When trying to choose the right gym, it can get downright confusing. Most people looking to lose body fat or tone up typically start at a big box gym on their own. The plan is almost always the same: Hit up a couple of machines, maybe use the dumbbells, jump on a cardio machine, and then head out the door without ever really seeing much in the way of results. 

When you start to realize that this isn’t really working out, you may start to seek out help in the form of classes or coaching. 

One of the first things to pop up is CrossFit. You’ve heard about it, maybe you’ve seen it on TV, or maybe you know someone who goes to one. 

In fact, a lot of people often call us up at NEPA Fit Club and assume that we are CrossFit. We’re not. 

We actually like to think that we’re the perfect alternative to Crossfit. 

Allow me to explain: 

1. CrossFit is a franchise …but not really 

When starting a CrossFit gym, or “box” gym as they’re often called, you must pay for the name, but that is pretty much where the “franchise” similarities come from. It’s more of a licensing of the name. Franchises have a set operating system and rules so that they all deliver similar products and services. 

With CrossFit, you could walk into one gym at the end of the street and another at the end of the road, and they could be completely different experiences. 

Like any other profession, there are good and bad CrossFits. 

NEPA Fit Club is an independently owned gym that is focused on being the best personal training gym in Northeast PA and serving the local community. 

2. CrossFit workouts are often randomized

Many CrossFits utilize a WOD, or Workout of the Day. This is usually a randomized series of exercises put together for a maximum amount of reps or time. 

The diversity of WODs can make for a fun training experience. However, if the proper exercises aren’t chosen for the individual, the workouts can be very frustrating or, worse, incapable of even being performed. 

In addition, coaches at CrossFit do not have to be skilled in program design. This misstep allows for workouts that will make you tired without necessarily making you better. 

At NEPA Fit Club, our coaches are highly skilled at customized personal training program design that creates specific workouts for you and allows you to see constant improvement without feeling left out or stuck 

3. CrossFit workouts can quickly lead to burnout or injury

Can you get a great workout at a CrossFit gym? 100%! Can you continue to repeat those workouts daily without feeling run down or hurt? That depends.

The truth is CrossFit provides a very challenging workout in a competitive environment. However, that intense daily competition of chasing reps or the clock can quickly lead to overkill in people who just aren’t ready for it yet. 

Sure, you can go lighter or a bit slower, but it’s difficult for human nature not to kick in and have you push. No one wants to be the person who seems like they “can’t keep up.” So, oftentimes, you push to excess. You will put form and safety behind performance, and that’s when things get iffy. What’s worse is that sometimes, this even holds us back from asking questions about technique or form because we don’t want to be the person who sounds dumb. So we push and push until we inevitably break. 

At NEPA Fit Club, take a different approach. Our personal training programs provide steady, achievable progress and show clients exactly when to push and when to back off. We want you to get results while staying safe, healthy, and not overwhelmed. 

4. CrossFit is a sport

I’ve watched the CrossFit Games on TV. These athletes are amazing. The feats that the top 1% can achieve are nothing short of remarkable. 

It is watching people at the top of their sport. 

Because CrossFit is a sport. 

It is not a training system. 

I believe most adults would do better with a program tailored to them. One that allows progress and keeps you healthy. 

Pushing yourself and testing yourself can be great from time to time.

But not as your primary means of working out. 

5. It is still not developed for YOU 

CrossFit, as it is often performed, is not much different than a magazine article or something you may see on YouTube. 

It is a workout that you see and follow. Then, the next day, you do a different one. 

It’s no different than turning the page and trying the next workout or letting the next video play through. 

It’s kind of like buying a suit off the rack and hoping it fits without having to try it on. 

At NEPA Fit Club, we take the time to assess you before you train so we can better understand your history, your goals, and EXACTLY what you need to see results. 

We then take that information and develop a program that helps you achieve those results. 

We continue to mold, modify, and develop that program every step of the way to keep you seeing progress. 

Our programs are tailor-made and custom-fitted to the individual. 

NEPA Fit Club vs CrossFit

So, that was a short comparison between our programs. As I said, many CrossFits provide many different things. They do a good job of getting people to train hard and explore different movements, but they lack personal guidance to benefit individual gym-goers. You can train hard, intelligently, and safely with personal training and group training at NEPA Fit Club with beginner-friendly workouts designed around you and your goals. We like to think of it as CrossFit-evolved. Get started here today!