1. Entrance to CrossFit South Brooklyn at about 6:40am.
While in New York City, the second box I wanted to check out was a toss up between CrossFit South Brooklyn and CrossFit Long Island City. I could not check out both because of time constraints. While at CrossFit Virtuosity, I took a poll and the most common feedback I got was 'You gotta check out CrossFit South Brooklyn and meet Shane! They've got a huge box and a tight community!' A lot of folks have not been to CFLIC yet. Alright, decision made; I will check out CFLIC next time!
I woke up EARLY (5:30am) so I could catch the 6:17am R train to make the 7am class on Friday. The next class after 7am was 12:30pm and that would have been slightly too late. Since Tuesday's and Friday's are listed as 'Rest Day,' the class normally does the previous day's workout or whatever workout they missed during the week. Our class decided to do Thursday's WOD, which was Jerk: 1-1-1-1 and 4 rounds not for time of: 10 Weighted Sit-Ups, 20 Wall Ball Shots 20#/14#, 300m Row. However, since I did a lot of jerks within the past week, I did heavy deadlifts instead.
Some things I really liked here:
- Small class and great trainer! There was about 5 people in the class and Shane coached it. He made sure to spend a good amount of time helping both the jerk and deadlift groups.
- Shane definitely lived up to and exceeded the comments about him! His passion for CrossFit and teaching is very evident both over email and in-person. When I was contacting CFSB about visiting, Shane quickly responded with an elaborate explanation of their visitor policy and questions for me about if I had any pre-existing injuries, etc. When I met him at class, he spent time telling me about the amenities at gym, coaching the ladies with the deadlift and guys with the jerk, and cheering each student in the class on during the WOD. He was very actively involved with the class.
- This box has a mobility/stretching area packed with abmats, foam rollers, yoga mats, etc all right next to a large tumbling mat!
- Tons of weights, in both pounds and kilos! They also had a good number of jerk/weightlifting platforms. The weights in pounds were also color coordinated to make adding easier!
- A whiteboard for 'Accomplishments' and 'Goals.' This meant a lot to me. I have a section in my online CrossFit Journal where I list out goals for the month. The fact that CFSB had a whiteboard in the box for it really impressed me. More of a reminder to push yourself everyday.
- Amenities for the gym. This box had a sink and a drying rack so you can wash your shaker afterwards and store it there, a lounge area packed with books about muscle groups, fitness, nutrition, etc, shoe rack to store weightlifting shoes, etc. It felt very homey.
Some things that could use improvement:
- Although they have a lot of classes on the weekends, more classes in the morning would be nice. The first class is at 7am and the next class after that is 12pm, followed by 5pm.
- They might already have this but, some fans. I thought I was beating the heat by going to the 7am class. Nope. It was already very hot and humid.
Some pictures:
2. A small area inside. This box is BIG. Lots of open space!
3. The leaderboard. This seems to be common across gym on the east coast. Laurel is one strong lady!
4. The mobility/stretching area. Definitely spent a good amount of time here after the WOD.
5. Schedule on the left and my favorite whiteboard on the right. Unfortunately, it was empty. Maybe because it was the beginning of July.
6. Shane, some members of the 7am crew, and I after the WOD.
I had a great and very warm, home-like experience at CrossFit South Brooklyn! It was definitely worth getting up at 5:30 in the morning for. Love the atmosphere and the community here and you bet Shane and I are Facebook friends now! I will be back, for sure, and maybe I'll get the chance to meet some of the other trainers too!
Other Visits: 02-17-2013
Related Posts: Travel Packing CrossFit Style
Nearby Gyms: CrossFit Virtuosity (Brooklyn) | CrossFit Wall Street (Manhattan) | Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave (Manhattan) | CrossFit Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan)