Upgrading On-Ramp
On-Ramp day 3 introduced to wall ball
When I think of how far we’ve come with developing our On-Ramp program, I picture myself sitting in a rocking chair on a porch drinking a PBR and widdling wood saying:
“Hell, back in my day we didn’t used to have no fancy On-Ramp class or no free two weeks. We used to just jump right in to CrossFit like real men. Nowadays all these kids be complainin’ about workouts being too hawd. Shee-iiit, you don’t know the half of a hawd workout, son. Now go fetch grandpaps ‘notha PBR.”
When I first started CrossFit, On-Ramp didn’t exist and it was a sink or swim mentality. It was intimidating, even for the super fit. The first month was rough trying to learn all the new moves while simultaneously getting over the soreness. Each day I had to learn about three new movements right before the WOD. I might as well been punching myself in the nuts for 15 minutes instead of working out. Trust me, some days I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
Foam roll revolution. Nobody used to do it.
Then we started doing a private three sessioncourse called Elements. This seemed to help people learn the 9 basic movements, but still didn’t provide enough experience to prepare athletes for the regular classes. We would see people hop in to the regular classes and be just a little less lost than before and also not understand the intensity or camaraderie that was associated with CrossFit.
We then took a cue from Nicki Violetti from CrossFit NorCal (I mean NorCal Strength & Conditioning, but that’s another story) and adopted the On-Ramp program. The first day in our new facility we had a class of 8 On-Rampers. We modified the NorCal program down to three weeks instead of four and it seemed to work out ok, but it could still be better.
We then changed it to a two week, four days per week program and it seemed to work much better. We’ve modified the curriculum based on the athletes we have had sign up. We’ve also added different facets such as nutrition, flexibility, recovery, community and programming. Our goal was to educate the athletes as much as we possibly could in two weeks. We also added two weeks of regular classes for free to see if you like the intensity and people in the classes. Our philosophy was that by educating our new members as much as possible, our entire CrossFit family would improve and we would all become better. Today I’m happy to say that our retention rate of graduated On-Rampers is just shy of 90% and we’ve more than tripled our membership since November 2009. We have also consistently seen multiple PRs and have almost eliminated workout related injuries.
Keeping consistent with the CrossFit mentality, we believe we can improve the On-Ramp course. We are adding a few new features to the next classes. One of these features is going to be individual evaluations and goal setting. The coaches will help work with you in the couple weeks following the completion of the On-Ramp course to address some areas of improvement on your evaluations. Constant improvement!
We would also like to hear your feedback. Most of you have gone through On-Ramp or have friends interested in On-Ramp or are at different CrossFits who may have an On-Ramp. Let’s hear what you have to say. What did you like about it? What did you not like about it? What would you add? What could we change?
Post your ideas to comments or if you feel like being shy, email me your response or if you want to be old fashioned, talk to me when you see me in the gym. Be blunt and honest, because you know I would be.
WOD 4/29/2010
A. Power Clean 2-2-2-2
B. 4 Rounds
12 Back Squat (Men: body weight / Women: 3/4 body weight)
18 Burpees
400M Run
I feel that the On Ramp programme can make Cross Fit alot less intimidating to the newcomers!
OnRamp is essential to introducing CrossFit to new folks. Continue it. I personally struggled to make 4 days a week – but Forrest and Remy worked with me, which was awesome. You guys are on the right track with your direction of OnRamp!
On Ramp was great!! Watch your numbers and don’t be afraid to try multiple times to handle the growing interest.
Have you ever thought of holding Skills Clinics in addition to On Ramp. For Example “The progression of Muscle Up? OHS? Split Jerk? I know I am too sore/tired/pressed for time after most WOD’s to be able to spend extra time on these things. Not to mention the coaches have another class to be tending to, and it feels selfish to ask for more of their time.
Keep up the good work, the friendly attitude and camaraderie are some of the biggest factors in the retention rate. I honestly haven’t seen a single person in the gym that I thought didn’t make every effort to meet the new people (OR avoid burpies).
We have thought about hosting some skills clinics on a Saturday or Sunday. We are working on the schedule to help free up some time to host skills clinics. Soon we will have an online scheduling system where you can schedule a free 30 minute one-on-one session per month with any coach.
Forrest, I don’t know how you come up with some of these posts (at least parts of them old grampy). I personally think On-Ramp has been a great thing. I feel that people are coming into the main class being much less intimidated and have a good basis for what they are doing, and that’s all I can really ask for as a coach. There is obviously still going to be things to work on, but that is going to be the case all the time. We want to be in states of constant improvement in Crossfit. There is always something you can do better, faster, hold yourself accountable to every day. You fix one thing, time to hit the next. This is where those goals make so much sense. It is very important to have clear and concise goals from day to day and for the long term. Luckily in Crossfit there is always a clear end in sight for the workouts and I think that makes everything manageable. Always pick something in your workouts that you want to make sure you’re doing, whether it’s holding yourself accountable to full pushups or making sure you have perfect form for every rep of a snatch. This will make you better. If there is something you need help with, I will always try to make myself available if you ask. I of course spend more time at the gym than I ever plan on. I just can’t seem to leave.
And there is my 2 cents for the day. Have a great weekend. I’m off to Chicago and probably meeting up with Jon for a few workouts in Chitown and Atlas Crossfit. See you guys next week.
John what can I say? I have a wild imagination and a sick sense of humor. I guess it’s from hours of playing with legos and making mix tapes by myself as a kid..and by “kid” I mean late 20′s.
On-Ramp is vital for success in the Crossfit mentality. Whether an introduction or a transition, there must be some kind of an easy, steady exposure of the movements and philosophy at large. Personally, coming in to crossfit, I underestimated just how much ground I had lost strength and endurance wise. Thus, On-Ramp served two primary purposes in my case: 1) it provided a stable foundation from which I could build, including an understanding of movements, an awareness of my current physical standing, and the opportunity to make realistic goals, and; 2) it prevented me from immediate injury that I would have undoubtedly sustained ie jumping right in to an olympic lift at the wrong weight.
Just saw this on the Main CF Page:
http://games2010.crossfit.com/blog/2010/04/live-streaming-southwest-regional/
So if you can’t be there to cheer on Remy in person, maybe you can see her feats of strength on the Web in real time!!
Good Luck Girl!!
maybe i should redo onramp!
After hearing Chris come home talking non-stop about CF all summer I decided I had to check it out for myself. My first CF experience was one of the free Saturday beach WODS last September. At the beach that day I met a group of veteran Crossfitters (Nicole, Carlton & Wes just to name a few) along with a CF newcomer like myself (Mike Kodman). Forrest led us through a beat-down of a WOD with medballs and sprints in the sand and I immediately fell in love with the program. When I officially started CF back in late October of last year my Olympic weight lifting experience was limited and my body was still finding it’s way back from injuries and surgery. Going through the Elements program with Forrest (this was pre-On Ramp) gave me a chance to learn in a safe, controlled, low pressure environment. The combination of the free beach WOD (which got me interested) and the Elements program (which got me hooked) was exactly what I needed to kick start a full on CF addiction.
So in a nutshell: Bring back the free beach WOD, keep the on ramp classes small so that no everyone gets one on one attention, and definitely do some skill clinics on the weekends. (I volunteer myself to help with a handstand pushup clinic
*ahem*
What I meant to say was..”keep the on ramp classes small so that you know everyone is getting one on one attention…”
We should rename on-ramp to Rush, Call them Pledges instead of On-Rampers, make them stay late to clean up the gym, and add a hell week to the end of it all. We could also drop them off 5 miles out in the ocean with nothing but a pair of flippers and a straw…..maybe some floaties too.
Old Man… I like it…Unfortunately, floaties/water wings are not a coast guard approved flotation device.
I second Scarlett’s motion for beach some WODs!!!
Helping teach on-ramp has been SO rewarding. Each class has been special in its own way, and I feel much more connected and invested in the newbs. I wish there were a way for other members to get more involved with on-ramp. I like Chris’s idea! I was one of those girls in college that avoided sororities and now I kinda wish now I hadn’t.
Aww, thanks Rob!!
feel so special.
As for beach wods, I somewhat enjoyed farmer-walks into the ocean in February (thanks Slaughter) and running in sand with the sloshpipe, so I imagine they’ll be even better in June. Let’s make some scenes!!!
Couldnt have said it better myself Chris. At the end of pledging (hell week), we do the trust fall and make them drink from the sacred crossfit gobblet. Whats in it? Nobody really knows for sure…just drink it pledge!