TODAY'S SCHEDULE:
Black Box Manhattan
10am Free Beginners' Class--Mike (w/Allison)
11am Workout of the Day Class--Mike
Black Box Brooklyn
1pm Free Beginners' Class--Court
Psst! SIGN UP FOR ELEMENTS WORKSHOPS HERE
Kills fishes DEAD--that's what CrossFit does! At least, that's what CrossFit Fishkill does, according to its name, right?
Juan, Jeff, Rob (owner of CF Fishkill), and Good Sam at CF Fishkill's grand opening day yesterday
Seriously, though, I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know how proud we are to have a second offshoot of The Black Box out there in the world (the first being Dammit's PVC). Rob was at the very first CrossFit class I ever took, and when I think about how much he's learned and grown as a crossfitter, well, it makes me proud to know him. Best of luck, Rob! (Check out Juan G.'s entire set of photos of the grand opening here.)
And now for Rest Day Discussion # 9
Written by Hari Singh
Brian D.'s Sendoff
Brian remains adamant about his decision to forgo the opportunity to hang out full time at the Black Box. (Where did we go wrong?)
We have decided that Brian is old enough to make his own decisions, and if he thinks this whole college thing is a good idea, we're going to support his decision.
Join us in sending Brian off this Wednesday, June 25, at 8:00 PM at the Cuban Restaurant next to Black Box Manhattan.
In so far (12): Bad Sam, Good Sam, Hari, Jacinto, Jeff, Kevin W, Kurt, Michelle, Moon, Sarena, Allison, and Tom.
Who else is in?
Those of you interested in contributing to a gift can email me.
Black Box Brooklyn
Don't tell anyone in Manhattan I said so, but the Black Box Brooklyn now looks more like a CrossFit gym than the Black Box Manhattan.
Brooklyn-based beginners' classes are running four days per week (Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 PM). By August, we expect to be running Elements Workshops out there (while continuing Elements Workshops at our Manhattan space as well).
Black Box Manhattan
The pull-up system has arrived, been partially installed, and been broken. This coming week, it will be fixed and stabilized. Soon you will be free to do 150 pull-ups whenever you want (or, more likely, whenever Coach says).
The air conditioning remains a problem, but we're making progress. (Translation: We're getting used to it; it's been cooler lately; we've installed fans; and we're continuing to fight with the landlord.)
This Thursday, June 26, will be our last Open Gym Hours for the summer. We'll revisit the concept in the fall. Starting July 8, in the 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM timeslot on Tuesday and Thursday will be an Elements Workshop. If demand continues to remains strong, a second Tuesday-Thursday Elements will be scheduled for 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM.
Updated Procedures
In order to make Black Box Manhattan work, we need to reconcile three challenges: the need to provide superior coaching; the need to pay Manhattan rent; and the need to accommodate a customer base that actually shows up.
Other Manhattan gyms don't have all three of these problems. Though they pay high rent, they avoid the coaching problem by simply throwing machines on the floor and then charging obscene rates for substandard personal trainers to move pins, count reps, and gossip.
At other gyms, on any given day, maybe five percent of the membership actually shows up. At Black Box, on most days, we have 50% or more of our members show up. What this means is that we need to rent far more square feet of high-priced real estate per member than any other gym in the City.
To provide the best possible value, we need to be efficient. We need to start and end classes on time. We need to stop wasting time moving equipment around during classes. In short, we need to run The Black Box like a very tight ship.
We need to decide where every piece of equipment should be placed. For example, it makes no sense to stack all the barbells and plates at one end of the gym and then spend half our time during a WOD moving and exchanging plates. There are now instructions going up on the walls saying what should go where. These instructions will evolve as we perfect the layout of our space. Where we need additional equipment (e.g., more bumper plates) we will buy it. Where we need to get rid of equipment (e.g., stacks of flooring) we will do so.
We will also expect members to put everything back in its place; to put their initials on their water bottles; to throw away their garbage; to leave no personal belongings behind; and to stay out of the way of classes in which they are not participating.
Rest Day Seminars / Workouts
Starting Thursday, June 26, we will be improving the way we handle Rest Days. Instead of making up our own WOD, we will conduct mini (30 - 45 minute) seminars on a various topics (Olympic lifts, muscle-ups, double-unders, etc.) All members (including all Elements members) will be eligible to attend these Rest Day lectures.
During the last part of the hour, there will be a related workout. Those who are using the Rest Day to rest should feel free to skip the WOD.
Upcoming Rest Day Topics (During Normal WOD Classes)
Thurday, June 26: The Deadlift
Monday, June 30: The Kettlebell Clean and Kettlebell Snatch
As always, please leave comments and/or email Hari on the topics discussed above.
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