strike one

Yesterday I went in for my 2nd olympic weightlifting training session at Albuquerque CrossFit. The first time I trained here I was so impressed I was planning on signing a membership contract while i was there. But my mind was changed real quick on my 2nd visit by an employee with a big mouth and no filter of what he says or how it comes out. I may still sign up later, but I'm going to pay a drop in fee a few times to see if that employee is always a jerk or if I just caught him on a bad day. If he treats me like crap again I won't be coming back, which is probably going to be worse on me than them. I need a place to train after work. And it's rare to find a weightlifting coach with as good of an eye for technique and knowledge of form as Joe Vigil. 

(Joe Vigil, weightlifting coach, super friendly and supportive Albuquerque CrossFit coach)

The first time i was at Abq CF I was told i could bring in my kids as long as they were well behaved. I couldnt find a babysitter last night so i brought my 2 sons. Usually my kids hate me taking them to the gym because they have to sit there quietly for an hour and a half. But this time I told them about the area for kids that had toys at Albuquerque CrossFit. They were SO excited to go there!  When we got there the kids went to enter the kids area and a dog that was locked inside the kids area started barking at them like crazy. One of the trainers came out in a rush and told me "we discourage people from bringing their kids here".  I told him last time I was here so-and-so said I could bring the kids. He barked "it's a liability". 

"So does that mean what so-and-so said was wrong?"  He mumbled something under his breath.  Still not sure what the hell was going on I asked, "So can I work out or do we need to leave?"

He said, "get some chairs, they can sit in  the hallway. Don't let them near the dog he's scetchy." Three questions popped into my head:

1) why is there a kids area if no kids are allowed in there?

2) why the hell is someone bringing a dog who doesn't like people to a buisness where's there's always people?

3) why's this guy being so nasty to potential customers? Isn't that bad buisness? 

The only chairs I saw was in the kids area where apparently no kids are allowed. So I went to get the chairs and the dog got pissed off and started barking again. The employee ran over and stopped me from going in and told me in a rude  tone, "just let me get them." After he got the chairs I set my boys up in a way that they both could watch a movie on my phone but still be out of the way. While I was setting up the chairs the guy mumbled something while walking away from me about "no kids". Not 5 minutes later a lady walks right by him into the workout area with her very young child, about 14 months old, in a stroller. He doesn't say a danm thing to her bringing a baby into the training area where people are throwing weights around but he jumped all over my ass for my kids being in a hallway away from any training and barbells getting thrown all over? I think it's wonderful shes able to bring her kid with her when she works out. But why is it ok for one person but i get an ear full? Not cool. Not cool at all. I hope this problem doesn't repeat itself. I really want to train olympic style weightlifting here. Its the only place I've found that has oly weightlifting with a coach (a fantastic coach!) that late in the evening, and the location is perfect because it's on my way home from work.

Here's a picture of the "no kids allowed" children's play area. And there's my youngest staring longingly at all the toys no children are allowed to play with.