Work brought me back to Chicago, except in the suburbs this time. Before arriving, I emailed a few gyms nearby. After my interactions with Brad, the owner of Absolution CrossFit, I knew it was a gym I had to stop by.
Absolution CrossFit is a brand new gym, literally! Their doors officially opened a couple days ago, on Tuesday! I actually had no idea they hadn't open yet until I got there last Friday, but that's on me. Lucky for me, I was able to sneak a visit in before they officially opened!
Absolution CrossFit is a brand new gym, literally! Their doors officially opened a couple days ago, on Tuesday! I actually had no idea they hadn't open yet until I got there last Friday, but that's on me. Lucky for me, I was able to sneak a visit in before they officially opened!
Initially when I first emailed the owner, Brad, I contacted him about possibly doing my weightlifting workout. From their website, I saw that they weren't any classes on Thursday mornings, but I wanted to do the workout on Thursday, so I emailed just to check if anyone would be at the gym. It was a long shot. To my surprise, Brad quickly emailed me back and said that they were closed, but he was willing to come in at 5am so I can come by. At this point, I knew I had to stop by and bring a shirt from Catalyst to show my appreciation. I ended up doing my weightlifting stuff earlier in the week, so I informed him and arranged to stop by on Friday at 5:30am to workout. When I came in last Friday, I was happy to see a couple other people show up to workout with us! It was just in Brad's personality to do so!
This is what we all did:
This is what we all did:
- Warm Up: on your own
- Skill/Strength: 3 rounds: max Strict Pull Ups, 10 Ring Dips
- Workout: 10min AMRAP:
- 10 Wall Ball Shots
- 10 Toes to Bar
- 10 Shuttle Sprints
This review is quite different as I can't comment on operations and classes before they're actually opened, but from my back door experience there, I have a very good feeling about it.
Some things I really liked here:
- The owner, Brad. Brad is really cool guy. He's out-going, friendly, and visibly very passionate about coaching and CrossFit. You can tell from talking to him that he's also very knowledgable about CrossFit, fitness, nutrition, and even soccer! He was actually a professional soccer player who made it to the World Cup! In addition to experience and knowledge, Brad is also good at teaching and communicating feedback. He gave me some great tips on my wall balls, my favorite movement ever. hah.
- Although not open yet, the box already has a very homey, old-style CrossFit feel. It has large garage doors, isn't excessively big, and just has that tight community feel planted. It reminded me of my first year at CrossFit.
- Maximized free space. The floor plan and layout was carefully planned.
- Since it's a new gym, it has brand new equipment!
- In addition to the basic equipment, Brad also got the gym a variety of special equipment like ropes, tires, sleds, and benches. There's also more to come!
- Classes all day and even on Sunday's! Weekdays from 7:30am - 10pm, Saturday from 9am - 7pm and Sunday's from 9-12:30pm! Check out the schedule.
- Visitor friendly :)
Some things that could use improvement:
- None yet!
Some pictures: Not everything is set up yet, but this was what was there:
3. new equipment!
4. high rings and a garage door
5. the rig
6. another view
7. equipment storage
8. barbells and tire
9. some extra work to be done before the grand opening
10. Absolution CrossFit
A huge thank you to Brad for letting me come in and workout before they were opened! Best of luck to their grand opening and all the excitement there! We got a great workout in, had some great conversations, and are even Facebook friends now, so it's official. I'll likely be in town again and when that time comes, I'll definitely re-visit and I highly recommend you stop by too! Perhaps I'll check out his brother's gym: CrossFit Darien, too.
Nearby Gyms: CrossFit Posted
Nearby Gyms: CrossFit Posted