CrossFit Virtuosity / Brooklyn Barbell Club

1. The shirt they gave Jason!

I was in New York City for a couple days and one of the gyms I definitely wanted to check out was CrossFit Virtuosity. I heard a lot of great things about this box through some members at my home gym, CrossFit Santa Clara/Mountain View, Yelp, and the CrossFit Games website.

I came in for the noon class last Thursday. Every Thursday is "Ladies Night," which is when they do one of the CrossFit benchmark girls. We did Elizabeth which is 21-15-9: Clean 135#/95#, Ring Dips. I had the pleasure to meet a handful of their trainers: Keith (head coach and owner), Sam, and Elizabeth.

Some things I really liked here:

• Two trainers for a small class and therefore A LOT of attention and feedback. At the 12:30pm class, there was about 8 people and 2 trainers, Keith and Elizabeth. The class felt like personal training!
• The website. They definitely win 'The Best CrossFit Website' Award in my book! Not only is it aesthetically well designed, information to the finest details can be easily found. For example, their 'Location' page describes exactly how to get there (even what car to get in on the subway) for the most optimal commute.
• This box is BEAUTIFUL and large! Apparently it used to be an art studio. It is also very organized, well kept and CLEAN. They also have a ton of equipment! It also very easy to get to from Manhattan.
• Classes go through a proper warm-up, review of the movements to be performed in the WOD, and Yoga-like mobility work afterwards. Stretching after a WOD seems to be easily neglected. That is not the case here.
• Trainers here seem to have a yoga background (I put this as pro since I loveeeee Ashtanga Yoga). They even hosted an AcroYoga NYC event at their box.
• The community. It looks like they have a lot of events for members, from fundraisers to BBQs and even a CrossFit Prom!
• The office/storage/massage area is air conditioned. Members can store stuff like their weightlifting shoes, favorite jump rope, etc at the gym.

Some things that could use improvement:

• Invest in 33lb bars. I was disappointed to not see my favorite Bella Bar there. They only had 45# and 22# bars available for class use. It would be awesome if they had the standard women's bar for the ladies!
• More rubber flooring. I may be wrong here but I think the only rubber-ed area is part of the weightlifting/jerk platforms.
• More classes in the morning. The first class is at 7am and the next class after that is 12:30pm.

Some pictures:

2. Entrance to CrossFit Virtuosity.

3. Inside was HUGE!

4. Love all the colors!

5. The leaderboard, very well designed.

6. Some of the trainers: Sam, Keith, Elizabeth and I after 'Elizabeth'.

I did not seem to have as much of a heat issue here. I'm not sure if it's because I was in Brooklyn, the AC leaking from the office area, or what. Nevertheless, a much enjoyed experience! I'll be back again when I return to the (real) city!

Related Posts: Travel Packing CrossFit Style 
Nearby Gyms: CrossFit South Brooklyn (Brooklyn) | CrossFit Wall Street (Manhattan) | CrossFit Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan) | Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave (Manhattan)