My Gym Is Different…

My Gym Is Different:
This is my personal “CrossFit Manifesto.” It is two parts. First one is geared towards those who don’t know much, if anything, about CrossFit. Second part is geared towards the person wondering why there are such vast price differences amongst local CrossFit gyms.
Both parts are equally important.
Enjoy.
With the explosion of CrossFit’s popularity, I’ve started to receive an alarming number of inquiries from people looking for more information about my gym in general. Unfortunately, 99/100 of the inquiries go something like this: “Uh, yea hi, how much is your gym?”
Is this post about money? Yes, partially.
Is talking about money uncomfortable to many? Absolutely.
If you’re already a member here, then you get it. You know why you walk through the door each time you attend class.
This post is geared more to the lurkers, the interested, the people out there who are searching for the place to make their annual resolution stick this time. You know who you are.
What I’ve come to discover is that these people are asking that question because they simply don’t know what else to ask. They don’t know what they don’t know. And that is A-ok.
As far as they’re concerned, CrossFit For Glory is just another place to go work out, akin to the local Snap Fitness, Gold’s Gym, or [insert major gym franchise here].
But we’re different.
We actually care about each and EVERY SINGLE ONE of our members. You are not a number in a computer, a quota to be met.
Before any decision is made, we ask the question: “Will this improve the health and fitness of our members?”
We know your name, your kids’ names, your holiday plans. We’re genuinely concerned with your health and overall well-being…in AND out of the box. So do your fellow CrossFitters.
You can’t compare us to a normal globo-gym where you pay a flat rate to come in and use the equipment at your leisure. Normal gyms make their money by signing you up, then hedging their bet that you won’t be there a few months later.  CrossFit runs on a different model.
We hold hour-long classes where we, the coaches, supervise and instruct all your movements, guide you through proper scaling and development progressions and offer nutritional and programming advice as desired.
We give you personalized, hands-on attention that resembles one-on-one private training, but do so in a group environment that fosters camaraderie, transparency, accountability, competitiveness, and a collective experience. In short, we support one another. Coincidentally, this is scientifically proven to maximize your results – one of the reasons you come!
Plus, it’s not the same boring old routine that everyone grows tired of. Our workouts are comprised of constant variety, done at a high intensity, and always incorporate functional movements. We are concerned with real-world fitness, not just “looking fit.”
We are extremely passionate about what we do and will push and motivate you to achieve whatever fitness goals you have for yourself.
We put out original content (see here and here) related to health and fitness. We push you to learn.
We bring an extensive background of education and experience to afford you an awesome opportunity to further your own health and fitness journey. Our coaches have been blessed to work with a huge variety of skill levels and sports, from the soccer mom looking to regain her pre-baby figure to the weekend warrior just trying to have fun through the college ranks and professional athletes. This lends a tremendous amount of credibility to our experience with, and exposure to, the best training methods and philosophies out there. Sprinkle on top of that a career in Special Operations and you’ve got a wealth of knowledge to draw from.
We believe in hard work. There are no shortcuts at our gym, just as there are no shortcuts in life.
We don’t don’t use machines…we make them.
Plus, machines aren’t natural. Squats are natural. So is jumping, and running, and doing push-ups and pull-ups and deadlifts.
We are a team. One class every week is devoted to a team WOD – working together to accomplish one singular goal. They are a ton a fun and a great break from our traditional programming where we get the opportunity to insert some team/partner dynamics, strategy and tactics into the workout session. When is the last time an entire team at a globo-gym counted on you to play a part in task accomplishment?
But we’re even more than that.
We are a community. We get together for more than just the WOD. We influence each other’s lives, and the surrounding community, in a positive way. We all have a desire to belong to something larger than ourselves. We desire to have a purpose.
We participate in and host charitable events. For us, the ‘why’ we do this is just as important as the ‘what’ we do or the ‘how’ we do it – and that makes all the difference.
I came across a recent study that showed that only 47% of people who join a traditional globo-gym at the turn of the New Year will still be there come June of that year. Put another way – 53% will drop out – more than HALF! The local CrossFit gym they compared it to? Only 4% had dropped off. That is a retention rate of 96%!
You ask about my gym.
My gym? Well, MY gym is different.