Over the years I have gotten this question a lot. What sets your gyms apart from other CrossFit gyms? It is a question that I have always struggled with. Obviously I am a strong believer in our coaches, in our program, and in what we have built. But I have never wanted to compare our gyms to others by criticizing them or trying to build us up by tearing them down. I can only speak for what we do and what we stand for. I can't speak for anyone else. That is why we came up with a simple phrase that describes what we do and I want to break that down for you. At our gyms we get people in the best shape of their lives, at their own pace, in a supportive community. So what exactly does that mean?
We get people in the best shape of their lives.
Ok. So how do you define that? For everyone that can be different. Everyone has different goals. Everyone has a different background. Everyone has a different life. So how do we define the best shape of your life? For everyone that is different. For one guy that might be the lowest body fat percentage he has ever had. For another guy that might be that he can back squat more than he ever has. For one girl that might be that she can do a pullup for the first time in her life. For another girl that might be that she can hold her child for longer than she ever has been able to without putting her down. For someone else that might mean finally getting off of blood pressure medication. Every person is different. But one thing I am absolutely confident in is that we can get someone to wherever they want to be if they are willing to put in the work. And our gyms are full of examples of that. I love it when people tell me they were able to do something they have never been able to do before. They were able to ski all day on vacation without stopping for the first time ever. They were able to walk all day at Disney World for the first time ever. They were able to wear a size pants that they haven't been able to wear since high school. They set a new personal record on deadlift. And on and on and on. Everyone defines the best shape of their life differently. But no matter what their definition is we can help them get there.
At their own pace.
Once again everyone is different. Everyone has different backgrounds. Different training histories. Different sports backgrounds. Different injury histories. Different jobs. Different lifestyles. Different schedules. That's why everyone must go at their own pace. First we start people at our gyms with an On Ramp program. This is 5 one on one sessions with a trainer. We spend most of this time learning about them. What are their goals? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their background? What are their kids names? Then we teach them. We teach them how to move correctly and efficiently so that they will keep progressing as safely as possible. We want to lay a strong foundation to build off of. If we skip this step then we will set them up for injury and plateau. Yea they might make progress for a while but eventually it will come to a screaming halt. Then we end each session with a scaled down workout. We want to ease them into it. We don't want them to be so sore that they can't walk right for a week.
Once they have finished the On Ramp we have a few options. They can continue working one on one with a trainer with our Personal Training. Some people prefer the intimate environment of a one on one setting and we want to accommodate them. Others want to join the class. Our class has 3 tracks because everyone has different goals. Our fitness track is for people who just want to live a long and healthy life. They have no interest in competing in sports outside of the gym or in the sport of fitness. There is no need for them to do high skill movements or lift to maximum effort. Our performance track is for people who are using CrossFit to get better at something outside of the gym. Maybe they play baseball or football, or want to compete in 10ks on the weekend, or are getting ready for a hiking trip. We want to give them the best chance to succeed with this track. Our third track is the competition track. This is for people who want to excel in the sport of fitness. We firmly believe that we can get people as far in this sport as they want if they are willing to put in the time and effort.
We encourage our athletes to focus on themselves. We want them to have a growth mindset. That means that they aren't concerned with everyone else around them. They use the competition to bring out the best in themselves but they aren't defined by how they finish. They know that they can only control their own effort and so should only define a workout by if it was the best they had to offer that day. We know that if they do this over time they will make the most progress. That's why we are constantly telling people to move at their own pace in class. Don't lift too much weight just because the guy or girl next to you is. Our coaches are always helping people scale and modify workouts accordingly. Really sore today? Drop the weight. Front squats hurt your wrist? Do goblet squats. Can't do a pushup on the ground? Do a pushup on the box. No matter what the workout is we can find a way for every single person to get a great workout. At their own pace.
In a supportive community.
This is what I am most proud of about our gyms. They are full of incredible people. We have been lucky to attract some of the best people that I have ever known. Every single day you walk through the doors of one of our gyms you will find people who are friendly, encouraging, and genuinely want the best for you. They don't want to build themselves up by tearing you down. They want everyone to rise together. The last person who finishes the workout gets louder cheers than the first person. We always end every workout by breaking it down. This is a constant reminder that no matter what level each person is at, we are all in this together. But it doesn't stop at the front door. Our members are friends outside of the gym too. They go to each others weddings. They go out to eat after workouts. They go to their kids birthday parties. It is truly a family. Some people might roll their eyes when we talk about our gym family. But that is what it is. We do life together.
I hope you have a better idea of what sets us apart now. We get people in the best shape of their lives, at their own pace, in a supportive community. Those aren't just words. We live them out. Every. Single Day. At our gyms we aren't in the fitness business. We are in the people business.