9am crew at CrossFit Ewa Beach!
Next on the list of CrossFit boxes on Oahu to checkout was CrossFit Ewa Beach in Kapolei, HI. I really wanted to check it out since it is currently the only CrossFit box on the south-western part of Oahu. Kapolei is intended to be the "second city," or the second urban city next to Honolulu. It took me almost 1.5 hours to get here from Hawaii Kai (35 mi drive)! Oahu traffic has gotten significantly worse since I lived here!
I came in for the 9am class last Friday with the one of the owners, Noel Famy and had the pleasure to do the class with the other owner, his wife, Se Famy. This is what the class did:
- Buy-In/warm-up: 25 push-ups, 400m run, 25 Bumper Plate Thrusters 45#/35#
- Strength: 10min to find a 1RM 3rd pin pull (deadlift) or any missed lift
- WOD - A quick chipper. For time:
- 50 Pull-Ups
- 40 Burpees
- 30 Burpee Pull-Ups
- 20 Burpees
- 10 Squat Box Jumps 24"/20"
- Cash Out: 50 GHD Sit-Ups, 50 Reverse Hypers
Some things I really liked here:
- ALL ROGUE, and a lot of it!! They are an "Official Rogue Affiliate." Everything, from flooring to abmats, boxes, bands, pull-up structures, barbells, GHDs, are all Rogue and in great quality! Equipment are either new and/or very, very well kept. They also have a lot of each equipment. I believe they have at least 20 rowers alone!
- Large facility. CrossFit Ewa Beach is approximately 6000 sq ft. Visually they look as big as CrossFit Oahu.
- Group classes have a 20-person cap to ensure quality training. When I called to tell them my intention to visit, they seemed very eager to know exactly what time, and what day I wanted to come in. Now I know why.
- In addition to a large wall clock, Noel also used a timer to call time at the exact second. If there is a decent time gap between people finishing, Noel would come by to cheer you on, count your last reps, and give you your time when you finish the WOD.
- Mini "reminder" whiteboards with the current WOD on it are scattered around the box. Love this idea! I don't know how much time I waste during WODs sometimes just looking at whiteboard trying to figure out what to do next or how many reps to do.
- Tons of parking! I put this as a big plus since it can be very difficult to find free parking (or parking alone if in Honolulu) at some of the other boxes on the island, depending on what time you come. I guess that's the tradeoff in having a box closer to Honolulu vs. away from the city.
- They offer supplemental classes such as: Westside Barbell, Starting Strength and CrossFit Endurance.
- Kids area.
Some things that could use improvement:
- More classes. Class time are 6am, 8am, 9am, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm on weekdays. A lunch time class (11am or 12pm) would be awesome! There are also no classes or specialty classes on Sundays. Check out the schedule here.
- A sign so that it would be easier to find.
- $2 for water. At least it's for a lot of water, but a water fountain would be nice.
Some pictures:
3. Reverse Hypers, GHDs, and keiki pen.
4. Some 9am-ers hitting the WOD. Also Rogue pull-up structure.
5. Inside.
6. Only a small portion of all the bumpers they have, neatly organized.
7. Holy rowers!
8. PR Board.
9. Mini-whiteboards with the WOD written were scattered around. Great idea!
10. WOD board. Group classes follow a set schedule: buy in, WOD, cash out.
11. The owners: Noel, Se, their son and I after the WOD.
12. CFEB smart car. so cute.
Definitely would love to stop by again, maybe when I actually have plans on the other side of the island! CrossFit Ewa Beach is very close to Ko Olina, Barbers Point, the waterpark, and the new Disney resort, Aulani, just to name a few.
Additional Visits: 09-08-2013 | 05-25-2012
Related Posts: CrossFit West Oahu | CrossFit East Oahu