We have had a higher than average rate of members cancelling their class reservations lately, I think. I can’t be sure, I don’t have historical data on this from our Wodify system. But it just seems like there are a couple more names crossed off the list when I look at the class rosters. And I’ll tell you what I like about that. People are PLANNING to come to class! They are planning their dive, as I’ve written about before. And that’s step one of the two-step system for consistency in your fitness results. Now, of course step two is showing up and doing the workout, and I’ll address that in next week’s blog.
Cancellations come mostly from the early morning classes, those 5am and 6am athletes that everyone else says are “crazy”. I wouldn’t say they’re crazy – I feel very safe in the gym with them – but I would say they’re “committed”. And they are great planners – they have to be! I don’t think anyone has every popped out of bed at 4:30am and spontaneously decided to go to the gym. You have to plan it out at least the night before, maybe even lay out your gym clothes so that you’re not rustling around in the dark in the morning, waking up the rest of the household.
Adding your name to the class roster the night before is also a great way to hold yourself accountable to the team that you’ll be training with. Over time and lots of tough sessions together, that special bond develops that prompts a “where were you this morning?” text from several people in class when you don’t show your sleepy face. That’s why we sign up for class in advance – to plan out our day and commit to ourselves that we are training today, but also to commit to our teammates that we’ll be there for them, ready to take on another challenging workout together.
You can sign up for class up to an hour before it is scheduled to start, but of course the best practice is to plan more than a day ahead, penciling your name in for the whole week. Plan out your week of training on Sunday as you plan out the rest of your week, understanding where the 6am class won’t work because of an early meeting and instead signing up for the 4:30pm class that day. Then before bed each night as you recap your day and look at the next day’s schedule, you already have that hour of training committed, and you can plan other new activities around it. When you finished the On-Ramp program and became a member at CrossFit Kent Island, you committed to yourself that your physical fitness and health is a major priority, so remember that in your weekly planning and nightly recommitment to your plan.
Waking up in the morning and hoping to have time to make it to the gym at some point during the day does not sound like a highly successful plan. It’s not a plan at all – it’s a wish! Your health and fitness is more important than that. Make a plan, make it as far in advance as you can. When you review your daily schedule, then you can recommit to your training scheduled for the day, and get fired up about knocking it out of the park. The next step is to push all distractions aside, and just show up to the gym! More on that next time…
Ryan