Literacy Practices Pertaining to the Training Process in Restaurants- By Abby Weisenberger

For my ethnographic essay, I chose to study newly employed servers in the restaurant industry. The focus of this essay is the writing practices and genres used by the servers during the training process in order to become part of this discourse community. The restaurant business is a fast moving pace job that needs to have an organized group of employees in order for the restaurant to be successful and profitable. In order for this to happen, the servers need to know how to effectively communicate with fellow employees and their customers. With this said, the proper requirement’s to become a server need to be met by having an effective training process that teaches the server how to communicate and the other elements that go along with this job. In order to successfully enter into the discourse community of servers at a restaurant, one needs to be properly trained in order to obtain the correct knowledge and understanding of the job. I will look at the different literacy practices involved in the training process that allows one to enter into this discourse community. This is important to accomplish not only to keep the restaurant running smoothly, but because the various literacy practices found in the training process can be applied for any type of discourse community that requires substantial amounts of communication.

After observing, interviewing, and reading scholarly sources on this topic, I have come to the conclusion that the training process waitresses and waiters go through in order to be part of the discourse community is crucial for the restaurant to function appropriately. Within this training process lye numerous types of literacy practices that construct the overall process. Grant Cairncross states in his article that, “The importance of training has been identified as a way to achieve professionalism, improve the levels of service quality, improve consistency and maintain a set standard. Additionally, it helps to increase the experience of staff, ensure they do it the right way, guarantees standards and systems of work, attains timeliness and reliability, increases communication and stimulates staff while helping deliver the economic bottom line”. Through this statement, one can see the overall goal that the training process wants to achieve to make their restaurant and employees the best it can possibly be.

The key part of my primary research was done through observation, in which I went through the process of getting trained with a newly hired employee at O’Charley’s restaurant. Through this observation, I got to explore the different task one was asked to accomplish during the training process in order to become a member in the discourse community of other servers at the restaurant. Some of the task were to pass a written test on the menu and overall customer service, memorize the different abbreviations of the foods, learn how to communicate with the customers and fellow employees properly, and follow along another server for a few days to see how the job is done. The number one task the server has to perform is to pass the test. This is an important practice of literacy that is used in order to enter into this discourse community. Most people only think of taking a written test in school, but a large amount of jobs require a written test to be performed and passed to attain that job. The four page long test was written with multiple choice, fill in the blanks, and short essays that tested on the ingredients of the meals, proper customer service, prices of the different foods, and the various types of glassware used and when. Also, a few changes were added to the general menu for the month of May, which resulted in the servers already in the discourse community to take another test on the updated menu. This type of literacy practice allows for the server to know the material in-depth to the point that will satisfy the customer’s needs and questions. Below is a clip from my interview with a newly employed waitress briefly describing the test that she had to pass.

Menu test by weisenay Another assignment that was emphasized in the training process was the act of language use through abbreviations. When observing the process, I noticed the manager showing the server how to punch the meal title into the computer, which contained short abbreviated words or letters for the different types of meals ordered. Also, I observed a few phrases spoken between the employees that I was unsure of the meaning. Later, I asked the manager the reasoning behind abbreviating the meal titles. Basically, she said the servers are trained to learn short-handed abbreviations of the names of the meals so the cooks and everyone in the restaurant is on the same system and communication level. This allows the cooks to know the exact order by matching the abbreviations with the meal that it correlates with. By using abbreviations, it makes communication between the servers and the cooks easy with little confusion and keeps the restaurant running smoothly and the customers happy. This type of short-handed language used with the computer system by the servers is the primarily written language used between the employees within this discourse community. With out this language, communication between the employees would be immensely affected. An article about the importance of waiting staff in restaurant service gives some feedback on how vital it is to be properly trained on communicating with other employees through the known language they use. The article discusses an interview with some of a staff at a restaurant and states that, “The chefs who contributed to the interviews pointed out several problems they found with waiting staff, and they often blamed inexperience or inadequate training. They raised the issue of poor handwriting on the order that had been taken from the customer and putting this order in the wrong positions so that it was not given the appropriate attention (Pratten)". If the restaurants required abbreviations and language is not properly taught or learned by the trainer and server, communication within the discourse community can be negatively effected. A picture is attached below, which shows some of the abbreviations that are used.

While observing the overall behavior of the restaurant employees, I recognized that the spoken language is a major literacy practice within this discourse community as well. I observed a few phrases spoken between the employees that I was unsure of the meaning. An example is, “You are cut”, which simply means the server is done taking customers for their shift and has to complete “side work” before one can leave. Other types of language or restaurant lingo was briefly discussed in the training process that involved knowing the table numbers and sections, which made it easy for the server to know which tables they were taking care of. This type of language or lingo is merely within this discourse community and is something focused on in the training process as well as acquired with time and experience. If this language wasn’t prominent in this discourse community, the restaurant would be chaos and no direction or organization would be maintained to keep the customers happy.

During the training process, the server was introduced to more than one menu. In my interview with a recently hired waitress, I analyzed her responses to a few questions about the menus and saw the importance of audience. Three different menus ware used, which included a children’s menu, a general menu for ages eleven and above, and an alcoholic menu. The menus represented the audience it was geared towards by the written work on the menu and the overall portrayal. The children’s menu included cross word puzzles, pictures to color, and a short simple description of the kids meals, while the general menu included longer descriptions of the meals, with pictures of only the various foods. Similar to the general menu, the alcoholic menu included only alcoholic beverages and was given to customers of age. With this said, the different menus could represent different types of genres within the discourse community, in which the language and presentation of the menu are geared towards a certain audience. Another audience-based gesture that I observed within this discourse community was the language spoken to the customers. Previously discussed, there is a well-known language between the employees that is taught in training, but there is also a language spoken to the customers that is different. The language spoken to the customers is more formal and professional based, which involves the server speaking the full name of the meals instead of abbreviations and a requirement to make the customer feel welcomed and comfortable. This shows the different languages and communications within this discourse community depending on the audience one is speaking with. Below is a clip of the waitress describing the different menus.

Audiences by weisenay

Through my ethnographic research, I have become well aware of the different literacy practices emphasized in the training process to become a member of the discourse community of servers. If the literacy practices involved in the discourse community are properly taught and learned during the training process, the overall discourse community is able to perform with better communication through the use of various language activities. The primary literacy practices that enable one to become part of this discourse community are efficient language use to promote productive communication and passing a written test that shows knowledge of the task within the community. From the study done on this discourse community, it is clear to see one needs to be properly trained to complete and understand the correct literacy practices that are within this discourse community that make it successful.

Work Cited

Cairncross, Grant, Simon Wilde, and Lucinda Hutchinson. "Training and Service Quality—A Case Study Analysis of Regional Australian Restaurants." Tourism & Hospitality: Planning & Development 5.2 (2008): 149-163. Hospitality & Tourism Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 May 2011.

Pratten, J. "The importance of waiting staff in restaurant service." British Food Journal 105.10/11 (2003): 826.

Medical Issues and ROTC

Air Force ROTC is one of the most respected programs in the country. ROTC allows college students to be involved in the military and still attend college. There are ROTC branches all over the country at various colleges so any student could be involved. Although this sounds like the prime idea to someone who wanted to earn money for college, there is still a rigorous checklist you must pass before you can join. Grades, class rank, and bad marks on your record could keep you from joining the military and becoming an officer. However, the biggest test you must pass is your medical exam, because a large portion of students are disqualified for medical reasons.

I have been involved in this discourse community for two years now and I have been able to see the effects a medical issue can have while you are in ROTC. In the military, you must have a clean bill of health in order to join, and even something as small as asthma can cause disqualification. Before allowing you to continue processing to join, applicants must pass a rigorous medical exam called the Department of Defense Medical Evaluation Review Board (DODMERB). An anonymous doctor will evaluate the applicant’s health in various ways. They will check the blood pressure, temperature, and possibly take urine and blood samples. They will also check the hearing of the applicant. The applicant will also be required to visit a military eye doctor. This would be mostly if you wanted to be a pilot that requires 20/20 vision, but you do not need 20/20 vision to be in the military. After this examination, they will let you know if you have passed or not in a two to three week time period. If the applicant was lucky enough to pass, they can then be on their way to joining whichever military program they choose. Medical examinations in the military have not always been this stringent. For example, in 1964 it was found that “if all the young men turning 18 in 1964 were examined, about 500,000 would be found unqualified [for military service]; [these] rejections [were expected to] rise to 600,000 or more per year for the rest of the decade.” (JAMA) These medical examinations are not without their problems too. Medical advisors can miss something, or the applicant can find out that they could possibly have something that medically disqualifies them that they had no clue they had. This is the case in my story, along with other unfortunate cadets.

These are the cadets of Detachment 665. When you are a cadet, the detachment is where all of the cadets come to attend their ROTC classes and just come to hang out. In ROTC, you are required to do several tasks along with being a student. There are several classes you must attend throughout the quarter, such as Lead Lab, which is an hour and a half of lecture. You must also attend PT each Monday and Wednesday at six thirty in the morning. Along with other events, ROTC is like having a full time job.

Here is a video that shows that ROTC way of life at UC.






This is me, Jackie Crawford, along with the rest of my flight. This was taken only a few weeks before I found out I was going to be medically disqualified. Being a scholarship cadet, I had a four year scholarship, along with a monthly stipend of $350. I earned my scholarship in high school and I passed all of the medical exams I was given (5 to be exact). I thought I would be just fine to serve in the Air Force, and I never thought that I would have to worry about this again. Well, I was wrong to assume such a thing, because unfortunately, it happened. During my sophomore year of college, I was getting constant bladder infections. I went to several doctors who told me just to take pill after pill. Finally, I met with a urologist who told me he would perform a procedure on me to help diagnose my condition. After my procedure, he told me and my family that I had something called Interstitial Cystitis, which caused me to have severe pain in my bladder and then told me this was a lifelong condition. Of course, this needed to be reported to headquarters. This condition then had me disqualified from the ROTC program, along with other factors. My scholarship was taken away and now there is a possibility that it may have to be paid back.

There are cadets who go through this more times than I first thought. There were at least two cadets who were medically disqualified during my first year, even one right before he commissioned and graduated! There was also one of my fellow classmates who just got medically disqualified as well not too long ago. Cadet Price was a sophomore like me who has been in the program for two years as well. He was a very dedicated cadet who wanted to be an officer more than anything. He went to the doctor and was told his hearing was not good enough to continue on with the program.
As you can expect, this was devastating and unexpected. I spoke with Cadet Price about his experience with the medical evaluations and ROTC:

Me: Cadet Price, how have you been coping with the idea that you can no longer be in the ROTC program?

Price: It's strange, because it's been a huge part of my life for the past year. It's also especially difficult because I already went through the drama of not knowing whether I would stay in ROTC when I was competing for an EA. Maybe dealing with the drama of wondering if I got an EA tempered me and made this medical issue easier to deal with, but I wish I had gotten disqualified before I got my EA... less stress that way.


Me: Did you undergo any medical exams before you entered the program?

Price: I've played sports all my life, so I've had a physical every year of my life, but none of them tested hearing. I've been in marching bands and drumlines for the past 10 years which I'm sure has a large part in my hearing loss, but I never knew until I got a hearing test for ROTC.


Me: Why did you need to get a medical exam now?

Price: I got my medical exam because of ROTC. I had to get my hearing retested because I was disqualified the first time, and my retest wasn't good enough to take me off of the disqualification.


Me: Do you feel it is unfair that you were forced to leave the program because of a medical issue?

Price: That's a complicated question... I really wanted to be an officer in the Air Force and I really feel that my hearing loss wouldn't have been an impedance to my job as an officer, but I realize that the economy is tough and the Air Force is already overstaffed. Why take me into the program when they can take someone else who doesn't have any medical issues? Still, It's difficult for me to understand the no-tolerance policy the Air Force seems to have regarding medical waivers. I do have hearing loss, but it's not much. So, I don't think it's fair, but I understand why it happened.

In ROTC, the literacy practices are mostly dense forms. In my experience, I have had to sign numberous forms from when I first started the program to now when I am going through the disenrollment process. The medical requirements are included in these dense forms, and it is very difficult for the average student to sort through. These dense forms are very in depth and you must read them carefully before signing anything. Also, there are many face-to-face encounters when you are going through medical issues. Price and I both met with the cadre, the officers who run the detachment, numerous times. They told us how the disenrollment would be carried out, as well as, what to expect in the end. During this process, I had to experience the change of command when our coloniel left the detachment and another came in to take his place. So I had to carry out this dienrollment with an officer I barely knew. This can be one of the criticisms of the ROTC programs communication mode. They change out personel rapidly and move around officers so much that those whom cadets had grown to know may suddenly leave. This transition made the situation more intense and scary for me. Another example of litery mode is the communication between cadets. Cadet interaction is a major part of the program and life as a cadet. It is a relatively small group of cadets, so when someone get's medical disqualified word spreads fast. During my disenrollment process, I had many of my friends ask me "what happened?" and "what are you going to do?", but in reality, they did not understand the situation because they were not going through it. Many of the cadets stood by me through this hard time, but just like leaving any other group, the communication seemed to cease as time went on. Thus, the communication modes of ROTC are generally limited to only those within the program itself; it is not surprisingly then that so many other students and individuals know little about the ROTC program and its requirements.

Unfortunately for Price and I, there is not much we can do. There are waivers that are handed out to people who apply for them, but the amount of waivers being handed out today is slim. The Air Force is trying to cut down on the amount of officers commissioning each year by becoming stricter on things such as your medical status, but is this unfair to the cadets who have worked so hard to become an officer? I believe that the Air Force is cutting short some cadets who could be great officers, whether they had a “medical condition” or not. Instead of looking at what the medical records say, they should look at the whole person and decide whether they would be better off in or out of the military. Having a serious medical issue could keep you from maintaining proper standards, but minor health issues would not keep a great cadet from becoming a great officer. These are the thoughts the medical advisors must keep in mind before deciding to change a person’s life and dreams forever.


WORKS CITED

NEELY WA. ONE THIRD OF A NATION?. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 1964-06-29;188:1142.

Teague N. Medical Waivers for Atopic Conditions Did Not Affect Attrition Among U.S. Military Academy Cadets. Military medicine. 2011-01-01;176:50-52.

Oorah A Type of Literacy : By Zach Tucker

Marines are fighting for our freedoms everyday and the way they communicate towards one another is a big part of their jobs. They have to learn a lot of information to be able to become a marine. One of the biggest things marines have to learn is the literacy that is involved within being a marine. Marines have to use communication tools to make sure they can survive while they are on patrol or in a firefight. For example, they need to know communication through body signals, weapons being fired in the air (smoke bomb), and etc. The way Marines communicate is like a piece of art, because it is so interesting how everyone has to be on the same page to finish the task. So in the marines discourse community there are different ways in which they use their literacy to communicate with one another in a life or death environment.

Marines take all their techniques of how to communicate very serious. They take this serious not just to protect their country, but to make sure no one gets hurt during their time of duty. Communication to them is more than just words to them; it is a way of survival. While analyzing the interview I did with my friend, I could tell he was willing to die for his fellow marines during patrol/firefighting. This is their way of communicating in a way with one another letting them know everyone has each other’s back and that they are going to go out with a fight. Here is an example of a firefight situation in a way they will communicate from my buddies experiences,

“I’ll go into some more detail about when we are in fire fights. Team leaders will also give an ADDRAC(Alert, Direction, Description, Range, Assignment, Control ). Here is what it would sound like: Jones at you 3 o’clock 300 meters enemy machine gun in the tree line or if we are getting fucked up and pinned down my team leader just yells something like "Jones light that tree line up we are pinned down!'' which I love hearing that because I just go crazy and light shit up. I carry the m249 SAW which is a machine gun and the most important weapon in a rifle squad. I take a lot of pride in it and my job”.

As we see in the reading above the way marines communicate are very intense and pride involved when exchanging information. We also see that they have code names or abbreviate language, such as ADDRAC. This is very important information for them to know about because it keeps them on task and focuses more when they see bullets passing by their bodies.

Marines not only communicate through the importance of being on patrol or in a firefight, but having meetings to make sure what the task is and how to improve communication skills. Before marines leave their platoon to go out, they have to have a brief which is very key part to them to understand what is going on that day. The brief is a way to help each other out and have the higher rank make sure that everyone is on the same task. While doing this research, this was a huge aspect for marines to get there point out to the upper rank and make sure they heard what they said whether it was positive or negative. This shows that marines no matter what rank respect each other through their communications whether saying sir or lance corporal (a type of marine). Here is an example of how the briefs go from the interview

“We have briefs a lot to talk about training, how we are doing, things coming up for us, talk about work, patrols, fire fights. We basically just talk about all these things and see what’s working well and should stick and things we need to change or start doing more of. Then our sgt take passes it along to our platoon commander and from there he tries his best to meet us half way on most of the things we ask or want to change. But before and after every patrol you get a brief. Before it’s to show where you’re going what you’re doing and needs to be done. After this is to go over how the conduct of the patrol went and what needs fixed”.

As we can see from above briefs are very important because the platoon finally gets to share their thoughts and make sure everyone is doing alright. This is a stressful time for these marines and having these briefs allow them communicates like an intervention (showing how they feel, and then be able to pick each other up). Marines stress so much about communicating because it is really the key for them to be successful in these meetings, patrols, or firefights by finding the right way to get the job done.

Marines communicate also towards respecting each other and showing brotherhood. These marines are with each other more than with their families. It is more than just a discourse community to them as if in everything they do is for their families they are with now (the platoon) and the families back at home in the states. They take so much pride in their discourse community of being a marine and can relate that with towards their family. The marines communicate with each other by making sure that everyone there overseas has a support system in their platoon. Many times have my friend Mike Jones, has want to be back at the states, but the support he has overseas has kept him motivated to finish his term of duty. This quote from Eric Montgomery’s Side By Side shows how much respect and brotherhood marines have for one another even if they have never meet, just being part of this discourse is so special to this fine people. Montgomery says, “We fight and die for each other. We honor the men and women who have paid for our rights to wear the Marine uniform with their own blood, sweet, and tears. Semper Fidelis is not merely a motto for a Marine; it is a way of life (Montgomery 2). From this quote we can see how much support the marines have for one another and that the way they communicate towards one another is really something special, that not a lot of discourse communities can share with each other. The marines have a special word they communicate to show how much respect they have towards one another, Oorah. This sums it up how they have a very special bond once becoming a marine.

The way marines communicate will change their lives forever. All the important aspects they learn when being a marine can change the way they think and communicate when they come back to the states. As marines come back they know for a fact they will never be the same person because of all the things they have seen and how they exchange information differently. Here is the last question I asked my buddy about whether not being a marine has changed his life,

“Oh yeah for I’m not going in to some aspects because it’s touchy and people don’t need to know some of the reasons for the way I am now. But I’m a different person for what I used to be in high school and you can probably tell. I also have a huge 0311 tatted on my arm that will always remind me of this and the marines I’ve served with I will never forget, I’m just as close with some of them as I am with you and we have been boys for a long ass time. I’ll never forget the places I’ve been and the things I have seen and done over here. It s just something that’s stamped into your brain. That’s why they say once a marine always a marine. ohrahh tuck! I love you brother and can’t wait to see you and the family”!

This shows that when joining in this discourse community people will change because of all the things that have been brain washed into them. When most marines come back to the states they have a may get a disorder called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the article, “Risk Factors for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Deployed US Male Marines, talks about how being exposed to violence is that there is a great chance that this marines will have this disorder when back in the states. In the article it states, “In several studies of war veterans, increased rates of PTSD were demonstrated among those sustaining wounds, those deployed as part of ground units, and those discharging their weapon or witnessing persons being wounded or killed.” (Smith 1). This truly shows that all the communication and learning they have learned from being on patrol or firefights will be with them for the rest of their lives. This may make these marines feel uncomfortable when they get back to the states because of the way they interacted and communicate with each other is not the same towards their family and friends.

Overall for marines communication for them is such a huge way of life while overseas. This is indented in their heads in how they need to communicate when they are in stressful situations and when hanging out with each other such as meetings. Marines will always have each other backs no matter what the situation is and help get through the hardest times of their lives. This truly makes us proud of what they have to go through and how key it is for everyone one of them to know the knowledge of communication to be a marines is really significant role of being a marine, oorah!

Works Cited
1. Besa Smith, et al. "Risk Factors for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Deployed US Male Marines." BMC Psychiatry 10.(2010): 52-62. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 May 2011
2. Montgomery, Eric. "'SIDE BY SIDE'." U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 136.6 (2010): 62-64. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 May 2011.

Elite Fitness Addicts!

By: Jenny Griffith

Crossfit is a fitness program that started in California. It has spread rapidly across the east. Joining the group is an extremely efficient and effective way to get into world-class shape! The gym participates in group led workouts containing, constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. People who enter the Crossfit lifestyle find that it is a fun and friendly way to share their love of fitness. It is an addicting world of continuous physical and mental self-improvement.

The purpose of my study is to answer the question of why Crossfit is so addicting? I have observed this discourse community thoughly through extensive literary research. I have interviewed members, participated in the group, and collected literature from the club. Throughout this blog you will notice through my literal research that Crossfit becomes addicting by literacy’s like; the internet, journals, and numerical pattern encompassing the drive to be better everyday at what you do at a fitness level. These motivational literacy’s used within the group, shape them with patterns of symbolic structure.

The atmosphere inside Crossfit is confusing to a first time visitor. It does not look like a normal gym with a bunch of meatheads lifting weights.

This is Crossfit Covington. It has a network of pull up bars, a digital clock that flashes the countdown of time, Olympic rings, ropes, box jumps, weights, and various other fitness equiptment. This gym comes alive everyday the W.O.D is in session. Rock music is pumped through the speakers and people get to work.

When I arrived at Crossfit Covington on Saturday May 21^st. A woman named Emily Wasson greeted me in the front room of the garage gym. She was the manager and boy was she fit! I entered the gym and looked on the dry erase board to see a group of exercises written down known as the W.O.D. Workout of the day! The W.O.D. was

200 box jumps

Lunging for 400 meters

100 squats

400-meter sprint

This is the workout we did outside! Above, is a picture of the box jumps.

Emily, the trainer, divided us into groups of four and each person in the group had to finish the set of exercises. Each group was timed. After this we did an abdominal routine and we were done!

Crossfit has a lot of literal practices that they do. Posting the W.O.D everyday is available on the internet and in the gym. A lot of members look at the website and know the W.O.D before they even get to the gym that day. It is pronounced (wod), often combining a mixture of jump roping, rowing, pylometrics, climbing rope, kettle bell swings, Olympic rings, body weight exercise and power lifting. Every person has an individual race against the hanging clock. They try and beat their time for every workout and this becomes a real addiction.

Multimodal literacies means systems of representations that include written forms that are combined with oral, visual, or gestural modes (Hutchins, 1995, p.370). We read and then we act. And this comprehension of the WOD board is really one of the huge aspects of Crossfit. Something that shapes these people for a better life all around. Crossfit logs members record times on this dry erase board for everyone to see.

These are acronyms and abbreviations for various exercises, reps and times posted next to participant’s names and dates. W.O.D’s are named after “ladies.” Named like hurricanes, WOD’s have women’s names or after soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty who were apart of the Crossfit community. Just like Edward Hutchins explains about his studies of ship navigation in San Diego harbor, this distribution among members of the group of formal manipulations of numbers, symbols, and lines on charts; on the spot communication is taking place as well as later reflections of participants. Members, who observe and analyze these WOD charts, find that it promotes ambition for a better workout for the next time. If you’re interested in concrete numbers with which you score in your performance and record your improvement then you will get faster and stronger.

The Crossfit journal is an online blog where the top Crossfit personal trainers post workouts, advice, and up coming information. This is how smaller Crossfit facilities and trainers get new workouts and special informatiThe online journal is a chain of communication through one Crossfit to an another. They also share recipes and diet advice as well. The journal is a great form of literature that summarizes the group. This system of person interaction with technology promotes motivation and allows tasks to be done in a similar way in the overall Crossfit community. These literacy’s help to add to the addiction of Crossfit. People love how its new and different everyday and it never gets old.

http://journal.crossfit.com/

On my second trip of research to a Crossfit gym I interviewed the owner of the Burlington, Kentucky location. He explained many things that indeed show the obsession and love for Crossfit. Here are some of the questions I asked him:

Me: What is Crossfit?

Rich Vos: Strength and conditioning program based on measurable, and repeatable data. We measure the performance of a human.

Me: Why is there a Crossfit journal?

Rich Vos: Anyone can buy a crossfit journal. Its 25 bucks a year. The videos are really motivating, you have Iraq war vets that have no leg, but they are still doing the workouts. Then you have the pro’s explaining how to do workouts and what works and what doesn’t work. They are not saying you have to do it this way, just ideas. There are articles on motivation, lifting tips. It is like the EBSCO host of elite fitness.

Me:Why is Crossfit so addicting?

Rich Vos: It is measurable, repeatable and something new. If you have never done it before and just like picking up any new toy or anything, it’s cool, at first. A new puppy is really cool at first and then you kind of get bored with it. What keeps people on is the community, you get to see your friends everyday, and you get to make them work harder, and they make you work harder. It’s the way we attract data across all these different time and mobile domains. You can do a workout the first day and then two weeks later you’re a little bored but your itching in the back of your mind, “I wonder if I can beat that time.” Like the other day, I had the “itch” about the workout named Grace and I came in and tried to beat the time I had for Grace.

Me: How did you discover Crossfit?

Rich Vos: A buddy of mine who worked in the Special Forces was bragging about how well I was at bench press, dumbbells and stuff like that. He told me I should try Crossfit I would be great at it. So on February 27^th, I checked it out on the website and decided to start logging what I do and timing myself.

20110528 131224 by griffijg

I also asked Jarrett Baston, a member of Crossfit Covington and the owner, Emily how they believe that Crossfit is addicting. Becoming confident and participating in something different everyday is what makes people come back. The times, names of workouts and literature that is available within Crossfit shapes the community to this addictive state. Its what starts the itch to come back and kick some Crossfit ass! The pull-up bar is used daily and until Crossfitters get their WOD fix, they often feel incomplete. In the blink of an eye, Crossfit becomes a lifestyle. As Diehard Crossfitters see the workouts in everyday life. Bobby Noyce said, ....people come in here and do things they never thought they could do in thier intire lives, and push themselves harder than they ever thought they could push themselves...so it makes everything in life seem not as difficult...(Bobby Noyce, Personal Communication). Sweating with Crossfit is a constant desire for improvement. A Crossfitter doesn't look in the mirror to admire their physique, they look on the WOD board to admire their times. As Crossfit creeps into ones life, thier habits change, for the better, to support thier love of competition. Diet, sleep schedules, and relationships change as ones life revolves around Crossfit.

WORKS CITED

1. Saremi, Jodai.(Sep/Oct 2008, Volume 26 Issue 5, pg 53-55, 3 page) Crossfit Training. American Fitness. Retrieved from www.Ebscohost.net

2. Hutchins. (1995, pg 370) Language, Culture, and Learning: Ethnographic Approaches

3. Noyce, Bobby. Personal Communication, Sweat with Crossfit:Soundlife; Craig Hill, pg E10