Raincity Athletics

COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT
V3.2

License: Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 Based on: Geek Feminism, Seed&Spark, and XOXO, StoryHive Codes of Conduct
Aligned with: Raincity Operations Manual

Our Purpose

Raincity Athletics is built around a single idea: Find Your Fit.
That means building an inclusive, empowering space where people of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities can train safely and confidently – free from discrimination, harassment, or harm.

This Community Code of Conduct outlines our commitments as well as our expectations for all those enrolled in our classes and programs, private training and engaged in our online spaces. We acknowledge that everyone in our fitness community brings a diverse set of lived experiences, and we recognize that some may face systemic barriers or prejudice due to their intersecting identities. Raincity Athletics is committed to creating a space free from racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of oppression, with the goal that everyone feels safe and supported so that they can actively pursue becoming the best (and fittest) version of themselves.

Who This Applies To

Everyone who takes part in Raincity Athletics, including:

• Members and drop-ins
• Coaches and apprentices
• Contractors and volunteers
• Parents and guests
• Event participants
• Anyone representing Raincity in person or online

These standards apply everywhere our community interacts: in classes, events, travel, social media, and digital spaces connected to Raincity or anytime you are representing the Raincity brand and community.

Our Shared Commitments

We commit to:

• Welcoming and respecting all individuals, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, age, ability, or background.
• Using inclusive, affirming, and accessible language.
• Keeping our community physically and emotionally safe for all individuals.
• Listening, learning, and correcting our own mistakes without shame 
• A culture that values feedback and accountability from all community members 
• Taking responsibility for our impact, not just our intent.

Expected Behaviors

Everyone is expected to:

• Follow all posted safety rules and instructions.
• Assume coaches are acting for the safety and benefit of the group, even if the reason isn’t obvious.
• Respect all personal boundaries; physical and emotional, ask before making physical contact, ask before taking pictures or videos that someone may be in the background of.
• Use names and pronouns correctly and update them if corrected.
• Keep conversations respectful, assume good intent, and avoid escalating unnecessary conflict.
• Maintain hygiene standards (clean clothes, deodorant, wipe down equipment after use).
• Communicate concerns early, no matter how small, using the reporting process.
• Default to kindness when witnessing someone struggling.
• If you’re unsure, ask (and assume good intentions when someone does ask).
• Share positively about each other, celebrate victories (and be conscious of the impact of the words you share).

Unacceptable Behaviors

Harassment, bullying, and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated.
This includes (but is not limited to):

• Intentionally creating a negative environment for any member of our community.
• Harassment, discrimination, or offensive comments: Including comments about gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body size, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion.
• Unwelcome comments about personal lifestyle choices: Food, health, parenting, employment, drugs, or other personal practices.
• Deliberate misgendering or use of rejected or dead names.
• Sexual content or behaviour in inappropriate spaces: Including sexual jokes, sexual imagery, or sexualized actions that do not belong in our environment.
• Physical contact without consent: This includes touching, simulated physical contact, or continuing after being asked to stop.
• Threats or encouragement of violence or self-harm.
• Intimidation, stalking, or following.
• Harassing photography or recording: Including any attempt to monitor or log someone’s activity for harmful purposes.
• Sustained disruption of class, discussion, or community spaces.
• Unwelcome sexual attention.
• Patterns of inappropriate or intrusive social contact: Repeated attempts to create unwanted intimacy or closeness.
• Ignoring requests to stop one-on-one communication.
• Outing someone’s private or personal identity without consent.
• Sharing private communication without consent: Even when it is not itself harassing.
• Knowingly making false or harmful claims about another person.

Raincity follows widely accepted best practices for community safety and therefore does not act on complaints about:

• Reverse racism, reverse sexism, or similar claims.
• Reasonable boundary setting, such as “leave me alone” or “I’m not discussing this.”
• Someone using a tone you personally do not prefer.
• Criticism of racist, sexist, transphobic, or otherwise oppressive behaviour or assumptions.

Consequences

If someone’s behavior violates this Code, Raincity may:

1. Issue a verbal warning (for minor infractions)
2. Issue a written warning (for second offenses, or major infractions)
3. Terminate membership, contract, or coaching role (if requested changes are not respected)
4. Contact external authorities if safety or legality is at risk.

Every situation will be reviewed fairly and privately according to our Reporting Procedures from the Raincity Operations Manual.

Most gyms (and their landlords) think that they have, or are going to have, a noise issue. They don’t. What gyms actually have is a vibration issue, especially if your space is above an underground parking garage that creates a nice big hollow drum of vibrations. When you’re in a densely populated area like Vancouver, almost every building has underground parking. But even if it doesn’t, there have been cases of vibrations from weights being dropped travelling up to 50 floors vertically (from four floors underground), or up to a full city block away, even when buildings do not share a concrete slab.

As one of the only gyms in Vancouver that has not had to move due to lawsuits or noise complaints, I’m sharing this post to help educate future (or current) gym owners on what you can, and must, do to avoid these issues. My hope is to help more functional fitness style clubs flourish and help more people find their fit.

2010: The First Platform Variations

At CrossFit Optimum Performance

Long before Raincity Athletics existed, I was already being introduced to the realities of vibration in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. One of the earliest wake-up calls came at CrossFit Optimum Performance, where we began receiving complaints from businesses four floors above us. Not next door, not directly overhead, but four floors up.

Someone before me had already tried a simple solution, using multiple strips of carpet underlay inside the “wells” of a lifting platform to absorb drops. I loved the idea of this solution, as carpet underlay (specifically the viscoelastic foam variation) was literally designed for this purpose, dampening the vibration of footsteps. In theory, this was the cheapest way to get large quantities of the right type of foam.

The issue was movement. You needed so many layers of foam to handle 300 lb+ drops, but once stacked, the material began to shift, creating an uneven lifting surface. It was a good start, but version one needed a lot of work.

Some of the only photos I have of the originally designed platforms that lowered down from the wall. They were far too heavy to be regularly used...

We tried to improve it with a second iteration, wall-mounted platforms that dropped down like drawbridges, with shallower, more defined wells that contained the foam. Technically, they were a significant improvement, but practically, they were so heavy and awkward that no one ever wanted to use them. That was the first big lesson. A solution can be structurally sound and still fail if it doesn’t fit the reality of how people move and train.

2013: Raincity Athletics 1.0

And my first attempt at a subfloor across a whole gym.

After a lot of tinkering, and coaching at multiple different gyms over the years, a lease had finally been signed and I was opening my very own location. Having seen the negative experiences of so many other gyms, even by 2013, dealing with vibration issues, I did thorough testing with the landlord and made sure our lease included language that as long as work was being done to avoid vibration issues for their other tenants, I couldn't get kicked out.

One of the biggest saving graces, and most important lessons, was this:

There were no private owners sharing the building or even the block. Every tenant was on a commercial lease, which meant that if they had an issue, it went through the landlord. This is very different from having private apartment or space owners nearby. If they have an issue, you get sued.

It was time to put my mockups to work, and we built what I believe was the first truly affordable floating anti-vibration subfloor. I’m not the first person to ever do this, but the solution I came up with cost less than a quarter of what it would have cost to hire it out. If you are not handy or a builder, I highly recommend contacting someone like GSP Flooring. They offer very similar (albeit much pricer) solutions , and I still use them for rubber to this day.

The center of the platforms were solidly supported underneath with wood, as was the perimeter. The middle section of the gym was ¾-inch tongue-and-groove plywood floating on one to two layers of carpet underlay. This wasn’t intended to function like a traditional platform, but rather to dramatically reduce day-to-day drops and slams, which it did... at least for a while.

The problems came quickly. One layer of ¾-inch plywood relying on tongue-and-groove joints was not enough. Within the first year, the floor became lumpy as the plywood took a beating and seams began to separate. It still worked, but it wasn’t ideal.

Back to the drawing board....

2017: Raincity Athletics 2.0

Upgraded versions of everything I had built before.

In 2017, I signed the lease next door to triple the size of our space. It was time to combine over a decade of anti-vibration building experience with everything I had learned so far.

We built platforms against one wall to host the Raincity Barbell Club, allowing athletes to freely drop weights of any load without relying on crash pads. Instead of purchasing individual crash pads for each well, I sourced the actual material inside commercial crash pads and built it directly into the floor, then covered everything with heavy-duty rubber.

Next was rebuilding the floating subfloor, version two, with longevity in mind. We glued and screwed two layers of ¾-inch plywood together, creating a 1.5-inch thick floating layer (think a 2x4 laid flat), on top of two layers of carpet underlay totaling roughly ¾-inch, with ⅝-inch rubber on top.

We made only two crucial mistakes, which would later become some of my biggest lessons, not just in building floors, but in life.

I wish I had more photos of this buildout. Huge thank you to Justin Cameron, a member at the time, who headed up the majority of this construction and helped bring Raincity 2.0, aka “The Annex," to life...

One Mistake, 7 Years of Trying to Fix it.

The lesson I learned after cutting up and rebuilding my sub floor.

Over the next five to seven years, I spent almost every Christmas and Boxing Day at Raincity trying to fix issues with our lumpy subfloor. I refused to close Raincity for more than two days, so all renovation work happened on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I assumed the lumps had formed from years of heavy barbell drops, liquid from floor mopping, and general wear and tear on the plywood, but I was wrong.

It wasn’t until the most recent renovation, when we cut the entire subfloor out and rebuilt it, that I realized the real issue that had caused my 7 years of headaches and holidays wasted: It was all because we never leveled the concrete subfloor underneath. At the time, we didn’t think the 1.5-inch dip in the middle was a big deal, and assumed we could make it up with extra padding. We were very wrong...

After a couple of years dealing with the dip (aka the bathtub), I tried re-leveling by adding more underlay to the center and patching over it. This helped temporarily, but as weights continued to drop, the middle settled again.

The next attempt involved roofing membrane. In theory, it was perfect. I could add layers where needed, melt and feather the edges, and gain liquid protection at the same time. Brilliant, right?

One problem. Rubber flooring hides nothing. The 1/8-inch to 1/16-inch edges left by the membrane were visible and noticeable underfoot during every workout.

Over the next few years, I spent Christmas and Boxing Day trying to remove those edges. One year I tried outdoor park rubber mulch and glue, thinking I could trowel it smooth. I was wrong. The next year, I tried a full layer of high-density fiberboard, hoping it would smooth everything out. I was wrong, again.

During COVID there wasn't much of a budget to try to fix the floor, but with everyone working out in taped squares, if you had a lumpy spot you were stuck with it. It wasn’t until 2025, after finally fully recovering financially, that my accountant finally gave me the green light to try and fix it properly.

For the first time in 14 years, Raincity closed for more than two days (outside of COVID shutdowns) so I could rebuild the floor the way it always should have been done.

2025: Raincity Athletics 3.0

The final update, and the big discovery.

For anyone wondering why you felt bumps and lumps under your feet, this is what five-plus years of attempted fixes looked like...

Raincity Holiday Renos - Each day in :30 timelapse

Day 1 - Dec 23rd:

Pulling Everything up & Cutting it Out

Huge thank you to the members who helped clear the floor. Removing years of layers and Christmas fixes was both triggering and deeply satisfying, knowing it would be the last time.

Day 2 - Dec 24th:

Clearing it our & Preparing to Rebuild

Once the center was removed, we assessed the situation, continued removing material, prepped the edges, and began laying carpet underlay in strips instead of full sheets. This turned out to be another missing piece. Full sheets had shifted over time, creating soft spots. Strips with gaps, lightly glued, solved that issue.

Day 3 - Dec 25th:

Leveling & Rebuilding

After breakfast, I came in solo to properly level the floor from the bottom up and lay the first layer of plywood so Dillan could return the next day to glue and screw the second layer.

Day 4 - Dec 26th:

Laminating Wood

With enough glue and screws, two sheets of plywood become one. Over 48 hours, Dillan and I installed more than 3,000 screws. My construction days prepared me for this. My body did not. Some hand issues followed, but mostly recovered now.

Day 5 - Dec 27th:

Putting it Back Together.

On the final day, the community showed up and helped turn it back into a gym.

Finally we had a finished product. Though it was by no means perfectly flat / level (because it would have cost bout $10k to actually have re-poured an entire concrete sub-floor) it was sturdy, and it was smooth!

Lessons Learned?

Just do it right the first time 🤦‍♂️

As we pulled up the subfloor wood, I was surprised, and honestly emotional, to see that it was still in great shape. The soft spots and bumps weren’t from structural degradation like I had previously thought, they were the result of years of trying to fix my own half-assed fixes 😭.

By intentionally leaving gaps in our underlay, it allows some shifting and moving without causing the whole sheet to shift and move. Simple, but effective.

The only other mistake in my design was using full sheets of carpet underlay instead of strips. The soft spots we found weren’t from bad wood, but from seams where flex had slowly pushed the underlay away over time, creating weak points. Proper gluing, screwing, and fastening the underlay in strips solved this entirely.

The Blueprint

So you can build your own sub floor, learning from my decades of mistakes.

Coming soon...

notes: my favorite hydration brand and one of the only ones in the world that actually has enough sodium to make a difference! Less salty taste than LMNT and no artifical sweeteners.

Going forward, @raincityathls will be completing this workout annually on Labour Day weekend to remind ourselves of Jonah and the constant smile on his face no matter what challenges life (or the gym) threw at him.

The three levels of this workout not only ensure that people of any fitness level can join in, but they represent Jonah’s fitness journey at Raincity (after already having to regain his ability to walk with @kidsphysio). From struggling with ring-supported split squat or lifting a kettlebell, to deadlifting 150 lbs and doing weighted walking lunges. Every year, this workout will remind me of his inspirational work ethic and his commitment to fitness despite adversities I can't even begin to imagine facing.

The workout is also written to mimic a typical 45 minute training session for Jonah (make sure to warmup). He loved lifting heavy, so we always started with some variation of deadlifts, bench, or squats. So take your time and move well in those first 10 minutes, and adjust the weights to be challenging but doable. Then, even though he never stopped talking about how much he hated #crossfit style workouts (like during the #RaincityOPEN), he'd still ask for them and always agree to tackle them with a smile on his face, so remember that as you chip away at part two.

We recommend doing this as a pair: alternate with your partner for part one, and then in part 2 alternate the sets of snatch + burpees, thruster + burpees, and lunges until you've completed 6 full rounds. Modify the workout as needed to challenge yourself appropriately or based on what equipment you have available.

He never made excuses for not being able to do something and never doubted that eventually he'd be able to do it, be more like Jonah ❤️

Read more and donate to the Jonah Berger Memorial Fund: www.rncty.ca/jonah

#jonahbergermemorial #RaincityJonah

In January of 2020, at the age of 12, Jonah was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. After having it removed and undergoing multiple bouts of chemo, Jonah was left unable to walk. After lots of physiotherapy work with Maria at Kids Physio Group, he was referred to me (Coach Thor) in May of 2022, and we started training together weekly. At this point, he had regained his ability to walk but still lacked a lot of function and proper motor control on the left side of his body. He'd already come so far he was more than ready and willing to put in the work.

We started with basic motor function and re-strengthening work, but with such limited coordination on one side of his body, we quickly moved into utilizing the barbell, and Jonah fell in love. We made some incredible discoveries: heavy lifting (specifically deadlifts) had an amazing effect on his nervous system and his brains ability to regain motor control more consistently on both sides in ways he had never experienced before. I remember the first time we tried to do walking lunges he got so frustrated as he kept falling over and we didn't know if that was something he'd ever be able to do. I'll never forget the smile on his face in the middle of a workout as he realized he was doing walking lunges with a dumbbell in his hand... which is why they had to be in his workout.

Seeing me once a week wasn’t enough for him. He started coming into Raincity 2-3 times per week on his own, completing workouts that I wrote for him focused on squats, deadlifts, and bench press. Focusing on the barbell not only helped stimulate the CNS, but he was hooked on the gains as he went from a 25lb kettle bell to a 150lb barbell deadlift, a 100 pound bench press and a 135lb squat, even while the left side of his body didn’t always want to cooperate. Once in a while, he’d even do a bit of cardio, or join coach Katie for a CrossFit style workout. He took part in the #RaincityOPEN (aka CrossFit Open) with his training partner, Nik. That's is where he really discovered his love/hate relationship with burpees and dumbbell snatches... which is why they had to be in his workout.

By the summer of 2025, Jonah wanted to spend even more time in the gym and had started prepping his resume to work at Raincity during the summer. He was also preparing to be my equipment lead at the Canadian Functional Fitness National Championships. Our team couldn’t have been more excited to have Jonah around more often his shy but friendly demeanor brought nothing but joy to those around him.

At the end of June, this was all put on hold, as he began experiencing debilitating headaches and nausea. Within 48 hours, he was back in the hospital. They had found water on his brain and signs of tumor regrowth. After a couple of days of scans and surgeries, it was confirmed that the tumor was regrowing at the base of his brain stem/cerebellum - and there was nothing they could do.

I feel incredibly fortunate that Jonah was able to come in and see me on July 26 (after another round of surgery), though we were unsure how much time he had left. When I asked how the surgery went, his response was, “Last time I woke up in a hospital I was paralyzed, so this one was a breeze.” He went on to say, “Everyone around me is really sad right now, but that just feels like a waste of time.” Those words will inspire me forever.

On July 30, Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by his family.

Read more about Jonah and some of the things we're doing at Raincity Athletics to honor his incredible and inspiring life.

Remembering Jonah Berger | Raincity Athletics Functional Strength & Conditioning in Vancouver, BCRemembering the most inspiring athlete to ever by a part of the Raincity Athletics community.Raincity Athletics · Simon ‘Thor’ Damborg

Jonah’s progress and determination was a source of inspiration for everyone in the Raincity community.

But seeing me once a week wasn’t enough. He began training 2-3 times per week on his own, working up to a 150lb+ deadlift, 115lb+ back squat and 100lb bench press even though the left side of his body still didn’t always cooperate. He started joining coach @katienad for some #crossfit workouts and even took part in the #raincityopen with his training buddy Nik. By summer 2025 he wanted to spend even more time at Raincity, he had prepped his resume for a summer job, and was ready to be equipment lead for me at the @canadian_functional_fitness national championships.

In late June everything changed. He developed severe headaches and nausea, and within a week ended up back in the hospital for another surgery where they found the tumor had returned at the base of his brain stem - and there was nothing they could do.

I feel so fortunate I got to see Jonah on July 26th after the 2nd surgery. When I asked how it went he said “Last time I went in for surgery I woke up paralyzed, so this one was a breeze.” He continued “everyone around me right now is really sad, but that just seems like a waste of time,” and those words will stay with and inspire me for the rest of my life.

On July 30 Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by family.

On Sept 1st at 4:00pm Raincity will host the first annual Jonah memorial workout and complete our new benchmark #RaincityJonah, built around movements he loved (and some he hated).

Join us to remember one of the most inspiring RAthletes to ever attend Raincity, with 100% of proceeds going to the Jonah memorial fund.

Details & rsvp: www.rncty.ca/jonah

Why We’re Moving On From Zenplanner

Raincity Athletics has relied on Zenplanner for over 10 years, and in the early days, it was incredible. I had regular calls with their programmers, and the software truly adapted to what gyms like ours needed. It felt like we were building something together.

But in 2017, Zenplanner was bought by Daxko, and at first, the changes were small and mostly positive. Then, things took a turn in 2021 when Daxko brought in Genstar Capital as co-investors. Suddenly, promised improvements—like merging Zenplanner with SugarWOD—never came through. Features we'd depended on were becoming obsolete, new ones hid behind paywalls, and support was practically nonexistent. What used to be a reliable partnership now felt like a company that had was just trying to squeeze us.

The reason I tell this story is because, while our new software is miles ahead in some ways, it's also been a tough transition—no fault of Push Press, but rewriting all our backend processes has been a real challenge. However, the difference is, when I reach out to Push Press support, I hear back within hours. I’m dealing with the same people every time, and they genuinely care about our business, no matter how big or small we are. It's brought back that essential small-business connection - and if you haven’t seen our blog, we’re BIG fans of supporting local and/or small business.

So, as we say goodbye to a decade's worth of data stored in Zenplanner, I wanted to make sure to put it somewhere we can look back on and reflect—because it was one hell of a decade. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it, and I can’t wait for what’s to come in the next one.

The Members.

One thing we cannot transfer over is the total attendance from Zenplanner. So we’ll be starting fresh in Push Press - but here are your top attendees in our first decade and the number of sessions/classes they attended <3

• Nicole Nybo: 2, 310
• William Newhouse: 2,007
• Christopher Tan: 1,954
• Misch Shomura: 1,913
• Ryan Holyk: 1,773
• Billy Huang: 1,605
• Alex Tang: 1,512
• Raincity Dentist: 1,446
• Jesse Bittle: 1,422
• Randy Romero: 1,372

The Animals.

Although this data is no where in Zenplanner, it’s obviously a crucial part of our first decade :P

Check-out @dogsofraincity on instagram to see the saved stories and hashtags of the 75+ dogs that have made their way through our doors (among a few cats, and a tortoise).

Here’s a few of the top attendees: #raincitytobey, #raincityeric, #raincityabby, #raincitytilly, #raincitytrousers, #raincitylucy

And a few of the OGs: #raincityrevi, #raincitymia, #raincitysawyer, #raincitysadie

And of course the new mascott: @pongthetort

The Coaches.

As our facility grew, so did the need for more coaches. What started with three owners and one full-time coach in a 2,500 sq. ft. space expanded into managing a team of 6–8 full-timers, 5+ part-timers, and a 7,500 sq. ft. facility.

Over the years, we’ve had 14+ full-time coaches (earning the majority of their income at Raincity), with an average tenure of over four years. We’ve also worked with at least 14 part-time coaches, whose time with us ranged from 6 months to 10 years.

For the full current team, check-out the coaches page.

The Causes.

Over the years we’ve supporeted a lot of incredible causes and communitys. I love to bring in Qmunity to work with our staff on ensuring we create a safe and welcoming environment for all. We’ve donated and volunteerd at food banks, regular clothing drives and donations, and so much more.

The biggest one that we’ve continued to support for a decade plus? Special Olympics Canada. Over the years through our annual CF24 event we’ve raised over $50,000 to help ensure that athletes of all levels and abilities have access to the benefits of sport, just like Raincity provides to it’s members.

The Community.

From day one, my goal was never to create the "best gym ever" because "best" is subjective. Instead, I set out to build a community where anyone feels welcome—a space to connect with people from all walks of life and somewhere you actually want to spend your time. From there, we’ll make sure you move, sweat, and take care of both your body and mind.

Over the years, we’ve hosted dozens of events. While we don’t party like we did in the early days (thankfully), I still love any chance to bring our community together beyond group classes.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our community in the first decade, and I hope you’ll stick around with us for the next one.

The Athletes & Results.

• 161,207+ results were logged
• 1,878 Athletes walked through our doors
• 1,334 of those athletes attended 10+ sessions
• 555 of them attended over 100 classes
• 14 of them attended over 1,000 classes

Top results?

…coming soon as we export the leaderboards from Zenplanner :)

In a time where almost anything, from online reviews to personal identities can be replicated or faked, the importance of maintaining and surrounding ourselves with genuine, trustworthy relationships has never been more crucial.

Over the next couple of years, it will be vital to be part of a community that genuinely prioritizes your well-being, and where you can be confident that your best interests are in mind—something that, realistically, is only achieved by small, and even more so local businesses.

As we all know by now—Loblaws doesn’t care about you, your health, your happiness, or your wellbeing in any capacity, and I hate to break it to ya—neither does Netflix, Anytime Fitness, Facebook, or anything in between. This became painfully apparent during the pandemic; while major corporations maximized their profits, good local businesses focused on ensuring their clients felt safe and supported in a time when they needed it more than ever. While corporate giants saw record profits, small businesses took on more debt to ensure they could continue to provide a safe space for their communities. Not only that, but knowing how much local businesses were suffering we ran additional campaigns to help support local restaurants (like our neighbors To Dine For), to help ensure they’d survive the pandemic - even when we weren’t sure if Raincity was going to.

To the big corporations, you are a number that they want to squeeze as much capital out of as possible. Of course, a small business needs to create capital as well—but for us to do that, we interact with you daily, we collect feedback, we put our clients first, and we mold our services to what our community needs. That’s the power and importance of small businesses, and that is what will be CRUCIAL for our health (both physical and mental) over the coming years.

Still waiting for my invite to Anytime Fitness’ Ice Cream Crawl #RaincityIceCream

Supporting Local is a Two-Way Street

Over the past four years, my Disney+ subscription has doubled - and we get notified of these increases via a no-reply email address… Imagine if your local shop tried to pull that off?

I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years of owning multiple small businesses where clients bring up how long they’ve supported Raincity via paying for a membership. Obviously, this is an integral part of our business and I greatly appreciate anyone who chooses to spend their hard-earned $$ with us; but I am also confident in the product we sell.

For a couple hundred dollars a month, we’ve provided not only awesome workout classes, but a local community, lifelong friendships, and likely a higher level of health and fitness than you ever thought you’d achieve - so aren’t we supporting each other?

Unlike the corporate giants, small businesses don’t have the opportunity to profit off you (aka your data) outside of the services you pay us for. And since we typically operate in competitive, location-based industries, we don’t have monopolies that allow us to set our own prices knowing you can’t go anywhere else. You can be confident we’ll never send you a price increase notice from a no-reply email address.

Lastly, it’s a two-way street because local businesses actually care about you, not just how much capital we can generate from you. We’re on the ground and face-to-face with our clients and community; we get joy out of seeing your results and your enjoyment of our products. We do what we do because we love it, and because we love what it allows us to provide to our local clients and community. But in a world where capital is king, this model isn’t sustainable without a little extra help. Thus, the goal of this post is not merely a call to action; it's an invitation to actively participate in nurturing our local communities (and the small businesses that create/support them) so they can thrive as we head into a time where our mental and physical well-being are going to need them more than ever.

HOW TO Show Support for Your Favorite Local Business

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding on each of these ideas, with easy, direct, and actionable things that you can do that won’t cost you a penny but will have a huge benefit for the growth and sustainability of our favorite local businesses. We’re going to link to ways you can directly do these things with Raincity - but we’re sure your favorite local shop has similar options. If you’re a local shop looking to improve your accessibility and communication with your community, feel free to contact us - we’re happy to help :)

Ok we said ‘free’ ways - this one might cost you a little bit, but chances are you already own some gear, so just take an extra second to try to wear that gear more :)

• Local businesses don’t have the advertising budget of the big kids—so getting our logos out there as much as possible is CRUCIAL.
• The likelihood of someone asking you about it and following through to look us up is 10x higher if they see a logo on a friend, as opposed to a billboard.
• Even if people don’t ask you about it, visibility is key—and the more times they see it, eventually, they’ll be curious enough to see what we’re all about - especially if they see what awesome people there are ;)

This one's super simple and massive—again, without the advertising budget, you’ll rarely get spammed with ads from a local business—so every time you like or share something from us is massive.

• Engagement is everything—sitting on your phone doomscrolling? Pop over to your favorite local business account and make sure you’ve liked everything on their feed and even throw down a few comments or tag some friends.
• Regardless of the latest algorithm - they all know that you’re more inclined to be hooked onto something that your friend is already/also interested in - so your comments or shares on a small business post will almost do more for them than if they paid for ads.
• This helps not only drive engagement but LOCAL engagement from your friends and followers, who are much more likely to become clients.

This is always a hard one, we get it - you found your dream community that’s a nice break from your regular circle of friends or work colleagues, and you don’t want to have to go on a waitlist to get into classes. There’s a reason why the big studios (aka Barry’s, Ride, etc) have aggressive (12-24 hour) cancellation policies with no refunds; because they know that their number 1 priority is a full class.

• You can talk about how much you love something, but just like you weren’t hooked until you tried it out - your friends will be the same. Bring them in to try out a class or a sample of whatever product your favorite local shop has.
• There’s no amount of money you can spend at a local business that will match if you refer a handful of friends, who hopefully also become lifelong customers.
• Is there a reason your friends don’t want to join? Well then….

This is probably the most underappreciated one—as we’ve discussed, one of the biggest reasons to support local is because they actually care about you and your feedback.

• Provide constant and constructive feedback, no matter how big or small. It doesn’t mean that things will change because of your comment, but we’re always listening, and if something comes up enough times, we begin to plan changes around it.
• Local businesses provide a local experience - they’re not told what to do by someone in another country which is why they’re able to tailor their product to the needs of their local community - so make sure they what those needs are!

More Info…

Questions?

• Email info@raincityathletics.ca
• Or checkout our FAQ: www.rncty.ca/faq

Feedback?

• Our members can utilize our anonymous feedback form ANYTIME: www.rncty.ca/feedback
  (password the same as RAthletes wifi posted in the gym)

Want to try us out?

• Whether you know someone at Raincity or not - schedule your free trial today: www.rncty.ca/join

Want to bring a friend?

• Have them register for a free trial FB class, or just email info and we’ll help you get them setup! www.rncty.ca/free-class

Coach / Bossman Thor here - I didn’t want this to get lost in a newsletter, so I’m adding it to the website blog that many didn’t even know we had :D

In my 10+ years of owning Raincity Athletics there are many moments where you could say ‘proud coach’ but there are no bigger moments than what went down last weekend at the IF3 World’s Masters / Juniors world championships.

For those that don’t know - on top of owning Raincity Athletics and the Functional Fitness League, I am also the president of the BC Functional Fitness Sports Association; the non-profit governing body of the sport of Functional Fitness in BC which includes being on the board of the Canadian Functional Fitness Federation. For a full breakdown of how all the FFFFFs work and what that means, you can check-out a little video I posted a few weeks ago.

The Qualifiers

A few months ago we convinced a handful of athletes into spending their weekend doing the IF3 Candian online qualifiers. Aaron & Michelle have been doing these qualifiers for a couple of years now, and Michelle qualified last year and flew out to Aruba to compete at this same event in 2022! Since the championships were in BC this year we managed to convince a few others to join in. In the end 5 qualified, one of them being the Dentist who unfortunately has had to withdraw from competitive weightlifting and functional fitness due to injuries :( we miss him… more on the other athletes later.

The Call For Help

About 6-8 weeks prior to the IF3 World Championships coming to Vancouver (which I had intended to volunteer for, but wasn’t planning to have a major role in running) I got an email from the IF3 President Gretchen. There had been some personal issues for our Canadian President who was in charge of the event, and they were in need of quite a bit of help. At that point we had over 200 athletes registered, and only about 15 volunteers - I knew we were in trouble.

Raincity SHOWS UP

This is where the proud coach moment comes in. Not only because of our epic athletes that threw down that weekend but also the 30+ of our members/community who SHOWED UP to volunteer. Who went above and beyond to help ensure this event not only happened, but was an amazing time for the 300+ international athletes that flew in from all over the world for it. This doesn’t even include the dozens who reached out to let me know they were sorry they couldn't help <3

This is the type of community that makes me proud.

Being fit and winning competitions will come and go, but being a community that is willing to step up to support the greater good (in this case the FF community) when called upon is a trait that sticks around. I couldn’t be more proud that we’ve attracted so many of those people to Raincity Athletics.

The RAthletes

Although I never like to prioritize ‘winning’ events - for those that don’t know…

The Raincity Rules of Competition; Make friends Look good Have fun Don’t lose

And in terms of that last rule, as long as you hit the first 3 then whatever place you end up in is irrelevant…

Honarary RAthlete Theron

Thank you for being the (sometimes too) calm collected mind and providing guidance for Dillan in his first competition. It’s always awesome to have an athlete with so much experience to help guide the newer groups. However when it comes to Theron; please do what he says not what he does ;)

OUR FF PRO MICHELLE

This was her second time competing at this event (after flying out to Aruba last year) and I couldn’t be more proud to have her represent Raincity & Canada both at home and internationally. Michelle embodies everything I want to see in a Raincity Athlete on the workout floor. Always has a smiling face whether she’s winning or losing. If she’s not winning, it’s only because she’s too busy admiring her fellow competitors and being inspired by them :D

COACH KATIE

When coach Katie casually mentioned she might take part in the qualifier, we got pretty excited. Katie is one of those elite athletes not because she tries to win, but because she loves the process. If you ever want to be elite in this sport - that’s the only way. So I appreciate what it means for Katie to step off the training floor and onto the competition floor. She even managed to take first place in an event (in a pretty stacked division of athletes) while simultaneously making sure our whole crew was taken care of and had what they needed both weeks prior and all weekend. Thank you for being coach as well as athlete in a time when I could not <3

THE REAL ATHLETE DILLAN

I have to say this is the guy I’m most proud of. On a whim (and with some force from me) he was convinced to join in on the qualfiier weekend and have some fun. Next thing he knew he was registered for his first-ever competition which happened to be on an international stage with hundreds of athletes from all over the world. That is NOT an easy first comp… and although Dillan’s nerves were on display leading up to the event, it was the final week where we could see them really started to take a toll… but in the end, I think we can easily say Dillan had the most fun of any athlete out there! Thank you, Dillan for blindly trusting me when I threw you into the deep end and promised you it would be ‘fun’ - even when you didn’t understand how that would be possible - you showed up and crushed the Raincity rules of competition #somanynewfriends.

Thank you

Again, there are no words for how proud I am of our community, and how much gratitude I have for everyone who stepped up and helped us make sure this event was a huge success, and it was. I want to give one extra special shout-out to my right-hand Assistant Head TO who helped me manage multiple competition floors all weekend; Donal.

When I decided to go all in on this event I knew what I was getting myself into, I have run many competitions in the past, and volunteered at short handed ones too. Donal stepped up early and offered his experience as a head judge from prior CF events, and was rewarded (ha) with an assistant head TO position. In the end this meant he was on the floor with me for upwards of 10 hours a day with very short breaks (as there was only 1 of each of us). I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed with how many hats I was able to productively wear throughout this weekend, I made some magical sh*t happen - but the ONLY reason I was able to do that was because Donal gave me 100% confidence in his ability to manage and communicate with me the needs of our judges & floor at all times.

SO MANY Familiar Faces

Again, THANK YOU to all of you (whether you were able to help or not) for embracing and encouraging a community that gives back <3

If you’re interested in getting involved in Functional Fitness as an athlete, board member, or anything in between, make sure to follow BCFFSA & IF3 online and don’t hesitate to reach out :)

Simon Damborg aka Thor Owner; rncty.ca & league.fit President: bcffsa.org

Looking back over a decade of owning a brick and mortar small business in Vancouver, I can honestly say there was a cumulative total of maybe 2-3 years (out of the 10) that I wasn't dealing with something extremely mentally & emotionally taxing. Between partner buyouts, HRT lawsuits, and a pandemic (just to name a few) it's hard to find the time to remind yourself that you love (or at some point loved) what you do...

I only share this now because for the first time in a long time, I've had time to be reminded of how much I love what I do. Since downsizing I've been able to get back on the floor, coach more classes, do more programming, and get back to doing the things I started this for; rather than just stressing and trying to keep the doors open.

This doesn't mean Raincity is in the clear yet. Just like all small businesses; we survived COVID by deferring debts... and the majority of us still have a lot of them to pay off. But, for the first time in years I've had an incredible few months with an incredible team and community which has finally again made me excited for Raincity and it's future.

So a huge thank you to anyone and everyone who's supported and/or put up with me (and Raincity) in the last decade. Whether you've worked out, coached, or even just come by for the the parties and animals - thank you, and I hope you'll join us for another 5 (sorry it's not going to be another decade 😅).

- coach @thor604

Ps sorry not sorry I spent more time taking pics of animals than people #thortakespics #raincitybirthday

#rathletes #raincityathletics #findyourfit #smallbusiness #smallbusinessbccanada #rwutakespics

I know that sounds grim… but as a small business owner who just carried a 7k sqf brick and mortar shop through a 2 year long pandemic, I think it’s allowed.

Funny enough, surviving the pandemic wasn’t the hard part… bouncing back after has been. To be frank; Raincity has barely broken even since COVID (and the gov wants most of their money back soon).

My only options to try to get my life back, or make some actual $$, were a) to sell (not a lot of people buying gyms post pandemic); b) to try to retract to the OG side only and become a small private training studio (ending most/all group classes); or c) to run Raincity into the ground and pursue bankruptcy…

Last year I made the extremely difficult decision for my own mental health, that I would execute one of these options by Raincity’s 10th birthday (August)… but then a dream opportunity landed in my inbox; sub leasing out the high ceiling OG space and keeping the bigger side + access to the bathrooms.

This weekend we begin our renovations to say goodbye to (most of) the OG space, and we move full time into the 5k+ square foot Annex side.

Thank you everyone for the positive support in the many extremely difficult decisions I've had to make since COVID... and ✌️out to anyone who tries to bring negativity into the welcoming and inclusive community I've spent the last decade of my life building.

Tho our physical space may be getting smaller, I promise in every other way this change will allow Raincity and it's incredible community to grow bigger & better than ever ❤️

For the full breakdown of what's coming up: www.rncty.events

@raincityathls
@raincityfitclub

#raincityathletics #raincitysquad #rathletes #findyourfit #community

For the prior news updates on the changes (and reasons why, as well as why there were so many delays), you can check out the news blog posts here and then here.

With 4 different group programs available to ALL our group class athletes, you can pick which programs to follow based on your goals and ability! We recommend joining in the group classes as much as possible, but we expect a lot of athletes to follow the [FB] Functional Body and [FF] Olympic Lifting programs on their own time during open gym as well.

[FB] Functional Body PROGRAM

Workouts are available via Zenplanner (click 3 buttons / profile top left > workouts). For those following the program NOT in a group class, join the #athletes-fb channel & tag @coach with questions!

• Tuesdays & Thursdays: full body workouts based on stability mobility & core
• Fridays: Conditioning intervals following 4 week blocks & mobility
• Sundays: Bodybuilding style strength with a mixed modal conditioning piece

[FF] Olympic Lifting Program

Will continue to be 2 days / week posted on Thursdays & Sundays. The Friday AM class will complete the Thursday programming. Join the #athletes-barbell channel and tag @coach for questions or anything you need to know for each block :)

Unattended Access

We have updated our insurance to allow athletes to train even if a coach isn’t present! This is NOT to allow 24/7 access to the facility, but so that during odd times during the day when coaches are in and out, OR during the first/last block of the day when clients like to show up extra early or hang around a bit after class - we can now allow that :)

We have given keys to select athletes who are regulars at certain times of days (ie morning, midday, and evening) who are typically hanging around. If a coach is ever leaving you at the gym, they will clarify any instructions (ie just make sure the door locks behind you, or make sure to listen to whatever key person is left there / in charge).

[FF] Throwdown Class Saturdays @ 8:30AM

Come join coach KatieN for a Saturday morning ‘throwdown’ every week! This class is open to all athletes with at least 6 months [FF] group class experience as the weights will be heavy and the volume will be high! We’ll always have scaling options available, but make sure you’re ready (mentally and physically) before jumping into this one!

[FF] Comp Prep Class

The Monday night is for athletes who can ‘Rx’ all the [FF] group class movements as we’ll be focusing on progressing through higher level skills at higher volume like muscle ups, handstand walks, and more.

Pre major competitions (like Canwest games), this class will open up to all athletes registered for the upcoming event.

   View the schedule

membershipS NOW APPLY TO ALL group class programs

The [FB] Functional Body, [SC] Strength & Conditioning and [FF] Functional Fitness programs will all utilize the same memberships, contracts, and options - but we (on the back end) will adjust that membership to allow you access to the programs & classes you are approved/trained for (based on OnRamp completion or prior training experience).

If you purchase a new punch card/membership - please email info@raincityathletics.ca to ensure the classes are enabled for you (just in case).

All memberships ARE now sessions / MONTH instead of / WEEK

Your ‘month’ will re-set based on your billing date - so if your membership begins on the 15th, you will have 8 (casual), 12 (part time) or 24 (full time) sessions available from the 15th to the 15th of the next month.

Programming & Addon memberships UPDATES

With our new focus being back on our popular group classes, we’ve made some adjustments to our programming memberships, addon combos, and options. These will only apply to NEW memberships - but if you’re currently on programming and want to switch to one of the new addon options don’t hesitate to reach out.

COMING SOON: CHEAP PRIVATE TRAINING SESSIONS FOR GROUP CLASS ATHLETES

Stay tuned for details - but we want everyone to be able to afford to reap the benefits of 1-2 private training sessions/month (or week?) with a coach to help maximize your group class gains!…

   view memberships

We’re making our group classes more accessible than ever! With the new schedule switch to having [SC] Group Classes Monday / Wednesday, athletes can now attend those classes if they complete a 3 session [SC] OnRamp OR demonstrate adequate barbell & training experience.

The 3 session [SC] OnRamp is also a great option for current [SC] athletes who never completed an OnRamp and are looking for a review before joining the [SC] Group Classes on the Annex side this week.

OTHER UPDATES

These updates will be reflected in our FAQ in the coming days/weeks, thank you for your patience - but here’s what you need to know:

Workout transition back to Zenplanner

Over the coming weeks we will be transitioning ALL our group class programs back to Zenplanner for workout logging. This will allow us to check your results & scores from our TV / faceboard, including allowing you to enter your scores (without having to use your phone).

We are in the process of exporting results from SugarWOD into Zenplanner - stay tuned for details. We will be fully transitioning to Zenplanner in the next 2 weeks. You will continue to have access to SugarWOD even after Raincity stops utilizing it.

NO-SHOW POLICY UPDATES

You will now only be charged if you no-show for a FULLY BOOKED CLASS. Reservations & cancellation windows remain the same (4 days to book and up to 2 hours to cancel).

If you miss a class and it was not full, simply reply to the automated email 1 hour after class letting us know and we will return it to your account :)

Please note: If you know you are unable to make a class (and it’s not full) there is no point in contacting us, your ‘punishment’ for late cancelling is that you will have to wait until after the class (reply to the automated email) to get your class back & re-book. If you cannot make it and the class IS full - we recommend posting that in slack in hopes that someone can fill your spot for you so you don’t get charged :)

OK I lied, I may be big but I'm definitely not as tough as my rugged exterior or belligerently loud voice may make it seem... But the idea that I should be has definitely messed with my head all my life.

So join me tomorrow for one or all of the 5 #raincityathome workouts I'll be doing... There's a good chance I'll cry at some point, I'm just not sure if it'll be from all the #thordoescardio or from how hideous my face will look as I shave a section every hour.

Links: www.rncty.ca/thorsmo

☑ Join the workout via zoom & pick what section I shave after ☑ Watch me cry via @raincityathls IG story live stream ☑ Donate to support the mental and physical health of broken boys like me

😘 😘 😘

#Repost @raincityathls ・・・ Starting at 8AM tomorrow coach @thor604 will be going live on our IG completing a #RaincityAthleticsAtHome workout every hour on the hour for 5 hours to raise money & awareness for our @movember team & for all the men out there dying way too young.⁠ ⁠ Join him for a workout (link in bio) and you'll get to choose which section of beard he'll shave off after each hour!⁠ ⁠ Workouts start on the hour: 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 & beard trimming happens after each one!⁠ ⁠ join or donate: www.rncty.ca/thorsmo⁠ ⁠ #RaincityMovember⁠ ⁠ #Raincityahtletics #RAthletes #Findyourfit #FunctionalFitness #vancouverfitness #vanfit #vancouverfitness #vancityfitness

ASK THEM, duh! Not only how our community can support them, but their input on where this is going.

And that's what I plan to do tomorrow night at 7PM. Hit me up if you want to join. PS. not sure Adam knew what he was signing up for when I told him I wanted to have a chat 😂 #repost @raincityathls

#RAthletes - join us for a special edition of #RaincityAfterDark - with a Raincity EMS Town Hall.⁠ ⁠ On Friday May 22nd @ 7:00PM (tomorrow night) coach @thor604 will be hosting a conversation with a panel of RAthletes who are emergency medical services personnel or front line workers, including long time RAthlete & friend Adam Greene - the Critical Care Paramedic Cheif of BCEHS - Vancouver air ambulance station). ⁠ ⁠ We want to not only support our first responders, but include them in the conversation of our re-opening process.⁠ ⁠ Coach Thor will open the discussion by reviewing Raincity Athletics phased re-opening approach and timeline, then having an open discussion with our panel of EMS & first responders regarding the current state of affairs, their thoughts and experiences so far, how they imagine things will look in 1-3-6 months, and any recommendations or input into Raincity's process.⁠ ⁠ This is open for all Raincity Athletics members to join in - we will take questions via the chat.⁠ ⁠ If you are an EMS or front line worker that has NOT received an email from Thor - please contact him ASAP if you'd like to be involved!⁠ ⁠ Link in bio for details & to join: www.rncty.ca/news

#raincitycovid #raincitynews #rainctyems #rathletes #functionalfitness #covid #frontlineworkers #supportlocal #supportsmallbusiness #covid #covid_19 #nurse #firefighter #ems

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2500"]

The CrossFit Pacific Central decal came off our wall over a year ago, and the front entrance sign is in the process of being replaced.  [/caption]

Raincity Athletics is no longer crossfit pacific central.

WHY not?

Many don't know this, but CrossFit® is not a workout, or a sport, or governing body, or even a franchise; it's a company, aka a brand. A brand that gyms pay $500-$3,000 USD to be able to use the name of, and that’s it:

From CrossFit.com’s ‘About Affiliation’ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN BEING A CROSSFIT AFFILIATE?

• Legal use of the CrossFit name, logo, and promotional materials • Legal use of the CrossFit Kids name • Promotion from CrossFit.com • Support from CrossFit, Inc. on specific and general issues. CrossFit vigorously protects its brand and those licensed to use the CrossFit name.

read more: www.crossfit.com/affiliate

this year we put 4 coaches through the crossfit level 2 certificate course.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2110"]

Coaches Katie, Rebecca, and Scotty all completed (and passed) their CrossFit Level 2 Certificate course as well as Simon who re-upped his certificate. [/caption]

Why would do you care about your coaches being completing CrossFit courses if you are no longer an Affiliate?

We will still proudly pay & support CrossFit® for any courses, certificates, or training that we see value in for our members and community; but use of the CrossFit® name is no longer on that list.

WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE?

For our members & community? Essentially nothing.

We opened Raincity Athletics as just that (and not CrossFit® Pacific Central) because we knew a day would come that we may want to take our brand in another direction. We never set out with the goal of being ‘the best CrossFit gym,’ or to make our members better at ‘CrossFit®’ (though we’re pretty good at that having sent multiple athletes to Regionals as well as masters to the CrossFit® Games) - it’s to hold people accountable to achieving a higher level of fitness, which may include performance at CrossFit® events.

Our un-affiliation means the renaming of our higher skill based ‘Functional’ Strength & Conditioning Program - which is now simply  titled '[FF] Functional Fitness’ to work alongside our lower skill based [SC] Strength & Conditioning Program.

OUR PROGRAMS

We’ve always offered much more than just ‘CrossFit’ classes. New name, same incredible community, classes, and workouts.  Book your free [SC] class now!

Programs old                                  

                                    Strength & Conditioning [SC]

Group classes for athletes of every level. Barbell, structured strength, and cardio - without the high skill Olympic lifts or gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    OnRamp to [FF]

Required before joining our [FF] program. Learn the higher skill Olympic lifts & gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    Functional Fitness [FF]

OnRamp required before joining. Group classes that include olympic lifting & higher skill gymnastics. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Training [PT]

Open To All Levels

The fastest way to obtain the results you want. Private/semi-private options. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Group Training [PTG]

Corporate / Schools / Teams

Private group classes to boost team performance mentally & physically Read More →                                  

                                    Sport Training & Programming [SPRT]

Individualized programming & gym access to complete it. Read More →                                  

                                    Raincity Barbell Club [OLY]

#RAINCITYBARBELL 3.0

Our 3 day / week in house [OLY] Barbell Club programming is currently included with all [FF] Memberships. Read More →                                  

                                    Lifestyle & Nutrition Services [NUT]

Open To All Levels

Maximize your results with custom private or group nutrition & lifestyle programs. Read More →                                  

                                    (ON HOLD) RA At Home [RAAH]

Open To All Levels

At home on demand workout videos 7 days a week - included with ALL Raincity Athletics memberships! Read More →

What about the programming / WODs?

As we mentioned above, CrossFit® had no part in our group class programming. Contrary to popular belief, our method to program is NOT what is recommended by CrossFit®.

As a matter of fact, almost no CrossFit Affiliate in Vancouver follows the CrossFit prescription for programming. As our coaches were reminded during our CrossFit Level 2 Certificate Course, a ‘heavy day’ program would be: Back Squat 5 x 5…. that’s it. They teach that if you need more than that in your workout, you’re not hitting those squats with enough intensity… The typical model of strength work & a ‘sweat’ is NOT endorsed or promoted by CrossFit, but as we have said, there are many parts we do embrace.

Articles About Raincity's Programming                                  

                                    The Return to Training - Coach Liz                                                  

                                    The 'Why' of our Group Class Training Programming                                                  

                                    The 'How' of our Group Class Training Programming

The things we embrace

As we mentioned above, there are many parts of the CrossFit ideology that we embrace and support; but these are universally accepted things that have nothing to do with the direct affiliation with the brand.

Functional Movements

We define functional movements not only as full body compound movements you already do everyday (like a deadlift, squat, clean & press, etc) but we also embrace the accessory work that compliments these movements. As Marcus Filly likes to put it: ‘Functional Bodybuilding’. By properly applying functional accessory work we can help you achieve more personal records (PRs) with less fatigue of your nervous system, because contrary to popular belief: more does not = better.

Read more about why ‘Functional Fitness’ on our [FF] program page.

“The best program is not the one with the most stuff, but actually the one with the least stuff, the provides the most results. ”  

— Smart Coaches

Measurable RESULTS

Similar to CrossFit - our goal is to increase your ‘work capacity’. This is your ability to do anything, and everything you want or need to do in your daily life. The only way to guarantee improvement is to track your results. This is why we utilize a software that allows us to track your daily score so that we can repeat benchmark workouts (aka #RaincityBenchmark) so that we can guarantee you are progressing in strength, skill, and capacity. The idea of tracking results is neither new nor revolutionary - any Weightlifting, Strength and Conditioning, or Endurance coach will tell you this. As a matter of fact, our 10 week program cycles allow us to track your results even more accurately than a typical affiliate’s prescription.

COMMUNITY BASED

We always say, Raincity Athletics is less of a gym, and more of a space & community you want to spend time with - that’s also going to hold your accountable to achieving your fitness goals.

So now what?

That’s about it!

Nothing is going to change other than the names of our programs, and the fact that we can no longer validate your CrossFit Open scores without a video - but as our athletes know; we have encouraged our athletes to do the #RaincityOpen every year rather than registering for, and being forced to do, the (not so well thought out) scaled variations of the CrossFit Open workouts anyways.

What are we then?

Raincity Athletics is a registered Weightlifting Club and is in the process of becoming a registered Powerlifting Club, and Kettlebell Club, as well as lined up to be the first Functional Fitness Club in British Columbia.

We are a community of people that share a common interest in improving their health and fitness…

…. and dogs & ice cream.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or thoughts about Raincity Athletics and it’s un-affiliation; don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the CONTACT US button below.

CrossFit® is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc. Raincity Athletics’s uses of the CrossFit® mark are not endorsed by nor approved by CrossFit, Inc., and Raincity Athletics is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by CrossFit, Inc.

Note📝 This post got real long - scroll down and start at the 📑 if you have time to read the whole ramble)

The community I love is not tied to any one gym or brand (CrossFit is a brand, not a sport). It's all of the people I have met and connected with along the way who share a common attitude, interest, and goals. It's why we created the @functionalfitnessleague, to remind people that our fitness community is bigger than just whats inside your affiliates walls.

This photo represents everything this community means to me. There are athletes from every gym in Vancouver I coached, at or at one point called home... And for the next little while we get to all call the same space home together again.

A huge thank you to the #raincitystaff team who have worked their a$$es off for the past month to prepare for this and helping ensure our existing #rathletes get to reap the benefit of our communities growth.

#raincityxcfbc #raincityathletetics #findyourfit #morethanagym

Full ramble 📑 Here's the original ramble I wrote if you want to read more 🙄

I started doing #CrossFit 12 years ago after @jayhollenberg came back to UVic with this ridiculous workout running around swinging dumbbells. From then I did as any new crossfitter did pre 2010, I went and got my level 1 certification and did 'Cindy' 1-3x a week for 2 years.

After University, I moved back to Vancouver and joined my first official CrossFit gym - where Jordan had started with @kravkt (and back then a young @sophiestraith ) at @crossfitbc.

A year or so later I switched to #crossfitoptimumperformance where I had my own coach and trained & competed in CrossFit for years & I fell in love with coaching. After a few years I left 'COP' and ended up back at #CrossFitBC where I coached classes, represented them at regionals, and more.

4 years ago COP closed their doors and their athletes & coaches joined us at Raincity. Recently CrossFit BC had to leave their space and we are hosting them until their new space is ready. (Now read the first part if I haven't lost ya 🙄) #raincityxcfbc

Over the years I've come to appreciate the privilege that I have. I'm a straight white cis gender male, on top of that I'm born into an incredible family in one of the greatest countries in the world; but that doesn't mean I'm always comfortable in my own skin, and it doesn't mean it's automatically easy to be proud of who I am inside. I'm a Theatre major, computer nerd who's extremely introverted when not in front of a crowd - and if you'd asked me to admit that publicly years ago? It never would have happened, so thank you #pride for reminding me of the importance to love myself.

That being said, I appreciate that I will never truly understand how hard it would be to be a member of the queer community and to live in a world that would make you feel shame for being who you feel you are inside. I'm sorry that at any time you've had to live in a world like that, and though we have a long way to go I hope you feel we're still moving forward and in the right direction.

Today we did a small part to help: not only by raising $$$ for the incredible group @qmunity (who came in and worked with the @raincityathls staff on the importance of understanding the complexity of these topics); but by rocking our strut to @todrick during our warmup.

Why? Because we work hard for Raincity to be a safe space where people can just let loose and be who they want to be, or in this case throw fear of judgement out the window, throw on a little #nailshairhipsheels and strut like nobody is watching (even with @athlete_inside snapping pics). Thank you everyone who came, out and especially to those who stepped out of their comfort zone for a couple runway walks with me during our warmup, some of the facial expressions are everything I could have hoped for.

Be proud of you who are.
Be proud of who you love.
#LOVEISLOVE

HAPPY PRIDE 😘🏳️‍🌈 #rathletes #raincityathletics #happypride #vancouverpride #safespace #ally #pride
#thorsgotatheatredegree #thorsabigsoftie

Catch-up:
I've gotten a lot better at reflecting on why I love what I do. Sometimes when you're 16 hours deep in your day, or you haven't slept in days because of stress, it's hard to remember why you started... and I know this isn't just an entrepreneur problem (but we're real good at it). And then I remember... It's because I love people. Working with people. Helping people. Teaching, and learning from people.

Epic people like these 3... who one day just popped in from down under, and then ended up sticking around just about everyday for the almost year they were in Canada. They left us months ago now and I can't decide if it feels like yesterday or if I'm even sure if they were ever actually here.

@raincityathls isn't a #crossfit gym. It isn't even a regular gym. It's just a big group of epic humans that have decided their health is important to them.

Current:
#mythorknee #knupdate - sometimes I do my slow controlled rehab/prehab with an empty barbell and perfect movement... And sometimes I just wrap it up tight and make sure I can still move around moderately heavy sh*t. Feels good to have an awesome coaching team that let's me join a class for some lifts <3

@ryu_apparel new favorite T 👌

#thordoestheexerciseandspamstheinternets
#thorsabigsoftie
#thorstillavoidscardio
#raincityathletics #rathletes #olympiclifting #barbell #vancouver #vancouverfitness

It was also a special year in that I got to watch two people I consider good friends and special people make it to Regionals for the first time. As some of you may know, Taryn has competed at Regionals as an individual previously, but Janel and Charli had not-- Janel had gone on a team before, but shockingly, for Charli, Regionals this year was probably her third career Crossfit competition.

So, for me, as their coach and their friend, I felt a real sense of pride at the beginning of the weekend, seeing the three of them walking around with their athlete badges and their big name placards on the floor. I saw a lot (but probably not all) of the hard work and sacrifice that went into them succeeding in the Open and qualifying for Regionals. The hours spent training, the hours spent recovering, food-prepping, analyzing their workout performances, etc, etc. For the three of them -- Charli, Janel, Taryn, getting to Regionals is an awesome feat.

I also felt very impressed and proud of the way all three of them handled themselves at Regionals all weekend. The competition itself can be a pretty intimidating experience -- you walk into the warm-up area and Emily Abbott, Carleen Matthews, and Alex Parker are there staring you down (not actually) and looking really, really fit. There’s a million judges on the floor, the crowd and music are super loud, and before each workout, you have to stand around for 10-15 minutes in a “corral” not exercising and over-thinking the workout that’s about to happen.

And that’s not even taking into account what the workouts actually were!

As many of you may know, this was the first Regionals to not feature any barbells in any of the six events over the weekend. There was running on a weird new type of treadmill, odd object lifting, dumbbell lifting (but heavier than the open!), and many, many bodyweight gymnastics movements.

Based on each event, and their individual strengths and weaknesses, we came up with a game plan and practiced pacing/running each event with said game plan in the weeks leading up to Regionals.

Sidenote -- qualifying for Regionals is super exciting and a big deal. Training for Regionals, once the workouts come out, is pretty fucking boring. Charli, Taryn and Janel did strict HSPUs twice a week once the workouts were announced. They did accessory work for strict HSPUs at least once a week. They did ring dips, they did some more ring dips. They did some muscle-ups, they practiced strict and weighted muscle-ups, and then they did some more regular kipping muscle-ups.

Anyways, when it came down to #gameday for the Regionals workouts themselves, all three athletes did a great job of executing their own individual game plans. I would say they were able to go as fast or faster than training on 90% of the Regional workouts, which is not easy, considering things like the variability of judging, high-level competitors next to you going at break-neck pace, remembering to do all the little weird things like move the dumbbell forward every seven reps and face the right way while doing toes to bar, blah blah blah.

I also thought all three athletes did a great job not “leaderboarding” during the weekend. It’s easy to get bogged down in the high of your best event or the low of your worst, or to spent a ton of emotional energy looking at your placing before and after each individual event, but my thought, as a coach, is that generally does not help with the athlete’s overall goal - to complete each individual event to the best of their ability. If you are too caught in emotions related to an event that have already happened, you cannot focus your efforts in the next workout! And, during Regionals, the athletes only get a short break -- 90 min max -- before they have to clear their brains from whatever they’ve done in the earlier part of the day before refocusing and warming up for the second event of the day. If you are caught up in how fast the person in the next lane is doing muscle-ups, you cannot focus all of your energy on your best/fastest/most efficient reps.

Once the final day’s events were over, we celebrated by eating Mexican food, not being able to drink beer at the restaurant due to our Canadian IDs, and eating a shitton of oreos (one thing my native country does well -- Oreo flavors). This week, these three amazing athletes get to rest, and the week after, we embark on their plan for 2018!

- Coach Liz

For more checkout...

@cnano89  //  @tarynemilyh  //  @janelbrine

   #VFLPT on IG      Athlete Inside on Facebook

A post shared by Athlete Inside (@athlete_inside) on May 6, 2017 at 11:40am PDT

#Repost @crossfitwhl ・・・ We are so proud of our coach @cnano89 for completely beasting the CrossFit Open this year, earning her spot to compete at Regionals. She is strong, intelligent, skillful and has the killer instincts of an apex predator...which is why this shirt had to be made to support her journey. These will be printed on tanks - colours will include black and black aqua, both men's and women's sizes. Stay tuned, we will be announcing the mockups and release dates soon! ALL profits will go towards getting Charli to Regionals and prepped for the challenge that awaits her. Please support your local athlete, she is making our city proud! More info please go to @crossfitwhl #CrossFitWHL #CrossFit #WORKHORSENATION #roadtoregionals #roadtoregionals2017 #raincityathletics #RAthlete #infinitcanada #rathletes #rathletics #athleteinsideprofiles

A post shared by Athlete Inside (@athlete_inside) on May 10, 2017 at 6:14pm PDT

It's an honor to continue to be the part of a sport that I've watched develop from the photo above in a gymnasium in Squamish, to completing these wods alongside my #raincityathletics family in an incredible home that we've built.
A huge shout out to all of the absolute animals out there, the level of athlete now blows my mind; to every single Raincity member you guys inspire me every single day and I couldn't be more proud; to my close friend #jamestwopointoh who's now heading in to stage 2 to try to qualify for the @crossfitgames masters; and to all of the coaches & staff at Raincity who have helped create the amazing thing that we've got, and allowed me to step back and enjoy it :) Time to get back to focusing on what's really important in training... #beachready #thefittestspectators #lookgoodtraingood #absfordays #gunshow #asslikebeyonce #bicepslikebedry

#crossfit #wod #15point5 #competition #crossfitopen #beard #beardgameproper @athleticrecon #camo