First Timers!

Here’s everything you need to know to feel confident starting at Brooklyn Strength Club!

WELCOME TO BROOKLYN STRENGTH CLUB!

We have a No Outdoor Shoes policy! In order to keep the floors as clean as possible, everyone is required to bring a clean pair of gym shoes to change into when you enter. You can leave your shoes at the gym in our cubby room if you’d like or train in socks
You must sign up for classes at least 30 minutes prior to the start of class to ensure that the Coach knows who is coming and can organize and run the class smoothly (more on this below)
Please get a blank notebook to write down your workouts! We can’t manage what we don’t measure, so we write down our training program every day

SIGNING UP FOR CLASSES + CLASS POLICIES

The sessions that you’ll reserve on our calendar are labeled “Strength Training Class” “Hurricane Class” and “Energy Class.” With your membership, you can come to 6 sessions per week, limited to 1 session per day. Each session is about 1 hour long.

LATE POLICY

If you are going to be more than 5 minutes late to class, you will have to wait to take the next class. Coming to class late isn’t fair to you (you’ll have missed the workout explanation and/or the warmup), the coach, or other members in the class.

NO-SHOW POLICY
If you are signed up and don’t cancel your reservation within the allotted time frame (outlined below), you will be automatically charged a $10 no-show fee.

RESERVATION & CANCELLATION POLICY BY CLASS TIME
For 6:30am, 8:30am, 5pm, 6:30pm Strength, Metabolic, Hurricanes, and Energy Classes:

You must be signed up at least 30 minutes before class. This is to make sure the coaches know who’s coming to class. Class reservations open 7 days prior to each class.
You are allowed to cancel your reservation up until the class time (ie. this means you can cancel for the 5:00pm class up until 5:00pm to not be considered a no-show)
If you are signed up and don’t show up for class, you will be charged the no-show fee of $10.

For ALL 5:15am Classes:

You must be signed up at least 30 minutes before class. Class reservations open 7 days prior to each class.
You must cancel your reservation at least 5 hours in advance if you cannot make it.
Last minute cancellations (within 5 hours) and no-shows will be charged the fee of $10. Canceling 5 hours in advance will give members on the waitlist time to prepare for class.

For Saturday TRX Classes:

You must be signed up at least 30 minutes before class. Class reservations open 7 days prior to each class.
You must cancel your reservation at least 5 hours in advance if you know you cannot make it.
Last minute cancellations (within 5 hours) and no-shows will be charged the no-show fee of $10. Canceling 5 hours in advance will give members on the waitlist time to prepare for class.

TRAINING TERMINOLOGY

Here are some quick definitions of training terms and acronyms that we use regularly:

Rep – One performance of a single exercise.
Set – The number of repetitions performed without stopping.
Tempo – The speed at which one repetition is performed.
Rest – The rest is the time in seconds between two sets.
DB – Dumbbell RDL – Romanian Deadlift MB – Medicine Ball
KB – Kettlebell SL – Single Leg RDL – R
BB – Barbell SA – Single Arm

GYM ETIQUETTE

We take pride in the cleanliness of Brooklyn Strength Club, especially post-pandemic, and we rely on our members to do their part in cleaning up after themselves before the Coach cleans up after class.

We don’t allow outdoor shoes in the gym. In order to keep the floors as clean as possible, you’re required to bring a clean pair of gym shoes to change into when you enter, or train in socks.
Wipe down your weights. There are spray bottles and paper towels throughout the gym for your use, please throw away your paper towels after use
Re-rack your weights and other equipment. Any weight that you used throughout class, please put it back where it came from. If you don’t know where it belongs, ask a coach
Please bring your belongings downstairs and leave them in the cubby room during class. We try to keep the training area free from clutter (ie. Gym bags, jackets, etc.)

BEYOND THE GYM

Training sessions do not have to be long:
Long training sessions (anything over 60 minutes; not including the warm-up and cool down) are a recipe for overtraining, stagnation, boredom and injury. Performance usually starts dropping after 45 minutes – shorter sessions usually mean pinpoint focus and higher intensity.

Your training should be consistent:
If you want to see results, you must do the work, and do it often. You can have the best training session in the world, but it will be ineffective without consistency. The high level of frequency ensures a consistently elevated metabolic rate which means you’ll be burning calories well after your body stops working out. Any activity is better than no activity!

Your body must recover:
Usually, your strength training workouts will be 48 hours apart which is why our strength training sessions are Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. If you’re still sore/fatigued/exhausted on a strength-training day, notify a coach.

Cardio:
The type of cardio we do at Brooklyn Strength Club is High Intensity Interval Training rather than long-form endurance training (running, biking, elliptical, etc.). What this means is that you alternate intense periods of work with periods of rest. Studies showed that HIIT is about 9x more effective for fat loss than traditional distance cardio, not to mention it saves a lot of time.

Safety:
It’s important that you build upon the skill of “listening to your body”. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t push it; your body is usually trying to tell you something. We always have modifications for moves, so don’t hesitate to tell a coach if something feels off.

Good Pain vs. Bad Pain:
Mild discomfort is part of the process, and necessary for the improvement of performance & physique.

The Burn is good pain. It should be short-lived and during the exercise only.

Fatigue after a workout should leave you exhilarated, but not exhausted. Fatigue that lasts days means you have been excessively challenged and your muscles and energy stores are not being replenished properly. Chronic fatigue is referred to as “over-training” and is not good.

Soreness is common, especially for muscles that have not been exercised for long periods of time, or when you perform an exercise you are not accustomed to. Soreness typically begins within a few hours, but peaks two days after exercise. This is referred to as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and is normal when beginning a new fitness program.

Bad Pain:
Usually caused by the improper execution of an exercise. Nothing should really “Hurt”. Immediately notify the coach of any sharp or sudden pains, swelling, or unnatural feelings in your body. Coaches are not doctors or physical therapists. If something feels off, you must seek medical attention and come back with a doctor’s note for clearance and/or modifications for your training

Warming up is a crucial part of injury prevention and prepares your body for exercise.

Sleep:
Sleep is SO important for you, your appetite, your mental health, your happiness, and especially your muscle gain and fat loss goals!

Get 6-8 hours of quality sleep every night. We can’t stress how important this is for both fat loss and muscle gain, especially when you’re following a training program to reach your goals.

Your body, your workouts, and your goals will suffer because of a lack of quality sleep.