West Coast Box Tour: Part 1

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Five days into our trip (my fiance Allie is along for this awesome ride) and it has been an amazing experience.  Not only am I getting to WOD with great exercisers, the learning experience has been priceless.  We have hit four boxes in the past five days and have had a unique experience at each and every one.

The fun started at CrossFit Ocean Beach in San Diego.   The WOD entailed throwing a lax ball at a bulls eye to determine your fate.  It was a fun and inviting atmosphere with an enthusiastic and encouraging coach.  As I have come to realize the coaching at an affiliate can be the difference between 50 members and 200 members.  For more advice on developing a great coach check out 3 Tips- How To Be The Best CrossFit Coach.

From there we drove up the PCH to CrossFit Pacific Coast in Santa Barbara.  This was by far the best kept gym I have seen.   Eric Malzone one of the owners told me they have only been in the the current building for a few weeks, but it was spotless.  The equipment was top notch, they had a great display of products and clothing, and the bathrooms and showers were comparable to the Westin.  If I had to show people what the aesthetics of a gym should look like this would be the model.

After a quick night camping on the beach we made it up to CrossFit Monerey.  We went through a dynamic warm up and got some excellent advice on the clean jerk.  They have moved to a different facility three times and were gearing up to make yet another move.  The owner had some great insight on when to make the jump into a bigger facility.

Next was the highlight of the trip, CrossFit Sanata Cruz.  This was the first affiliate that Greg and Lauren Glassman started before they had an idea that CrossFit would gain a cult following.  The original building is no longer intact, but still had the feel of an original. Crossfit Santa Cruz is now owned by a brother and sister (Hollis and Danielle) they carry on the true feel of CrossFit like no other.  The best part was how at home we felt from the minute we walked in.  Everyone is friendly in CrossFit, but there was a rule here.  If you did not introduce yourself to the new people there was 10 burpee penalty for the group.  Before the WOD started we were greeted by each and every person in class.  Before we started throwing around rubber and metal like breathing really heavy the coach and owner Hollis, brought us in for a group discussion.  Everyone had a chance to talk and it brought the group even closer together.  We were there for one hour of one class and I felt like I was part of the community for five years.

We are now in Portland taking a break from camping and staying in a nice tall building with big fluffy beds.  As I finish this post I am anxiously thinking about which box will be open for a WOD tomorrow.  It might be a little crazy, but I like to think of it as passionate.  Either way it makes for a fun hobby with all the amazing facilities opening all over the world.

Have you been to a sweet affiliate while traveling? Let me know in the comments below.

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