Past, Present, & Future

Did you know?
CrossFit CLE started small in May 2007 as a collection of like-minded individuals looking for a good workout, meeting up for free at a local park. In November we moved into our first location across the street with low ceilings and 1600sq ft. It was good enough, and we slowly grew from 4 members to 20 members in our first year there. About this time a better location opened up across the street and we moved in to where we are now, almost doubling in size to 3200sq ft, with taller ceilings. By the end of the second year we had doubled in size to 40 members.

Today we are on track to double again for our third year in a row, putting us at 80 members this fall. During a recession when many businesses suffer, it is exciting to experience growth. Recognition of CrossFit and the CrossFit Games continues to grow rapidly in both the US and internationally. As the public continues to learn about the benefits, we hope to double again to 160 members by November 2011. With our recent expansion to 6200 sq ft and the addition of a women's class, noon class, and later evening hours we can comfortably accommodate this growth without creating class waiting lists.

Our rapid growth is a testament to the incredibly supportive community of individuals found here! Some have been working for free from the beginning, while several others continue to volunteer their time to help us grow. The growth is exciting, seeing more people understand how fun it can be to fit, healthy, and active, and also because we can improve our shared space! Our wish list of improvements includes:

- add more kettlebells
- replace all boxes with wider Rogue boxes , add more boxes
- more speed ropes of varying lengths, labeled for convenience
- replace GHDs, add more
- more barbells and weights
- more lifting stations
- add 100lb plates for heavier deadlifts
- add huge fans for cooling
- add showers
- renovate existing bathrooms
- add smoothie bar
- adding more hours
- more regular member videos
- hosting our own CrossFit Level 1 Certification
- many more things we haven't even thought of yet

We look forward to this growth that is only possible at this scale with your help. Thanks again to everyone who has supported us for the last 2.5 years already (including all 711 FaceBook fans)! Some of you have helped us move, others helped us add the flooring, others help with our billing system, some volunteer to cover a class when a trainer is sick, others regularly share their experience with friends bringing on new members, some compete while wearing our shirts. You are ALL greatly appreciated!!

Lastly, I want to thank the crew that showed up on Friday to do 150 burpees for time. It's a difficult workout, and hard to push all the way through. The way people teamed up as partners to count off, yell, and cheer was nothing short of amazing. And just as we were about the start the last round for the evening, as participants stood in the heat already covered in sweat with a look of dread on their face, "I'm not afraid" came on and we yelled "I'm not afraid of burpees!"  3 - 2 - 1 - GO!!!