If you are a female reader, then you will understand where this post is coming from. I'm sure that even a fairly in-tune male reader has noticed the somewhat territorial and occasionally caddy behaviour which can exhibited by females in various environments. The formation of groups and the slight fear of newcomers happens, and as a new member of any group, you just have to find a way in.
Enter the CrossFit gym environment. CrossFit is all about community, friendship and inclusiveness. Many of the friends I have made at CrossFit gyms are some of my absolute favourite people to spend time with. But I can understand the daunting experience it is to walk into a new place, where you do not know anyone and try to do something new.
Although I was introduced to CrossFit in 2007, I did not become a member of a CrossFit gym until I moved to Guelph, Ontario. At the time, it was a relatively new gym with a very limited membership base. Therefore, I was one of the few members and did not experience the "exclusivity" of female gym members. I left Guelph over a year ago and moved to PEI for work where I joined CrossFit PEI in Charlottetown. When I entered this new-to-me gym, I found that it was a very established business with a large client list. During my first class on that fateful Saturday morning, I counted 40 participants, 40!! But being the East coast which is the most friendly and welcoming part of the country I have seen, these CrossFit PEI members welcomed me into the fold without hesitation. During my tenure there, I made some wonderful friends with whom I had some great laughs and good training.
Fast forward to the present - April of 2014. Due to unforeseen circumstances surrounding the lack of employment in PEI for my husband, I decided to move back to Guelph so that we wouldn't have to be keeping separate residences (in different provinces!). For me, one of the most important things I had to figure out upon returning to Guelph was joining a CrossFit gym. Luckily, while I was gone a few of my friends banded together and decided to open their own CrossFit affiliate. Even better was that they were offering Olympic lifting classes in addition to CrossFit. I was sold!
So although I knew the gym owners, I did not know any of the gym members and was going to have to try my luck at breaking into this group. I should mention that when I was home visiting the previous December, I encountered a little bit of this "exclusivity phenomenon" from a few of the female members, so I already had evidence to suggest that I was going to be facing some challenges.
On my first day in the new gym I walked in and found "SNATCH 3x3" written on the white board. Of course, this made me smile as not only do I love Olympic weightlifting, but the snatch is my favourite lift. So I pulled out my bar and got down to business. After a warm up, I started my ascending progression starting with 95, then 105 and ended with 115 lbs. Considering none of the other female members in attendance were lifting more than 85 lbs that day, 115 x 3 was apparently decent. I finished lifting and we moved on to the workout of the day (WOD) and at the end of it all, I left feeling like I was going to like this new gym.
Since that day, I have had a number of women in the gym approach me and ask about by background and if I would offer some pointers on their lifts. In fact, one hilarious interaction went a little like this:
"Hey, are you Marcy?" "OMG, I've heard so much about your snatch!"
So from this experience I have learned 2 things. (1) Apparently, there is nothing like a solid snatch to get some immediate gym credibility and break down the walls of the female exclusivity group and (2) CrossFit gyms are the only place where you can say: "I've heard a lot about your snatch" and not have it taken in a dirty way.
Stay tuned for more adventures in lifting & CrossFit!
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