For a lot of our members, Roots becomes a home away from home. But everyone grew up with a different idea of what “home” means. So it helps to know how things run in our house, and more importantly, why.

Enter the Shop Etiquette list. 

None of these are arbitrary rules. Every one of them exists to make your hour better, and the hour of the person next to you better. 

And, collectively, they underline the culture you can come to expect at Roots. 

Real culture isn’t a vibe or a slogan. You can’t whip up culture by designing a new logo or launching a marketing campaign.

Culture is built through a commitment to standards, values, and equality. No one is special here. Everyone plays by the same rules and earns their place. This isn’t intimidating, it’s liberating. 

Be on time (and stay until the end)

This is a big one, so let’s start here.

We cover a lot in class and utilize every minute. We expect you to arrive on time and stay through to the end of class.

Here’s our side of the deal: we start on time and we end on time, every time. We know you have a job, kids, and a life to get back to. We respect your hour. We ask you to respect it too.

That’s why our policy is simple: if you’re late, you can’t attend class. It’s not a punishment. It protects the training environment.

The Rest of the House Rules

Our Shop Etiquette is how we train together, take care of the shop, and take care of business. Being on time is #1 on the list (that’s the section above). Here’s the rest:

• Check your ego at the door. No one cares how much you can lift, we care how hard you try and how well you endeavor to move.
• Introduce yourself. Introduce yourself to newcomers (or someone you don’t recognize). Remember when you were the new guy or gal? A friendly hello goes a long way.
• Don’t break down your equipment until everyone has finished the workout. At Roots, no one breaks down their equipment until everyone has finished the workout. This is a common courtesy that you too will one day benefit from as everyone is last in the workout someday. Cheer on others, grab a foam roller, or just enjoy the downtime, but don’t start to put your equipment away until the coach gives the OK.
• Chalk usage. Chalk stays in the chalk bucket. And that’s all we have to say about that.
• Stick to your equipment. The shop is not your oyster, it’s many people’s oyster. Stick to the equipment and space you have set up. Sometimes your equipment will be spread out further than you would like. Odds are, that’s not the thing that affected your time in the workout.
• Equipment breakdown is a team effort. When the coach gives the ok, break down and put away your equipment (bumpers, bars, bands, boxes, etc.). And then, once your equipment is away, help put away someone else’s equipment (that’s right, those folks with a heavy deadlift have a lot of weight to put away!). It’s a team effort every day, and the faster we get the shop reset, the more we can accomplish.
• Kindergarten rules still apply. Clean up after yourself. It’s your responsibility to get out and put away your equipment, count your own reps (all of them), get your own tissue, and clean off your bars.
• Wipe down your equipment. It’s quite possible that at some point in your CrossFit career you may bleed on a pull-up bar or barbell and you’ll certainly sweat on a wallball. Please use the disinfectant wipes.
• Treat empty barbells like they were your baby. Would you drop a baby? We certainly hope not. We use an empty barbell a lot in class. When putting the barbell down, gently place it on the ground with the utmost care and admiration for the fine piece of equipment that it is. And while we’re at it, that also goes for barbells loaded only with 10-lb bumpers, dumbbells, and kettlebells; those don’t get dropped either.
• Phones and headphones. No phones on the shop floor. If you need to keep track of weights and scores, use paper, a post-it, or counter hearts. Additionally, headphones are for the big box gyms and you self-selected out of that, plus it’s rude and standoffish. We suffer together.
• Children at the shop. Children who can sit quietly while their parents work out are welcome to come to the shop with a parent. They are not allowed at any point to come onto the shop floor or training area. Sure we like kids, we even have a few; however, the safety of the children and quality of the athletes’ training environment demands this arrangement.
• Go the distance. Every athlete pushes themselves in a different way. You can scream, cuss, cry, go to your happy place, bleed, or even rest…just don’t quit. The human body is capable of so much more; challenge yours accordingly.
• No soliciting. We’re here to train and work hard with athletes and friends, not to learn about your business! Throw down, work out, high five, and shoot the shit – just don’t make Roots athletes your next batch of leads. Entrepreneurial spirit is great, but there’s no place for it at the shop.
• Personal hygiene. We know you live in Boulder and are one with the Earth ;), but clean clothes and deodorant go a long way toward ensuring all athletes have a great class experience.

You can always find the full list on our Shop Etiquette page.

Why We Hold the Line

You’ll hear our coaches remind people of these things every day. Sometimes the same reminder, to the same person, more than once.

That’s on purpose. The standards are what make Roots feel the way it does: safe, focused, and full of people who work hard and look out for each other. That feeling doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t last unless all of us protect it.

Your One Thing This Week

Get to your next class 10 minutes early. Stretch out, pedal on a bike, get warm!