Why we’re a CrossFit gym

I founded CrossFit Moncton in July, 2008. In December, 2006, I found CrossFit.

I didn’t immediately fall in love with CrossFit. I was quite skeptical at first, thinking that the workouts looked kinda crazy.

After a few false starts, I found out: It’s fun, it’s different every day and it’s made me a few friends along the way.

CrossFit in 2006 wasn’t quite the same CrossFit you see on ESPN now. Back then, CrossFit had a homegrown, DIY feel. I remember doing box jumps on a picnic table and pull-ups on some monkey bars. I had basketballs filled with sand and bumper plates that were actual car tires. I had never been a part of a gym before, but I figured they were filled with steroids and meatheads. The whole CrossFit movement felt counterculture and pure: We did ONLY the stuff that worked, and we made it feel like a new game every day. That’s still the CrossFit we practice at CrossFit Moncton: We take what works and discard the rest.

Of course, I couldn’t keep it a secret. CrossFit Moncton was around the 400th CrossFit gym in the world, and there have been tens of thousands more since. Because CrossFit works better than any other fitness program on the planet.

Every year at CrossFit Moncton, we do the Intramural Open. Worldwide, the CrossFit Open is the first stage of qualification for the CrossFit Games. But we make it fun, and literally thousands of other gyms worldwide do it this way as well.

Another area of diversity in the CrossFit community is workout design. Before CrossFit, no one used the term “programming” to describe the creation of workouts because workouts were boring. It was the old “3-4 sets of 8-12 reps” days from the 1970s through the 1990s.

We’re not like that: I want you to be excited to see today’s workout and then excited to try it. Our workouts are designed for novelty, not randomness, but we’ve struck a great balance between intensity and “hard for the sake of hard.”

Finally, an emerging trend in CrossFit is the myth of “perfect movement.” Some coaches would prefer you to think that you need to be functionally perfect to exercise. But really, there’s no such thing; it’s just an excuse to sell “corrective exercise” by people who aren’t qualified therapists. I think it’s more important that you show up every day and let the coaches keep you safe and sound while you work to become a better human.

I love being a CrossFit gym. We’re now in our 12th year as a CrossFit affiliate. I’ve got to travel around and visit many other CrossFit gyms. But we’re not all the same. CrossFit’s not a franchise; we can do whatever we want. We have more in common with the DIY attitude of 2006 than the CrossFit Games athletes of 2020. And I love being “the gym for every day people” — so that’s what we’ll be.

Some people do CrossFit in groups. Some do it 1:1 with their coach. Some do it online. We just want you to change your life. Start with a free, no-sales-pressure visit by booking here.

Inspiration provided by Chris Cooper at Catalystgym.com