A sense of community at the GLOBO...?

Today I experience something new, strange, and yet wonderful at the same time at my local GLOBO Gym. A sense of community. Now, this was not your typical meathead community where we exchanged weightgainer recipes and flexes of our biceps in the mirror. Rather this was a community that I felt was CrossFit like. Well it happens that it was... Let me explain. I've been doing CrossFit at my local GLOBO now for a a few months, 9 or so, I'd say. People know it because I'm not shy about letting them know, or letting them know that "No, I am not done with that pull-up bar just because I go running across the gym to the squat rack to do some thrusters (ah, Fran!). Many people are, well for lack of a better word, frightened by what I do: handstands, and the push-ups! My goodness... what are you crazy, I would hear. But today was different. A few days ago, I mentioned in another post on intensity, that a fella asked me about my workout. He actually asked if I was training for an Ironman Competition and I disabused him about that and informed him about CrossFit and their website. So today I walk into the gym and I see him in the basketball court trying to do a HSPU. He comes over to me and says he's been perusing (my words) the main page and is trying to WOD. It included HSPUs and he could not do it. He was discouraged and ready to quit. I stopped my warm-up and I told him NO! This stuff is infinitely scalable so let's see what you can do. Turns out he can do a modified HSPU with his legs on a bench or box. So he did them. His pull-ups are weak, and his kip is ugly, but we worked that a little too. I of course was not trying to "train" him, proper. I'd been reprimanded for doing that with my wife just a few days earlier - d baggerston trainer told me I could not even train my old lady - I mean WTF!? Right? But after I warmed (him and I) up, we ran through the wod together. It was great fun. He was a little nervous, but held his own and he had no choice because I was cheering him on, loudly mind you, and I was not going to let him give up! Turns out that was contagious because near my max, he started cheering me on "Come on you got this!" Others were taking notice and the one trainer, we'll just refer to him as Douche Baggerston, was not happy. I could tell. Odd looks from him weren't what I noticed, but it was the onlooking from his clients, veering attention away from him and onto us that I did notice. I kind of wanted to tick my tongue out at him, and would have if it hadn't already been hanging out panting. The workout was great, he loved it and wants to do more together or on his own! I am stoked! I feel like I made a difference. 

It gets better. As I am walking out I see the spinning instructor - bad ass older lady that has more endurance capacity then a fucking camel! Well she's been doing CF at a BOX a few towns over and knows that I do it at the GLOBO. So she starts talking to me. I leaned through her that another gym had actually closed down because the trainers had defected to a CF model. So this GLOBO does not like CF. I can only assume that it is a huge slap in the face to think that 1) they spent all this money on all this shitty equipment that sucks (read my post about machines) and 2) that this new model-free system produces results. That is, they'd rather see their clients use the machines, get personal training from their trainers (which apparently is where the $ are) and not get any fitter, but yet still take their money, membership fees. Fucking unconscionable! They are selling a bogus product, a fraudulent claim. And people are fucking paying for it! I am ashamed for them, but that is their business. In fact, I reckon they make more money off people who join (e.g., new years resolution-ers) and never show up. At any rate, as disgustingly dishonest and fucked up as that is, the smalle community of 3-4 that I've started to get to know have been wonderful. They've even expressed interest in training with me outside the GLOBO, under my supervision, at my garage (i dont have any equipment yet) or at a park. This is freaking crazy - by being honest, hard-working, and having a shred of integrity about what I do, plus revealing my secret (CF main site) these people want me to train them! I love this stuff and had left the gym with a fantastic feeling about what I am doing and how CF has changed my life. 

Cheers, to more community everywhere....

... more to come on this over the weekend....