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19.3, an owner’s ignorance, and a culture of cheating
@dumbfounded A wallball with a half ass squat.
emmanuel18
New member
@will8764 I would say hold yourself to your own standards. It is for sure supposed to be 25' set up. However, this is my 5th open ive been thru and in the beginning I took it very seriously but as the years went on i put less and less value into it. My example would be if you think the 50' mark is a bad thing then just go look at the standards video of HSPU and then look at what people will count as good HSPU. There are integrity flaws in every gym but you get to hold yourself to your own standards and at the very least you know in the back of your head that you are doing things the right way.
charliedawg
New member
@will8764 I think it's a legitimate concern. I wouldn't call it "cheating" per se. But what hooks a lot of folks on Crossfit is the adherence to standards. People get excited about doing the exact same WOD as some of the best athletes in the world. What you don't want is a sort of open mic exercise jam session. In the long run it erodes enthusiasm for the sport.
lovinglife2016
New member
@will8764 You're not being too sensitive.
I get the same response sometimes.. "No one's going to the games"... "No one cares"... "It doesn't matter"..
Well, if that's the case, then why are we doing FNL lights/Open workouts at all? Why even put ANY tape down? Just estimate it if "no one cares" and "it doesn't matter". Too many people want to show they care just enough to be employed, but not enough that results in them having to actually do the work of someone who cares.
It's also tough to "correct" people on these issues, so in the future, do YOUR due diligence and try to be proactive (if you genuinely want to fix the culture issue).
Volunteer to help setup the gym for CF Open workouts. Gracefully, but intentionally, remind folks of the prescribed standards before they do them wrong.. Stuff like that.
Keep doing the right thing.
I get the same response sometimes.. "No one's going to the games"... "No one cares"... "It doesn't matter"..
Well, if that's the case, then why are we doing FNL lights/Open workouts at all? Why even put ANY tape down? Just estimate it if "no one cares" and "it doesn't matter". Too many people want to show they care just enough to be employed, but not enough that results in them having to actually do the work of someone who cares.
It's also tough to "correct" people on these issues, so in the future, do YOUR due diligence and try to be proactive (if you genuinely want to fix the culture issue).
Volunteer to help setup the gym for CF Open workouts. Gracefully, but intentionally, remind folks of the prescribed standards before they do them wrong.. Stuff like that.
Keep doing the right thing.
dreamer6424
New member
@will8764 When we talk about rules, I like to talk to people about Monopoly. Most people have never played Monopoly like the rules dictate. They play it how they were “taught.” Real Monopoly is more cut-throat: you earn money in jail, you don’t have to land on a property to buy it (you can win it in auction if someone else lands but doesn’t buy) and you can trade/barter with other players for assets they own.) Still, ask people if they’ve ever read they’ve ever played, then ask if they read and understand the rules. You’ll find most people have never read the rules because they believed what they were taught was “the way.” People follow rules when they follow the lead of people in position of authority.
I do think there’s one area of your post I want to talk about:
CrossFit is an interesting phenomenon in terms of movement ideals and rules. When they created competition, they had to come up with standards which is why there’s Russian kettlebell swings to eye level versus the much easier to judge “arms locked out overhead” CrossFit standard. Toes to bar are the same way, touching the bar versus passing the toes over the plane of the bar and the feet breaking the plane at the bottom of the movement. Sometimes the standard, as I suspect is the case in this 25 ft space, is for ease in video entry submissions. Think of the difficulty if someone tries to map out a 200 foot full stretch of space and meet all the video guide lines for submittal.
If I were to ask you if you were happy in your gym before the opens, you’d say no, wouldn’t you? I’m going to guess you feel like the owner is just phoning it in, not mentoring you properly, and you feel the culture among the gym’s athletes isn’t as much positive competitive as it is “at all costs” negative competitive? I’m also guessing this is just another symptom of something you’re having a problem reconciling. I left an affiliate after 8 years because I saw the owner taking the business in a direction I didn’t support and I didn’t think was in the spirit of CrossFit. Sometimes you have to think about what you stand for, to whom you give and sell your time, and what you want to be associated with. Maybe if my presumptions are true, you should find a different box that aligns with the way you think things should be done.
I do think there’s one area of your post I want to talk about:
there are standards for a reason
CrossFit is an interesting phenomenon in terms of movement ideals and rules. When they created competition, they had to come up with standards which is why there’s Russian kettlebell swings to eye level versus the much easier to judge “arms locked out overhead” CrossFit standard. Toes to bar are the same way, touching the bar versus passing the toes over the plane of the bar and the feet breaking the plane at the bottom of the movement. Sometimes the standard, as I suspect is the case in this 25 ft space, is for ease in video entry submissions. Think of the difficulty if someone tries to map out a 200 foot full stretch of space and meet all the video guide lines for submittal.
If I were to ask you if you were happy in your gym before the opens, you’d say no, wouldn’t you? I’m going to guess you feel like the owner is just phoning it in, not mentoring you properly, and you feel the culture among the gym’s athletes isn’t as much positive competitive as it is “at all costs” negative competitive? I’m also guessing this is just another symptom of something you’re having a problem reconciling. I left an affiliate after 8 years because I saw the owner taking the business in a direction I didn’t support and I didn’t think was in the spirit of CrossFit. Sometimes you have to think about what you stand for, to whom you give and sell your time, and what you want to be associated with. Maybe if my presumptions are true, you should find a different box that aligns with the way you think things should be done.
@dreamer6424 You really hit the nail on the head in your last paragraph. This might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back as far as my membership and coaching goes at this particular gym. It’s primarily the owner’s ignorance that bothers me.
dreamer6424
New member
@will8764 Unfortunately, the owner steers the ship. It happens via the way intake is achieved (6week challenges with a free InBody scan) the programming, and the community outreach. Or pushing private programming with no coach via OPEX.
I won’t lie, leaving the gym I’d been at for 8 years was tough and I lost what I thought were friends after the “fitness divorce” but old clients and friends came back into my life and I have a small gym and wellness business that’s doing well. If you need an ear from an old timer, hit me up.
I won’t lie, leaving the gym I’d been at for 8 years was tough and I lost what I thought were friends after the “fitness divorce” but old clients and friends came back into my life and I have a small gym and wellness business that’s doing well. If you need an ear from an old timer, hit me up.
@will8764 I think it REALLY depends on your gym.
This might not be the most popular answer but here goes....
At my gym we have some serious athletes who are NFL players that work out with us during the off-season.
We also have people like me in their mid-30s who never worked out until 4 years ago and have lost 50 pounds.
Our gym accommodates both.
I can do handstand push-ups kipping but not do 50 because I've got shit shoulders. Forget strict. Ain't gonna happen.
For 19.1 and 19.2 I was able to Rx and do decently.
For 19.3 there was no chance in hell I could Rx that.
So for scoring the open, my coach said....do the first two movements at Rx, which I did. But your score will be a time cap and the only reps that count are the lunges and step-ups if you finish them. For the next two movements I did flash push-ups which still hurt like a bitch because of my shoulders but risked no injury to my neck and a bear crawl that had to be left hand right foot and right hand left foot movements or it was a no-rep.
My coach knew my limits and didn't want me to hurt myself and jack my neck up because my shoulders are bad. That didn't keep me from competing as far as I could.
My coach knew I wanted to work out hard for 10 minutes and I did.
Am I ever making the games? Hell no. Was I able to work out with my community of fellow Crossfitters who did the strict standards. Yes, I was.
Some people need to lighten up at their local gym. There will be some people who MIGHT be able to go to the games and those athletes need to adhere to the strict standards.
Other athletes like myself Rx what they can and scale what they can't.
The only thing I fully buy into in some of these responses is athletes are only cheating themselves if they power clean a squat clean or don't get full depth on a wall ball. The better your form and completing the movements, the better your workout and MUCH less of a chance you'll hurt yourself in big movements.
This might not be the most popular answer but here goes....
At my gym we have some serious athletes who are NFL players that work out with us during the off-season.
We also have people like me in their mid-30s who never worked out until 4 years ago and have lost 50 pounds.
Our gym accommodates both.
I can do handstand push-ups kipping but not do 50 because I've got shit shoulders. Forget strict. Ain't gonna happen.
For 19.1 and 19.2 I was able to Rx and do decently.
For 19.3 there was no chance in hell I could Rx that.
So for scoring the open, my coach said....do the first two movements at Rx, which I did. But your score will be a time cap and the only reps that count are the lunges and step-ups if you finish them. For the next two movements I did flash push-ups which still hurt like a bitch because of my shoulders but risked no injury to my neck and a bear crawl that had to be left hand right foot and right hand left foot movements or it was a no-rep.
My coach knew my limits and didn't want me to hurt myself and jack my neck up because my shoulders are bad. That didn't keep me from competing as far as I could.
My coach knew I wanted to work out hard for 10 minutes and I did.
Am I ever making the games? Hell no. Was I able to work out with my community of fellow Crossfitters who did the strict standards. Yes, I was.
Some people need to lighten up at their local gym. There will be some people who MIGHT be able to go to the games and those athletes need to adhere to the strict standards.
Other athletes like myself Rx what they can and scale what they can't.
The only thing I fully buy into in some of these responses is athletes are only cheating themselves if they power clean a squat clean or don't get full depth on a wall ball. The better your form and completing the movements, the better your workout and MUCH less of a chance you'll hurt yourself in big movements.
familyshepp
New member
epicpaymentsny
New member
@will8764 As a powerlifter who competes at the national level, I used to get all butthurt when the CrossFit Total came around. Now I've learned to not give a fuck because if dipshit wants to claim a high altitude 500# squat and pretend like he's strong I'll just invite him to a real powerlifting meet and move along.
onfireformyking
New member
@onfireformyking You’re making thousands of people feel worse so 1 or a few can feel better. I guess it just depends on your perspective.
onfireformyking
New member
@onfireformyking If you’re going to go down that road then all non-video submissions should be thrown out because it’s just a bunch of people entering numbers into a website.
@onfireformyking
We had major issues at my gym where people who cut corners year round couldn’t cope with not being “the best” when it was time to be judged. Also lots of people who would whinge to the coach about not improving when it was benchmark WOD time but would be comparing 150 shitty reps of Karen to 130 decent reps. If they’d done Karen properly the first time then they would have seen good improvement in time/reps. Coach got pretty sick of dealing with all these “breakdowns” from people who’d brought it upon themselves.
But if a few cheat reps just helps people feel better about themselves? who cares
We had major issues at my gym where people who cut corners year round couldn’t cope with not being “the best” when it was time to be judged. Also lots of people who would whinge to the coach about not improving when it was benchmark WOD time but would be comparing 150 shitty reps of Karen to 130 decent reps. If they’d done Karen properly the first time then they would have seen good improvement in time/reps. Coach got pretty sick of dealing with all these “breakdowns” from people who’d brought it upon themselves.
@will8764 This is a issue in my opinion.
I mean yeah a lot of people are there just for the fun. And it does not really matter that much!
But I do care about the culture side of things.
We try to teach our members that the rules are important and that they can use them as feedback to become better moving athletes.
A culture of not caring, or just cheating seems toxic.
Seems like you should talk to the owner of what he wants the community to stand for.
I mean yeah a lot of people are there just for the fun. And it does not really matter that much!
But I do care about the culture side of things.
We try to teach our members that the rules are important and that they can use them as feedback to become better moving athletes.
A culture of not caring, or just cheating seems toxic.
Seems like you should talk to the owner of what he wants the community to stand for.
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