity look a like agency and give the look a likes free memberships. Then call and tip off all the blogs and gossip rags. That ought to boost membership.

it's amazing what a little protein in your body will accomplish, i finally got moon's 'private' humour...

keith, not sure if these help or if i can swing it, but i have a pair of bowflex 'selecttech' dumbbells i was going to post on ebay (bought them just before cf and, like bootcamp, found little use for the thereafter); they are the kind that let's you dial in a weight from 2lbs to 55 lbs essntially replacing a rack with one dumbbell (except of course only one person can use a dumbbell at one time so not necessarily 'WOD friendly'.

Sarena - nice -- I'll introduce you to my friend who put her leg behind her head at her own wedding (yes, in her gown, veil and all!!) - you two could become good friends ;-)

Keith - lots of good ideas out here -- I've wished I had some CrossFitNYC postcards or something tangible to get people to take a look at what we do. And, I'd be up for more privates too.

i say we steal some rowers.
5 rounds + 1 burpee

Keith-
How do some of these larger, successful crossfit gyms go about recruiting members and purchasing equipment on limited funds?
I mean we live in a city of millions, you wouldn't think it would be so hard to get people to join this gym.

I think a big downside to the box is the lack of showers/changing facilities. That's a huge reason people don't want to join if they have to decide between a Crunch/NYSC or the Box.

As lame as those boot camps are, what about the possibility of outdoor crossfit workouts that don't require being at the gym - set up the same way as those bootcamps as an intro to Crossfit? (That way people meet at the park and don't expect using a shower/change facility). If people are really into it then they would most likely join the box...plus you could charge the same as that bootcamp (or a bit less), slap some t-shirts on them for advertising, and make it a 3x per week/6 or 9 week deal over the summer.

Just my two cents + 6 rounds.

avery, good points, but i do think by and large the people for whom showers are a serious issue are the ones for whom the concept of the WODs anf the WODs themselves are an issue.

multi-station multi-class crunch gyms are an easy sell. i think by definition cf is a hard sell, whether it is first impression or experiencing a WOD. it isn't coming in and half-assing a step class so you can check out the girls/boys and say you worked out; it is coming in and not caring that you look like a fool trying to do a kip because the only thing you care about is getting the damn thing right and *next* time getting one more AND that all the people around you want the same thing for you. i have *never* been to a gym where people stop what they are doing to support and cheer on someone killing themselves to make their first muscle-up (or some other goal).

the question is, how do you market to those people? where do you find them? i personaly think it is less about tailoring the space for comfort/convenience and more about answering those questions.

CFWUx2
20-15-10-5 for time
12kg kb 2 arm swing, flip, fr sq, flip...
8kg oh lunges each arm
jump pu
18:39

DL
135x3x3
155x3
175x1
185x1
195x1
205x1
215F
215F
210x1
215x1

Thanks Kevin, Brian and Allison for the "screaming." I dont know if I could've done it without your support!! FYI, my old PR pre-surgery in March was 195#. And all this with a bedtime of 330 last night (or better this morning). BW #137

I think Avery and Michael make good points, I think the key is to get individuals to have the Crossfit experience. Once they do they will stay.

I'm paying 96 for NYSC, the 150 Crossfit membership and personal training. (I'm keeping NYSC for the flexabilty around my schedule, showers and my new found love of the C2 (thanks dan o)) Once those things are offered at the Box I will drop NYSC in a hot second.

I have to say the experience is definity worth it. I will do whatever I can to help make the Box sucessful. I will even buy another t-shirt (that would make 4) if I have to. :)

I say we just steal the crap we need... I mean lets be honest, its not like NYSC, Equinox, or any of those other places are going to miss their C2s. They are the one machine I can pretty much guarantee to get on at any time of the day.

I would take out an ad in Time Out New York and/or New York magazine.

You're probably checking already, but used C2s show up for sale from time-to-time on craigslist.

I 2nd the Moon-on-Ice display. It would be the talk of the town!

you know i think avery's outdoor bootcamp has a lot of merit. 3 weeks 3x a week just onc will give us great exposure to summers park crowds. the key would be doing things to get noticed e.g.. wall-balls (ok tree balls), kettlebells, burpee pull-ups, heck even the 'manmakers' i read about this in the achives (maybe don't invite pukie yet). I for one would be willing to help lug the necessarry equipment...

Didn't think I've ever come to this mindset, but just this morning I commented that I've grown to like my refreshing cold water sponge baths -- honestly, it's not that big of an inconvenience, and not having showers isn't going to keep me away. My biggest issue is putting my clothes back on inside out after a workout (and I don't think more elaborate locker room facilities will help with that anyway).

I just got Moons private joke too. Awesome.
We should steal those rowers. They never use them at the big box gyms. Anytime I've been to those gyms they're always available.
Time out is an excellent idea maybe New York magazine and the Village Voice. They have a section on fitness, martial arts, etc., We could put an ad in there.
Not having showers is an inconvenience but isnt that important. We are less like a commercial gym and more like a dojo or other combat sport facility. They rarely have showers.
Do the other Crossfit facilities around the country have showers either? They all look like big garages or small airplane hangars.
Anyway,I have a couple of people who want to check out the Box.

Oh yeah todays 5k sub WOD
10 rounds + 5 skin the gato's.
Couldnt remember if I finished 10 or 11 rounds so went with the latter.

Good idea Yoon... Even better than Moon on Ice would be Moon and Yoon on Ice, kind of a tribute to Seigfried and Roy.

And looks like Kevin has me on ignore today... I see how you daytimers are.

So I decided to stay home and attempt the run... 29:00 mins. Thats pathetic. I did not realize how far my running has fallen.

9 rounds + 5 burpees

Plus some extra work after that... Log is still at the box but this is it off the top of my head (some I forgot to write down):

B. Squat 135lbsx5, 155x3, 185x2, 205x2, 225x2, 245x2, 225x2
Static Handstands (about 15 minutes of that)
Jumping pistols onto various boxes (about 15 minutes)
Double rope climb, 3 ascents
Muscle ups x8

Don't know why I decided to pace myself with Kevin, but I wish I kept up with him. Doing skin the cats after burpees made me wanna puke.

And you're welcome for the support, Sarena!

Oops I did read your post Justin I was just agreeing with it. Brian you are a powerhouse it was great to train alongside you. Thanks for pushing me.
Sarena you are very welcome. We knew you had it in you.

5k, on treadmill at 1% incline

time: 21:26

6 rounds

6 rounds

Justin, I really should've seen that one coming :)

Well, if encasing myself in solid ice will attract new members, then I'm all for it.

7 Rounds + 10 K2E (I sub'd 2-1 K2E for Skin the Cat as I have sigh shoulder issues).

Keith also thought it would be great fun to do the kettlebell 2-hand swing ladders before hand, so I went 15 on that (last time was 12 so that is something).

A bunch o' double-unders afterwards as I'd like to be able to knock out 10 in a row at will.

5 rounds + 2 1/2 skin the cats (I was mid-STC when Keith called time). Also did lots of kipping pull-ups (maybe 7 rounds or so of 7-9 pull-ups at a time) over the course of an hour or so, killing time between clients.

Also had Brian D. and Kevin coaching my kipping--I want to get the movement as efficient and powerful as possible. Thanks, guys!

I had to come back because Bernarda left her wallet behind. I ended up staying for the KB breathing ladder. I did 15 rounds. I'm impressed by all of you who did the ladder and the WOD back to back. I don't think I would have made it through 3 rounds the way I felt after the wod.
I threw in and extra 5 rounds (5-10) . thanks:)

I asked a question about running on the main site and I can't believe how many people responded. The community feeling really makes Crossfit special. I got lots of great advice and some people even sent me emails.

There is an article in Entrepreneur mag that made me think of the funding issues.
"Online video can breathe new life into your business"
More utube videos of the gym and what it's all about could help spread the word.

2Rounds + 5STC, 10lunges and 10 box jump burpees!

Im just giving you a hard time Kevin... Great job all today!

A2, I'm kinda like the running "guru" around here cuz its my main sport. If you have any questions about it, hit me up or meet me at the box one day.

And I'm glad to help you, Allison. Just remember that visualization goes a LONG way outside the gym.

yeah i dig me some after wod coffee sessions,
get the ideas flowing. We should get together and get this money situation dealt with and get some rowers already.

for luv of the box.

5 rounds.

6 rounds + 5 lunges

gotta love these 20 minute shagathons

? Hi guys, all the best to you! Please tell me how to behave in such state – I need a very good credit ‘cause there’s a job I want so. But they won’t accept me, I’m a student. I’m going to improve credit and apply for secured credit cards. So far I visited a web site but I cannot rely on it until you tell me if it’s worth applying there! Please recommend

Excellent Credit Card

Best regards to all the people at the site. I'm glad to find such an informative site as yours. Generally I'm not keen on looking through my credit reports now and then. But since my identity was stolen and some fraudulent accounts were opened in my name, I had to find a way out. A good piece of advice was given by the experts at

chase bank1one

chase visa cornell

4a3s2d