- Personal Training
- Coach for Life
- Benchmarks
- Pocket Coach
- CrossFit Group Class
- Specialty Programs
- Facility
- Community Events
- Professional Coaching
Personal Training
What?
We are not a group exercise class or a boot camp facility. We’re trying to get you fit for life. In order to do this, you will work with your personal coach and complete 12 to 20 one-on-one or two-on-one personal training sessions that will properly prepare you for the demands of group classes. During this time, and even upon graduation, you and your coach will constantly monitor your fitness rating through our data entry system –The Pocket Coach – and graduation to classes will be based on our physical Benchmarks.
Why?
Learning movements that are required for improved fitness – movements like squats, snatches and pull-ups – take time, as does improving your mobility, your endurance, your speed and your power.
We used to throw people into group classes right away, and we tried a small group onramp for a while, but we found both of these to be a recipe for failure. Students weren’t prepared; they didn’t move well; they didn’t understand their capabilities; they over-trained; they got injured. Or they were simply too intimidated to even show up to a class.
Improving your fitness is a slow process. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when they show up at our doors. Some students struggle with mobility, others with stability, others yet come to us two months after having knee surgery and need to be tended with care. And on the other end of the spectrum, some athletes arrive at our door well conditioned with an extensive athletic background.
The point is we all have different needs when we start a new strength and conditioning program. It doesn’t make sense to throw you right into classes before you have properly learned the movements. So at our school, by the time you graduate to classes, you’ll have a good understanding of 30-40 movements, and you will know exactly how to scale each movement if you’re not yet able to master everything. And more importantly you will have a relationship with a professional coach, who will be with you for life.
Coach for Life
What?
From the moment you contact us, you will be paired up with a professional fitness coach to help you reach your fitness goals.
You will complete your intro day and your initial personal training sessions with your coach, and you will continue to meet with your coach once every quarter for a one-on-one refresher session once you graduate to group classes.
Why?
Having a coach for life helps you stay on track – and keeps you motivated – with your training and your goals.
Further, once you enter group classes, you\’ll start discovering new weaknesses and areas they\’d like to improve. One-on-one refresher sessions with your coach are designed to help you tackle these new challenges.
Also, once you have been in classes for a while, you may want to do some more specialty work, such as begin a strength program. Your coach will put together strength or skill-based additional individual programs for you once you get to that point.
We have found that students that forge good relationships with their coaches, both at the gym and socially, are more likely to stick on the path to improved fitness, and ultimately the path to a healthier, happier life.
Benchmarks
What?
Our physical benchmarks are scores you must reach on specific movements and workouts before you graduate to group classes. (See list of Benchmarks below).
Why?
Benchmarks are a way to measure your progress so we know when you’re truly ready for group classes. And once you’re in group classes, benchmarks continue to allow us to assess your development, as well as give you a fitness rating that helps continue to measure your progress.
On your end, understanding the benchmarks will help you see exactly what we’re looking for. But more than anything, having tangible, measurable benchmarks helps you understand where you fall on the fitness scale. Remember, our goal is to get you fit – not to rush you to group classes.
Having said that, our benchmarks also help group classes run smoothly because we know that everyone in attendance is at an appropriate fitness level.
Pocket Coach
What?
Our online App – the Pocket Coach – is a coaching tool and performance tracking system developed by Madlab Group.
The pocket coach allows both you and your coach to monitor your progress, beginning with your very first day, and carrying on through your personal training sessions, and later when you\’re in group classes.
Why?
We have learned that people who keep track of their progress are more likely to stay motivated to be fit.
From keeping track of Benchmarks, your calendar, your personal bests, and your fitness rating, the Pocket Coach allows you to stay connected with not only your progress, but also with your coach and the greater community, ultimately helping you stay on track with your training and fitness goals.
Group Class Schedule
What?
We offer classes at 6 am, 7 am, 8 am, 11 am, 4 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm on weekdays. And we’re open on both Saturdays and Sundays, too. See full class schedule here.
Why?
We know you have a busy and hectic schedule, and since we have more coaches, apprentice coaches and square footage than any other CrossFit facility in the area, we have the ability to put offer more than other facilities.
But more than this, our morning coaches do not coach in the evenings, and our evening coaches do not coach in the mornings. This means that you will not be coached by a tired, burnt out coach at 8 pm. Our coaches work a manageable 20 to 30 hours a week and make professional wages, so they have plenty of energy to give to each student and each class, and ultimately the lifestyle and motivation to be around for the long haul.
Specialty Programs
What?
We don’t just offer personal training and group classes. We offer both seasonal and ongoing specialty programs for students who are looking to work on their weaknesses, or for students who just want to mix it up a bit.
Read more about the following programs below.
- EVBBC (East Van Barbell Club)
- Olympic Lifting Seminars
- Rowing Seminars
- Project Endurance
- Paleo Challenges (Nutrition Challenges)
- Competition Team
- Mobility Workshops
- Weakness 101
- Stretch Therapy
- Social Functions
Why?
Our specialty programs help students tackle their weaknesses, and they simply provide more options for experienced students who want to try something new.
Facility
What?
There are many elements that go into making a world-class facility. From the training components like having enough space and equipment to practical components like free parking and showers, our facility has all the necessary components to help you get fit and stay fit for life. Read more about what is required for a world-class training facility here.
Why?
Imagine having to fork out an extra six dollars every time you park your car for a workout. Or having to park a kilometer away from the facility. This is the case for many downtown locations.
Adequate Square Footage: Our 10,000 square foot facility easily handles classes of up to 30 students, all the while leaving enough space for two or three apprentice coaches to run one-on-one personal training sessions on the other side of the facility.
Inconveniences like parking are enough to deter you from going to the gym at all. Things like having plenty of natural light and big bay doors might seem like small peanuts, but when they’re taken away, people notice.
In short, everything runs more smoothly when things are convenient.
We have been around for 10 years – we have learned through trial and error what people need and want from their training facility.
Community
What?
The strength in our school lies in our community. And the backbone of our community is our coaches, many of whom have been around since 2004. We’re not interested in pumping as many new people through our doors as possible; instead, we’ve been building a supportive community of loyal and committed friends and family for more than 10 years. The strength of any community is always in the people – we’re no exception.
On top of our many informal, spontaneous social gatherings throughout the year, some of our more estabilshed events are our annual Hallowe’en party, our Christmas Wine and Cheese, and our memorial competition – Nutts Cup – which takes place every August.
Why?
Fitness is something that should make your life better; it’s not something we think should dominate your life. We believe it’s important to be well-rounded people who know how to let loose, have a drink and socialize with friends.
And, we have learned that students who are engaged in the community are more likely to want to show up to the school to workout – because they show up not just to workout, but also to enjoy themselves socially.
Professional Coaching Progam
What?
All of our coaches have gone through a four-year extensive apprentice diploma program.
By the time they’re working with students they’ve done more than just a weekend course that tells them they’re now certified to personal train.
Our apprentices spend months shadowing coaches before they work with their own students. They attend seminars – from Olympic weightlifting to mobility to gymnastics workshops. And they’re required to write tests in subjects ranging from anatomy to exercise physiology to coaching cues and nutrition. Read more about the education our coaches have here
Why?
We want to ensure that your coaches are experts when it comes to fitness and strength and conditioning.
The same way getting fit takes time – so does learning how to coach. By the time your coach starts working with you, he/she is a knowledgeable fitness professional.
On top of this, our apprentice coaching program means that we have enough man power to put at least two coaches in every class. Through Madlab Group research, we have learned that the higher the coach to student ratio, the better our students do.
