#raincity3.0

[raincityathletics]

One App to Rule Them All

The time has finally come to pull the trigger and make our triumphant return to Zenplanner for ALL programs & workout tracking (except individualized programming via truecoach).

The ONLY real downside of this transition is that we’ll lose gifs... Though Zenplanner still has all the same leaderboard features, you can even like and comment (and emoji), and you can always throw a /giphy into slack and tell us how you really feel about the WOD (or ask any questions if planning to do something on your own - just tag @coach in slack!).

But in all seriousness, in the past month we’ve been utilizing both systems (from the back end) to finalize this decision - and it’s a no brainer. The Zenplanner features outlined below allow our coaches to be so much more engaged with you and your progressing results! You’ll no longer have to keep checking your phone for your last lift (or not being able to find it) just check the ‘faceboard’ TV & see (or ask a coach).

FAQ & features below; please give it a look over then contact [email protected] if you have any other questions, or tag @admin on slack :)

How do I Find the Workout?

Open up the Zenplanner mobile app & click your face / the menu on the top left > workouts!

From there use the drop-down to select the days program that you’re looking for (just like SugarWOD): 

What about all my prior / SW results!?

We in the process of cleaning up an export of all prior BENCHMARK (lifts primarily) to have them imported into Zenplanner :) Though if you’re feeling pro-active (and want more than just benchmark lifts) from the workout tab in Zenplanner click Library > and feel free to transfer any results over :) 

You will NOT lose access to SugarWOD and all those results! You will default back to CrossFit.com as your home gym on Oct 20th when your subscription to SW fully expires.

ZP Feature: Faceboard Workout Results

One of the top features that SugarWOD will likely never integrate, is the Faceboard for logging & checking prior results. 

This feature is MASSIVE for coaches being able to help athletes pick the right weights, helping ensure you follow our programs as intended (see: linear progressions), and if you do - you get a beautiful little bar chart like in the example above :D

Moving forward, coaches will do their best (no promises) to log your primary lift / results - but it’ll be on the athletes to log their WOD results as well as any other notes to their lifting results.

ZP Feature: Track Private Training Results

Want to re-benchmark some lifts? Afraid to go heavy in class? Signup for one of our ‘cheap PT’ options (only available to monthly group class athletes) and benchmark your lifts under the watchful eye of a coach, and your coach can add your results for you - which will also show up on the faceboard for future reference in group class! 

ZP Feature: Workout Notes for Athletes

Ok this is due to ZP lacking a feature (private coach notes) but we’ve decided we have NO issue with you guys seeing the notes about the days workout! So at the bottom of each workout we’ve edited our coach blurbs to be athlete friendly, so you can read & understand the intention behind the workout, recommended modifcations, and more :)

Still in Progress...

A few final items that are being updated (which is why we didn’t fully transfer earlier as planned - but it was time to pull the trigger)... 

SW results being transferred to Zenplanner (as mentioned above) 

Adding movement demo / links directly in Zenplanner (to make it easier for you to make up a missed workout / follow along during open gym, for now: www.rncty.ca/movements will have everything you need) 

Athlete computers for easy access to check-in / log results / check results #moarscreens - but feel free to utilize the front desk computer for now on your way in/out :)

And... the return of the ‘Ongoing Leaderboard’:

Screenshot from our prior ongoing leaderboard... it was an epic custom feature we had made for Zenplanner which we’re in the process of rebuilding. It automatically pulls scores from the last 30 days in Zenplanner - so you’ve got to show up consistently to stay at the top! More details coming soon...

Questions?

Questions / comments / concerns / feedback? Tag @admin in slack or email [email protected]

[raincityathletics]

Raincity 3.0 - Update on the Updates

This is an update from this post.

Hey team - Coach Thor here,

It’s been a helluva month! After 3+ months of software shopping, demos, and negotiating we had finally settled on our new ‘host’ and were super excited for some of the new features we were going to get with Triib... until about 3 weeks into setup, when we realized that from a back end perspective (payroll, management, etc) it was not going to be possible to keep Raincity operating at the capacity it does on the new software. SO we’ve officially had to make the call to ABORT the new software, and will instead be doing a full cleanup as we head into all our new programs & classes launching in September!

Also, it turns out we were lied to and as many of you have noticed, payment processing continued to work just fine through August (they just wanted to keep us on our toes I guess......). So we apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused!

What’s coming up?

Regardless of the nightmare this process has been, I’m still VERY excited for everything launching in September! We’ll keep dropping more details, and getting things updates on the back end (and website), but here’s a sneak peak as well as a few quick questions answered...

What happened to the ACCESS blocks? They’re still in there! 90min blocks during class times and 2 hour blocks during the day. It just made the graphic look messy ;) The full schedule will be updated in Zenplanner in the coming days - for now ignore anything you see beyong Sept 1st!

What happened to the [FF] group classes Monday / Wednesday? Nothing! They got a name change :P The programming you are currently doing is exactly how it will operate in September! But by converting those classes to being a part of our [SC] program - we’ll lower the barrier of entry for others to join (will still require adeqaute barbell experience OR a 3 session OnRamp). The programming will be exactly how it is right now: Always a strength component focusing on Squats / Deadlifts / Pressing (and barbell) and then no barbell in the WODs but still getting that mixed modal functional HIIT! 

What else is new? 

NEW PROGRAM: The [FF] Functional Body is our entry-level mobility & stability program for those looking to add injury prevention and longevity in their training - we’ll still focus on strength work, but with more time spent on single joint and rehab/prehab type focus with low to moderate intensity conditioning (except Fridays).

NEW CLASSES: 

[FF] Olympic Lifting classes at 7AM on Fridays w/ coach James

[FF] Throwdown - Saturday mornings at 8:30 AM (90 minutes) for athletes looking for the harder, heavier, and longer workouts with coach KatieN

[FF] Sport Competition Prep - Monday evenings, for athletes looking to work the higher / harder skill OR in preperation for upcoming Functional Fitness competitions with coach James. 

SIMPLIFIED MEMBERSHIPS: We will not longer have different memberships for each program - instead they will all be ‘group class’ memberships and coaches will modify your program access based on what requirements you’ve met!

[FB] open to all athletes of every level (first class free - bring a friend!)

[SC] requires adequate experience and/or our 3 session [SC] OnRamp

[FF] requires adequate experience with Olympic Lifts and/or our 6 session [FF] OnRamp

4 WEEK CYCLES: You can read more about the programming format we’re shifting into HERE. With a full outline coming before the next block starts in Sept.

[raincityathletics]

Raincity 3.0 - Software Updates & Payment Processing Changes

As you know we’ve got some exciting changes coming down the pipeline for September! Some of those changes will begin kicking in through August (you can read about some of them here) while the full official launch will be September 1st, at which point we’ll be full transferring over to entirely new software as well #oneapptorulethemall

Why the switch?

As many know, just before COVID Zenplanner got bought out by a bigger company, who also purchased SugarWOD. SugarWOD brought new breadth of life to our workout tracking - and was definitely a hit during COVID lockdowns since we could add videos, fist bumps and more - but after over 2 years, we’re still stuck fumbling between 2 separate apps (and I’m stuck paying for both).

On top of that, ~3 months ago we were notified by Zenplanner that we were being forced to move to their ‘in house payment processor’ with higher fees than what we currently have access to. Their new fees would create an additional cost of $500-900 / month - for no additional service, just fees. We were given 3 months to make the switch, or we would no longer be able to take payments via Zenplanner.  

This was the final straw for me... so I began the hunt for new software and payment providers. Over the past 3 months I have had calls and done demos with just about every gym management software out there, and am excited for our transition to TRIIB, which we are in the process of setting up for a full transfer on Sept 1st! 

TRIIB will allow us to continue to offer you all the same services and programs we currently do, but with everything in ONE APP, including individlualized or remote programming streams right alongside your group class programs :D

There’s just one (so far) downside... 

No Payment Processing in August 

Negotatiing with software and payment companies as a small business owner is a very time consuming nightmare... so although the process is finally 90% complete, we missed the deadline to get fully up and running and will no longer be able to process payments in Zenplanner as of August 1st.

I will send an email out directly to everyone via Zenplanner in the coming days (so please do not reply to this) but we will be requesting your permission to run your membership bills through a couple days early if possible.

If for ANY reason this does not work for you, please do not hesitate to reply to that email letting us know, and we won’t! In Aug we will do our best to collect & track payments in any way we can (etransfer, paypal, carrier pigeon, cash, hair transplants, whatever) or worst case we will just push your payment through for August on Sept 1st once everything is setup in Triib.

I apologize in advance for the hiccups I’m sure we’re going to face in the coming 4-5 weeks of transferring over (again, you guys won’t utilize TRIIB until Sept 1st so dont stress) - but I am VERY excited for everything the teams been working on to bring you in September - so I promise it’ll be worth it.

Thanks for your understanding! You’ll hear from me directly via zenplanner on or before the 29th requesting permission to push your payment through early, and we’ll keep dropping exciting updates in the coming weeks before the launch!

Coach Thor & The Raincity Athletics Team