In order to properly evaluate a gym, you'd have to train there for months, learn about the coaching, learn about the programming, learn about the community – and then switch over to another facility and do it all over again. This is probably not going to happen, since, once you get involved at a gym, you'll make friends, develop a routine, and probably see significant results. People rarely switch CrossFit gyms in Singapore once they get started.
Fortunately or unfortunately, your first impressions are probably not going to have much to do with the quality of training at a given facility. They probably have a lot more to do with soft aspects of customer experience, and whether you felt comfortable and welcomed. It also helps a lot if the facility you're walking into seems to have people who look like you, walk like you and talk like you having fun and getting results.
As a newbie, you're likely to come into a new environment and immediately trust the authority figure present (in this case, a coach). You simply don't have the necessary knowledge to evaluate them critically. A coach can have all the certifications in the world and lack basic human communication skills. A coach can know exactly how to read people, and has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time to motivate clients, but has no clue how to actually correct someone's valgus knees in their squat.
Every coach is going to have their own personal training style in Singapore and their own methodology, but there are principles that all the best share. The coaching process is about honestly evaluating where someone is, having the vision to see where they could be, and working to bring those pieces together – no matter how zig-zaggy the path may be.
While you'll almost certainly find a group of driven individuals who want to make themselves better at every CrossFit gym, there are absolutely going to be differences between gyms in terms of demographics and training priorities.
What do you think the difference is between a gym that caters to families vs a gym that caters to competitors? Is everyone encouraged to "push themselves" or to find the "right pace"? Is there a significant social component outside the gym?
Ideally, a coach or front desk manager should make introductions in this type of situation, but it doesn't always work that way. There can be something going on behind-the-scenes that is distracting the staff. Maybe the gym is struggling with noise complaints or the coaching schedule is in the process of being shuffled and everyone is adjusting to new routines.
There is a lot of confusion regarding what personal training works best for both groups. You see non-competitors trying to train with the volume of weights so they can look good for the summer, and you see competitors trying to follow a low-calorie fat loss diet while hitting two-a-day training sessions five days per week. Both of these are a recipe for disaster.
In both cases, there can be confusion on the part of the individual in terms of what they actually want out of the program – it's OK to want to win and beat people, it's OK to want to look good in a swimsuit, it's OK to want to find out what your potential is in a sport.
Still, without an understanding of the differences between these different goals and the paths to get there, some gyms can send people down the wrong path relative to what they want to achieve.
The reality is that most programs are based upon what a coach thinks seems cool or seems hard. There is no progression. There is no differentiation (only "scaling"). There is no consideration of volume, time in the training year, or previous or upcoming cycles. Most gyms will have some understanding of the basic tenets of CrossFit programming in terms of creating variance between modalities, but most of the workouts will simply be cherry-picked from other blogs and thrown up on the site because they seem fun or hard.
When selecting a CrossFit gym, we would recommend making sure that they have some form of structured strength development program. This doesn't have to mean percentage squat cycles 365 days per year, but progressively improving numbers on lifts like the squat, deadlift, press and weighted pull-up over time is crucial.
The reality is that most folks don't come in with clear goals and understanding of what they want out of their personal fitness program. Through asking some probing questions, we can start to find out what their motivations are and then make appropriate recommendations. Do they need the accountability and fun of the group classes? Do they need the individualization of following a program written for you? Do they need to improve their sleep and go to a mindfulness class to get their blood pressure under control? Without this understanding of this kind of differentiation, there can often be a lack of fulfilment long term.
If you are looking for a personal fitness coach in Singapore, visit our website and let our experts help you achieve your fitness goal today.
