Why We Cap Our Classes to 12

Let’s paint a quick picture. You’ve been doing your research on CrossFit. You’re really excited, eager, and ready to rock. You love the fact that each gym is lead by a coach that is supposed to be there to help you learn, correct form, and be a motivating force that you can feel a personal connection with. The price is higher than a normal gym, but you know and understand that when you go to a CrossFit gym, you aren’t paying just to access it, you’re paying for workouts, professional coaching, and the added bonus of accountability from a community of likeminded individuals.

ALRIGHT. I’M DOING IT! TODAY’S THE DAY! I’M GOING TO CROSSFIT!

But then you show up to class, and there are 22 other people in your class with one coach to lead them.

The coach says hi, welcomes you, has you sign the wavier, and then class begins.

The coach never gets to coach you in the hour class because there are 22 other people that also need a watchful eye and attention. Maybe next time you’ll be lucky and get coached?

You know you aren’t paying for access… you’re paying for coaching… so why the hell aren’t you getting coached?

At Yellow Rose, our member’s experience is always on our minds and how we can make that experience better. The number one way we can make sure that a member has a great experience every time is to make sure that they are getting personally coached every single class no matter what! It doesn’t matter who that person is, what their ability level is, if their black, white, LGBTQ, young, old, female, or male… that person is going to get COACHED!

Enter in our 12 person cap. I have literally coached THOUSANDS of CrossFit classes (best guesses put the exact number around 5,256, but who’s counting?), and I can say without a doubt that bigger classes lead to less coaching. I qualify a “big” class as classes that exceed 12 people. Once you get to that point, coaches have to do less coaching, and have to do more logistical management. “Uh oh! 22 people showed up! How are we going to run this class when we don’t have enough equipment?!” Sure, a veteran coach can still guide everyone through the class and makes sure nobody gets hurt… but is that REALLY the standard we’re going for? Hell no. Our standard is far more professional than that.

You came here to get coached, and that’s what we’re going to do. 

We have a standard for our coaches at Yellow Rose: coach every member in every class, no matter what. Coaching can come in many different forms. It could be technical cueing for a lift. “Hey Joe, make sure you are fully extending the hips on your power cleans. It will be way more efficient during the metcon!” It could be motivation or inspiration. “You’re crushing it, Shannon! Keep going!” It could be nutrition advice. “Hey Mark, I think adding some carbs before you workout will give you a little more pep during this hour. Try eating a granola bar about 30 minutes before class tomorrow.” It could even be acknowledgment of hard work, or a subtle kick in the butt to try a bit harder. “Been here 3 days in a row? Hell yeah, Laura! That’s awesome!” “Hey Matt, you and I both know you can go heavier… go for it man. You can do this.” If there are too many people in our classes, it makes these sort of interactions incredibly difficult, borderline impossible. THESE are the sort of interactions you are paying good money for… not to be forgotten in the back of class and not be coached.

Nobody likes a cramped class.

You know what sounds fun? Working out with a group of likeminded individuals who are going to push and support you no matter what! You know what DOESN’T sound fun? Being dangerously close to a bar being dropped from overhead, or having to bob and weave through a field of jump ropes spinning at high speed like that Lizard from Planet Earth. By keeping our classes to 12, we know that we will always have enough space to run safe and effective classes without any overcrowding.

We can plan better workouts with predictable numbers. 

When we know that the maximum number of people we are preparing for, we can not only know what exact equipment we need (important… nobody wants to show up and NOT have a piece of equipment to use…) but we can also get creative with HOW we use said equipment. Our magic number of 12 breaks down and divides very easily for us to be able to utilize all of the equipment we have without leaving anyone out! It’s more fun for us because we like to create fun workouts, and it’s also more fun for our members because they get to utilize all of the equipment we have to offer! Overall, this will make for a far better experience for our members!

This 12 person cap is incredibly important and valuable to us, because it makes sure our members are getting the best experience possible (we also have a Client Bill of Rights that guides us through this experience each day!). If you feel like you aren’t getting a great experience out of your gym, come and see us. I know you’ll find what you’re looking for here.

You can do this.

-Clark Hibbs

7 down, 24 to go.

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