4 Reasons Why CrossFit Is a Bargain (Really!)

“CrossFit is a bargain!” isn’t a sentence you hear very often, but it’s extremely true. One of the biggest objections I hear to starting CrossFit is the cost. It’s several times the cost of a Globo Gym membership, and it doesn’t offer the “amenities”: locker rooms, saunas, pools, recumbent bikes, and at my box, showers.
But that’s just one way of looking at it. If you really examine what you’re getting for your monthly membership, you’ll realize that CrossFit is definitely a bargain compared to what comes from the Globo Gym. Why?

It’s All Small Group Training

Before I started CrossFit, I belonged to a small group training gym. The small group gym’s cost was comparable to CrossFit. I loved that gym, and I love small group training because you’re with other people who encourage and help you, and you have a coach watching you to prevent injuries. It’s something that the Globo Gym doesn’t really have. I mean, sure, there are group exercise classes filled with people that maybe you’ll talk to, but the instructor is busy trying to watch and correct a group of 30 people – more than twice the number that show up to the average CrossFit class with a single coach. (Most coaches will only take 15 athletes per class. Larger classes often have two or more coaches to help with form. The coaching itself is one of the biggest reasons why CrossFit is a bargain.)

You Get Personalized Attention

Sure, you can hire a personal trainer at the Globo Gym at $100 per hour (or whatever the going rate is these days). For less than the cost of two personal training sessions, you can get a CrossFit membership and have coaches who will provide you solid tips on form. They’ll notice when you’re pulling with the wrong muscles or otherwise jeopardizing your health in a move. Really awesome coaches will also help you with things like nutrition or race training plans. Most personal trainers don’t; when they’re employed by the Globo Gym, their job is to keep you inside the gym, paying their fee, not running 20+ miles a week outside.

The Programming Is Constantly Varied

This is arguably the best part of CrossFit: the programming is constantly varied. At my box, the owner, a Level 2 coach, programs the workouts to the top athletes at the box. Every day is different at CrossFit; you will never be doing the same squats and presses every time you walk in. Some days, you might do a benchmark workout. Other days, you’ll do something the head coach or owner made up. The only thing you can really expect is to work hard, break a serious sweat, and make new friends. (And as an introvert, if I consider that a bonus, you know it must be true.) And you will be using more than just one piece of equipment for the workout – which doesn’t generally happen in group fitness classes.

You’ll Always Get the Equipment You Need

During busy times at the Globo Gym, good luck getting a treadmill or into the squat rack. Nope, that’s not what the Globo Gym is for. At CrossFit, you will always be able to get the equipment you need for the workout. You’ll also be able to get plenty of it: an abmat, a plyo box, a kettlebell, a barbell, whatever the head coach dreamed up for the workout. When you have your equipment, you’re ready to work out – and having the equipment costs money. Considering what the outlay is for the med balls, barbells, and other accoutrements, CrossFit is a bargain.

 When I look at Globo Gym v. CrossFit, CrossFit is a bargain compared to the headaches of trying to get on one of the few rowers or use the one or two squat racks. Plus the personal attention, the constantly varied programming, the camraderie – it all adds up to an experience that I’m willing to pay more to get. And, as a side note, what I’m paying now for CrossFit is much less than what I’d pay for diabetes medication in the future. (Diabetes runs in my family. I’m doing everything I can to make sure I don’t have to deal with it later.)
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One thought on “4 Reasons Why CrossFit Is a Bargain (Really!)

  1. YES! And the other advantage is the group of friends and “family” you’re going to make who will be just as excited as you when you hit a new PR. You’ll never find that in a globe-gym unless you just happen to be working out with a friend. I love my CrossFit family!

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