Grunts, chalk flying, sweat dripping, words flying to inspire you to keep going and faces of exhaustion. This is what I saw as I walked into the Reebok Crossfit box in Liberty Village Tuesday night.

I showed up for my first Foundation Training class. Upon arrival I found out it was the pulling series. Thank goodness I have experience with pulls ups.

We started up with a rowing warm up. 500m. Then we started by learning the basic crossfit pullup which is the kipping pull up. The coach was great in terms of breaking down steps and allowing us to try things out. The only thing I thought was missing was the lack of verbal cues. He didn’t really walk around and offer individual advice.

We then graduated to using bands which definitely helps and was perfect for beginners. I’m still not strong enough to do unassisted pull ups so this was great for me.

After the lesson we did a Workout Of the Day (WOD). We had to find a partner and then complete 1000m row (combined with partner), 75 pull ups, 150 air squats and then in the remaing time AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of burpees. You couldn’t complete an exercise at the same time as your partner so you had to wait until they gassed out before you could go.

My partner and I (yay Aaron) got 49 burpees combined! Second place. But I’m not competitive or anything.

I even got my first war wound!

So before I even went, I explored the CrossFit Liberty Village website and clicked on the getting started button. They explain that you attend your first Foundation Training session complimentary. They also explain that you need to attend 5 foundation sessions before integrating into regular workouts. I get that consumers can read about this information on the website but noone was really on hand asking if it was my first time or if I’d like anymore information at the facility. Our coach for the day taught the class, was answering some questions but then had a private client so I didn’t even get a chance to ask any questions. Noone was behind the desk after the class. Everyone else in the gym seemed to be in another room working out themselves. So CFLV big miss on customer service and transitioning new students into paying customers that continue to come.

 I’ll give them one more chance as my friend Heather said she’d go with me to another foundation class. It’s also right around the corner from my office so super convenient for me. Let’s see if they can covert me to a customer yet…

Update: I followed up with an email to the box and the owner sent me off the pricing and next steps to completing the Foundations course! Yay customer service.