Affiliate Roundup, Part 3: “First Impressions”

It takes more than just a Level 1 Certificate to run a successful CrossFit affiliate. In this series, learn about the various ways affiliate owners and trainers evolve and plan as they work to lead the fitness industry.

In Part 3, the conversation continues as CrossFit Inc.'s Tyson Oldroyd discusses the importance of first impressions with Pat Burke of MBS CrossFit, CrossFit Verve founders Matt and Cherie Chan, Nicole Christensen of CrossFit Roots, and David Tittle of CrossFit Low Oxygen.

First impressions matter. What potential clients see when they first walk in is just as important as sound coaching. One simple way to make a good first impression is to invest in the cleanliness of your facility, Christensen says.

“It's a care factor,” she explains.

“If it appears clean and tidy and stuff, then all of a sudden there's also a mindset of safety and caring,” Cherie says.

This isn't a new idea: CrossFit Founder and CEO Greg Glassman talked about it in the 2010 CrossFit Journal video “How Clean Is Your Bathroom?”

The more effort your put into your affiliate the more you-and your clients-will get out of it.

“The goal is excellence,” Oldroyd says.

Video by Mike Koslap.

4min 44sec

Additional reading: “New Year's Newbies” by Andréa Maria Cecil, published Feb. 22, 2016.

So You Want to Write Your Own Program

If you've decided to build your own training plan from the ground up, here's how to get started.

Many trainees do not understand how to set up a training program themselves, so they follow any plan that comes along, bouncing from one idea to the next. Or they train however their friend is training, who is just as clueless. 

 

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Actions Speak Louder Than Workouts

If you want to truly honor the fallen, take care of their surviving brothers and sisters.

This article was co-authored by Michelle Baumann and Pete Hitzeman.

 

It has become tradition for CrossFit communities to gather each Memorial Day and complete a grueling workout called “Murph.” It is arguably the most famous hero WOD and consists of 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, and 300 squats sandwiched between a pair of one-mile runs.

 

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The CrossFit Kitchen: Thai Turkey Meatballs

In this video, Nick Massie of PaleoNick.com takes a brief respite from wall-ball shots to share his recipe for Thai turkey meatballs.

These meatballs contain ginger, cilantro and coconut milk-traditional Thai ingredients-but Massie uses cauliflower as a substitute for rice, offering a healthier option for CrossFit athletes.

After combining the turkey, vegetables and spices, he shapes the meatballs and browns them in a skillet, turning them occasionally to get good coloring and caramelization on every side.

The cauliflower is shredded in a food processor until it has a risotto-like texture. It serves as the base for the “fried rice” in the dish.

“Beautiful,” Massie says as he adds the finishing touches. “The flavor is bound to bring you to your knees.”

To download the recipe for Thai turkey meatballs, click here.

Massie is the instructor for the CrossFit Specialty Course Culinary Ninja, which is designed to give you confidence in the kitchen while you learn the basics of balanced recipe development as informed by CrossFit's nutrition principles.

Click here for more information and a list of upcoming CrossFit Culinary Ninja courses.



Video by Nick Massie.

4min 45sec

Additional reading: “Health Food/Junk Food Game” by Crisa Metzger, published June 26, 2013.

How to Master the Kettlebell Jerk

You'll never move on to the heavier kettlebells if you fail to master the basics of the jerk technique.

In my previous article, The Single Most Important Aspect of Kettlebell Sport, I spoke about the importance of efficiency in kettlebell sport and explained how to achieve a more efficient rack position. Now I would like to take a more detailed look at the jerk and how to properly execute it in kettlebell sport.

 

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3 of the Best: This Week's Top Articles, Vol. 32

These pieces have caught your attention throughout the week. So here they are in one place for you to consume, digest, and enjoy.

Welcome to our weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Saturday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So here they are in one place for you to consume, digest, and enjoy.

 

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One Word to Eliminate From Your Coaching Vocabulary

Better coaching means better client learning. Choose your words wisely.

I love teaching. I love learning. And I love learning about teaching and learning. As coaches, we should constantly be figuring out how to improve the effectiveness of our teaching through auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic approaches. This means studying aspects of coaching such as:

 

• 
  How to create engaging visual inputs 


• 
  How to create effective kinaesthetic drills


• 
  How to create empowering auditory cues 

 

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