Division St. CrossFit

Hey Everyone - I apologize but our power has been out since around Noon, so I don't see it coming on any time soon. WE WILL STILL HAVE THE 5 and 6pm but our 7pm will be cancelled for tonight, for safety purposes (since it's getting darker earlier).

Also, just a heads up.. there will be no AC, Music, Lights, etc for the 5 and 6pm. It'll be a little awkward of a huff and puff sesh but should be interestingly fun.

Also x2, I sent out a request to add your phone numbers to the gym's SMS texting program. It will make it easier to relay things like this, if you could accept and/or go to your profile and subscribe then I'd be v. appreciative.
See you soon!

- LucBMcE.

Hey Everyone..

I hope that you had a great Holiday and enjoyed some downtime with friends/family.

I foresee this week being a little light with people still out of town and people possibly leaving town for the New Year. So, please, make sure to sign up for your classes well ahead of time so that not only the coaches know what their classes are going to look like, but also so that your fellow gym-goers can choose their classes based on class sizes. If you don’t currently have the new Wodify Client app, then you should download it bc you can see class sizes and class list with it.

Also, this week will be a bit of a transition week when it comes to programming. We’ll be doing a little testing (optional) and trying a few different things. The new official cycle of programming will start on Monday, January 3rd.

And with the new cycle, we will be adding a few things to the menu. Starting in 2022 (holy cow that sounds weird to say) we will be offering extra programming and Nutrition Counseling. So, if you have wanted to get a handle on your nutrition, especially after a gluttonous Holiday Season, and/or have always wanted to work toward a personal goal like your first pull-up, or a stronger bench press, or better handstand push-ups then our new extras just might be up your alley. Reach out to myself @divisionstcrossfit.com for more information regarding these options and pricing.

These options are available to all non-members too! So, if you're hanging out in the shadows of this group, or if you have any family members with at-home gyms that may benefit from these then feel free to send them my way!

Last but not least, please continue to wear your own masks to the gym. We are currently out of surgical masks and I couldn’t find any at Costco.

Holla!

-LucBMcE.

**IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ..

Hey Y’all - I know this is a lot of information but please read..

As you may have read, Governor Pritzker has issued some mitigations for the state of Illinois that will go into affect on Friday, November 20th.

Fortunately for us, not much will change, that may come as a surprise, but there’s a few reasons for that..

1. We already follow strict mask, cleaning, and social distance protocols. There is no other industry that only sees 30-40 people in a day in a space as big as ours, with each and every one of those people thoroughly cleaning up after themselves. This is where I thank you for being diligent! For being diligent about wearing your mask over your mouth and nose as soon as you step foot in the gym, and being diligent about wiping down all equipment you use, and being diligent about using hand sanitizer/washing your hands frequently. Thank you again! and keep it up.

2. The state of Illinois has done it’s research! They’ve been proactively tracking cases and trying to understand where/how Covid transfers. They are doing/did this to better develop processes that will hopefully stop the spread while also simultaneously allowing businesses to have a fighting chance. This includes small shops, gyms, and the like because they have proven to not be large spreaders. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to gamble as Casinos are closed. Womp.

3. This change though, in theory, puts us back a stage. The good thing is, we haven’t moved away from what we were doing in the previous stage. We have continued to cap our reservations at 8 people when we could have had up to 15, and currently are allowed 25%/10 people at a time but will obviously continue with our set standard of 8.

We are going into the Holiday Season and that usually means some traveling. If you do end up going somewhere, make sure that you are taking the correct precautions, not just for yourself but for others in the community too. When you return, please stay home for a stretch and get tested. Getting tested is relatively easy, there are a lot of testing spots around Chicago and most of them are free. So, please, for the sake of everyone in your life and our community, get tested before returning after travel.

That being said, we only do 2 week holds on memberships but there are a few things to think about before reaching out to me about this..

1. Small businesses are struggling and margins are thin, we are no different. At this point, if you make the choice to travel then please think about supporting the community that you hold dear by keeping your membership active. Also, even deeper into this, shop local! The businesses around us aren’t Amazon or Wal-Mart, so please buy coffee at places like Letizia’s instead of Starbucks (Dunkin’ by us is actually minority owned, so frequent them too), get your groceries at small stores like Fresh Market instead of Whole Foods, and eat at local restaurants like Janek’s and TaKiTo and Silli Kori.

2. FYI, our memberships carry over weekly but not monthly. So if you’re, let’s say 3x/week, you get 13 sessions to use in your month. If you’re gone for a week or two, you can make those up in the next two weeks before your next invoice.

I want to thank y’all for being so supportive this far and bearing with us while we navigate a crazy time. I want you to know that the choices we make are for the community as a whole, and I hope you know that I love having each and every one of you around!

If you have any questions, please reach out at the information below.

LucBMcE.
Owner - DivisionSt. CrossFit
[email protected]
815.712.7119

**IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ!!**
I wanted to put this post out there early because we got a few important things..

1. People have been asking if we will be affected come Monday morning. Short answer, is no. At this point, we've always capped our classes at less than what was actually allowed. We are still allowed to have 10 person classes with the new guidelines but will obviously still keep it at 8.

2. With that said, please make sure that you are staying home if you feel sick, that you are washing/sanitizing your hands often, cleaning up after yourselves (which y'all have done a phenomenal job of so far), and wearing your masks over your MOUTH AND NOSE at all times!
3. We still have a few DSCF+BLM and DSCF+Pride tees and tanks still available for $25. Let me know if you're interested and I'll let you know if we have your size. Also, any other shirts on the hangers are on sale for $8.
4. I am in the process of penning some Covid protocols for the gym. As much as it sucks to say, it may only be a matter of time before we have to deal with it again. Unfortunately, that is the world that we live in but the best thing we can do is have a sound plan. Be on the lookout early next week for more information.

Please, let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
-LucBMcE

Friday 2020.07.24 - Q3W5D5..
**Important Update**

Hey Y’all - Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the weather lately. It’s been awesome to be back in the gym with everyone and getting to see your smiling faces (well, except the last two weeks during my Paternity leave).

If you haven’t heard, Mayor Lightfoot is having a few industries take a step back starting next week. At this point, they’re saying that we can only have max 10 people in the gym now, which doesn’t apply to us as we limited our class size from the beginning anyway. But the big one is that they will be requiring us to wear masks during the duration of classes.

So, in correspondence to the rules set forth and because we want to be a part of the solution, we will be requiring masks at all times in the gym.
I know what you’re thinking, it’s going to be tough and it’s going to be a big change. But think of this as a challenge to overcome, and think of it is doing our part. If you’re anything like me, you want to get back to some semblance of normal in the future and these are the sacrifices we have to make to get there.

We will always have single use masks available on the front table but I encourage you to get your own mask to use during the classes you attend, this will ensure you have a proper fitting one and will help to limit waste.

Please, as always, reach out to me with any questions or concerns. My information is below.

Lucas McEmery
[email protected]
cell: 815.712.7119
gym: 312.285.3172

Monday 2020.07.20 - Q3W5D1..

**IMPORTANT**

It has been brought to my attention that someone from the gym has tested positive for Covid-19. I am in the process of reaching out to any member that was in the class with this person and recommending that they get tested. At this point it looks like an isolated occurrence.

They were, for the most part, asymptomatic besides some loss of smell and did not come back to the gym after that or after being tested.
Research shows that it is very hard to transfer Covid while asymptomatic but we will be taking precautions to make sure.

We will be closed for at least 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) to do a deep clean of the gym and stay ahead of the situation.
Please, email or text me with any questions.

-LucBMcE.
[email protected]
cell: 815.712.7119

I can no longer sit idly by and not say my peace. I hope that y’all know my feelings on the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues our Black friends are fighting (facing) at the moment. But if you’re not sure, then please know..

I support Black Lives Matter. McMeg supports Black Lives Matter. Hell, Brutus supports Black Lives Matter. DSCF supports Black Lives Matter because his s**t has went on long enough and..

we are determined to be on the right side of history. We are ready to do our part. As always, we look to work side by side with our community to make this world a better place, to help elicit the change that needs to happen, to help fight for the people that need our support now more than ever because we are stronger together.

Second, we are disgusted and slighted by the actions of CrossFit founder Greg Glassman. There is no excuse for the way he’s acted and the things that he’s said, especially at a time when he could have stood tall and really helped make a change.

I’ve reached out to CrossFit HQ and asked what their move for reconciliation and/or what their plan of action is to make amends to the thousands of people wrongfully grouped into his actions.

I want y’all to know that it does not matter if DSCF is the acronym (initialism) for Division St. CrossFit or any other random grouping of words, that we are not represented by him and his actions. We are represented by us, by you, by our community. we are DSCF!

And because this affects us all, we want to keep open lines of communication. Myself and McMeg are always available via phone, email, or around the gym and would love to talk but also, we have set a town hall meeting for Thursday, June 11th at 8:30am if anyone wants to hop on and continue the conversation.

If you have any questions or concerns then please reach out and if you’re interested in purchasing a DSCF+Black Lives Matter T-shirt then keep a look out for a sign up sheet. All proceeds will go to the cause!

-LucBMcE.

Crew - I wanna open this by telling you all that I’m stressed. Very stressed. I want y’all to know how I’m feeling while you’re reading through this information and I want y’all to take into account the state of the union while you’re trying to navigate this information too. If you’re like me you’re nervous, scared, confused, angry, and any other combination of feelings right now. It’s to be expected.

The gym is fine - I’m grateful that there was no damage done to DSCF during the protests last night. But without getting to deep into viewpoints, I believe that the stress of replacing a few windows and equipment pales in comparison to what this fight is all about.

Chicago’s Phase 3: Cautiously Reopen - under the current 1:1 clause in the opening guidelines for Chicago and Illinois we will be allowed to open on a limited basis. There are strict guidelines involved for social distancing, cleanliness, and limited capacity that we will take very seriously and ask that y’all do the same. i’ve outlined what to expect of this initial phase below.

What we are offering - We will start by offering severely limited class sizes. At this point, we can safely (while hitting all guidelines) offer classes of no more than 6 people. We will start with our normal Class schedule (minus all Open Gym times) and look to move/add class times to accommodate everyones preferences and availabilities. So, please bear with us because the initial schedule may not be the best fit but we will only be able to tell after seeing it in action.

Class sign-ups - You will be asked to sign up for classes no later than 8 hours in advance and cancel all reservations in the same time frame. This is not something that we normally take too seriously but given the limited nature of space, this is something that is going to be crucial in the beginning stages of re-opening. Please, take this seriously because we can not allow extra people in the gym and we don’t want to turn anyone away. If your schedule is a little more lax because you’re working from home then please try to hit off peak hours to ensure our more strictly scheduled members can utilize class times.

Memberships - For the initial reopening (through June 15th) we will limit members to 3 classes per week and only allow those with active memberships. This will ensure everyone gets to attend classes. I don’t foresee this being a long term restriction. If you are currently an Unlimited member and want a credit of the difference in membership tiers then contact me directly. Also, reach out to me directly if you have been on hold and are ready to come back to the gym before June 15th.

Attendance Procedures - Below will be the guidelines/line-of-action to be taken when attending a class.
1. Sign-up at least 8 hours in advance.
2. Enter the gym through the front door with mask on and in workout attire, sanitize hands upon entering.
3. Proceed to a station (with all your stuff) and remain there for the duration of the class.
4. After your workout, use the hand sanitizer, spray bottle, and towel equipped in your area to clean all equipment used. A coach will mop up any sweat on the floor.
5. Exit through the back of the gym with mask on.

A few extra rules - These are just a few random things to abide by while attending a class..
- Keep shoes and shirt on at all times.
- Dogs and Kids are not allowed.
- Try to limit bathroom usage but note, the bathroom is NOT off limits bc everybody has to ti**le sometimes.

Program - This first week or two will be a slow transition back into being in the gym and the program will reflect that. We will be doing a lot of barbell drills and “for quality” metcons. So, be ready to take a step back and focus on moving well under very minimal loading. This time will also serve as reflection to better organize and manage how we will progress back to “normal”. We know that may be a ways off but our plan is to start down that path by taking little steps, and using each day and class as experience to improve upon as we go. That means your feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Equipment - If you still have equipment then please plan on returning it sometime this week. I will be at the gym on Tuesday from 12 - 6 for any equipment drop-offs. Please text me at 815.712.7119 prior to coming by. If you can’t make that time then feel free to bring it back when you come for a class Wed. - Fri. You can also text me to arrange a drop-off time sometime this week Tues. - Sun.

Support - We will support everyone’s timelines, no matter where they are on them. If you don’t feel comfortable just yet then that’s fine, we understand. We will still offer personal programming for any current members, we will still offer Zoom classes during the week, and we will be doing the weekly challenges. This will ensure that you will have plenty of opportunity to be involved and work on your fitness while getting more comfortable with the transition.

DSCF Town Hall Meeting - Tonight we will have a town hall meeting at 6pm to answer any questions that may arise. My hope is to bring more light to our plans and to help ease any reservations that y’all may have. Please, email/text me your questions prior to the meeting.
- Zoom Meeting ID: 589-709-5458

Always feel free to reach out to me about anything and everything! My info is below.

Get excited for the next stage of this weird and trying time. It’s been a roller coaster but we wouldn’t be here without every single one of you!

Lucas McEmery - Owner/Manager
Division St. CrossFit
email: [email protected]
cell: 815.712.7119
gym: 312.285.3172