Social interaction has always been a big part of the btwb service. We know how important community is to a thriving CrossFit affiliate and a GPP/HIIT fitness studio. Successful gyms not only provide their members with effective and fun workouts, but also positive reinforcement, friendships, and a sense of belonging. Squads can be an effective tool in helping boxes transition into virtual gyms while more and more “social distancing” is mandated across the world.
Squads: A Review
First, what’s a Squad? It’s simple. A Squad is a private group of members on btwb. Each gym has their own Squad, and every member in that gym belongs to that Squad (it’s listed at the top of a Squads list).
btwb Squads allows for easy interaction between coaches & members, and members & members. The following items are available in each Squad.
Activity – A live feed of logged workout results from members belonging to the Squad. Squad members can read workout notes, easily give out inline emojis, and click to add personal comments for any workout result.
Messages – A built in messaging feature. Members can use the messages to discuss today’s workout, and gym owners/coaches can make announcements or field member questions. Allows for tagging of other Squad members.
PRS – A live feed filtered by PRs. An easy way to view ONLY personal records. Read workout notes, hand out inline emojis, and click to add personal comments for the results most deserving of celebration.
Members – A list of all Squad members. Gain access to other members’ profile pages to view Benchmark workout scores and Achievements.
Getting Creative
In addition to belonging to a gym Squad, btwb coaches and members can also create their own custom Squads (use the “+” icon in the top right corner of the Squads page to make new ones).
Squads can be as broad or specific as desired. From a gym perspective, Squads offer a unique opportunity to recreate the brick and mortar experience gym members crave each week.
Gym Classes
Create Squads for each of your pre-quarantine in-person classes. Invite the regulars who attended each class, plus the coach responsible for leading each class. Members can easily find and interact with fellow class members’ posts, as well as engage in group discussions with their coach.
Gym Programs
Create Squads for unique programs you continue to offer remotely. That might mean an Olympic Lifting program for those with access to the equipment, or a Competitors program for anyone still training for that next competition (eventually).
1-on-1 Coaching
Create Squads with your 1-on-1 clients. If a coach has 10 different 1-on-1 clients, 10 different custom Squads can be made. This will give a coach easy access to a client’s workout activity. It will also make communicating with each client easy.
Flexibility
Each and every day we’re amazed at the ingenuity and creativity on display by btwb gyms. The above are simply some of the ways Squads are being utilized. Get creative!
