History

Although I was always a fairly athletic kid, I was also the lanky, skinny guy growing up. I put on some muscle in my late teens thanks to collegiate athletics, but I was still nothing more than “wiry”.  After college, I lifted weights three times a week for a few years, then after having kids that dropped to twice a week.  At this point I was barely maintaining strength, and I certainly wasn't seeing any growth or progress.  My workouts were boring, I was barely breaking a sweat, and I was doing the same isolated exercises (like bicep curls and quad extensions) that had been showing me no gains for years.  Still, I was getting in my 2 days a week, and I felt I was “in shape”.

Then in 2010, I stumbled upon a different, much more intense, varied type of workout - CrossFit.  Realizing I was not nearly as fit or strong as I thought (see my before and after pics below), I saw what I was missing out on and got hooked immediately.  I cancelled my gym membership, turned a small part of my garage into a fitness space, and began doing CrossFit workouts 5-6 times a week.  I was learning and teaching myself through lots of online tutorials, the skills and exercises were really fun (the skinny guy doing Olympic lifts!), and I was seeing gains like I never had before.  My body was transforming.  I could no longer play hide and seek behind a telephone pole.  My waist size dropped while my shirts were more snug in all the right places and my wife remarked that I finally had legs now!  I had noticeably more energy – I could chase my kids around the park for hours and still go home and get a workout in.  I was happier on a day-to-day basis, more confident, and my self-image was improving. 

Six months later, in May 2011, I decided I wanted to share what I had learned, so I completed the CrossFit Level 1 Certification – I wanted to feel qualified to teach my family and friends.  The hands-on feedback I received was of enormous benefit, and in the weeks after attending the course I saw tremendous improvements in a lot of the skills I had been struggling with.  From this, I realized the incredible value of having someone else see you do a lift or movement and be able to immediately correct flaws.  I was also astounded at the power of the group atmosphere.  So in addition to the formal training I received, the trial and error experience of teaching myself for those initial 6 months gave me terrific insight into how to get a new athlete started with CrossFit, and the best way to advance from beginner-level movements to very technical, advanced ones. Namely, (1) master the basics, and (2) work out with other people!

All the while, I was getting bigger, faster, and stronger, eating better, and feeling confident that these improvements were vital to both my short term happiness and my long term health.  So in September, 2011, I emailed a few friends and said “hey, why don’t you come try these different workouts I’ve been doing? I love it and think you might too. Give me one hour.”  One buddy, with a baby on the way, hesitantly gave it a shot, saying he’d struggle to fit it in more than once a week.  In truth I think he was placating me because he’s a great friend.  Within a month he was coming over 4-5 times a week.  His wife got hooked too.  My wife Kristina got on board.  We expanded the workout space in our garage.  Other friends started coming. 

We realized it was time to make the endeavor into a business, and became an official CrossFit affiliate in April of 2012.  By the summer we had ~20 athletes training out of our garage and were running 3 classes a day - it was clearly time to move and expand!  We wanted to stay in the Wash Park area, and after searching for a few months, in August of 2012 we moved into our current space at 685 S. Broadway in the Denver Design Center.  The spring and summer of 2012 was a wild time!

The commercial space now feels like home, and our original goal is still our priority: developing a fitness community here in Denver revolving around CrossFit where anyone can feel welcome and comfortable.  We constantly strive to establish a positive and encouraging atmosphere - a place where you can be yourself and are not afraid to try and fail (the path to success)!  We simply love surrounding ourselves with other folks who are willing to push themselves physically and mentally day in and day out, give their best no matter the workout, and who place a premium both on short-term gains and long-term health.  Our athletes enjoy CrossFit for a variety of reasons – improved self-image and energy level, motivation to work hard at learning new physical skills, group camaraderie, or just the plain fun of it. 

So I welcome you to come try us out and see if you can add another reason to that list!