6am party crew at Foundation CrossFit!
While in Seattle to spend quality time with my family before my brother, David starts college, I figured it would be appropriate to visit Foundation CrossFit, the nearest CrossFit box to Seattle University in Capitol Hill! I joined the 6am party on Monday, my last day in Seattle. This was my first 6am class ever (my options were 6am or no CrossFit for the day)!
The 6am class was led by Coach Paolo. This is what we did:
- Warm-up and skills practice: 5 hills, 10 burpees, 20 dislocates (shoulder passes), 30 overhead squats with PVC
- Strength: Power clean heavy for triples
- Tabata Front Squats at 80% of clean weight. No racks.
- Cool down: 35-50 shoulder rolls forward and back with weights or bands
Some things I really liked here:
- Class spirit. The best part was the class was so alive, even at 6 in the morning! It wasn't just the loud music. There was a lot of energy and encouragement among everyone and Coach Paolo. My small lifting group with Cheryl and Charlie, was the best!
- Classes follow this flow: warm-up, instruction, [strength], WOD, cool-down. First everyone comes in and writes down the WOD and such in their notebook; everyone has a notebook. After the warm-up we did the Burgener warm-up. Coach Paolo did a great job going over the movement, watching everyone, correcting form, and motivating folks. Apparently, he is also an awesome media artist!
- Members are very friendly. I personally met most of the 6am party crew! After the strength work and the WOD, people were full of compliments for each other.
- Equipment are clean and neatly organized by weight and labeled. They are also color-coordinated. So easy to find and calculate weight! Also, all the weights are in kilos. I wish there was a pounds conversion labeled on the plates. Haha, I got so confused.
- It is interesting how members have to sign up for a class. It's good for both sides: the instructors so they can plan accordingly, and the members so that if there are too many people signed up for a class, they can come to a different one. There is no cap to the classes. The downside is if you forget to sign up for a class and show up... then you owe burpees!
- A new, larger, second, sister location in Seattle (South Lake Union) coming soon! Good thing they have it in the making since they out-grew their current location. Currently, there is a wait list for joining, if your intentions are to come to the busy classes. They do make a big effort to maximize floor space though, as equipment is smartly organized and laid out.
- I like how each blog post has a question. Just gets the mind thinking and sometimes serves as a reminder.
Some things that could use improvement:
- Bring your own cold water. There are no water fountains, but you can buy water.
- Only street parking (you have to pay from 8am-8pm mon-sat). Also, it can be difficult to find street parking during the day. Though I can't blame them much since they are located in downtown Seattle. Hopefully the new location has some parking available for members!
4. Inside.
5. The Girls PR board. I like how there's a section for ladies and dudes.
6. T-Shirt wall from other CrossFit boxes.
7. View from the back corner and pull-up structure.
8. Members' WOD book.
9. Bars are neatly organized by weight.
10. The whiteboard.
11. 6am crew ladies: Charlie, me and Cheryl!
I am excited for the new location!! Will be back to check it out, especially since my brother lives nearby now. Hopefully, I can convince him to join Foundation CrossFit while in school here!
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