why are crossfit facilities/ classes SO expensive?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    I recently stopped going to a power yoga class because I got tired of the teacher trying to pull the "Awwwwwww, I am so glad you are back! We missed you!" guilt trip on me every time I wasn't there. And when I started, I had told her that my schedule would not permit me to attend every class.

    Personally, I think the main reason she does that is to try and keep a class together so the gym won't take her class off the schedule when attendance gets low over the summer.
    Or just out of kindness. Lol, I'm a little more blunt................."Where you been?" is usually mine, but always one on one and never in front of a class. Nothing wrong with finding out what members have been up to if the instructor hasn't seen them in awhile. What's important is that we actually notice when someone is gone instead of being just another face in the crowd.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    You're right. But the situation I'm talking about was in front of a class, and happened even if only one class was missed.
  • dporter1183
    dporter1183 Posts: 154 Member
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    Someone explain to me what a box and WOD is...
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Someone explain to me what a box and WOD is...

    The box is basically the name for the gym. WOD is workout of the day.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    Because that much Kool-Aid ain't cheap!

    Okay, I don't really have anything against CF, but this did make me chuckle :laugh:
  • dporter1183
    dporter1183 Posts: 154 Member
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    Someone explain to me what a box and WOD is...

    The box is basically the name for the gym. WOD is workout of the day.

    aha. thank you :)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Because that much Kool-Aid ain't cheap!

    Okay, I don't really have anything against CF, but this did make me chuckle :laugh:

    I posted on of those memes on my husbands Facebook page about him drinking he kool aid. I only took a sip.
  • PomegranatePriestess
    PomegranatePriestess Posts: 2,455 Member
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    Because that's what semi personalized fitness coaching costs. Every time I see someone on the boards talk about crossfit being expensive, they are comparing it to some standard gym where you go in do whatever you want and walk out. No groups, no coaching, no expected performance levels, no training, nothing.

    Having a personal trainer at your regular spot costs $50-80 per session, and at 12 sessions per month, that would run you $700+ per month, PLUS the $40 for your gym membership. So crossfit is incredibly cheap compared to 1 on 1 training.

    Now lets compare small groups. Usually pilates or yoga in small groups runs $15-25 per session, so those same 12 sessions would cost you $240 per month. Circuit training, boxing, and martial arts training classes tend to fall around the same number. So crossfit, at $160-200 per month, fits right in this niche.

    Apples to apples, people, apples to apples.

    Thank you.

    I'm not at a typical "box," but it runs me about $118 a month to go three times per week. It's a bargain for the results I'm enjoying. I dropped my gym membership last month because I was never there anymore... I actually prefer Crossfit to anything going on at a regular gym.

    Also, regarding bashing Crossfit: [insert tired old "beating a dead horse" gif here].
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
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    Most Crossfit boxes are significantly more expensive than regular gym memberships. It's partly because they have to pay such high insurance premiums because their exercise routines are so extreme and intense that a higher than normal injury rate is expected. My advice is to forget about Crossfit, It's just a fad that will pass, like all other fitness fads. If you want and can afford it, hire a personal trainer for a while to make sure you have good form in whatever you're doing -- especially if your workout involves heavy lifting, and find some fitness classes you really like and will want to attend on a regular basis.

    Heath_gal is that you?

    Ha ha - my thoughts too!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    One of my favorite parts of this thread is the constant quoting of how much the liability insurance must be. I mean, people are totally pulling this out of their behinds. They have no idea what gym liability runs and what circumstances would increase premiums. They a manufacturing and entire alternate reality based on the insurance premiums in their heads
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    One of my favorite parts of this thread is the constant quoting of how much the liability insurance must be. I mean, people are totally pulling this out of their behinds. They have no idea what gym liability runs and what circumstances would increase premiums. They are manufacturing an entire alternate reality based on the insurance premiums in their heads.

    And not surprisingly, the insurance premiums in their heads are rather bulky.
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
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    Apples to apples works only if the trainer has the same background. For 30 bucks an hour I get a trainer at my gym who has a degree in kinesthesiology. At CrossFit I might get a trainer who took a weekend seminar course. Of course I realize that there likely some great trainers with CrossFit but I would check out credentials prior to joining. Overall, it seems that the CrossFit brand has had some issues with quality control.
  • PomegranatePriestess
    PomegranatePriestess Posts: 2,455 Member
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    Apples to apples works only if the trainer has the same background. For 30 bucks an hour I get a trainer at my gym who has a degree in kinesthesiology. At CrossFit I might get a trainer who took a weekend seminar course. Of course I realize that there likely some great trainers with CrossFit but I would check out credentials prior to joining. Overall, it seems that the CrossFit brand has had some issues with quality control.

    $30 an hour for personal training is a good price, and one that you will not find ANYWHERE in the Boston area, period, and if you do, the person probably "took a weekend seminar course."

    If you do your research, you'll see that not only are there plenty of "great trainers with CrossFit" but that many of them were personal trainers long before they were CrossFit certified. My trainer has been in the business for 16+ years. She has the highest national certifications you can get as a personal trainer, and I have trained with her on and off over the last 8 years.

    CrossFit has had issues with quality control the same way that any other brand has, like Pilates (which actually was a brand before they lost it in court). It would be foolish to think that all locations are equal. They aren't, any more than any other type of gym would be (kickboxing, MMA, boxing, etc.). They are not cookie cutter locations, despite the way it may appear to people on the outside.

    Bottom line is that the vast majority of the people bashing Crossfit have never even set foot in a Crossfit location, and the reasons can almost always be boiled down to the following: lack of money, lack of guts, or both.
  • KellyL23
    KellyL23 Posts: 81 Member
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    Basically personal training, workouts planned for you, motivation, wodify (digital tracking of progress), nutrition advice, a great community, and a ton of fun - all rolled into one. I know I never worked out as hard, and never went as much, and never saw such great results at a regular gym. Worth every penny for me!!!!
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    The national Crossfit organization is to blame for the bulk of the quality control issues for choosing to certify weekend seminar participants with no other certifications as trainers.

    it is not correct to assume the reasons one might not set foot in a Crossfit gym "can almost always be boiled down to the following: lack of money, lack of guts, or both." That kind of Crossfit snob, "Crossfit is better than anything you could ever do" attitude is the cause of much of the anti-Crossfit backlash we see these days.

    Yes, Crossfit is more expensive than many gyms. But even if money was no object, if the type of program they offer isn't what I want, why would I want to pay premium dollar for it? Crossfit is only one option in a world of fitness classes. The type of training they offer certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea. In my area, I can have unlimited membership at two locally owned gym for less than what it would cost for an unlimited membership at Crossfit and have plenty of workout variety to keep me busy, interested, and coming back.
  • PomegranatePriestess
    PomegranatePriestess Posts: 2,455 Member
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    Basically personal training, workouts planned for you, motivation, wodify (digital tracking of progress), nutrition advice, a great community, and a ton of fun - all rolled into one. I know I never worked out as hard, and never went as much, and never saw such great results at a regular gym. Worth every penny for me!!!!

    I'm glad you chimed in because you just reminded me of something.

    NEVER before in my life at any other gym, in any other type of class, has any other participant ever given me a pep talk, cheered me on, commented on my progress, or said at the end of it "wow, you killed it today." These things happen on a daily basis where I am now. The sense of community is incomparable.

    I've heard people say it's competitive. Maybe at some places that is the focus. Where I am, you are bettering yourself, setting personal records, working on your own goals. You're damn right I'm competing -- against the old me. And I'm winning.

    To me, the spirit of it is much like the spirit of my friends list here on MFP. And since I can't work out with all my friends here, it's the next best thing.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
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    All fads are expensive to start with. Eventually this too shall pass and it will be replaced by another new expensive fitness fad.

    People like me don't have to worry about those expensive fads. They all seem to involve a lot of joint impact that I can't tolerate. Whether it is XF, PX90, Insanity. Whatever.
    I should "invent" a fitness plan for people like me and then charge a crap load of money for it :bigsmile:
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    Basically personal training, workouts planned for you, motivation, wodify (digital tracking of progress), nutrition advice, a great community, and a ton of fun - all rolled into one. I know I never worked out as hard, and never went as much, and never saw such great results at a regular gym. Worth every penny for me!!!!

    I'm glad you chimed in because you just reminded me of something.

    NEVER before in my life at any other gym, in any other type of class, has any other participant ever given me a pep talk, cheered me on, commented on my progress, or said at the end of it "wow, you killed it today." These things happen on a daily basis where I am now. The sense of community is incomparable.

    I've heard people say it's competitive. Maybe at some places that is the focus. Where I am, you are bettering yourself, setting personal records, working on your own goals. You're damn right I'm competing -- against the old me. And I'm winning.

    To me, the spirit of it is much like the spirit of my friends list here on MFP. And since I can't work out with all my friends here, it's the next best thing.

    That happens at the boot camp class I go to all the time. And it's not a Crossfit.
  • PomegranatePriestess
    PomegranatePriestess Posts: 2,455 Member
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    it is not correct to assume the reasons one might not set foot in a Crossfit gym "can almost always be boiled down to the following: lack of money, lack of guts, or both." That kind of Crossfit snob, "Crossfit is better than anything you could ever do" attitude is the cause of much of the anti-Crossfit backlash we see these days.

    It is also not correct to assume that I feel that Crossfit is better than anything you could ever do, since that is not the case.

    It is also not correct to say that I was referring to everyone who has not set foot in a Crossfit gym. I specifically referred to the people who BASH Crossfit... most of them have never even tried it. Do you think it's fair to bash something you aren't willing to even try, thereby making other people less likely to try it, when it might be just what they need?

    Lastly, perhaps you are in the minority. If so, mazeltov. It doesn't invalidate what I said, and you trying to label me a snob when you don't even know me is just laughable.
  • wutaday1
    wutaday1 Posts: 45 Member
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    It is like getting group personal training. Much cheaper than a gym membership and then a personal trainer. I find that it is definitely a much better workout then when I work out alone. I agree that the times of the "classes" kind of stink and the lack of child care stinks. I had my first crossfit class last night (bought a groupon to try it out) and there were seven people and two trainers there, could be up to twelve people. I got personal attention to make sure my form was correct and it was an awesome workout.

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