You’ve probably heard of CrossFit.
Maybe you’ve even seen fit people lifting big weight on Instagram. Maybe one of your colleagues goes to CrossFit after work every day. Maybe you even have some friends who won’t stop talking about it.
Before you go down the Google search rabbit hole, consider these four things when searching for “CrossFit gyms near me”.
NUMBER ONE: Consider more than just price and location in your decision.
When choosing a gym, price and location are often the deciding factors. In my personal opinion, a great CrossFit gym with an even better community is worth the extra 10 or 15 minutes in the car.
CrossFit is a social activity and every gym has a different culture, and you should definitely find a gym whose coaches and members you connect best with. I tell everyone that moves to our area to try all the CrossFit gyms before deciding which one is the best for them.
Yes, CrossFit can be expensive.. Guess what? It can also be cheap, but you get what you pay for. So you need to ask yourself what you’re looking for. Do you just want access to equipment and not much coaching or service? If that’s the case, then maybe the lower-priced option is better for you. If you are new to CrossFit, I don’t recommend that route. The movements can be complex and you’ll need quality coaching.
At Jurassic CrossFit, we pride ourselves on service to our members. We provide our members with one-on-one personal training services, which has a higher price point. If you want a higher-value service that provides faster results than group classes, you should consider a CrossFit gym that provides one-on-one personal training.
NUMBER TWO: Ask, “Do the CrossFit gyms near me understand my goals?”
The most successful CrossFit gyms understand the wants, needs, and desires of their members. The best gyms in the business understand that we are in the results business. The worst gyms in the business think we are in the “get people in the door” business.
The path to results begins with a goal-setting session when you first walk in. We call it a “No-Sweat Intro”. The best gyms will ask you what your goals are. Do you want to lose weight? Gain strength? Feel better in your body? The best gyms will also ask you WHY.
Understanding the “why” is very powerful in setting any goal. Is it more than just losing the weight for you? Does your family have a history of chronic disease? Do you want to get stronger so you can play with your grandchildren? Do you want to be able to use your fitness outside of the gym in activities like golf, swim, basketball, kayaking, or hiking?
If no one takes the time to sit down with you and talk to you about your goals and your “why,” then they don’t truly understand you. And like Dale Carnegie said, “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
You deserve to find a gym that appreciates you!
NUMBER THREE: Ask, “Do the CrossFit gyms near me offer nutrition coaching?”
Yes! You read that correctly! The best CrossFit gyms in the area should offer nutrition coaching. Despite the fact that what we read on the internet is always correct (NOT!!!). CrossFit is not about heavy barbells and kipping pull-ups. It’s about improving your fitness, wherever you are in that journey.
Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, defined CrossFit in one-hundred words, “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: deadlifts, clean, squat, presses, clean-and-jerk, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climbs, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc. hard and fast. Five or six days per week, mix these elements in as many combination and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.”
That was a lot to throw at you. Just note that the first twenty-six words are all about nutrition.
In any health and fitness routine, nutrition is responsible for eighty percent of the results. We see it in our members all the time. Those who do nutrition coaching see three and a half times the results that those who just exercise. If you are not eating real, whole, mostly unprocessed foods, you are not doing CrossFit correctly. At all.
People quit gyms when they do not see results. If you want the fastest way to results, you need good nutrition and exercise, so why not find a gym where you can get both?
NUMBER FOUR: Ask yourself whether you’re searching for a “CrossFit gym near me” or a “CrossFit personal trainer near me.”
If you’re new to CrossFit, I highly advise that you start in a one-on-one personal training environment. Fitness can be intimidating. You will feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t get loose in the sea of terminology and equipment you may not understand. A CrossFit gym in your area that offers personal training is the best place to start. You may even find that you enjoy the one-on-one environment more than group training.
CrossFit is a training methodology. Group training and personal training are the means which it is delivered. At Jurassic CrossFit, we offer personal training services, because we find that it is best for the following:
- Clients dealing with a pre-existing injury.
- Clients new to CrossFit.
- Older clientele that might feel neglected in a group class with twenty to thirty people.
- Clients who want to make sure they’re performing the movement correctly.
- Clients who don’t like a group setting.
Don’t just toss out some search terms and sign up with the first gym you find on Google Maps. Your health is worth your due diligence.
Written by Kayla Allen. Inspiration provided by Rob Connors.