For our first vacation this year, we decided to go to Curaçao and Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean in September! During our three days in Curaçao, we managed to check out CrossFit 5 Triple 9 in Willemstad. CrossFit 5 Triple 9 is the only CrossFit gym on the island of Curaçao!
Fresh off the long plane ride, we dropped our stuff at the hotel, got a few drinks and then headed to CrossFit 5 Triple 9 for the 7pm class with the head coach, Jan. This is what we did:
- Warm Up: walking lunges, overhead plate walk, handstand hold, strict/kipping HSPU review, deadlift review
- Workout: In teams of 2, alternating by round, 12min AMRAP:
- 6 Deadlift 225#/155#
- 12 HSPU
Some things I really liked here:
- The first and only CrossFit gym in Curaçao! Although not in walking distance from the hotels in Willemstad, it's a short cab ride.
- Friendly members. Locals are very friendly, even to tourists, but when you workout with them, it's taken to the next level. Not only did we meet almost everyone in the class, but we also had really good conversations with them. They gave us the best restaurant advice and my partner in the WOD, Lisa, offered to take us back to the hotel. She even gave us a short tour of Willemstad! Traveling is so much better, especially with a list of recommendations and things to do from locals!
- Great coaching. Jan can back up all the certifications he has, including being a Level 2 CrossFit trainer. His explanations of the deadlift and HSPU progression, do's and don'ts, etc were on the dot and very detailed. Being the only CrossFit gym on the island, I was surprised at how good the coaching was. Jan was also super energetic and talkative, which contributes to the awesome vibe.
- Interesting facility. They are literally located in an old (high?) school gym/auditorium. Inside the facility, there's a small area to do basketball and on the other side there's a stage. That being said, the location works. It is very spacious and they have very high ceilings. They also have a few fans to cool it down. We still thought it was extremely hot, but the locals didn't seem to mind as much.
- Open gym five days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
- Visitor Policy: they love to do t-shirt exchanges with other boxes!
Some things that could use improvement:
- Classes in the morning. They currently only have evening classes on weekdays from 4 or 5pm, depending on the day. Check out their schedule.
Some pictures:
3. Inside
4. old high school auditorium!
5. stage
6. desk area
7. white board substitution
8. many doors
9. mobility area on the side
10. and just in case you want to shoot some hoops
11. pull up structure in back
12. view of the back
We absolutely loved our visit at CrossFit 5 Triple 9, but the real icing is all the new friends we made: from the three coaches to the the members. They're a great group of people! Check them out!