Savannah Bananas of CrossFit

“Trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets.”
– Kevin Plank

Deep Squats (Thoughts)

I traveled to Orange County last weekend, so of course I had to drop in. As usual, there was a good story to go with it. Ruination CrossFit is an older affiliate that took over the location of CrossFit Ethos, also a familiar name in the history of CrossFit Affiliates. Our coach this rainy Saturday morning was a former San Jose State swimmer that started CrossFit in 2009 with my friend Chris Michelmore at CrossFit Moxie. She became a school teacher and coaches on the weekends. It was just cool to share a bit of history with someone else. Great class with a warmup, workout and cash out. All of which reminded me to “re-post” the “Be A Good Visitor” email going into the end of the year holidays.

Many of us will be traveling over the holidays. Shoot, in our gym many of us travel on a regular basis. I’d like to give a primer and encouragement for you to Drop-In to another CrossFit gym when you travel. Following are some ideas to ensure that you are a good Drop-In. Side note: If you’ve been consistent at CFPA for at least 3 months, you are prepared to look out for yourself and do most CrossFit workouts.

  1. Start your search at map.crossfit.com – Search for all the gyms near where you are going. You’ll certainly find one or two close to where you are.

  2. Check to see if they have a drop-in policy – Some gyms have a lot of visitors and have a step-by-step page of instructions on how they prefer to have visitors come in and join them. If they do, follow it. Don’t be weird and assume you are special and different and can just drop-in unannounced.

  3. They don’t have anything posted – Write their front desk/owner/head trainer an email and ask if you can stop by. Tell them you are from out of town and that you train at CrossFit Palo Alto. Give them a timeline about how long you’ve been doing CrossFit, even if it is just a few months. As a coach, it is always better to have an accurate understanding of a visitor’s knowledge and ability.

  4. Show up ten minutes early – Show up early enough to stash your stuff, meet the coach, fill out the waiver and pay for the class…. all before class starts. Once class starts, the coach will be needing to focus her/his attention on their regular clients (as well as you).

  5. Be a good client – Be attentive, respectful, and be open minded. Sure they warm-up differently, that’s ok. The cues are different and the coach is telling you opposite of what you’ve been working on? Be patient, they’ve only seen you for five minutes, not since you first walked in the gym on day one like at home. Go into it knowing you will add something new to your tool bag and perhaps have something fun to show your coaches back at home.

  6. Write a review –  If you enjoyed your visit and the gym, let people know! Show the box some love on Instagram, check-in or like them on Facebook. If you really want to show some support, take a few minutes and write them a review on Google or Yelp. That type of response will help other people find that gym!

Visit new cultures. Learn their language. The best part of the CrossFit Movement is not our sameness, but our differences. Finally, come back and tell me about your experience. Take a picture with the gym, the class or the coach. Send it to me and we can use it to encourage others to do the same.

See you in class.
Tim

What’s Going On?

Annual Thanksgiving Week Closure

No formal classes during the week of Thanksgiving.

CFPA Holiday Party
at the gym
Saturday, December 13, 2025
5pm

(White Elephant Gift Exchange)

The Coolest Winter Teen Class

Who: Boys and Girls aged 12-17

Dates: September 30th – November 20th

When: Tuesdays/Thursdays at 4pm

*Email [email protected] to sign up*

Individualized Training

Coach Rebecca has new availability for Nutrition Coaching with 4 and 8 week options, including weekly check-ins and InBody body composition testing.

Contact her at [email protected]

CFPA Thorne Supplement Store

Overheard in Class:

“We’re like the Savannah Bananas of CrossFit.”

Timfluencing

PRs All Day Podcast
Sometimes, I get to talk to people from outside the CFPA world. In this case it’s with my bromance, Craig Howard of Diablo CrossFit, and his head coach Jamie Lee. We never know exactly where the conversation will go. Enjoy the ride. If you search back through their “LIVE” videos you can watch me talk smack on all kinds of topics related to owning a CrossFit Affiliate.

SPOILER ALERT: We think we’re funny. You might not.

Thank you for your support.

I look forward to what we will do together.