You spoke and we listened.

1.Schedule:

It seems as though the majority of people are relatively happy with the current schedule (which makes sense, since you joined the gym). Currently, we have availability to add 9am, 12:30pm (in November), and 4:30pm, but there weren’t quite enough responses to warrant the addition of a new class. If you absolutely can, and will, make it out to any of those class times during the week, post that to comment or email me. I’ll keep tally, as we’re willing to add the classes whenever you are ready!

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are returning to our pre-summer 7:30am class schedule, beginning next week. This schedule is Mon, Wed and Fri. (That will open up some opportunity for Tues/Thurs 9am or 12:30, fyi).

2.Favorite Thing to Do in Class:

Barbell strength movements came in on top, followed by Olympic lifts. This is great, since our gym is a ‘strength-biased’ CrossFit gym, and we intend on staying that way. So, you’ll be seeing more of the same with the barbell lifts, and you’ll be getting some extra coaching in the Olympic lifts as well. Our coaches are all hard at work learning the in’s-and-out’s of Olympic lifting from a variety of sources, so as to provide you with the very best in coaching and technique advice.

There wasn’t any one thing that was a clear “least favorite”, so we’ll continue to incorporate a variety of skills and movements into our classes.

3.Seminars:

Olympic Lifting, Gymnastics and Mobility were the top three choices. Be on the lookout for upcoming seminars (taught by pro’s in the sport!) on Olympic Lifting and Gymnastics.

Alycia is working her way through a 200 page book on mobility and self-myofascial release (the pain ball and foam roller stuff),  so prepared to be brutalized…I mean, repaired during upcoming classes. A mobility ‘mini-clinic’ will probably happen a few times a year as well.

Seminars will happen on the weekends, per your suggestions.

4.Yoga:

18 of your said that you would take Yoga if it were offered on a weekly basis for a minimal add-on fee. Beginning in mid-October, you’ll be getting your wish! We are offering TWO class times/week – Wednesday at 7:45pm and Saturday at 11:15am. The two times allows for the option to add 4 or 8 yoga classes/month into your current CrossFit schedule. Yoga is something that we believe EVERY athlete at our gym needs to be doing, so we are keeping the pricing super-low. You’ll have the option to sign up for a weekly Yoga add-on for $25/month, or a twice-weekly Yoga add-on for $40/month.

More info on Yoga is coming in the next big blog post. Stay tuned!

5.Coaching:

You rated our four coaches, and they all scored well! Strengths and weaknesses were pointed out, and our general thoughts on things were re-enforced, meaning that we are all on the same page. Coaching is a lifelong learning experience, and all of our coaches are engaging in continued outside education in the form of seminars, CrossFit gym visits, coaching and lifting forums, coaching DVDs, books, and more. Overall, your responses lit a fire under our butts and we’ll be working extra-hard to uphold our status and to make improvements where necessary.

6.Additional Suggestions:

Showers: YES! Our next location (YES, we are very close to a final agreement on a stand-alone building that’s just a few hundred feet down the street. Possible move-in date of February, 2012) will have showers to make morning, lunchtime, and afternoon classes a possibility for more people.

Music: Our current playlist is a compilation of music from our members. If you don’t like it, bring in your own to add to the mix. The music is ‘approved’ by Justin and Alycia, but basically anything goes. Just burn us a CD, or somehow get your music to us, and we’ll add it ASAP.

Water: We will be selling bottled water, as well as large reusable water bottles in the front area within the next few weeks. We will also be selling PaleoKits soon (beef jerky, nuts and fruit, for easy paleo snacking on the go!).

Charity: We would LOVE to do something to support our local community, and to give back to those in need. Ameet had a great suggestion about doing something as a company (offering a fitness ‘scholarship’ to local children), or getting our members involved in a locally-based charitable endeavor. We think this is a great idea. If you have a charity or organization that is of particular significance to you, please note that in comments or email Alycia. We’d love to do a fundraiser WOD, or to put our muscles to use with a town clean-up project, habitat for humanity project, or something like that.

Partnerships: As we expand, we are looking to partner up with local companies that have similar goals of making people healthy and happy. If you know of a great small business that you think could benefit from being associated with our gym (and likewise, us benefiting from them), let me know! We are not big on offering discounts to customers of other stores (our prices are already so low per class for what we offer)but we love having friends/partners in the area that we can work with on projects, events, etc. We also occasionally barter for creative services (photography, graphic design), rehab services (massage), and we can barter for cleaning services, etc.

Thank you again for the ego boost, and the kick in the pants. It’s because of you that we are driven to become a better gym.

We have 30 lawn signs to disperse around the area in hopes of spreading the CrossFit word.

The question is…

WHERE DO WE PUT THEM?

You guys live all over South Jersey, so I’m hoping that you can recommend some key intersections/busy spots/traffic-ridden stretches of road that might be ideal for posting one of these signs.

PRIZE ALERT!

If we get a new member because they saw our sign at your suggested location, you’ll win a PRIZE! No limit on the number of prizes you can win, so start suggesting!!!

Put your suggestions in the COMMENTS section of this blog post.

THANKS!

-Alycia and Justin

We’ve decided to keep the 7:30am classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, making a consistent 4-class/day schedule throughout the week.

On the weekends, we’re adding an additional SUNDAY class at 1pm. This class is perfect for those who struggle to get here during the week, and are looking to fit in an extra WOD.

The first Sunday 1pm class will be on Sunday, September 18th.

The classes will be taught by Jay or Beth, with random guest appearances by Justin or Alycia (as class participants, not trainers. It’s our day off!)

We hope you appreciate the new class. As we continue to grow, be on the lookout for further additions to our class schedule.

If you are the competitive and/or adventurous type,  here are a few upcoming events for you:

McGuire Mud Run, Saturday, Sept 10th.

6 miles of trail running and obstacles through muddy terrain and water. It’s a blast. It’s dirty. And you’ve love it.

Who’s doing it? Marcella is participating, Meghan said she’d want to do it, and I’ve heard some chatter around the gym from other people who would like to do this. Here is a link to the website to visit to sign up.

What does it cost? $40. Worth every penny.

What you should do: Write in the “Comments” section if you would like to participate. Let’s get a team together!

Bad@ss CrossFitter Francine at the Merrill Mud Run last weekend.

Justin, Alycia and other CrossFitters from the 2009 McGuire Mud Run. We must have been extra careful - we aren't nearly as muddy as Francine...

CrossFit 215 Partner Throwdown. Saturday, Sept 10th. CrossFit 215 in East Falls, Philadelphia.

This is a partner competition in which teams of 1 male and 1 female will compete in 3 WODs that are based off of the CrossFit Hero WODs. Guys and girls who can complete most Hero WODs without scaling and/or who have multiple unassisted pull ups are encouraged to sign up.

Here is a short video clip from one of the workouts at last year’s  CrossFit 215 throwdown:

Who should do this? Athletes who are consistently displaying the highest strength and conditioning numbers in the gym. If you aren’t sure if you are a good candidate, ask Justin or Alycia.

What does it cost? $75 per team, so $37.50 each person.  FYI – its free to spectate, so if our some of our members end up competing, we better see the others there, cheering them on! This a great source of motivation for spectators. The intensity of the workouts and the crowd is enough to give you months of elevated enthusiasm.

What you should do: Tell Justin or Alycia that you are interested, and we’ll set up teams. The workouts will be announced the week of the competition and we will provide free team coaching on movements/transitions/timing,etc.

CrossFit Aspire Open House/In-House Competition. Tentatively Saturday, Sept 17th.

Every day in a CrossFit gym is a mini-competition, in a way. But what if you were really competing against the other members, and against yourself? What if there were prizes and a crowd cheering? Would that change the way you worked out? We think so.

We’re still in the planning phase, but we’re hoping to conduct and in-house competition/Open House/Bring a Friend day. The day will likely include food, music, prizes, free massages, and sneaker/clothing vendors as well.

We are looking to have an ‘all levels’ competition, in which our members can compete against one another, and with their friends/family who came out to visit, as well as an ‘Advanced’ competition in which our best athletes (if you are on the leaderboard, this means YOU) face off against one another. This will be a unique chance to see some of our top athletes from the evening classes compete against the morning crew.

More details to follow!!!

The warmup from the last "Bring a Friend" day at CrossFit Aspire

If you know of any other upcoming events/races/physical challenges that you’d like to us to compete in as a team, please let us know!

We’re adding morning classes through the end of the summer (and possibly beyond).

Our 6:30 class went from a less populated to one of our MOST populated class times within the past few weeks. There will now be a 7:30am class EVERY WEEKDAY to help even out the number of people in each class. This will help classes run smoothly and eliminate uneccessary waiting/sharing during lifting, modifying metcons, or running over class time in the 6:30am class.

We hope you’ll appreciate the added classes and will come out to the new 7:30am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We will re-evaluate the schedule when the school year begins. For now, we’ll see you at any of the 4 classes that we offer every weekday 

QUESTION: What class time works BEST for your schedule? It can be a class time that we DO or DON’T currently offer.

PLEASE answer in the comments section or via email to alycia@crossfitaspire.com if you want your response to be private. Your feedback will help us provide the best experience for you, our members.

Thank you!!

FEEL BETTER

Foam Rollers – These are amazing tools for loosening up your tight muscles, restoring the sliding surfaces between your muscles and tendons, and breaking up scar tissue or muscle tightness. To use, simply put the majority of your weight on the roller and roll up and down, and back and forth across whichever muscles are tight. This is a perfect recovery tool to use while watching TV or relaxing. It’ll help you recover faster from workouts and feel move comfortable getting into all of the required positions.
Foam Rollers : $15

Mats – Yoga mats are now available at the front of the room. Grab one can write your name on it in sharpie so that you can keep it at the gym for when we have yoga class, when we do push ups (if you use your knees) or when we do anything that might feel better with a little padding underneath you (think thigh touches or sit ups)
Yoga Mats: $5

PERFORM BETTER

If you are struggling to get double unders, or even perfect single unders, a rope that is custom-trimmed to your personalized length might help aid in the process. You are welcome to leave the rope here (use a piece of tape to wrap around the handle and write your name on it) or take it home to practice on your own.
Jump Ropes: $15

LOOK BETTER

What better way to show off your ever-improving body than by sporting a CrossFit Aspire T shirt or Tank Top? T shirts are printed on soft American Apparel 50/25/25 T shirts and are available in Men’s (S,L,XL) and Women’s sizes (S,M,L). Tank Tops are printed on soft tri-blend Bella tank tops and are available in Women’s sizes S,M,L,XL. All shirts run a little small, so try before you buy!
T shirts: $20
Tank Tops: $25

Jay Holonia is officially a part of the CrossFit Aspire Trainer Staff. As of the first week of July, he will be coaching one of our evening classes every week.  Jay is our most senior member of CrossFit Aspire; he’s been with us since June 2010 and has attended classes with great regularity for the past year. Because of that, he has seen incredible gains in strength, has lost weight, and has improved his stamina and work capacity.

In addition to being a great CrossFit athlete, Jay also has his  CrossFit Level1 certification and CrossFit Olympic Lifting certification, is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has spent the past year researching the CrossFit program and the movements it incorporates.  He has a great eye for movement and has some very intelligent advice to give. He has been informally helping us during the evening classes, correcting people’s form and offering tips.

He will now be running his own class on Thursdays at 6:30pm. As with most evening classes, there will be a main coach (Jay) and a supporting coach (Justin or Alycia).

We are proud to have Jay as part of our staff and we look forward to another great year of progress, athletic gains, and now coaching!