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A great article by our friends at CrossFit Kings Point in Orlando!

A few years ago, if you would have asked me about Groupon, I would have answered differently. We ran one deal, but were overstaffed at the time and made sure we structured it in a way that we could handle the influx. We made it work, but overall it was a frustrating experience, and decided we’d never do it again as it de-valued what we had to offer and de-valued the experiences of our members. The landscape is also a little bit different these days.

As more and more CrossFit affiliates pop up in the area, the more tempting it is for affiliate owners to run a Groupon deal. But Groupon and other discount coupon sites aren’t exactly the best fit for service oriented businesses, such as CrossFit.   Here’s 6 reasons why you should think twice before purchasing one of these deals:

1. CrossFit Gyms are Under-Staffed to Handle the Load of a Groupon Deal

Most gyms are under-staffed to handle the large flow of new clients that a Groupon deal will bring in. What typically happens is the gym will offer 1 month of unlimited training for a ridiculous deal(example: $29 for 1 month unlimited classes). Let’s say 150 people purchase the deal, but the gym only has 70 members at the time, and factor in that typically only half will redeem the deal, this is still DOUBLING the amount of people the gym has to manage in and out of their doors on a day to day basis. In order to get the same experience, they’d then have to DOUBLE the staff to handle this load, which isn’t going to happen.

2. The Gym Won’t Have the Equipment to Handle All of the New Clients

This goes back to and expands a bit on #1. The best way to grow a CrossFit gym is via slow and sustainable growth. This allows the gym to keep up with demands in equipment and space during peak times. When a gym gets flooded with new clients via Groupon they will find themselves not having enough barbells, boxes, kettlebells, etc. This leads to a watered down experience, which will be more like a typical bootcamp class at a globo gym rather than true CrossFit.

3. Injury Rates will be Higher

Again, expanding on issue #1 and #2. In CrossFit, we do a lot of technical movements, deadlift, snatch, clean & jerk, to name a few. Most CrossFit gyms will start people off in a foundations or on-ramp program, in order to teach newcomers these lifts safely and efficiently. Since the gym will be understaffed during this period, one typical method of handling the load of new people is to not have them go through the on-ramp/foundations program, throwing them straight into the group classes.

Also, the trainer to athlete ratio is thrown off, so now instead of 1 trainer working with let’s say 5-10 clients, he/she now has to work with 10-20, which can lead to pure chaos, especially if there has been no on-ramp program.

4. You Get What You Pay For

This goes for everything in life, and rings truer the older I get. We understand that cost can be a factor in choosing a CrossFit gym, so we encourage everybody to check out a couple gyms in the area, and choose based on QUALITY of the instruction, the coaching staff, and the facility. If a gym is REALLY confident in what they have to offer, they don’t need to run Groupon deals. If a gym has a strong community, members will do all of the advertising for you and refer their friends. Word of mouth is the best way to grow a gym. Our trainers paid serious money for their education(which goes way beyond the minimum CF L-1 to open a gym), are constantly re-investing in themselves and are paid higher because of it. Our prices reflect this, but our results do as well.

5. It De-values the Service and Alienates Existing Full Paying Clients

If classes suddenly fill up with members not paying full price, the thought process going on in existing clients goes like this: “If half of these people are paying $25 this month, why the heck do I have to pay close to $200.” The BEST thing about becoming a member at a CrossFit gym is the community and getting to know the people you are working out with. Trying to integrate in with an alienated membership is tough.

6. You Won’t Get Treated the Same as Somebody that Pays Full Price.

Gym owners know that most people that purchase a Groupon deal aren’t going to stick around. With the overflow of new clients, the trainers know that somebody is going to get ignored. Is it going to be the person that pays full price each month or the person that probably won’t ever pay full price?

Final Thoughts

I encourage people to choose a CrossFit gym based on quality, and not price. Don’t let cost be the only factor when investing in your health & safety. Don’t just take our word for it. If you’re interested in checking out a gym that prides itself on quality, and the strength of its community, come check us out.

Like with any other sport, there are two injury types you see in CrossFit, the overuse injury and the immediate injury where you gash your shins on a failed box jump or get a scrape from a barbell. The first kind—overuse–is becoming more and more common and it also happens to be the most debilitating type of injury if you’re not careful. Fortunately, overuse injuries can be avoided. Read on for how.

Some common overuse injuries:

• Strains. I personally have had low back, shoulder, wrist, hamstring, pectoral, and bicep strains over the last two of years from training regularly and slinging around heavy weight. This happens when you have too heavy loads, too much volume, and poor technique in some combination.
• Serious shoulder injury, such as a torn labrum. This is a huge deal, requires surgery to fix, and has a long rehab period. I’ve known half a dozen athletes in central Florida that have had shoulder surgery the past two years. Take care of your shoulders and avoid this injury at all costs.
• Terrible knee injury. Wearing your knees out from heavy squatting and sprinting and jumping. This is bad also. Take care of those knees just like you would your shoulders.
• Tendonitis. I had horrible Achilles tendonitis that hobbled me for almost a year due to recycling from high volume box jumps. I had to do extensive therapy and strengthening to get back to 100%. Also had elbow tendonitis that I couldn’t shake for several months because I was constantly loading them up on cleans and hanging from bars.

Here are 6 ways to avoid overuse injuries:

1. Take Time Off. This is the best preventative measure and also the hardest to stick too. CrossFitters love hitting the gym six days a week. Some of the more competitive among us go twice a day. That’s a recipe for an injury unless you’re religious about controlling your volume and intensity.

The CrossFit HQ recommended format of 3 days on, 1 off, 2 days on, 1 off, actually works great for giving tired muscles a rest and encouraging regeneration. If you’re beating your body up constantly, try this format.

I have a buddy who does primarily SealFit workouts, which are very high volume, and he takes every other day off. He hasn’t had an injury in two years. He’s also in terrific shape. Taking every other day off works.

If you’re really hurting, take an entire week off. You might lose a tiny sliver of fitness, but you’ll be healthier in the long run.

2. Mobility and Flexibility. Integrate mobility WODs and stretching into your weekly routine to increase flexibility and suppleness. This helps with correct technique during a WOD and regeneration after hours. Good technique equals less chance of an injury. Add in a few minutes of mobility every day for best results.

3. Regeneration. Integrate sports massage and Yoga into your plan. This stuff works…it will make a huge difference in your ability to recovery from a tough training regimen. Regeneration also takes on the form of rolling out with foam rollers and using a Lacrosse ball.

CrossFit Iron Legion now has a massage therapist on staff, sign up today and work out those tired muscles!

4. Reduce intensity during WODs. This is my favorite way to prevent injury. It’s also the least utilized by CrossFitters because it carries the stigma of “sandbagging” a workout.

In a given week, I’ll control my intensity on 2-3 workouts, and by control I mean I’ll only go at 60-70% speed. I may combine this by reducing the weight, which makes the WOD an “easy and slow” WOD. This puts less load on your joints, causes less muscle fatigue, allows more recovery between reps, and is safer overall. If I throw in a couple of controlled WODs per week, I reduce the chance of overuse injury dramatically. On the other hand, it allows me to go harder and faster on the 2-3 WODs that I want to compete in.

What does easy and slow intensity look like? When you’re done with the WOD, you should be walking and talking easily, instead of on your back making a sweat angel.

Personally, I try to go race intensity on Friday and Saturday, with easy on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I go moderate to high intensity on Wednesday, but not completely balls out. This allows me to do more volume without as much risk. I may not get as high up on the whiteboard on those days, but it keeps me healthy.

5. Sleep. A lot. This should go without saying, but it needs to be said. Your body heals while you’re asleep. Get 8-9 hours per night of quality sleep to maintain a sound mind and body.

6. Physical Therapy…we now offer it at the Box through Kelli Davis DPT, GCS, CEEAA. If you’re hurting and think you’re developing an overuse issue, we can refer you to Kelli right away for an evaluation. This initial evaluation allows Kelli to prescribe professional therapy targeted at a quick recovery as well as  a scaled WOD program in parallel with our Daily WODS that will get you back in the game.  Your recovery is our first priority!

CrossFit Iron Legion is the fastest growing CrossFit affiliate in Ocala, Florida. To get started, please contact Coach Ted Dreaver at (352) 620-2625 or teddreaver@hotmail.com.

With the energy  of the CrossFit Open in the rearview mirror, you might be feeling a void in your CrossFit life right now. This is pretty common because the Open brings the gym community together and provides a common ground for testing skills and fitness. It also gives everyone the opportunity to tune in and talk about the CrossFit world at large.

First and foremost, you’ll want to set some goals for the remainder of 2013 and work towards those goals. There is nearly three-quarters of the year left and plenty of time to work towards something new.

Here are some ideas for goals for the rest of 2013.

1. Training for the CrossFit Open 2014 – You can always train hard and work towards crushing the Open in 2014. After having done Open 2013, you should have a solid idea of your strengths and weaknesses. Work on your weaknesses and keep building up your skills. Heck, you might even strive for qualifying for Regionals next year!
2. Sign Up For Another CrossFit competition – There are plenty in Florida throughout the rest of the year. Pick one or two and make it a long-term training goal. The Bacon Beatdown in Orlando in June and Crush Games in Miami in August come to mind as large competitions that would be worth training for. There’s also the WODs of Thunder in August, a smaller competition that could be a good fit for Rx competitors. If you’re interested in testing your skills at a competition, speak with Coach Ted about which one would be most appropriate to train for.
3. Pick a competition in another sport – Maybe you’re interested in a triathlon or adventure race down the road. Consider using CrossFit as a base for your fitness and setting the race as your long-term goal. Lots of CrossFitters do obstacle and challenge runs like the Super Spartan Race (8+ miles), Tough Mudder (12+ miles), and GoRuck Challenge (20+ miles). Your CrossFit training can always supplement those events.
4. Get superhuman strong – If competition is just not your thing, consider setting some goals for your lifting maxes. It’s always useful to get stronger in the primary lifts for CrossFit. Set goals for new maxes by the end of the year in major lifts like deadlift, clean, snatch, back and front squat, and shoulder press.
5. Get your first muscle-up! If you’re already superhuman strong, then perhaps some of the higher skill movements aren’t in your arsenal yet. Make a short list of the skills you’d like to achieve and work towards them. Muscle-ups, fast toes-to-bar, overhead squats, double-unders, butterfly pullups, and squat snatches are all good candidates.
6. Get CrossFit Level 1 Certified – If you’re really into CrossFit, consider getting a Level 1 certification and try your hand at coaching. If you’re interested in pursuing a Level 1 cert, talk to Coach Ted about the next steps. Coaching is a good way to give back to the community and share your enthusiasm about the sport with new members.

With the Open completed, pick a couple of goals for the rest of the year and plan accordingly.

CrossFit Iron Legion is the fastest growing CrossFit affiliate in Ocala, Florida. To get started, please contact Coach Ted Dreaver at (352) 620-2625 or teddreaver@hotmail.com.