I used to eat all kinds of junk, was bloated most times, and uncomfortable with my body. I knew I had to make a change before my condition worsened when I hardly had any energy to even move my body around with ease. Going through a personal fitness journey was not easy for me. Researching and trying to find the most efficient workout routine was the most difficult task. Crossfit training was one thing that was of great help to my fitness journey.
In recent years, Crossfit training have become a very popular workout. Crossfit workouts are in high demand and Crossfit gyms are sprouting at every corner across the world. As of 2019, there were over 15,000 Crossfit gyms in over 150 countries. It is estimated that there are roughly 4 million devoted Crossfit members across the world.
Why Is CrossFit So Expensive?
CrossFit is expensive because it requires a lot of equipment and training. The average CrossFit gym has over $10,000 worth of equipment, and the average price of a CrossFit class is $20. CrossFit is also expensive because it requires a lot of time and effort to learn the movements.
What is Crossfit Workout?
Crossfit is a form of high-intensity interval training workout. This means it is a strength and conditioning workout that involves gait, rotation, pull, push, lunge, hinge, and squats which are all seven functional movements.
In most cases, exercises that may be part of a Crossfit workout are:
- Weightlifting.
- Intense bodyweight movements.
- Lunge jumping.
- Kettlebell Swinging
What is a Crossfit Gym?
Crossfit gyms are also known as “boxes,” and are gyms specifically for Crossfit training or workouts. With how popular crossfitting has become, these “boxes” are in high demand.
What are the benefits of a Crossfit Workout?
Just like any workout routine, Crossfit training has several benefits.
Crossfit improves your agility, balance, and flexibility. Since Crossfit workouts often include functional exercises or workouts that are similar to movements you do daily, these workouts are a great way of improving your agility, balance, and flexibility.
Crossfit workouts may help improve your physical strength. The high-intensity and multi-joint movements in Crossfit workouts improve muscle strength and stamina.
Crossfitting may also help you improve aerobic fitness. Since Crossfit is a high-intensity training workout, it will help increase the maximum amount of oxygen you can utilize during exercise.
Crossfit workouts help you burn more calories than other workouts. As compared to traditional weightlifting where you may burn 9 calories per minute, Crossfit workouts enable you to burn as much as 13 to 15 calories per minute. If you are considering burning calories to lose weight, crossfitting will be perfect for you.
Unlike other traditional gyms, there is the presence of a coach or trainer in every Crossfit gym. This will enable you to get specialized workouts tailored specifically for you, which will help you attain your fitness goals.
How much does a crossfitting class cost?
Most cross fitting classes range from about $15 to $20 per class. A month of unlimited classes will cost you approximately $150 a month. Keep in mind that prices may vary depending on your location and how many classes you register for.
Is crossfitting worth your money?
In some cases, crossfit gym membership registration requires almost 5 times more payment than a normal gym membership. This will appear absurd if you look at this without taking into consideration the awesome benefits of Crossfit gym membership over a traditional gym membership.
Crossfit creates a community that aids in motivating you to push harder. You have “classmates” you are often paired to workout with and coaches to train with you every step of the way. Not forgetting the high-intensity workouts that improve your muscle strength, balance, and overall health.
With the personal coaching, motivation, intense workout, and fitness gains involved in cross fitting, you will be getting your money’s worth if you register for a Crossfit class.
How much a crossfit class costs depends on the gym location, experience of coaches and equipments, but there are much more factors.
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Why is Crossfit gym membership so expensive?
Do you think of starting a crossfit workout this year? Budgeting is important because crossfit training is not so cheap. While looking at how much it will cost you to workout at a Crossfit gym, it is also important that you know why it cost that much.
1. Limited Class Size & location
Most Crossfit gyms have limited class sizes. This ensures that all participants get a lot of individual attention and corrections, which keeps trainers progressing and on track. Most gym class sizes range from 15 to 20. Bigger gyms may even schedule 2 coaches for their busiest and populated classes.
2. Personal Coach or trainer
There are expert coaches in every Crossfit class that will lead you through the proper warm-ups and workouts while at the same time, providing motivation when needed. Therefore, you will be in great hands working out at a Crossfit gym.
3. Programming
Most coaches at Crossfit gyms write and program workouts that require a deep understanding of exercise physiology, stress, and biomechanics. The coach must also have an understanding of progressions, pay close attention to details, and oftentimes, write modifications if need be.
Good programming takes time and experience. As expensive as Crossfit membership may appear, at least you know, it will ensure the work is done well.
4. Expensive gym space
As compared to traditional gyms Crossfit gym owners pay more for space per member and more for training and other maintenance costs. Crossfit gym owners pay affiliate fees, equipment, and training for owners and staff.
Crossfit certifications are far more expensive to attain as compared to other personal training certifications used by trainers at traditional gyms. Workout spaces at Crossfit gyms are often spacious.
5. Crossfit training Class Options
Most Crossfit gyms don’t just offer standard Crossfit classes. Some Crossfit gyms offer other options like Olympic weightlifting, yoga, or competitive Crossfit classes. So, people may avoid crossfit gyms when they offer limited training.
6. You get the value of your money
At a traditional gym, you may pay less per month, but you’re not getting programming, coaches, community, encouragement, and check-ins.
At a traditional gym, you will be ok if you know how to use the machines, have previous training, and have the time and patience to wait your turn to use the treadmill or other equipment. However, the average gym-goer doesn’t have the experience and patience for all that. A Crossfit gym makes it possible to utilize all these in one package.
7. Crossfit is more about training
Unlike the traditional gyms, Crossfit is about training and not solely exercise. That is, exercise is any physical activity that requires effort or strength.
Training, on the other hand, isn’t just any physical activity but intense exercise that shapes your body. If you are combining your training with good nutrition, rest, and recovery, Crossfit is the type of training that helps shape your body into an athlete’s body.
If you are consistent, this type of training will produce long-term results.
8. Follow up from coaches
Crossfit coaches are known for improving their level of training by staying updated with the latest research and findings in the fitness world. Crossfit coaches think about your athletic background, movement quality, old injuries, and new reactions to workouts. They talk about your progress weekly, all the way through from when you first began. So basically, they’re there to take care of you throughout the way.
9. High-Intensity workout
A Crossfit workout isn’t just exercise but intense training, so higher prices for membership is not such a bad idea if members are getting the appropriate value for the price. With Crossfit training, you are getting the value on your money.
10. You have a fitness community
Unlike normal gyms where it’s more ideal to work alone or with a friend or two, Crossfit aims to achieve a working community. You’ll have personalized training, coaches that follow up, and a community of members that’ll motivate you to go harder.
Related: How to buy The Best CrossFit backpack
How can you CrossFit on a budget?
It is no secret that Crossfit gym memberships are far more expensive than normal gym memberships. Most people cannot afford to pay for a 150$ dollar membership because of their low-income earnings. But it wonders many people how do poor people become crossfitters.
If you cannot afford Crossfit workouts at a gym, you can still be able to Crossfit by investing more in home workouts. You can buy a few necessary pieces of equipment required for a Crossfit workout. Getting a jump rope and kettlebells can make a real difference.
You can as well follow up Crossfit workouts online on platforms like YouTube. If you would like to workout at a Crossfit gym, then you can get to your local Crossfit gyms to know if you can get cheaper rates for fewer workout hours.
How to afford CrossFit membership cost is one thing that preoccupies the minds of fitness enthusiasts. The high membership subscription fee gets low income fitness lovers worried, on how enjoy a healthy CrossFit lifestyle. Yet, even poor people are still able to become crossfitters. Coupled with diet expectation and nutritional demands, CrossFit is the classiest of fitness exercises. So how do you crossfit on a tight budget plan?
1. Join Global Crossfit Gym
A global gym is very cheap if you want to gain a healthy lifestyle and you don’t have limited means of making enough money. The only thing is that you need to learn to follow the global gym’s programming that is posted online, on a daily basis. you can modify the workouts by yourself, based on the equipments available. For example, you can replace kettlebell swings with dumbbells. This global gym is pretty inexpensive, and the best recommended alternative to CrossFit gym subscription plan, if you don’t want to spend over $100 per month. Some programming include Starting Strength, StrongLifts, Greyskull and more.
2. Get part time job at the Gym
Most cash trapped crossfit fans have confirmed speaking to the gym owners and working out a deal to do little tasks around, in exchange for free or reduced crossfit membership rates.
You can clean around, be a referral, do photography, build, maintain, and host the crossfit gym website if you have skill in web developing. If you are a nutritionist, why not contribute to offering athletic fitness food to gym members? If you know how to coach, you can just take up a coaching job for free or low priced membership.
3. Cut down on other expenses
Another way how to crossfit on a budget, is cut down on personal expenses. Depending on your personal lifestyle, you can sacrifice other things for a healthy fitness lifestyle. All depends on the cost of living in your town or city. Movie fans can cut back on entertainment and allocate the extra fund to gym monthly membership payment.
There are gyms for cross fit workouts, that charge as low as $10, and I am sure, reducing personal expenses on alcohol can make up this cost. Other extraneous things to cut out to pay for a gym workout plan include cable TV, eating out, internet. Just be honest with yourself buddy, you can live a very frugal life and get your health balanced when you become a crossfitter.
4. negotiate for a CrossFit group membership
The gym owner may choose offer a discounted membership for a group of friends, if you can bargain for it. It depends on your local gym owner, but this will help your poor friends take cross fit training workouts at little costs.
5 Set Up your own Crossfit Gym
Improvise – get things free and cheaper
If Spending a discretionary budget on CrossFit exercise is one of your biggest worries, make gymnastic rings or parallettes out of PVC pipes, pick cheap ropes and hang them over tree branches near your apartment or office. Nearby trees and other raised objects can be great for pup-up exercises. Moreover, you can build squat stands from gallon, buckets, and concrete and get a medicine ball, by filling up a baseball with sand or sawdust. An iron plate may replace a rower or kettlebell.
Buy used equipments
If you think in the long term, CrossFit membership will be super expensive, despite the good and healthy life it promises you. You can buy used gym and personal gym equipments and tools to set up your own home gym.
Why people may avoid Crossfit gyms
Many people consider Crossfit workouts too expensive for training. They will prefer to work out at home or pay for a cheaper traditional gym membership.
In some areas, Crossfit trainers can get certified with no prior fitness education or experience. This scares people from getting Crossfit gym memberships because their fitness health might be in the hands of an unprofessional trainer.
There are claims that Crossfit has a high injury rate as compared to other workout routines.
Another reason why people may avoid Crossfit gyms is that some Crossfit trainers become so obsessed with it and act like crossfitting is a cult.
Some people believe that Crossfit training at Crossfit gyms is unnecessarily too hard on members.
Why Crossfit might not be for you
There is a muscular injury called rhabdomyolysis, which causes the skeleton muscle to become severely damaged to the point that it breaks down. This condition is mostly caused by prolonged and intense workouts. You should probably visit a doctor before embarking on a Crossfit workout routine.
Crossfit might not be for you because it takes a lot of time. Most Crossfit classes are about 40 minutes. Keep in mind that the total workout time will include 15 minutes workout at the beginning. At most, a Crossfit workout can take over an hour and a half.
If you are not a fitness pro and are just starting your fitness journey and are out of shape, then Crossfit might not be for you. You should attend a Crossfit affiliate class first before getting into serious Crossfit training.
Things to know when starting a Crossfit workout
Before starting a Crossfit workout, keep in mind that it takes time and you will not achieve instant results. So you should be patient because you have nothing to prove.
Strength workouts. Strength workouts are very intense and strenuous. Take your time so that you don’t end up with a workout injury,
Eat enough food. When starting a Crossfit workout, make sure you are on a highly nutritious diet because it requires a lot of energy. Don’t go on the popular Paleo diet, which involves consumption of only lean protein, veggies, healthy fats, little fruits, and little carbs. Carbs give energy and it will be dangerous to get a deficit while carrying out an intense activity. Eat the required 2000-2500 calories a day depending on your doctor’s advice.
When you are doing Crossfit workouts, be careful not to get obsessed about working out. It will be extremely detrimental to your health if you become obsessed with working out and overwork yourself. This can result in severe physical or psychological health issues.
Get proper rest. Keep in mind that you will need adequate rest to carry out Crossfit training since it is an intense training. Rest will help you regain energy for the next workout.
If you’re interested in Crossfit workouts and have no previous experience with it, you should attend new beginner classes to learn the fundamentals of Crossfit. Make sure you go through the appropriate process and not just jump straight into the intense training. Also, go for proper check-ups with your doctor to know if you’ll be fit for the workouts.
Related: The best crossfit shoes for women athletes – cross training boots
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Conclusion
At the end of the day, we all try to be in an environment that is as comfortable for us. So, choose what works best for you whether it is at a traditional gym, at home, or at a Crossfit gym.
Gearon is undergraduate (BSC in Physics), co-founder at TASI GYM, a runner, and a hands-on web developer . He is so passionate about getting fit.
His Science background, unbreakable zeal for fitness and value driven mindset, gives him an unusual discernment to determine if a treadmill meets expections of customers with varying fitness levels and health status or not. He tracks innovative changes in fitness world and uses customer feedback, manufacturer data, running experience, experts/coach interviews to make insightful reviews that uncovers value that guides Getfitsmartly community make right Personal fitness decisions with visible results.
