Staff Handbook
Contents
Our Philosophy 3
As you’ll see in our philosophy, LoCo CrossFit isn’t a facility; it’s a team approach to fitness, exercise, mobility, and health. We’re very lucky to have the best Trainers available in Leesburg, Virginia. Our network outside the physical facility includes a solid relationship with chiropractors, nutritionists, and other health professionals; work hard to maintain and groom that relationship!A Brief History of Everything 4
New Team Members – Benefits and Responsibilities 6
Opening the Facility – First One In 7
After and Between Classes 7
Closing the Facility – Last One Out 7
Training Clients and Leading CrossFit or Other Group Classes 8
Open Gym 8
Answering the Phone 9
Taking Phone Messages 9
Responding to phone messages 9
Booking Personal Training Appointments 10
Booking Appointments on an iPhone 12
Booking Consultations (No Sweat Intro, Personal Training Intake Session) 15
Signing Clients In for CrossFit Classes 15
Cancelling Appointments – Trainers and Therapists 15
Cancelling Appointments – EMERGENCY SITUATIONS 15
Cancelling Appointments – Client 16
Performing Consultations (No Sweat Intro, Personal Training Consult) 16
Non-Competition During Contract 17
LoCoCrossFit.com Email 18
Using Gmail Aliases in iOS 7 (iPhone or iPad) 18
Email Signatures 25
Responding to Email 25
Ordering Shirts, Supplements 25
Staff Purchases 25
Entering Sales into MindBody Online 27
Selling a Contract 27
About Pro-Rating Memberships 27
About the “Pay Now” Checkbox 28
To make purchases 28
Paying for another client 29
Performing a One-On-One Personal Training Session 30
Performing a CrossFit Training Session 31
Writing A Training Program 32
All prepared programs must be reviewed with the Head Trainer before they are implemented with a client.The Critical List 32
The Essential List 34
Staff Evaluation Procedures - Employees 35
Staff Evaluation Procedures - Contractors 37
Contract Terms with Evaluation of Contractor Performance 37
LoCo CrossFit Staff Handbook Acknowledgement of Receipt 38
Our Philosophy
We are evolving. We started simply as a CrossFit gym but we share a common passion for strength and conditioning. We adapt and will forever be adapting because that is what the best do.
Anything can get you in better shape.
As Dan John says, “everything works...for a while.”
While other fitness centers deliver training that gets people off the couch, we deliver training that helps them move mountains. Our clients, our athletes, come to us for a great workout and because they like challenge. We ignite fires.
This is all due to our staff, who upholds our philosophy:
LoCo CrossFit is more than CrossFit. We are a complete gym. Through the Conjugate method of CrossFit training we are changing fitness for everyone who walks through our doors.
At LoCo CrossFit, we move beyond basic CrossFit to deliver the most balanced, well thought-out programming in our market. Through our commitment to continuing education, our programming and our coaching is constantly evolving and improving.
With adequate rest and recovery, our programming offers the opportunity to train 6 days a week. We program with energy system management in mind. We tax the right energy systems and we apply appropriate volume. We believe in the long haul. Continual progress is necessary for self-actualization; if you’re not moving ahead, you’re falling behind. We set milestones and celebrate when they’re reached. And then we reach further.
We want to be the best coaches we can be and be better than every other coach out there. We are competitive that way. We are committed to helping each client attain their goals, not our goals for them.
Beyond training, we believe in fun. We believe that, to be effective in a long-term sense, fitness has to be enjoyable. The community counts.
We are the pathway into a healthier, active life for everyone who walks through our doors. That responsibility means introducing clients to new activities, making them comfortable with working out in any environment, and giving them attributes they can display with pride.
We believe in hard work. Our own hard work will be recognized by our clients and friends, and will encourage them to work harder in the face of challenge. We believe in multi-joint exercise using body weight or free weights. We believe exercise can happen anywhere, at any time. We train movements, not muscles.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re comfortable in our skills, and can joke about our weaknesses. It’s always easier when you’re the best!
We believe in science. We believe in ongoing education. We’re committed to the peer review process, the application of cutting-edge science, the debunking of myths, and the benefits of active debate and discussion.
Above all, we believe in ourselves and our clients!
314-A South Street
Leesburg, VA 20175
WWW.LOCOCROSSFIT.COM
Welcome to Team LoCo! If you’ve made it this far, be proud; you’ve clearly established yourself as an outstanding member of the LoCo community.
At LoCo CrossFit, there are only a few simple rules of conduct, most of which are common sense; others will help you improve your relationship with clientele, other staff, and the outside world at large. Some, whose purpose may not be obvious at first, will reveal their own benefits as you become more accustomed to the atmosphere of a highly-charged, fast-paced exercise environment.
On page two, you’ll see how we operate. You’ll be given in-depth detail about each rule as you go along. These are simple (but essential) things that separate LoCo CrossFit from the rest of the herd; they’re not day-to-day maintenance, but rather insurance of a positive attitude and environment for clients, guests, and staff. This stuff is not hard, though it will require some practice.
On page three, you’ll see the more mundane (but absolutely necessary) everyday rules of operation for LoCo CrossFit facilities and staff. They’re simple, and easy to remember if you practice them daily. Miss one, though, or become routinely sloppy with them, and it hurts the entire atmosphere for everyone.
You’ll be given an employee review after your first month, your third month, and then semi-annually from that point onward. There’s a blank review attached, as well as some personal goal-setting sheets that you’ll go through as part of your orientation process.
As you’ll see in our philosophy, LoCo CrossFit isn’t a facility; it’s a team approach to fitness, exercise, mobility, and health. We’re very lucky to have the best Trainers available in Leesburg, Virginia. Our network outside the physical facility includes a solid relationship with chiropractors, nutritionists, and other health professionals; work hard to maintain and groom that relationship!A Brief History of Everything
We have many little quirks here at LoCo CrossFit; you may find some of them challenging and you may wonder at the logic of others. Every policy and idea in this book has been formed through extensive research, trial and error, and (often) through painful experience.
Fitness training and coaching is a flat market. That means that, despite all our research, study, long hours and hard work, a client really only differentiates personal trainers according to one solitary factor: their relationship with the trainer. That’s right: regardless of a client’s progress, regardless of results gained from the training, or the trainer’s experience, client retention is 90% dependent on the relationship of the trainer with the client.
It may be tough to remember to turn on the stereo system in the morning. You may not feel like running to retrieve and put away your client’s gear after several hours of training in a row. You may not want to write a nice postcard to the client you met near the end of your day. But the client will never remember the last study you quoted her; she’ll remember you running to retrieve a dumbbell so she doesn’t have to stare at the walls while you’re moseying from room to room.
These lessons have been hard-won. But without them, to the client at least, we’re just like everyone else.
No matter what else happens, we will never be outworked. Never will a client leave LoCo CrossFit for a competitor because we’re too lazy: this, above all, is the original sin.
New Team Members – Benefits and Responsibilities
1. You will be provided with the following LoCo CrossFit apparel to wear when you are working. For coaches, this means:
a) 1 LoCo CrossFit Coach t-shirt
b) 1 LoCo CrossFit Coach hoodie/sweatshirt
Trainers and other Team members may purchase additional LoCo CrossFit apparel at the staff discount rate at any time, and without restriction. Your LoCo CrossFit shirt/hoodie/sweatshirt is part of your uniform. As a Team member, you are absolutely required, without exception, to meet LoCo CrossFit’s dress code requirements whenever leading a group class, training a client, working at the front desk, or when you are otherwise performing LoCo CrossFit duties, to include attending public events as a representative of LoCo CrossFit. If you arrive for work without your uniform, you are REQUIRED to purchase clothing suitable for your duties that day.
2. You will be provided with a comprehensive guide for your performance (this guide). You will be asked to initial the form at the end of this guide to acknowledge that you’ve read and you understand everything within. As soon as you initial that form, you’re responsible for upholding the contents of this book 100%.
3. You will have access to all LoCo CrossFit Team members at a discounted rate. However, that Team member will still be providing you with a professional service, and they will receive the same compensation they would receive from a client. We believe the long-term benefit of your health and exposure to other Team members is enough. One note: please book appointments with other Team members at a time when they’re not normally busy to avoid inconveniencing LoCo CrossFit clients.
4. You have a responsibility to LoCo CrossFit and its clients to act in their best interests at all times. LoCo CrossFit has a responsibility to all Team members to act in the best interests of the group, to ensure that all continue to thrive.
Opening the Facility – First One In
At least 15 minutes prior to opening:
1. Unlock and secure entranceways.
2. Open all doors in the facility.
3. Turn on all lights.
4. Turn on radio, choose an appropriate music station
5. Boot computer and launch MindBody and WODTogether
6. Check whiteboard; confirm WOD is posted/correct
7. Restroom walkthrough (is anything out of place? Put it away)
8. Gym walkthrough (is anything out of place? Put it away)
9. Make sure no trash is lying around
10. Check people into class; charge if necessary
After and Between Classes
After class is finished:
1. Make sure all athletes have written their names/scores on the whiteboard.
2. Make sure athletes wipe down equipment and put everything away.
3. Confirm attendance; ensure everyone has been checked-in to class; process sales as needed
4. Restroom walkthrough (Restock paper towels/toilet paper/soap as needed. Wipe down surfaces as needed.)
5. Gym walkthrough (is anything out of place? Put it away)
6. Sweep/vacuum excess chalk/dirt/debris in gym as needed
7. Make sure no trash is lying around.
8. Empty trashcans as needed.
Closing the Facility – Last One Out
Before locking up and leaving the gym at the end of each day:
1. Erase the whiteboard
2. Write the next day’s WOD, if available
3. Restroom walkthrough (is anything out of place? Put it away)
4. Gym walkthrough (is anything out of place? Put it away)
5. Make sure no trash is lying around
6. Turn off radio.
7. Turn off and unplug fans/heaters.
8. Close and lock windows, garage doors.
9. Turn off the computer.
10. Turn off all lights.
11. Lock entranceway doors.
12. Ensure key is in lockbox (after 6 am and last class of day)
Training Clients and Leading CrossFit or Other Group Classes
Successful personal training requires much more than simply showing up on time, smiling, and beating them into a sweaty pile. Workouts must to be planned in advance and follow a logical progression.
There are 5 general steps for Personal Training at LoCo CrossFit:
1. Book the client’s appointment
2. Receive payment
3. Write the program
4. Implement the program (with the client)
5. Make sure the client’s next visit is booked
Similarly, there are 5 general steps to leading CrossFit Classs:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
1. General warmup
2. ME/DE Work
3. Accessories
4. Metcon
5. Accessories
Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday
1. Pull-up Progression
2. Skill-specific work (except on Saturdays)
3. General Warm-up
4. Metcon
5. Discussion and stretching
Open Gym
During Open Gym, you are acting as the “lifeguard on duty.” It is your responsibility to ensure all clients are training safely. However, you are not there to provide coaching.
· DO work with clients to address questions that can be adequately addressed in 20 seconds (confirming set-up, minor tweak for a movement, spotting a lift, etc.)
· DO offer to schedule personal training if the questions/assistance warrant it
· DON’T program special workouts for clients who come to Open Gym
Answering the Phone
1. Smile on the phone.
2. Answer with, “Good morning (or afternoon), LoCo CrossFit, FIRST NAME speaking. How may I help you?”
3. As soon as the caller identifies themselves, use their first name as you speak.
4. When passing on the telephone to another staff member, make sure you’re able to identify the caller and/or reason for calling.
Taking Phone Messages
There is a notepad for messages located by the phone. To check messages, please dial *99. There is no password for retrieving messages. We only ask that anyone retrieving messages ALWAYS record the message so we never miss a client’s call.
1. Clearly record the person’s first and last name.
2. Record their phone number.
3. Read the phone number back to the person.
4. Write the time and date of the call beside their name.
5. Briefly paraphrase the reason for the call.
6. Notify the recipient as soon as they’re available.
Responding to phone messages
1. Call back within 4 hours of receipt of the call.