CrossFit Kinetics (5540 Cunard Street, 497-1557) is a new fitness club in the heart of the north end and Cunard and Creighton. It may surprise you with its Spartan décor: 1,700 square feet in a former auto body shop, no machines, just weights and rings and mats and space. “We’ve taken away all of the fluffy things you often find in gyms,” explains co-owner Jim Hardy. But this isn’t just a gym. CrossFit Kinetics is associated with CrossFit, the international fitness model that stresses workouts utilizing gymnastics and weight training. Hardy, who has been a trainer for 10 years, is quick to point out that anyone can do CrossFit, and the seven trainers on staff will guide participants through classes and help them maintain the proper technique. “It’s the movements that are important to everybody, not the intensity,” says Hardy. You start with three fundamental sessions to measure your fitness—for the instructors to train you how to do the exercises and also for basic safety—and then you pay a flat monthly rate to attend classes as regularly as you can. “But you are encouraged to manage your rest time and recovery,” says Hardy, who reminds us its exercise, rest and diet are the three most important elements to healthy living. He also says that “no one ever doesn’t like the body that comes with CrossFit,” that the cosmetic benefits are a side effect of the diligent physical regime. Learn more at crossfitkinetics.com. Fundamental sessions are $225 for three, and the unlimited class monthly rate is $125, but the first-timers can try a class for free.
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2009.