Why is the cost of CrossFit so expensive??
Why is the cost of CrossFit so expensive? The headlines for why CrossFit boxes need to charge more:
- CrossFit is a brand. Any ‘box’ that wants to be officially associated with the brand has to pay for it.
- Small class sizes
- Expert coaching from coaches with hands-on experience.
- Varied and pre-programmed training.
- Equipment that you might not come across in a ‘regular’ gym.
- A uniquely sociable atmosphere that often makes you feel like more than just a ‘gym goer’ but a valued member of a community.
You’ve probably heard about CrossFit. Maybe a colleague is often found on a Monday morning – however much they try to hide it – smugly announcing that they have already managed to get their workout in at a 6:15 AM CrossFit class that day. Or perhaps, a friend or family member is regularly inundating your social media feeds with videos of them doing somewhat unusual looking pull-ups or performing moves that their captions refer to as ‘cleans’, ‘jerks’ or ‘pushes’ – whatever they might mean. And maybe, just maybe, you have observed these people in your life and thought, privately of course – you wouldn’t like to give them the satisfaction before it was completely necessary – ‘maybe I should give it a go?’
Often the next step in deciding to give anything a go for the first time is researching the whats; the whens; the wheres and the HOW MUCH?! Yes, CrossFit is expensive. While a membership at a traditional gym may set you back, on average, between £25-£50 a month. A membership at a CrossFit gym or ‘box’ will often require a payment of around £70-80 each month. Even for the less budget-conscious amongst us, the difference between the two may send alarm bells ringing. Or, at the very least, have you questioning why.
So, why is it so expensive? Why bother spending all that extra cash if you can get a perfectly usable gym membership for £25 a month instead? The simple answer: you get much more for your money.
CrossFit is a brand:
Yes, CrossFit is a brand that was started in California in 2000. In order to be associated with this brand, all boxes must pay an annual affiliate fee of £2700. However, this is not to say that CrossFit is merely just ‘branding’ or that paying that fee isn’t worth it. CrossFit is also an exercise philosophy that combines techniques and ideologies from a breadth of disciplines such as Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and high-intensity interval training. In order to be certain that a gym is implementing this philosophy correctly, and that its members will feel the results that this kind of training promises, CrossFit has to be confident that their powerful name is only attached to the gyms they know are doing things correctly, with their members health and well-being at the heart of every decision.
Small Class Sizes:
In order for the expert coaches to be able to give their care and attention to every single person in a class at any one time, the class sizes have to stay manageable. Unlike a traditional group class, CrossFit coaches do not spend the entire hour at the front demoing the next movement that they would like you to complete. While clear and detailed instructions are given both at the beginning of a class and to introduce particular movements, CrossFit coaches spend most of their time prowling around the gym, giving targeted feedback to each member. This allows them the opportunity to help the entire range of athletes in their classes, no matter where they are in their fitness journey. A small class size, while still large enough to ensure a social atmosphere, creates an environment in which both professional athletes and first-timers can receive individual attention and make the improvements they are looking for.
Expert Coaching:
As you may have already gathered, a CrossFit class may look quite different to that of any other group workout class you have attended. With the combination of weightlifting and gymnastics, and the departure from the ‘lead from the front’ model that most gym classes use, CrossFit coaches need to know their stuff. The world of CrossFit can often feel overwhelming with terminology, movements and concepts that, chances are, you have never heard of before. An educated coach can transform their years of expertise and experience into easy-to-understand instructions and pointers that make progress seem simple. Often, progress is anything but, but with the right coaches doing the brainwork for you, all you need to do is turn up and listen.
Varied and Pre-Programmed Training:
One of the key facets of CrossFit workouts is that they are incredibly varied. Each class tends to have a wide variety of movements and every class is different from the last. Almost every class will aim to include movements that target your whole body and improve overall fitness. One Monday might be back squats, running and burpees. The next monday you will find yourself climbing a rope for the first time in your life. If you are easily bored, or – more likely – not particularly willing to be both bored and having to work hard then the variety will help you keep on track and achieve your goals. And the best part is, the training is pre-programmed for you. You can look at your week ahead and know what you will be doing and when. No thinking required. All you have to do is show up and give it some welly.
Equipment
While CrossFit may not be as bizarre as it can sometimes seem in the Instagram reels you’re likely to stumble upon in your endless scrolling on a Sunday afternoon (we still do normal things like run, sit-up, lunge and disappear for a wee when the hard work is really about to start), there are movements and machines that you just won’t come across in a traditional gym. This allows you to exercise in a more varied and targeted way and improve your overall health and fitness more easily. No fitness journey is ever going to be ‘easy’ but having access to the right kit is often a good place to start.
The atmosphere
CrossFit is often looked at as a bit of a cult, with each of its participants seemingly completely unable to ever shut up about it. Forgetting, for a moment, that this is surely a good sign that it really is quite fun, one of the biggest reasons CrossFit members are so obsessed is that they feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. A true community. You will often find it is the same people that go week on week and month after month and with the smaller class sizes you end up getting to know your training partners pretty well. It’s not all burpees and toes-to-bar, lots of the time spent before, during and after class is spent chatting about work, family and who has the nicest trainers.
CrossFit boxes tend to believe that a good gym is a friendly and fun gym. It is in this environment that you are most likely to feel comfortable enough to try new things and not worry if your first, second or third attempts don’t go as planned. And it is in trying new things that we are most likely to improve in ways we never thought we could. Also, it’s just quite nice to start a new hobby and end up with 100 new friends without even really having to try.
So, is CrossFit expensive? Some may say it is. Although when compared against the cost of one big night out, or a monthly splurge on a new item of clothing that you definitely don’t need, it’s maybe not quite so bad.
But is the cost worth it? Yes, absolutely it is.
When it comes to your health, and creating habits and investment in yourself that will last a lifetime, it’s a bargain.
Written by Mel Mugford for CrossFit ISCA.
Why not try out a CrossFit gym today and find out why so many people love it?
CrossFit ISCA in Exeter, we’d love to give you the chance to experience CrossFit and to understand why people value it so highly so drop us a message and we’ll be very happy to arrange for you to come and see what it’s all about.
