When I sat down, I was going to talk more about WAG.
As ya’ll know, I’m giving WAG (Working Against Gravity) another try. I had heard that a number of the things that I commented on 2 years ago had changed dramatically.
Work has been crazy the past month, so I haven’t even had a moment to breathe – much less blog. But I’d like to make a couple comments, before launching into what I actually sat down to write about
*WAG now has a fantastic knowledge base and spectacular “drip” email system. Two years ago, one thing that I had found frustrating was that WAG didn’t have any information that came directly from “WAG HQ” as it were.
I am sure I’m not the only one who has “clicked on a link” to get something from some guru or another, and wound up on his/her email list. Some have “eh” info or are pushy in their “upsell,” and I ultimately unsubscribe. But some have great info and I’m still on their lists years later. My issue had been that you are paying a premium for WAG and – at that time – the only thing that was available on an ongoing basis was the Facebook group . . . made up of other folks who have paid to subscribe to WAG, just like you. Now, not only do they have a deep Members Only “library” that you can dip into (with everything from macro-based Trader Joe’s shopping lists to Mindfulness exercises), but WAG HQ also now sends members bi-weekly emails. These emails are packed with nutrition, mindfulness, training and recovery information.
I actually subscribed not only to the “paid” WAG, but using another name and email (soooo sneeeeaky…) I also subscribed to their free offer on their website. It’s called the WAG Guide to Nutrition. While the free one is – of course! – going to try to get you to sign up, it’s not as annoying as SO MANY others. It has great info, videos, and is a quality product. If you’re at all intrigued to see how WAG has changed, you can try it out that way. (“Try before you buy.”)
*WAG pays attention to you, and cares how you’re doing. Two years ago when I did WAG, I actually stopped logging, just to see what would happen. Nothing happened. My coach didn’t contact me, WAG HQ didn’t contact me. Nothing. The Intake Form, in fact, used to point out that it was “up to you to check in and keep track.” I felt that I was paying V.I.P. prices and being ignored. Now, WAG has somehow changed their back end so that your coach is notified if you stop logging – not only that, but HQ has “Happiness Engineers” (I think that’s what they’re called) that will check in on you if you go Radio Silent. THIS IS HUGE! My new CrossFit gym does the same thing – if you haven’t checked in for a while, you get a “Hey, everything okay?” email. Even if it’s just an automated response, it’s better than hearing crickets.
*My coach is paired to me to a T. Before, my WAG coach really didn’t “get me.” She even sent me exasperated emails for being too curious . . . too long-winded . . . too “me”! She was about 30 years my junior, because I checked her out on Instagram. I probably would have dealt with an old 50-something the way she did, when I was a 20-something. But this time around, WAG has a far more robust “intake process,” which drills down and can therefore make a much more specific match. They’ve completely updated and revamped the Intake Questionnaire. Instead of making you categorize yourself into an “athlete” or “non-athlete” (as those of you stalwart readers probably recall, this sent me through the roof), it asks you to describe your motivation for joining WAG (letting you choose more than one). What you choose then leads you to drill-down questions, that ultimately match you to the right coach. Genius.
They even have questions that ask you how much of a “high touch” experience you’re looking for. I have a “virtual coach” headset/app that does a similar thing – you can set her “chattiness” level to fit your desires. By asking questions about this at the outset in their Questionnaire, WAG HQ can understand your expectations and tailor the experience to them.
WAG is like a new entity. It checks all the right boxes. But that’s not why I sat down to blog today.
Today, I sat down to try to convince you Omegas out there to Speak Up!
Let me explain.
I have a tendency to let things “fester” until I’m done. Then, I quit.
I did this with the last relationship I had before my current one. Things had gone sideways, but I didn’t say anything. Once my partner realized that things were really “wrong” and wanted to “right the ship” (go to counselling, make lifestyle changes, whatever), it was far too late. I’d checked out.
Last year, I even gave up The Crossfit for a while.
I had had issues with some things at my last gym, but just let it go. Frankly, I felt that they should notice that things were off. But, of course, they didn’t. Like WAG 1.0, I felt that, since I was paying premium $, someone should be giving me premium attention. Finally, after running a training there to get my Concept 2 certification, I felt so disrespected that I came to realize that I’d reached that point . . . things were just too sideways to fix. So I stopped showing up.
The lucky thing here, though, is that after about six months without The Crossfit, I wondered if maybe – just maybe – it was the situation that needed to be discarded – not The Crossfit. I tentatively decided to try out a new gym. In fact, it was a gym near my house that had allowed me to come in and teach the second Concept 2 class I needed for my certification. I had to teach the exact same class, sending both videos to Concept 2 HQ. The same curriculum, the same playlist, the same cues. Comparing the two, my judges commented that some members of the first class “just hadn’t listened to” me. Who was in that class? The first gym’s staff. Hm.
This new gym is not only closer to my house (by easily 20 minutes), cheaper (by about $100 a month), but it also has little “touches” (like a P.R. bell) that make things fun.
I’d given up on The Crossfit, because I was in the wrong gym.
A good friend of mine (who had talked me into doing WAG two years ago, in fact) had been suggesting I try another gym in the area for a while. But I felt that meant being “disloyal.” So what’d I do? I quit doing Crossfit altogether. Um – what?
So what does that mean – what do I want you to take away from all this rambling?
Believe in your gut. If it says leave – leave.
You know what? After I left my former gym, I didn’t even hear anything from them again. My current gym sent me a “Hey, you okay?” notice when my husband and I were on vacation for 10 days. I’d only been with this gym for a few months. I was at my old gym for 4 years. I quit going – nothing. Hm.
When I was having a “personality clash” with my WAG Coach, my same friend told me to just ask for a different coach.
I instead figured that “all the coaches” would be like this coach (e.g., “all gyms are like this gym”) and so I rejected “The WAG” (“The Crossfit”) altogether.
This passive aggressive tendency is disconcerting.
I want people to realize when something is wrong – I don’t want to have to tell them.
I hate confrontation. Some folks love it (litigators do, obviously!) I’d rather just give up rather than confront. Crazy, right? I know. I know. Crazy.
I often don’t even realize that I’m doing it. When I do, though, I will try to fix it. And it’s scary! I mean, what if the person laughs at me? Doesn’t listen? Gets mad?
I discussed this once on Girls Gone WOD Podcast. I had brought one of the podcasters a gift – my beef jerky. She hadn’t tried it, and in fact, was going to give it to a mutual friend. I had a mini-fit, stating that I’d brought it for her to try, and I wanted her to try it before she gave it away. She had no problem doing that – in fact, she had no realization that this was important to me. She tried it, loved it, gave the rest away to our mutual friend, and I was happy.
Had I not mentioned it, I would have had this very silly, passive aggressive, wounded “memory” that my friend had “rejected” my gift, then given it away. Dumb, right?
But we do this all the time. (Well, we Omegas do.)
Don’t let things go too sideways before you address them.
It might be icky in the moment – but way better in the long run. Instead of giving up The Crossfit for six months once I came to realize my gym wasn’t working for me, I should have jumped right over to the gym I’m at now. I shouldn’t have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes. Instead of just quitting WAG 2 years ago, I probably should have asked for a different coach.
Maybe I should have brought up my issues with my old gym. But then again – I’d be driving 20 minutes each way longer, and paying $100 more a month if I had . . . so maybe not ;-) Similarly, the changes that have occurred in WAG in the ensuing two years have made it a dramatically better program. Who knows?
Things happen for a reason. Just be sure that you remember that you can Stand Up and Speak Up – even if your voice shakes! I believe in you. If something is skidding sideways, don’t let things fester until it’s too late. And if you’re sticking it out, saying nothing, don’t kid yourself. Don’t call your fear – of being laughed at, of being ignored, of being argued with, of change – Loyalty. Loyalty and sticking with things through the tough times is great. Working on things is great. But sticking with things because you don’t want to confront what’s not working is not so great.
On that note, I’d like to add that, a month in on WAG 2.0, I am actually drinking pretty close to 80 oz. of water a day (this is a HUGE change for me!), I put my jeans in the dryer this morning for the first time in – oh – a year?, and I know I will stick with it until I have reached the results I want (even if it takes over 3 months), because my coach is SPECTACULARLY PERFECT. In my Intake Form, I was willing to address what had not worked for me before. To be brutally honest. And in doing so, everything changed. But, not to pat myself too hard on the back, I had also been willing to give it another try.
I’ve been asked to be an expert on an international webinar in a few weeks, and I’m going to call this situation out by name. I was asked as a coach, to speak about coaching, which I will, but I’m also going to talk about having the right coach and use this situation as an example.
Oh, AND . . . at my new gym, I’ve been able to ring that P.R. bell not once – not twice – but three times in the past month.
Be Brave. Stand Up. Speak Up.
Even if your voice shakes.