1. Check out the Facebook page and look at the ratings
2. Look the box up on Yelp and other business ranking sites
3. Visit the website and see if you can get a feel for the box as well as cost and payment options
4. Visit the box and talk to the owner
5. Drop by at the time of day you think you'll be working out, see the demographics of the class and do a workout
After you've decided on a box you'll be required to take a series of 'foundations' or 'on-ramp' classes. These classes familiarize you with most of the CrossFit movements, lifts and jargon. They vary in cost from free to very expensive. I was lucky enough to start at a gym that was offering free foundations classes. They were 4 one hour group classes. My neighbors and I did these classes together so they were a little less intimidating.
I have to tell you that I almost didn't return after my first foundations class. Our coach was a very bubbly, very muscular young woman and she put us through all of the movements. They weren't too hard but felt foreign and heavy. At the end of the
session we had a ten minute partner WOD--one person had to do 10 push presses with the 35 pound bar while the other person held a plank:
Then we would switch. It was an AMRAP which means 'as many rounds as possible'. My poor partner--I struggled to even do a few presses and she had to hold the plank forever. In retrospect, the coach should have offered me the 15 lb trainer bar when she saw how much I was struggling. I didn't know there was a lighter bar, and I remember thinking that I was never going to be able to do this. No one else in the group seemed to be struggling and I felt like a weakling. It was a very humbling experience and if I hadn't signed up with friends I doubt I would've returned. I wasn't the only one to struggle in foundations though. In our second class we practiced box jumps, and to my surprise, I could do them! (Yay me!) However, one of my friends fell in a somewhat spectacular way while attempting the jump, and I'm sure she left feeling the way I felt the class before. So don't get discouraged in foundations. Like I used to tell my kids--everybody has to learn when trying something for the first time.
After you complete the foundations classes you can start doing CrossFit for real. Many boxes have a variety of plans you can sign up for. I started with a 3 times per week plan that seemed to work well although I only went twice a week for the first few months mainly because I was tired and sore, and to be honest, I didn't really like it. I even sometimes hated it. I was constantly struggling to learn the lifts and movements and didn't think I'd ever figure them out, and I still need plenty of correction even after 1 year. If you are where I was about a year ago, don't give up! It gets better--I promise.
4. Visit the box and talk to the owner
5. Drop by at the time of day you think you'll be working out, see the demographics of the class and do a workout
After you've decided on a box you'll be required to take a series of 'foundations' or 'on-ramp' classes. These classes familiarize you with most of the CrossFit movements, lifts and jargon. They vary in cost from free to very expensive. I was lucky enough to start at a gym that was offering free foundations classes. They were 4 one hour group classes. My neighbors and I did these classes together so they were a little less intimidating.
I have to tell you that I almost didn't return after my first foundations class. Our coach was a very bubbly, very muscular young woman and she put us through all of the movements. They weren't too hard but felt foreign and heavy. At the end of the
session we had a ten minute partner WOD--one person had to do 10 push presses with the 35 pound bar while the other person held a plank:
Then we would switch. It was an AMRAP which means 'as many rounds as possible'. My poor partner--I struggled to even do a few presses and she had to hold the plank forever. In retrospect, the coach should have offered me the 15 lb trainer bar when she saw how much I was struggling. I didn't know there was a lighter bar, and I remember thinking that I was never going to be able to do this. No one else in the group seemed to be struggling and I felt like a weakling. It was a very humbling experience and if I hadn't signed up with friends I doubt I would've returned. I wasn't the only one to struggle in foundations though. In our second class we practiced box jumps, and to my surprise, I could do them! (Yay me!) However, one of my friends fell in a somewhat spectacular way while attempting the jump, and I'm sure she left feeling the way I felt the class before. So don't get discouraged in foundations. Like I used to tell my kids--everybody has to learn when trying something for the first time.
After you complete the foundations classes you can start doing CrossFit for real. Many boxes have a variety of plans you can sign up for. I started with a 3 times per week plan that seemed to work well although I only went twice a week for the first few months mainly because I was tired and sore, and to be honest, I didn't really like it. I even sometimes hated it. I was constantly struggling to learn the lifts and movements and didn't think I'd ever figure them out, and I still need plenty of correction even after 1 year. If you are where I was about a year ago, don't give up! It gets better--I promise.
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