About DEFY!

Getting to the point of opening my very own CrossFit affiliate was a long process, with more than a few false steps (and a lot of help from my wife). A big part of what helped me finally make the jump was actually sitting down and writing a buisness plan.

I don't know how many CF boxes (or small gyms of any sort) bother with a business plan. It kind of runs counter to the idea of the freedom that a lot of us are looking for, and it took me a while to realize the value of it (actually, it took the idea that a bank was more likely to give me a loan if I could show them a plan).

So, I sat down with the copy of Business Plans for Dummies I checked out from the library and started going through it. What I found out was that I hadn't really defined what I was trying to do nearly as well as I thought I had, and that I had a lot of things to work out before I started shelling out money.

Part of the process was writing out my Mission, Vision, and Values statements for DEFY! (well, the working name at the time was "Fitness Defined" - thanks to Matt for getting me on track with his joke about "Fitness Defied"). Now, I've seen some companies' M/V/V statements, and they mainly seem straight out of a Dilbert comic strip, so I had my tongue firmly in cheek as I sat down to write.

What I discovered was that this really helped me formulate WHAT I was trying to accomplish with my gym. What I had in mind as my primary raison d'etre. I've discussed this to a few other people, but never put it out for all to see. And with that ridiculously long lead-in, here they are:

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Our Mission Statement

DEFY! will strive to improve our members’ health, energy, and functionality using a range of fitness disciplines, from traditional weights to martial arts to gymnastics.

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Our Vision Statement

To overthrow the corporate-gym fitness paradigm by building stronger, healthier, more functional, and better looking bodies, and having fun doing it.

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Our Values Statement

DEFY! is dedicated to the following values:

Fostering an environment where functionality is valued at least as highly as appearance

Bringing true functional fitness to a diverse population, from kids and teens to fire/police/military personnel and athletes to soccer moms and cubical dwellers

Demonstrating to the world that “muscle magazine” training is ineffective and inefficient for everyone but the physique competitor

Bringing the fun and enthusiasm of playing to fitness; Reminding ourselves of the sheer joy of motion!

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So if you ever wondered what the heck I'm trying to accomplish here, now you know!

WOD 1/7/09

Power cleans from the hang 3-3-3-3-3

135-185-165-175-190(1 successful rep)

These were interesting. We've done cleans, power cleans, hang cleans, clean and jerks, etc, for reps, for time, and for weight, but this is the first time we've done the variant with this short of a movement. That's not much time to build up speed!

I hit the 135 easily, then jumped to 185 which was much more difficult. Dropped back down to 165 - no problem, 175 - had to work, but there was no question about hitting it, then up to 190 for my last one. Last one. I couldn't hit a second rep even with several attempts.

Looks like I found something to work on! I'm looking forward to seeing Luke do this one today; I'm betting he's done this one more for his football training.