Editor’s Note: The Daily Press will spotlight several local fitness programs in the coming weeks as residents work towards their New Year’s resolutions.
Santa Monica can often be described as the fitness mecca center and the city has welcomed one of the nation’s fastest growing fitness concepts: CrossFit.
CrossFit was founded by Greg Glassman in 2000. The first facility (known as a box) was in Santa Cruz, California and now there are more than 10,000 boxes including four in Santa Monica. CrossFit Los Angeles (3201 Santa Monica), CrossFit SandBox (925 Wilshire Blvd.), CrossFit Reflex (3328 Pico Blvd.), and CrossFit Santa Monica (2433 Main St.).
CrossFit boxes are not like a regular fitness gym. The CrossFit routine consists of various movements of high intensity intervals for a specific period of time. There are no treadmills, ellipticals, or bikes, rather you see wooden jump boxes, kettlebells, tires, climbing ropes and oversized fitness toys.
CrossFit Santa Monica opened in 2013 and was started by two former Navy Seals, Kaj Larsen and Carter Gaffney. Larsen and Gaffney are two of the six coaches that motivate and train various individuals, and the training reflects the seal motto, “The only easy day was yesterday.”
“I met my best friend Carter Gaffney while in the Navy and we both had a strong passion for incorporating CrossFit into our lives, along with the principles we learned in the Navy,” said Larsen. “We opened CrossFit in Santa Monica because of the love we have for it and we ultimately wanted to help people achieve lifelong goals.”
General Manager of CFSM, Jackson Day, believes CrossFit can change people’s lives by simply providing a community of like-minded individuals working toward a similar goal.
CSFM is a beginner friendly box and focuses on conditioning. The coaches provide guidance that leads to excellence in movements and also encourage healthy lifestyle habits, like nutrition.
CFSM not only participates in the CrossFit Open but also in an eight week Whole Life Challenge. Members score themselves everyday on each of the seven daily habits. Nutrition, exercise, mobilization, sleep, hydration, lifestyle, and reflection. The habits are scored according to the rules that are placed in advance.
“The CFSM system includes many aspects that are not part of the standard CrossFit gyms like diet planning, and health meal delivery and classes based on legendary physical tasks performed during Navy SEAL training Hell Week,” said Day.
“Everyday is a new challenge; everyone records their personal scores and compares their numbers to previous workouts to track progress. “When it comes to CrossFit, we practice and train major lifts, deadlifts, squat, presses and snatches. Similarly master the basics of gymnastics,” said Day.
CFSM welcomes everyone and anyone. Whether you are trying to complete your first 5K or just trying to keep up with the little ones, the workouts will get you up and moving.
Matt Cuberthson, Director of Ecommerce and CFSM member said,"CrossFit Santa Monica is a place where I am constantly pushed to new levels. Before when I would work out on my own it was easy to get comfortable and I would stop seeing results. Now that I am here and have a whole gym behind me pushing me to get better I am stronger than I have ever been. They make the workouts fun and I am constantly learning new things.”
Day said the mission is to bring a new level of health and fitness to CrossFit members using a holistic lifestyle approach that involves functional exercise, proven diet regimens and a supporting community.
“Being a part of CrossFit you become part of a community and we take pride on having great and positive peer to peer motivation, ” said Larsen.
marina@www.smdp.com
