18. How “Safe Fail” Training Helped CFAH Owners Stay Strong During COVID-19 Closures

In this Back of the Napkin Friday Fail, Jeff Arce and Web Eby, owners of CrossFit Arlington Heights, compare a “safe fail” in strength training to the obstacles faced by small business owners. Plus, they describe how gym members rallied on behalf of the entire training community during the state-mandated COVID-19 closure that hit just a few months after they assumed ownership.  Failure is sometimes due to your own actions—misplacing a wad of cash or forgetting to pay taxes. You look for a reason and then catch your image in the mirror. Other times, no amount of reflection or preparation could change the course of events, like a once in a century pandemic that shuts down training facilities within months of investing in one, just as you’re gaining momentum. Jeff Arce and Web Eby, owners of CrossFit Arlington Heights (CFAH), faced that exact situation in 2020. Challenge + Recovery = Adaptation Strength training delivers results, or forces adaptation, by systematically challenging the body through progressively increasing load and periods of rest or recovery. One of the first lessons in strength training, particularly when performing barbell movements, is how to fail safely. The same holds true for small business ownership. Arce and Eby, strength training enthusiasts and CFAH performance coaches, understood the strength training equation; they all too quickly learned how to apply it as new business owners. Buoyed by record-breaking revenue gains and class attendance after just six months as owners, Arce and Eby invested in expensive equipment. And then, boom. COVID-19. “It was kind of devastation,” said Jeff. “I didn’t know how we were going to navigate this.” The duo opted to adapt and recover. Read More ...