CrossFit London (UK) » Health & Safety Log

9 Malcolm Place: Health and Safety Report

Andrew — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:50:06 +0000

This thread will act as our ongoing maintenance check list and health and safety reporting system.

This builds on the previous experiences and risk reviews carried out at 9 Gales Gardens

The headline observations were as follows

We need a public risk assessment – one that satisfies the legislation, but one that also means instructors, and trainees understand the risks and what is expected from them.

1) Health of client : in line with current gym management, the client is to assume responsibility for their own health http://crossfitlondonuk.com/2010/09/the-parq-vs-health-commitment-statement/ )

( the original was amended 20th Sept 2010 from:” Clients must have submitted aPARQ, and if need be, been signed off by their doctor or have signed a disclaimer” to all clients to follow the recommendations of their health professionals and take responsibility for their own health)

2) Slippery floor (sweat created, drink spills): Instructors to check area safe, clients to manage and observe during the session.

3) Equipment check: weekly, in-depth check by Crossfit LondonUK officers system to be set up, spotting loose screwsbolts, fraying bands/ropes/buckles, etc. A visual inspection before each session by the instructors as part of warm up. Clients to be aware.

4) Running outside the gym (as part of a WOD): The facility opens on to a road – albeit a quiet one, but a road never the less. Emphasise walking in and walking out.

open the door to right angles, and clients to run towards bethnal green road ( ie turn right). If possible blue gate to be half closed.

6) First aid: A first aider to be on-site when training is taking place.

7) Instructors to hold insurance cover, Crossfit London to take an interest in such cover.

Movement specific warm ups must preceed dense or intense sessions (dense = typical fast CF work out, intense = heavy weight)

9) Client must know the move and be coached. Trainer must offer an adaptation or scaling alternative if required

10) To avoid over-training and possible injury by failure to consentrate, regular trainees must have a week off from training every 12th week (clients to be responsible for monitoring)

11) Trainees must have access to water, and be reminded that they may stop and rest at anytime

12) The dangers of rhabdomyolisis must be emphasized and clients taught to watch for danger signs. Intense eccentric training in dense conditions should not be deployed

13) All incidents/suspicions of disrepair, must be written up in comments below

14) A first aid box is required, to be formally checked every quarter by a CrossFit Londonofficer.

15) A member of the group must have an active working mobile phone incase of emergencies.( incase instructor has forgotten their one)

All incidents must be writen up below, and a copy sent to andrew@crossfitlondonuk.com. the Name of any individual must be left off the public report here, but be included in the email to Andrew.

on a weekly basis:

All screws on both pull up systems to be checked

1st aid kit audited and restocked ( an audit list will be kept on the cupboard .

Bars to be checked.

Straps of rings and ropes to be checked.

Cleaning is carried out daily.

Fire assessment.

Risk assesment, we are fairly lucky in that all of our pricesses do not involve fire. never the less rubber mats and plates could, if hot enough, catch light.

1) no naked flames within the building. None are required, and there is no smoking

2) no rubbish storage within the gym. the bin is outside.

3) No flammable liquids to be stored in the gym ( white spirit etc should be be purchased, used and excess disposed off and not stored)

Re escape: we have a front and back fire escape: staff need to pick up the key from the back door to escape from the alley way.

Exits to be kept clear and marked.

Assembly. opposite the gym.

First Aid kit

Kate — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:00:14 +0000

According to the Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance, the following is what should be in the First Aid kit of any good gym. The stock should be checked weekly and replenished if necessary. From now on, if you are the First Aider who checks, please mention in comments.

Contents of the First Aid box

20 plasters in assorted sizes
6 medium sterile dressings
2 large sterile dressings
1 sterile eye pad
6 triangular bandages
6 safety pins
disposable gloves
2 roller bandages
scissors
tweezers
alcohol-free wound cleansing wipes
adhesive tape
plastic face shield
notepad and pencil
blanket
torch

Safety lifting review

Andrew — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:50:16 +0000

Crossfit London is so in favour of heavy lifting, it’s almost a cult trait!

Everyone lifts: be it a one rep max, 21 reps of a thruster in Fran or 70 reps of an overhead squat in a shocker work out like Nancy. It’s part of life, here. Bodyweight is great, and an equal part of our system: it’s just that most real crises seems to demand that you carry stuff.

Most non-Crossfit women revolt at the thought of lifting weights: they may bulk up! But, being a bit sexist (ask any mother) if their house was on fire, would they like to be able to lift up their unconscious children/partner /dog and carry (drag) them to safety? (The cat always makes it own way out!).

Well, that’s weight lifting, that is!

But we need to do it safely. Unlike most gyms who hide their injury records, we wash our dirty laundry in public. To be sure it gets really clean!

What follows began life as an email to our trainers!

1) Safe weights and scaling

Looking through the accident statistics, it would appear our most common training related injury is related to moderate-heavy weighted barbell movements.

I would like to reinforce the need for you as coaches to keep a close (and often cautious) eye of what people are loading on to their bars.

We seem to be using a number of different procedures for determining loading:

Set/prescribed weight e.g. Diane, 100kg
Percentage of body weight
Percentage of 1RM

By all means use these guidelines, but they need to be consolidated or amended by your view of the individual client’s performance on the day. I normally need 10 minutes to check form, watch clients pick the weight up several times, ask the famous questions, “that’s a great lift: can you do it 50 times?” before I start a WOD.

During weighted workouts you need to highly vigilant. People rarely go straight from perfect to crap form. It’s a series of 3 to 5 bad lifts first. Keep a very close eye on backs as they fatigue quickly.

With some exceptions, our clients are prepared to work themselves to death. Our job is to make sure they get right to the edge…not jump over it. Their ego’s and complacency could be their biggest danger.

You need to actively intervene in their weight selection. If someone wishes to use too much weight, or have no focus on form, they can leave. Better to reduce the weight and challenge them to finish the workout faster if they are concerned about ‘intensity’

2) High rep/complex weighted moves

The advantage of being part of Crossfit.com is that we have 10 years worth of tested workouts to draw on. Beware of self-designed workouts, or those with poor provenance that have multiple weighted moves. By poor provenance I mean a workout lifted from another Crossfit affiliate without adequate research. Every Crossfit.com workout has hundred of comments about performance levels, subs, observations that could be produced in court if necessary. Many affiliates set “tough” workouts. We cannot be sure if that WOD was properly tested.

I suspect high rep cleans and deadlifts in particular are things to watch for.

As a reference point, the most people are are allowed to lift on a building site is 25kg. If you know you military history, the most people can wave about in battle seems to be 40kg (pack, gun, armour… quite a recurring historical number).

So watch the multiple weighted moves and don’t risk going past 45 reps in a session without good reason or a supporting crossfit.com WOD as reference.

Final note on selection of weights in general: Do remember that crossfit.com quotes weights and times for the fittest men/women on earth; probably young, big and skilled. Make sure you amend accordingly for our clients, and don’t let people’s ego get in the way!

Many of you will be familiar with the “shooting test” that, on a superficial reading seems to justify poor form. Genuine Crossfit trainers are obsessed by good form, and good mechanics. Sure we want to pressure test the ability of our clients. This does not justify poor form!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2eAa2eaM-c

Boring Health and Safety Log

Andrew — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:12:44 +0000

Please feel free to read this; it’s our way of having safety “out there” rather than something hidden. It could be boring, though.