The Valley CrossFit Hummer!
En route to Carson for the 2011 CrossFit Games, Ana, Ben, Dheeraj and I decided to catch a WOD at the famous Valley CrossFit! One of the main reasons why we wanted to visit this box is because it is home to some of the most bad-ass people in CrossFit! Kris Clever, Becca Voigt, Katie Hogan, Lindsey Valenzuela, just to name a few.
Check out their new location in my most recent visit here (07-12-2012).
Check out their new location in my most recent visit here (07-12-2012).
We came in for the 5pm class last Thursday with the owner, Mike Latch. This is what the class did:
- Warm-up and skills practice: Jump Rope moves (kicks, crisscross, double-unders, double crisscross, etc and all backwards too). Those who were proficient at DUs partnered up and did a mini 5min AMRAP DU WOD and those still learning DUs used that time to practice them.
- Muscle-up skills practice
- 2010 CrossFit Southwest Regional Competition WOD #2:
5 rounds for time of: - 5/2 Muscle-Ups
- 10 Power Cleans 135#/85# (though for class, ladies did 95#)
- 200m Run
Some things I really liked here:
- The trainers. Trainers here are extremely knowledgeable and talented. Before class Mike was doing the opposite of toes to bar: hands to bar as he was hanging upside down! During class he was extremely helpful with the movements, took pictures, cheered all of us on during the WOD, and recorded our times as we finished the WOD. He was also really funny and remembered all of our names!
- Class quality. Mike was extremely dedicated to making sure everyone learn something new in addition to getting an awesome WOD in for the day.
- The members and the community. Granted I have only visited a handful of boxes so far, this box has some of the most friendliest, helpful, and encouraging members out there. The gym wasn't only just a place to workout, people hung out here afterwards. They were also more than willing to help you out with your form and technique. Lisa spent a good amount of time afterwards helping me with the kipping muscle-up. Ana and I even hung out with some of the VCF members at the CrossFit Games!
- This box is HUGE! 10,000 square feet of fun! They also have every possible equipment you can think of: walls, ropes, gymnastic balance beams, mats, trampolines, etc.
- It is also clean and organized! Equipment is easy to find. Chalk is next to the rings and pull-up bar area along with tape.
- Whiteboards for goals, WODs and time for the day, accomplishments, community, events and additional training. Very resourceful and motivating.
- Different WODs in a day. Instead of posting WODs the night before, or day of, Valley CrossFit WODs are announced during class, and are different throughout the day, depending on the instructor. This essentially eliminates cherry-picking WODs. Each trainer does their own programming for the class, creating a variety of WODs for the day. I found out that some people come here more than once a day to do different WODs.
Some things that could use improvement:
- Honestly, it was very difficult to come up with something I did not like about this box! If I had to be nit-picky, I would say, the website. I don't really like how there is sound on the main page and on the "Schedule and Pricing" page it says "click on a class for more info" but that doesn't actually work.
- UPDATE 9/13/2011: They recently re-did their website. What a huge improvement! Classy design, easy navigation, and very informative. I love the Schedule tab at the bottom. It list all the classes for the day, type of class, and instructor. So for those who want to hit multiple different WODs, this is good stuff. The blog is also integrated within the site now, too. Very well done!
Some pictures:
3. Lots of barbells and my favorite, rings!
4. A small portion of the pull-up area.
5. Some neat equipment.
6. A quote I like at the entrance to the bathroom, lounge, and storage area.
7. Love this board! Also, for those over-achievers who want more training.
8. Post WOD: the owner Mike at the top, Ana, me, Lisa, Ben, and Dheeraj.
9. Trainers here are so awesome that a member dressed up to show support for Katie Hogan at the Games.
Definitely would love to stop by again and hopefully next time I'll get to meet some of the other girls!
Additional Visits: 07-12-2012 (new location) | 11-04-2011
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