Monday 100913

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CrossFit Fredericton (Canada) answers some questions in the CrossFit Affiliate Snapshot.

Affiliate Owners: Anthony Bainbridge & Jodi Bainbridge.

Affiliate Since: August 2007.

Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Square Footage: We have approximately 2000 square feet of gym space with 13' ceilings in the downtown core. Members have access to fully equipped locker rooms, showers, pool, etc. Our front door opens to the Fredericton's running trail system along the river.

Number of Members? 120+ and growing daily.

Is this your original location? No, we started with just over 1000 square feet, 9-10' ceilings, one shower, and located just outside city limits. Despite the obstacles, the business grew quickly, but we decided to keep things simple and "work with what we have." This helped us learn lot about maximizing space, equipment, structure, time, systems, resources, etc. But eventually no amount of structure could fit the growing membership and we were forced to start shopping.

Number of Trainers? Two full time trainers with eight part-time trainers starting their apprenticeships.

Is this your full-time job? What else do/did you do? Yes. We both have education outside of the strength and conditioning world (computer science/business/accounting), but worked as coaches on the side for nearly 20 years combined. So turning this into a full-time gig was a very natural progression.

Why CrossFit? It's a great balance between strength and conditioning, it introduces people to important movements that are ignored by most gyms/trainers, it builds confidence through progress and community, and it never gets boring because there's always something you can improve.

Using 3 words or less, describe your affiliate culture: Lift heavy sh!t.

Programming: Do you do your own or follow somewhere else? We use our own. Warm up, structured strength work that is focused on basic barbell lifts, a 5-30 minute conditioning workout, and finally a quick practice session (rope climb, hspu, etc). This ensures that every member gets a balance of strength and conditioning regardless of their schedule.

Any special focus in clientele? No, we have a really wide variety of age, size, background, and skill level. Lots of families, students, parents, grandparents, police, military, athletes, waitresses, doctors, lawyers, etc. You name it - we have it.

Average hours you work per week on/at your affiliate: Honestly, it's a difficult question. Everything we do is connected to sport and fitness in one way or another. Where do we draw the line? Hours coaching per week? Hours working on program design? Hours working on the website? Hours discussing nutrition - even if it's while having a few beer around the camp fire? Is that even work? When you do what you love, you stop thinking in terms of hours per week.

Have you ever advertised? No.

In running this business, what really took you by surprise? Everyone talks about entrepreneurs being overwhelmed, stressed, working long hours, making nothing but pennies, etc. . . . so it took us by surprise that we experienced none of that. The gym has been rewarding in all aspects from the beginning and we believe it is a result of taking the following to heart: markets are unknowable, excellence is obvious to everyone, and markets reward excellence.

Complete the sentence: CrossFitters are . . . people from all walks of life - young, old, big, small, strong, weak, and everything in between.

How has CrossFit changed your life? It has connected us with like-minded people in our city (and all over the world) who will be life-long friends. Our fitness is more complete so we experiment with new sports. And it gave us the opportunity to turn our knowledge and experience into a successful business. The question is - how hasn't it affected us?

Any advice for new affiliate owners? Automate as much as you can - time is more valuable than money.

Puke bucket in your gym? Or no puke bucket? No bucket - it's not a goal in our environment.