Hey Team,

Happy SUNDAY!! Just a QUICK (and MASSIVE) congratulations to everyone who got to the end of the ‘Highway to Hell’ challenge this week. It has 100% been the hardest and most testing challenge we have EVER run – 4x classes each week, 3x extras (and they were genuine 30-minute efforts), 3x cardio efforts (run-swim-ride) outside of the gym…and some simply incredible results. I’ll put together a challenge dedicated post in the next couple of weeks but I did want to say this – It has been very hard – but very worth it. The smiles on the faces of those who got to the end yesterday was a great reward for me…really proud of everyone. Anyway – the challenge is a blog for another day.

To say “It’s All Happening” would be an understatement.  On top of the reintroduction of all the recent changes in the boxing gym (the return of the ‘move around classes AND the re-introduction of Rolling Thunder each Saturday) we now have:
1/.  A new membership management program and app – FitBOX – (and a new billing supplier).  

I have already emailed about all of these changes and the forthcoming ‘FitBox’ app – rest assured, you will be receiving an invite to the new system in the next few days.  Without doubt, this is the single biggest change we have tried to implement since opening back in 2010.

Before I say too much more – I do appreciate the efforts of everyone to download the FitBOX app and ‘get a jump’ on the implementation…ultimately though, you really need to WAIT to receive your invite to the new system via email before trying to get started.  This will be happening in the next couple of days.

2/.  The changes include a new ‘way’ to ‘scan’ into the gym.

The old check-in computer – after nearly 14-years of continuous service will be retired over the next few days and you will no longer need to scan a barcode when you get to the gym – so when you come in there will be no ‘ding-dong’, no song on your birthday, no BZZZZZ when your membership expires.  What WILL you do?  Well, as soon as you are connected to the new app, you will simply book into class – or to the ‘General Gym Access’ option – on the app and you will be IN!

These things are BIG CHANGES for us. We are still have a ‘book-in’ rate of less than 50% – with the new app, you will need to book into every session. And YES – you WILL be able to do this through the app when you arrive at the gym (aka “it’s gonna be OK”)…like I said, the way the gym operates is really changing at a bit of a ‘fundamental level’ for the first time in nearly 14-years. We really are going to need everyone’s help to make this a smooth sailing SUCCESS!

3/.  A new Round 1 Fitness website.

The new site includes an online store that will allow you to purchase  both Round 1 apparel and personal gym gear (bands, wraps, grips etc) – anything you purchase will be shipped directly to the gym for pick-up.  You can check out the cool t-shirts and hoodies here:
https://store.fitbox.site/round1fitness/product-category/apparel/

4/.  A new method of ‘publishing’ our workouts…and for you to record yours.

The new system includes a workout publishing and tracking tool – when you select the class to ‘book’ you will be able to see what’s on the agenda for that day.  All of that means our use of ‘SugarWOD’ will be coming to a sad end…it has been a great tool for us (and hopefully you) and I think the way it enables us to publish all of the sessions in advance really did enhance the professionalism of the gym…the new system will continue this and even ADD to it by ensuring that you can BOOK and REVIEW from one place rather than having to go through multiple apps!

5/.  Lastly, some big changes in the Strength gym with a new partner coming on-board for our workout management and planning – MAYHEM.

Now, since COVID we have been using the amazing services of NCFit to provide the ‘fundamentals’ of our workouts in the strength gym – Functional Fitness and Fully Loaded.  Unfortunately our move away from SugarWOD to the new FitBOX has forced us to reconsider this solution…and, well…what can I say – here comes ‘Programming by MAYHEM’.

Now – as per our usual style – we will continue to modify the workouts as they come across from the supplier to ensure they fit both our gym environment and our ‘style’ of training  Over the first couple of weeks in particular though I am going to try and resist the urge to meddle ‘too much’ with what is delivered as we get a bit of a ‘taste’ of what it is all about/how it fits ‘US’.  My overall plan though is to follow a similar rhythm to what we have been doing previously – stick as closely as possible to the provided strength progressions whilst modifying the workouts to be more ‘Strength and Conditioning’ and less ‘CrossFit’ based.

Timing of course is PERFECT (for once)  – Our most recent cycle has JUST finished with 1RM testing for Bench Press, Overhead/Zercher Squats, Push Press and Deadlifts happening over the last 2-weeks…results have been INCREDIBLE and everyone’s dedication and improvement have been so good to see.  It also means we are perfectly placed to align with the first MAYHEM cycle which starts MONDAY.  This FIVE WEEK cycle (I will try to map it out for you below) will be focused on the ‘in-between lifts’ of Olympic lifting – and the idea is that we will be developing a proper setup during the descent and transition to overhead movements during the six weeks remaining before Christmas.

We will be working up to heavy sets AND hitting singles within specific percentage ranges – the volume of both overhead lifts and squats will be higher than usual…I think it is going to be important that we all think carefully about the weights we are using on days when we are feeling fatigued/after mid-week Christmas related get togethers etc.  It’s also important to remember that “Work up to a Heavy” means exactly that – a BUILD…it doesn’t mean pile on the plates from the first set – as always, a little bit of discipline and a chat to the coach before loading the plates on the bar can go a long way!  Whilst overhead pressing and squats will be the priority, we will (of course) still be incorporating both Bench Press and Deadlifts into the program to maintain a steady balance in our output for these lifts.

Throughout this block:
We will be trying to keep each lifting block to no-more than 20 minutes including a dedicated ‘PREP’ set.

Now, whilst I’m SURE I will be making modifications beyond what is in the tables below, this is what is currently ‘in the plan’ from now up until Christmas.  All of these workouts will be available via the new FitBOX app as soon as the invitations go out (scheduled for MONDAY, Nov 20th) and you have accepted the invite/finished configuration of your account! ????

With regards the ‘workout’ pieces, the week ahead (week of November 20th) can be summarised as follows:
Monday:  AMRAP with bodyweight and abs.

Tuesday:  5x rounds of bike sprints and Dumbbell Push Press

Wednesday:  Skipping and Squats
Thursday:  Rowing and Bench Press.  This one looks AMAZING!!
Friday:  Walking Lunges, Abs and Power Cleans.

All up, it looks pretty exciting and I can’t wait to see how it all goes.

See you in the gym,

Michael.