VCCF and the Virus

This is the running stream of info regarding our gym and the coronavirus situation. Please check back for our most up-to-date announcements.

Wednesday August 26

A few reminders!

The list from May 23rd is still valid! Just a few additional things to note. As schools are opening and schedules are gradually getting more crowded, we need to make sure the intake process is still being followed. Please continue arriving with enough time to get checked, wash hands and collect your needed equipment for the day. Be timely in putting away your equipment so the floor can be cleaned before the next class.

Please do your best to practice saying in the lines. As classes get more crowded we can’t have people working out across two different boxes. Even if there is a particular day that is under capacity, still stay in your box. Also, please don’t walk through someone else’s space while you are moving about the box. Building good habits will go a long way for us all!

If you need some extra time to stretch or roll out (before or after class), please stay in an unused space or go outside. We certainly want you to feel the best you can, just respect the space needed for the classes going on.

Monday, May 25

Tomorrow is the day! We’ve made a video for you to see what the new procedures are going to look like. Check out the video below!

Saturday, May 23

Alright! Here is the longer list of things you need to know!

Intake Procedure

Please arrive a few minutes early so that we can complete the intake things before class time starts. First thing upon entering the gym, find one of the 4 sinks and wash those hands (please do not have the water running on high) for 20 seconds. We will have paper towels for hand drying. 

Next, we will do a thermal temperature check and a pulse ox. This will help identity those who might be asymptomatic carriers. If the recorded temperature is above 100 or the pulse ox is at 90 or below, you will be asked to leave to keep everyone else safe.

If you have a pair of gym shoes, this is the time to grab them. If not, please spray/wipe the bottom of your shoes. Do your best to not walk through someone else’s space, walk around the taped boxes on the floor.

Class Flow

We will still have the Whiteboard Talk from the coaches to give details about the days programming and fun ahead. After the Whiteboard Talk, every athlete will gather the equipment needed for the entire day, put it in their station, and clean them off with the provided spray and towel. As the equipment is dying, we will begin the coach-led warm ups as a group. 

Each side of the gym will have a clock and the strength and workout written out so after warm ups are completed you can be at your assigned station and get all the gains. Each station will have a small whiteboard to keep track of your weights and times. This is for you to be able to enter in BTBW. Strength/skill results will no longer be logged on the main whiteboard to eliminate the many trips needed to record these numbers. 

For the workout, be aware of your time as you finish. Your coach will certainly help you with that but since everyone is so spread out they might not be able to see all of you at the same time. Plus, you have had some practice paying attention to the times as you’ve been working out at home so we will be able to use those skills! Your coach will record the workout times for the class on the main whiteboard. 

Athlete Cleaning

You will be responsible for collecting the equipment you chose to use for your class. After strength/skill/workout is over, you will be asked to clean your equipment before returning it. And slowly put it away, paying attention to social distancing as we move through the box. Please do not spray the bars or the bike/rower monitors directly, just spray the towel and then wipe down. Vacuum up any chalk that you may have crumbled in your space. No need to use your towels to try to clean the floor. Mopping does it much better and doesn’t ruin all our towels.

Class Reservations

We have the system set up to allow reservations up to 48 hours in advance to that particular class. Please sign up for whatever classes you want to attend, even if you end up on the waitlist. It is our goal to have 8 people in every class, so we can serve as many of you as possible. Seeing waitlist numbers could also help us decide what, if any, class times to adjust.

If, for any reason, you are NOT able to make a class that you previously reserved a space in, PLEASE CANCEL THAT RESERVATION as soon as is feasible. We want to get someone off the waitlist and into that class if at all possible. If you are in a morning class, please do not make a habit of cancelling class after midnight.

Please remember that we all are excited about getting space and time in the gym. Please be considerate of your fellow classmates. If we all can share classes, we all will be stronger together.

Childcare

Temporarily, we are no longer able to provide a place for kids to play (inside or outside) while mom/dad works out. Please keep your children at home while you come get your sweat on.

Feeling Sick?

If you aren’t feeling well, in any capacity, please stay home and cancel your reservations in class. This includes, but is not limited to, fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, difficulty breathing, chills, etc.

Gym Layout

We have rearranged and organized things a bit differently. Part of this is to help spread equipment out so we lessen the bottlenecks. Both in gathering of needed equipment or being able to move about the space in general.

We have set up strength stations on each side, so we can all work hard without sharing potential germs. Sharing of squat racks will not be permitted unless two people are from the same household. All of the rowers / bikes will be set outside or in the open doorways so that the fans will be facing outside. We also have a number of small mats prepared to be able to go outside for any KB or DB work so that we can use the vast square footage outside as much as possible. Weights and barbells will be allowed outside, weather permitting, for the same reason.

We have also put all mobility tools; foam rollers, lax balls, bands, and the like in the room with the TV. Since we can’t accommodate child care space at this time, we decided to upgrade that space to help spread out people.

Miscellaneous Supplies

We have individual bags of chalk for each person, should you want some. This will go in your bag or locker for your use only. We have new, individual whiteboards with the new gym logo and magnet on the back for sale for $5, just let me know if you want one. That can go in your bag as well, or even home with you if you like.

Monday – May 18th

Welp you’ve probably heard the news that we are free to open our doors on the 26th. That’s next week! We are stoked to see your smiling faces and provide a safe place to get out of the house, have some connection with others in our community, and release some stress.

There’s obviously a lot of details coming your way but we wanted to get a few things out real quick. First, we will be capping classes at 6 participants. We believe we can run class effectively and efficiently, while being as safe as possible, and getting y’all the mental and physical results you need. This means that everyone needs the Push Press App (looks like a blue tennis shoe on a white background) downloaded onto your phone so that you can see the class schedule, reserve your space, join a waitlist or cancel your spot should something else come up on a particular day. Reach out to a coach if you have any questions about that process. 

Equipment Return: Friday May 22 between 3-6p. Please bring all borrowed equipment (plates, abmats, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, slamballs, wall balls, etc) back during this time. This will also give you a chance to see the gym and get a taste of what some of the new procedures are going to be. If you bought a jump rope, please keep that at home (or throw it in your gym bag to bring each class). And your weighted PVC pipes are meant to stay at home as our gift to you.

Murph: Since the opening is after Memorial Day, we wanted to invite y’all to do Murph with us on Saturday May 30th, starting at 9. We will be doing it as Partner Murph, for everyone! If you are interested, please reserve your spot in the class on the Push Press App. This is available for members only right now, if someone else you know wants to participate please let Bekah know.

There will also be movement stations (both inside and outside) that will allow us to complete Murph in proper social distancing protocols.We will still get to encourage and support each other as we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The entire point of Hero Wods is to set aside time to honor and make some small physical sacrifices ourselves and we want to provide everyone with an opportunity to do that.

Preparation: If you haven’t already done so, please locate any personal items you would want to have with you in class. Things like a sweat towel, a water bottle, wrist straps, gloves or grips for hanging bar work. We will have individual bags of chalk for you on your first day that you can then throw in your gym bag as well. If you don’t already, consider having a pair of shoes that would just be gym shoes.

Later this week we will provide the check in process, cleaning procedures, updated class times, updated expectations and so on. So be on the lookout for that!

Wednesday, April 15

Can you believe we were holding classes a mere month ago?? I know for me, March felt like it was 100 years long. April seems to be moving a bit better so that’s nice. It’s already half way through the month!

We just wanted to touch base with our people. Thanks for staying connected with us.Thanks for emptying our gym of nearly all the slamballs, kettlebells and dumbbells. It’s weird to go in there and see it rather empty but we love knowing all the equipment is getting some love (maybe some hate) and use in various homes. 

Seeing the gym like that…it’s just another reminder that VCCF doesn’t exist without you. It’s not the equipment or the building that truly matters, it’s y’all. It’s the work that we do together. We miss working out with you and seeing everyone on a regular basis. This time is challenging for all of us and we want you to know we are here for you. Please know you can reach out to us, or any coach, if you need anything.

One favor we DO want to ask of you all, update those Push Press accounts. If you’ve never downloaded the app, search your store for Push Press (picture 1). Your username is the email address you are receiving this message to. Once you log in, click the 3 horizontal lines on the top right of the home screen (picture 2). Click Profile (picture 3). Please update your address, emergency contact and so on by clicking the pencil icon in the appropriate areas (picture 4). Then we will be ready to go once we get the all clear!

And for some exciting news! We know you’ve seen our new logo around. Rest assured our original logo is still great, but we wanted to represent our name a bit better. Having the Violet Community be more prominent was important to us, since the “community” part is all of you beautiful souls. We also really liked the triangle aspect to represent our 3 core values. 

(If you want to read more about those values, click https://www.violetcommunityfitness.com/who-we-are/). 

One place to see the new logo is our brand new YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn79AsoU_Bc6pl_bP9dHrkw) . Here you will find videos of various movements that we are doing At Home, and our beginning of class whiteboard talks to lead off all of our At Home programming. The workouts can be done by kids and adults, feel free to share with everyone in your house!

As a final reminder, we are continuing to have our 9am Saturday classes live over Zoom. It’s a great time to check in with each other, get a workout in, or simply bring your coffee/donuts to the screen and encourage someone else.

Wednesday, April 1

Well what a few crazy weeks it has been! Who could have predicted any of this back on March 1st? Thanks for taking this ride with us.  We don’t know exactly what the future will bring, or when it will bring it. But you know what? THATS OK.

Part of what I LOVE about CrossFit is the representation of life that it is. We all know that working out is possible from home. It may be harder, or not nearly as fun, but its POSSIBLE. There isn’t anything particularly magical about our whiteboarded. purple-&-green striped walls. What makes our gym unique in all the world are the people, not the kettlebells or barbells. Every gym has rowers and a rig. What makes our gym special are the relationships that are forged in working out alongside one another. 

THATS why Rocky and I own a gym. 

We own a gym because we’ve seen how these spaces are precious. How having somewhere to be (where people know your name) is a healing balm. How we work harder and better in groups. How you can keep moving when you have support and encouragement from those at your side. How being able to do hard things in the gyms prepares us for doing hard things in life. THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN TRAINING FOR. It’s ok that it’s hard. But you CAN do sucky and challenging things. I’ve seen each and every one of you rise to the occasion time and time again. Pushing those last few burpees. Throwing up the wallball one more time. Fighting to complete those last couple calories. 

You may have seen the fundraiser (Support Your Box) that CrossFit HeadQuarters has started. It’s a minimal equipment, 3 week long, online-only competition. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the chance to get to compete, at least virtually. Knowing that the entire world has been affected in some way or another, the registration fee is $0. But if you DO want to donate, every dollar will come directly to VCCF (or whatever box you chose at registration). 

We have received tremendous support from you all and we want to acknowledge you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your monthly dues are going to pay our bills, and pay our coaches and make sure we have a place to return to when the situation allows. So know that we don’t need your donated money to keep our home away from home safe and waiting for us. WE WILL REOPEN. 

However, our community is only as strong as our weakest link. And we want to help take care of our own. So any donated registration money that comes through the Support Your Box, will go into a Hardship fund. We know that we are stronger together than we are separate and we want to be prepared to help in the future. Beyond the financial, if anyone needs (or knows someone that needs) some additional help, PLEASE let us know. A neighbor needs their yard mowed and they don’t have the capability to do it … groceries/medications need picked up … looking for a spare mattress since quarantine hit … anything that you (or someone you know) might need some assistance with, don’t hesitate to share. 

In the same way, if you have some extra time or resources or knowledge to share and you would be willing to be part of the “help team” when the situation arises, please let us know that as well. 

We love you all and look forward to being able to sweat and share space together in the future!

Thursday, March 19

Alright, its been a few days now! Everyone should have heard from their team captain and started to get the flow of communication running. We can’t wait to see what team names are going to come out of this adventure.

As we look to the future, we aren’t sure what going to come next, or when that next event will take place. But fear not! We have things being planned even now that will help us all stay connected, stay fit and navigate our new lives to the very best of our ability.

The next item on our agenda is unrolling our new Bingo Cards! Check our Facebook or Instagram to see the cards themselves. They contain a variety of physical challenges, mental health items, activities to involve your At Home buddies in, and so on.

We will have some raffle prizes for available, once we can all get together again. Tickets can be won by completing a BINGO, bonus tickets for completing a card, and extra for a whole team completing the whole card. The first deadline will be the end of March (approximately a month in quarantine time). So take those pictures, tag us in those posts, complete those activities, and share how you are checking off each square!

Monday, March 16 – 3:30 pm

Per directive from the governor, and for the health of the greater community we all love, we are now closed. Effective immediately. We WILL be open Monday from 5p – 6p and Tuesday from 8a – 9a, to pick up your shoes and personal items. We hope you will find a way to use them during our hiatus.

You will also have the opportunity to check out a piece of equipment for home use. Due to limited numbers, 1 DB or 1 KB will be available, weights are first come first served. We’d recommend choosing a moderate, for you, weight that you can handle. There is a TON of fun things coming down the pipe and being able to have a weight at home would really help you enjoy our At Home workouts to the fullest (for more about At Home workouts see the post below)! We’d also recommend grabbing your jump rope or getting a new one and have it cut for you at the gym.

In addition, every athlete is going to be assigned a member of our coaching team (you will hear from your assigned coach by Wednesday March 18th). Your coach will be your primary contact point with VCCF and your team leader. We are not just willing and able, we are excited for the opportunity to continue to support your fitness and wellness as long as we’re training outside the box. We have fun and social-distancing-appropriate activities coming up for you all to enjoy!

Our #1 Value is still “Raising the Bar”, where we aim to have our work in the gym improve our lives OUTside the gym. That is not changing. Now we get the opportunity to demonstrate a number of those skills we’ve been working on. Our mental toughness, our community spirit, using physical movement to help mange stress/anxiety, working as a group for the greater good, simply working hard … all of these traits that make Violet Community special are able to be displayed!

Monday, March 16 – 11 am

Working Out At Home!

Whether you choose to stay home out of an abundance of caution or whether you’re forced to due to outside circumstances, it’s useful to know how to get in some good movement without leaving the house.

We will have an at-home track on Beyond the Whiteboard available for all VCCF athletes beginning Monday, March 16. Workouts will be approximately 30 minutes, and most will be either bodyweight movements or movements with objects you can find around the house.

If you have never had to switch Tracks in Beyond the Whiteboard, here is what it looks like:

Some other ideas? Take a page out of the Nerd Fitness book and try “micro workouts.”

These can look like:

• Commit to 10 push-ups on the hour, every hour
• Putting a pull-up bar in a doorway and doing one pull-up each time you walk through
• See if you can hollow hold or plank an entire song
• Do 20 air squats each time a new Netflix episode comes on
• And, for the adventurous, the floor is lava! 

Other great resources for at-home workouts:

• Rocket CrossFit Instagram
• Couch-to-5K running program
• Paragon Training Methods has some free weeks online
• Check out Cosmic Kids Yoga for fun, themed yoga videos you can do with the family!

You can also go back and do any of the VCCF workouts you may have missed in the last few weeks! If any have a weighted component, get creative.

Did you know:

• A gallon of milk weighs ~8.5# and has a convenient handle
• You can use bags of dog food like sandbags
• Kids love being tossed around and come in many sizes and weights
• If you fill a Home Depot bucket with water, you’ve got 41.7# to deadlift and carry

But Coach, I really just want some legit equipment. I’ll spend a few bucks.

Cool! Check out:

• This cheap, multi-use doorway pull-up bar
• Facebook Marketplace for lots of used dumbbells and kettlebells
• VCCF – get your own, cut-to-size jump rope for $5!
• Play It Again Sports for other used equipment (sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!)

This is also a great time to work on some goals that may otherwise seem mundane or tedious. Grab stool or box and practice squatting to depth. Do this in front of a mirror to make sure (goal would be hip crease below the knee). You also likely have a blank wall in the house (maybe outside is best for this one) – try some handstand kick-ups!

Fun fact: When some of your coaching staff started CrossFit, kicking up against a fence every day is how they practiced getting upside-down. First strict pull-up? Also happened at home after doing pull-up negatives on a doorway pull-up bar in the bathroom every night while the kids bathed.

For those nursing an injury or mobility issue: Keep this up! While we offer them in the gym, a lacrosse ball and foam roller are great things to have at the house as well.

Keep an eye out for text messages, emails and social media posts from your coaches on opportunities to get outside the next few weeks. This is a great way to maintain social distancing while also getting some movement in and the fresh air we all need. We are blessed in Pickerington to have disc golf courses, hiking areas and parks nearby. If you have ideas or would like to try something in particular, please reach out! We’re in this together.

Friday, March 13

Alright everyone! We just wanted to let you all know what we are thinking and planning for the future. Coronavirus isn’t going away next week so we are going to create a new normal, for the time being at least. Please note we are not living in fear; but still think that caution is the best strategy right now. We will be doing everything in our power to remain a virus-free space for as long as the government allows. We would rather over-prepare then under. With that in mind, a few things we’d like you all to remember.

1. Practicing healthy habits is extremely important at any time, but especially now. Keep drinking lots of water, get good sleep, keep washing dem hands, eat quality (nutrition dense) food, avoid touching your face and keeping your mind occupied with positive and uplifting things. Especially comic strips.
2. If you feel sick, or just “not right”, please do not come in! We are in this for the long haul. Missing a few days in March isn’t going to make you a worse athlete, but if you are sick it makes you a better person. We want you all, and all your people, to be healthy long after 2020 has gone. 

We firmly believe that having a safe place to release stress and deal with anxiety and maintain the health that we have is very important. Some things that we will be implementing to keep us all safe and healthy:

1. Social Distancing: Just because you don’t “feel” sick doesn’t mean you can’t carry germs. So we are going to use our available space and spread out. That will mean a floor mats worth of space, or more, between you and the next person. We will use both sides often.
2. Doors open as much as possible and movements outside whenever we can. Obviously rain and cold will dictate that, but the less we are in enclosed spaces the better. And that doesn’t just mean more running. 😉
3. Y’all have been doing a stellar job at keeping things clean for the next class and we appreciate it! That will continue. One note: please be mindful of resources. For example, no one needs 3 wipes to clean off one set of dumbbells. We have all seen the stores, lots of cleaning supplies are scarce. We are going to do our part for the greater good.
4. Continue to avoid physical contact with one another. Foot fives, air high fives, long distance fist bumps are all approved. Maybe its time to bring back the dab?
5. We are eliminating the chalk buckets, since we can’t clean chalk! There are ziploc baggies with a decent sized piece of chalk. Those who want chalk can just grab a bag, put their name on it and keep on working out.
6. Tape from the pull up bars and rings are also gone for the moment. We can’t disinfect the tape either and would rather be safe than sorry. Yes that might mean you can’t hold on as long, or that you’ll be eyeing someone else’s grips. Might not be a bad time to give some a try. 😉
7. For those of you who aren’t feeling the best, or would prefer to not take the risk to go out in public (totally understandable), we will have “at home” wods loaded into BTWB starting on Monday March 16th. Minimal or no equipment required. Just some space and a timer of some sort. Still can track those workouts and challenge someone else to beat your score. Virtual thumbs up for the win!
8. Future class time changes are in discussion; depending on the needs of the community, class size limitations and coach availability. So stay tuned for that excitement!

We love our community and this situation doesn’t change that. Please reach out to any coach with any questions or if you’d just like to chat about this. Or chat about anything actually. You are our people and we appreciate y’all.

Tuesday, March 10

Given that we have our first confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio (and that OSU has cancelled in-person instruction), we are going to exercise caution as well.
1. DO NOT COME TO THE GYM SICK. Or “kinda icky.” If you have any symptoms of illness, stay home. Same for your kids.
2. WASH YOUR HANDS. First thing, when you come in, please wash your hands with soap and water. Dry them with a paper towel. (There’s lotion in the bathroom to help avoid dry, cracking skin, which is it’s own risk factor.)
3. We’re moving to paper towels for all things. We’ll go back to our towel service as soon as we can, but for now, single-use paper towels are the best choice.
4. PLEASE WIPE DOWN YOUR EQUIPMENT AFTER USE. Your staff does a pretty good job of cleaning bathrooms / doorknobs / handles / light switches / pvc pipes / the floor and so on on a regular basis but we ask that you wipe down your barbells / KB / WBs / slambballs / etc after you use them. You enjoy using clean equipment and everyone else does too.
5. NO MORE FIST BUMPS and HANDSHAKES. Just don’t touch each other for a while.
6. NO SIGNING IN ON THE IPAD. Owners will take care of that at the end of the day.
7. NO ONE IS COMING TO THE GYM SICK. Including coaches. If we can’t get coverage for a sick coach, we’ll have to cancel class, and there will be notices of such.

As of right now we’re not planning on closing or anything. Just think its smart to be aware and prevent where we can. We firmly believe that all our work in the gym does a great job of building strong immune systems and prepares our bodies to fight illness. But we can still be a carrier to germs and then pass them to loved ones (especially the older generation) who’s bodies aren’t as prepared to fight anything off. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. If you have ideas / concerns, please don’t hesitate to let us know.