A Box on every Corner

There is no problem in Houston finding a Box.  But there is a problem in Houston deciding which one to visit.  With Houston’s population listed in the likes of Los Angeles and Chicago one would expect huge CrossFit options and you would be correct.

It would be interesting to see a ranking of cities based on the number of Boxes.  This may be something of interest for another time.

(…time…)

http://map.crossfit.com/ has a cool way to see this – Los Angeles – New York – San Francisco – Houston – Boston areas seem to round off the top.

(…more time…)

I reviewed some of the box locations listed on the map (ref above) and apparently Mississippi’s DeSoto CrossFit & Austin’s TexFit CrossFit are both located in the Houston area.  Here is a good parallel of CrossFit Central providing something well and losing control at the affiliate level.  Anyways let’s review a trip to Houston.

Allsport Crossfit

Finding myself in Houston and with 3 hours to kill between meetings I went on my search to find a box.  I ran through the typical searches and sent out e-mails to see who would respond first.  Allsport CrossFit  had the option to text so I dropped them a request @ 8AM.  By 8:15 I received a response of “Sure” and another response of “Great” after I confirmed.  All was set with Allsport.

My morning meeting ended at 11 so I headed over to Allsport a little early for the noon time WOD.  The Box was just 4 blocks away and tucked back in a high traffic residential area (apartments and small lots).  When I pulled up (early) I was a little unsure if I was at the right place but thrilled if I was.  Did Google put me in the right spot? – if I decided to go to DeSoto I would have been really upset- see above

Looking at the building I had no idea what type of business was there before or how long it has been between occupancies.  The building looked odd compared to its surroundings and the back parking lot looked as sterile as the used condom I almost stepped on when I got out of the car.  The building had no signs and was only marked by an “ASCF” spray painted on a brown door.  Yes! (This is said with excitement) – I was at the right place.

The place was locked up so I waited in my car.  For the next 5 minutes I watched a stray dog trying to find a good set of weeds escaping from under a fence to suffice as the lucky spot.

I truly enjoy the obscure Boxes and this surely fits obscure.  Side note – I sent a picture of the box to my wife and her response was “be careful”.

(…time…)

Right before noon the back door opened – hurdling the latex waste (but not wasted latex) then making my way across the parking lot several other cars started to trickle in.  I walked in through the spray painted door and David quickly introduced himself as the coach and let me settle in.  Once inside there was a dramatic difference from the outside facade.  Quality equipment everywhere, clean, organized and open.  I signed the waiver, paid my $20, found a place to change and started my mobility.

The day’s earlier results were on the white board next to the WOD.

1. A good run (had to dodge traffic)- warm up
2. 5 rounds of Cindy –  warm up
3. DUs 5.10.15.20.25.30.35.40.45.50.45.40.35….
4. 5 RFT

Heavy Farmers Carry

10 HSPU

15 Burpees

From the start Coach David was great.  He not only suggested appropriate scales but gave comparable lifts and reasons why to scale.  There was the element of the Heavy Farmers Carry – When discussing the choice of an appropriate weight David talked about % of body weight and max deadlift.  The HSPUs are not for all so he addressed the progression of work needed to eventually get to a HSPU.  And the Burpee, well it’s a Burpee.

David had this knack of delivering words of wisdom as a sometimes foul mouthed Drill Sergeant while remaining engaged, encouraging and instructive.  He must have called out each athletes name a handful of times to keep them active and strict on their movements.  He was on everybody down to their last Burpee.

While I mention the last Burpee.  After my last Burpee and catching my breath, I started to think about getting ready for my next meeting in an hour.  And then I realized there is no shower here and it is freaking hot in Houston – even in September.  The Box does not have much natural ventilation and the Houston heat / humidity seems to pull you to the ground by your eyebrows. I had to cool off and clean up somehow or just towel off and cover up with some Speed Stick… (…time…) (…meeting…)…

Box Criteria Review

Responsive – Immediate response.  Option to text.

Accommodate – No problem getting in.

Drop in fee – $20.

Number of Classes – 9 on the weekdays.

Degree of WOD intensity – “Good game” here.  Even by The Jimys standards.

How long in Operation – A couple years.

Number of Members – A bunch – their whiteboard looks like the graduating class of “small town USA” high school.

Bathroom / Showers– “Changing Rooms:  We have a few empty offices attached to our workout space where you can change.  We do not yet have a full locker room type facility (showers) so plan on showering at home after your workout.  You may want a towel in your car for your seats.”

Sanitizer in work out area – Yes.

The Presence of Skulls – None.

You are welcome here – Yes.

OK, so good programming, good coach, good equipment and good athlete atmosphere.  Allsports also had great response to the drop in request.  I had a great time here and will drop back in again and would recommend others to do the same.  Just don’t go between meetings unless you think looking like you just did 5 rounds of Cindy, 400+ DUs, 160# farmer carries, grunted out 50 HSPUs and 75 Burpees is cool.   If so, no worries.

If this is your first time reading wodnomadic.com take a glance at some of the other posts – you will enjoy

Do you really need shoes to CrossFit?

This is not McDonald’s.  This is my CrossFit Box.

I love this article – falls in line with WOD Nomadic.

beastmodal domains

You spent an entire weekend becoming a marginally capable yet highly certified CrossFit Level 1 trainer.  You wrote an essay about what CrossFit means to you (lulz).  And you ponied up the $3,000 annual fee to carry the brand.  You’re fucking in there.  Hell, HQ even gave you the thumbs up on your shitty (3rd choice) affiliate name.

Don’t feel bad about your affiliate name.  All the good ones were taken by 2009.  At this point, people have been fighting over scraps.  In some cases, variations of scraps:

Now it’s time to get some clients.  Since you’re the 12th affiliate to pop up in your area since Reebok took over, you’re going to need to steal some clients from Prebok affiliates.  The best way to do this is undercut everyone else’s monthly rates.  If other affiliates bitch and try to reveal the fact that you’re clueless as a trainer, fuck ’em.  Your clients are safer…

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Mirrors, Mirrors, all over the Walls

Mirrors, Mirrors, all over the Walls

Traveling back from Northern Alabama I had two things going against me.  I had been away from home for way too long and it had been 4 days since I worked out – I was amazed at the lack of CrossFit Boxes in the woods (“How many Hillbillies can you fit in a Box?” could be an interesting article for later).

So to get home as quick as I could, I was crunching a comfortable two day drive into a non-stop, Red Bull guzzling, SiriusXM Comedy listening, WOD withdrawal screaming road venture.  I mapped my route home and located some Boxes along the way tagging each one with my estimated time of arrival.

I missed CrossFit Birmingham by 2 hours (Rigorous is on the “to do list”), CrossFit Hammond just didn’t seem right and Red Stick again was non responsive.   But CrossFit Lafayette was right on route, right on time and right back to me.

Dropping south of I10 took longer than I thought but I made it to the Box about 20 minutes prior to class – enough time to stretch out the car legs.  The Box is located in a shopping center with a Grocery Store next door and busy parking lot out front (so you head thru the back door for your running).

I was early enough to get a good mobility session in and get a flavor of the Box.  All was good and clean (including the wall entirely covered with mirrors) but something was odd.  I was a visitor and I felt like a visitor.  Honestly this group was not very welcoming.  I finally introduced myself to several of the folks and just continued on with preparing for the work out.

The WOD was a twofold Tabata – pushups / rest / then pull-ups.  Not much technique to go over right? –so I did not think much about the lack of pre work out instructions.  Work for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, work, rest, work, rest…

Ready for the WOD – We all dropped to the floor waiting for the clock to count down.  On “Go” the Horizontal chaos started across the gym.  I noticed (I guess 20 seconds in) that I was the only one still doing work.  Everyone was resting – even the coach.  Apparently we keep track of the seconds.

Not that I need my hand held but, I guess I have been spoiled by having a coach at least say something like “5 more seconds…2, 1, rest”.  This at least gives the appearance of interest.

We all eventually found our way to the pull-up bars and nothing changed (except the “Go” part, everyone just started at the minute mark).  The coach was sitting down at his desk the entire time.  This was / is rather odd.  I think the mirrored wall has some kind of special powers – extends peripheral vision, ability to see the clock at a multiple of angle, keeps you honest on your counts… or maybe it is just there so you can flex.

After the pull-ups, marking my work on the wall, I packed my stuff, petted the stray cats out front and 4 Red Bulls later I found my front door.  Good to be home, Family and Box.

Box Review

Responsive – Immediate response.

Accommodate – No problem getting in.

Drop in fee – $20.

Number of Classes – 5-8 a day, they also have a CrossFit Women and MMA classes.

Degree of WOD intensity – Good typical WODs.

How long in Operation – At least since 2009.

Number of Members – Apparently a whole freakin’ bunch (see “* Other things to note below”)

Bathroom / Showers– Clean.

Sanitizer in work out area – Yes.

The Presence of Skulls – None.

You are welcome here – Not on this day.

* Other things to note – (1) Thursdays are “Make Up Days” (2) There is some kind of scan card for members – you know one of those small plastic things you put on your key ring.  Both of these things are rather odd and lazy.

This is a Scan Card

A quick note:  2 Things I do not like about Global Gyms – Mirrors and scan cards.

Being “honest” is difficult.  Not all reviews are going to be good.  I will say the next time I am in Lafayette; I will find another Box to Drop In.  But if you are in the area and need a fix – CrossFit Lafayette is very accommodating and will get you in – at least from my experience.  Remember we are reviewing Boxes as a Drop In not a home Box – “What is WOD Nomadic?”.

http://crossfitlafayette.com/

Do you really need shoes to CrossFit?

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Dice

A lot of times I will fly from city to city but this severely limits my ability to play along the way.  Outside of CrossFit my true passion is mountain biking.  If there is a great trail system along my travels I will pack up my bike and gear and usually hit the trails after my meeting.

Heading to San Antonio I packed my suit, dress shoes, bike and WOD gear.  There is a box in SA that has a phenomenal reputation and I scheduled a Drop In days in advance. 210 CrossFit was going to be item #2 of my day (meeting in the AM, Drop in at 21o CrossFit, hit the trails then meet up with some old friends).  After my meeting I started to change and head to 210.  I then realized that I packed my dress shoes, mountain bike shoes but no other shoes (flip flops do not count).  Not knowing the WOD, I sent an e-mail just to let them know that I was without shoes and on my way.

“You don’t have shoes?” – “No, I forgot to bring them.” – “You can’t work out without shoes.” – “Really?” – “Really.”

I kind of thought maybe I would show up and they would tell me to do a bunch of wall balls, pull ups, sit ups, push ups and such but nope.  Oh well – I got a longer ride in instead.

24 hour Notice Policy

Attempt #2 at 210 – A couple months later I ended up back in San Antonio for a couple of days.  This trip was reserved for relaxing and catching up – no WOD planned.  After a couple of meals of great SA cuisine, I had the need to work out.  I wanted to go to 210 and I had shoes.  So at about 11:30PM I sent an e-mail requesting a Drop In for the next day but… “We have strict 24 hour notice policy” was sitting in my inbox the next morning – “Really?” – “Really”.

210 Review

I would love to review this box and one day I will.  I hear they are OG.  Until then I can only comment on two items.

• Responsive – 10 out of 10.  Immediate response on all occasions.
• Accommodate – very low.

Please remember the main purpose of this blog is to look at Boxes from a Drop In perspective – The Travelling CrossFitter needs to know the ease of getting in a work out.   Take a look at “What is WOD Nomadic”. 

So instead I Dropped in on Elite Crossfit

First attempt to Drop In in SA resulted in a long mountain bike ride.  Second attempt in SA resulted in Elite CrossFit.

After my “24 hour notice policy” exchange I sent an e-mail to Elite.  Elite is in the same general vicinity so no worries on extra travel.  Jeremy responded very quickly and told me to Drop In (4 hours between “Can I Drop In?” and actually Dropping In).  It took a little effort (or I guess trust) to know that I was in the right place.  Their Box is off on of those long mesquite Hill Country roads – man I wish I brought my mountain bike.

There was no mistaking that Jeremy was the coach when I walked in.  Besides his sheer presence, he was interacting with everyone and quickly invited me in through the garage door (I love garage doors).  The office was clean and organized.  I signed the waiver and paid the fee (See fee item below – my favorite kind).

The box was not too small (3,000 sq ft) and packed with equipment – a typical and logical approach to a new business – sales per square foot.  I can just imagine the programming foresight that must entail.

The class was friendly enough and finding a partner was not awkward.  The WOD was broken up into strength and metcon (my favorite).  We started with max weighted pull ups moved into max floor bench press (limited space no benches) and then into a 15 minute(ish) metcon of running, HSPU & pull ups.  Great work and great atmosphere.

• Responsive – Immediate response.
• Accommodate – No problem getting in.
• Drop in fee – $20 or purchase a shirt.  I love this shirt.  Really, I love this shirt.
• Number of Classes – 8-9 a day
• Degree of  WOD intensity – Reviewing their WODs – good stuff.
• How long in Operation – Within a year.
• Number of Members – I can see this Box needing something larger sooner than later.
• Bathroom / Showers– Clean.
• Sanitizer in work out area – Yes.
• The Presence of Skulls – None.
• You are welcome here – Yes.  Broad range of CrossFitters.  A younger kid was dropped off by his parents, a very nice trail runner, friendly group of people.

All in all – a very accommodating place to Drop In on, friendly staff, friendly group and they have a regional presence.

The front of the shirt

The back of the shirt

From the Elite CrossFit site – I Am Visiting From Out of Town, Can I Drop In? Yes, you can come and drop while you are here – our rules are you must have been CrossFitting at an affiliate gym for at least 3-months, check out our schedule online, select a class that is not sold out and then send us an email request to info@elite-crossfit.com and await approval. Our drop in fee for out of town CrossFitters is $20. Come 10 minutes early to fill out our information form and waiver. We look forward to meeting with you.

Crossfit 225

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

I found myself in Baton Rouge for less than a day (business).  I would arrive in town around noon for a 1 o’clock meeting followed by an early morning review the next day.  I had  a very small window of opportunity to get a WOD in.  Three Boxes came back after I asked Google so I sent an e-mail to all three asking to drop in sometime between 4-7.

The responses;

• CrossFit 225 – within the hour Catherine replied, “no problem” drop in.
• Geaux Crossfit – within 4 hours – “We are booked.  We can try to squeeze you in… tomorrow?”
• Red Stick – no response

So I ended up going to CrossFit 225.  Tucked back in a Warehouse(ish) complex, I pulled in the drive to be swarmed by runners.  Some on round 2, some on round 3.  I found a parking place, which could have been the last one, finished a business call and then went into the Box.  Immediately I was welcomed and eventually signed the waiver.  I had to really push to pay the $20 Drop In fee but finally someone took it (I would not suggest that this is the norm).

I had no problems feeling at home here.  Several folks introduced themselves to me and conversation was pleasant.

The coach, an Army Ranger with a re-built shoulder (a story in itself), was very hands on and instructive.  It was obvious there was trust from the Box.  I got the feeling that he spends more time at the Box than anywhere else.

After a good warm up, max Broad Jump The WOD of the day was

400 Meter Run

20 Burpees

rest 2 minutes

400 Meter Run

15 Burpees

rest 2 minutes

400 Meter Run

10 Burpees

A very nice WOD if I must say.

I also noticed that Fran was on yesterday’s WOD.

The Box was large (sq. footage), new equipment, good class sizes and very clean.  I had a chance to meet and talk with the owners / coaches and I was impressed with them all – On a personal and athletic level.

This is a Box that I will absolutely Drop In on again and I strongly suggest that the next time you are in the Baton Rouge, LA area you should do the same.

• Responsive – With in the Hour.  Email and Phone.
• Accommodate – “No Problem” responded Catherine.
• Drop in fee – $20.  Shirts are $15.
• Number of Classes – 8 a day.  6Am – 7pm.
• Degree of  WOD intensity – High intensity – Coaches can scale when needed.  I missed Fran by one day.
• How long in Operation – Fairly new – maybe 6 months.  This is most likely why it was so dang clean.
• Number of Members – The two classes I saw had plenty of participants.  They were even running a “ramp on” program.
• Bathroom / Showers– Phenomenal.
• Sanitizer in work out area – Yes.
• The Presence of Skulls – One rug in the bathroom with Skulls.
• You are welcome here – Very Welcoming.

http://www.crossfit225.com/

This is not McDonald’s. This is My CrossFit Box.

Exactly

McDonald’s has rationalized their business to a Global presence.  When you enter a McDonald’s restaurant you know exactly what to expect.  When you order a Big Mac you know exactly what it will taste like, what it will be wrapped in and what type of table you will be sitting at when you eat it.  They also have somehow trained us to pick up after ourselves – good job McDonald’s, something did transfer into CrossFit.

Now let’s move from why we engage in fitness to where we engage in fitness. Similar to McDonald’s, gyms like 24 Hour Fitness have rationalized their existence (Globo Gym).  When you walk into a 24 Hour Fitness you know where to find the free weights, how to find the next scheduled spin class and don’t worry, there will be a trainer who will put your weights back.

These gyms can also offer muti gym memberships.  No matter what town you are in you can drop into a 24 hour fitness.  You can squeeze in a work out anytime, anywhere and know exactly what to expect.  This translates into a consistent customer experience.

This is what CrossFit lacks but it is also what makes a Box a Box. If it was any other way, the wave of affiliate openings would not be happening. We love the unique Box flavor, the programmers who some consider crazy and the overall unexpectedness that exists.  If we really think about it – this is what drives most of us to continue with CrossFit.  Not knowing what tomorrow’s WOD will be until you wake up in the morning and check the site – or just show up and be totally surprised.

Growing Pains – Not Alan Thicke 

Anything that grows at the rate that CrossFit has in the past couple years will experience the pains that many of us see.  CrossFit gyms have popped up all over with trainers and programmers that probably should not be directing such workloads.  A typical pattern is – a member at one Box spins off to open their own Box.  They find a place, buy some equipment, try to sneak other members with them and hope that their couple years of CrossFit and their certification will be enough to create a quality program.  This gives way to poor Boxes and in some cases injuries to folk who believe in their new coach.

Besides the ability to purchase the CrossFit name and pay to be CrossFit certified, there is no regulating CrossFit Box umbrella.  And again, we do not want one.  But this does create an opportunity for bad experiences – building conditions, cleanliness, programming, safety, client relations and just a lack of good business practices.

One cannot purchase a CrossFit “franchise” ready with management graduates from CrossFit U, stocked with wall art or a monthly delivery of promotional banners to swap out for the new sale or product push (Sherwin Williams is brilliant at this).  But again – this is not what we want.  What we do want, as a community, is for everyone to love their CrossFit experience from their very first WOD.

This Blog & What to Come

This blog will continue to rate Boxes based on Drop Ins – check the “What is WOD Nomadic?”.  Over the next several months we will continue to post our reviews based on our Drop Ins.  Hopefully we will hit some of the Boxes that will be in your area during your travels and you will have some quality insight into which Box you should Drop In on.  And remember – this blog is intended to supply information for the traveler trying to find a Box, not someone trying to find a “home” box (although one could correlate the two).