Great coaches, friendly faces, infectious energy, and all the fun and competitiveness of Crossfit without the intimidation that can scare off newbies and breed ogres. I'm so happy with my decision to join PCF. It has renewed my enthusiasm for working out, something I never really lost, yet never knew how much better it could be.
Previously, I was an Equinox member and loved every second of it for two years. I was the Foursquare Mayor of Equinox Westwood for three months! I took classes twice a week (Tabata, Whipped, any cross training classes), lifted heavy once a week, worked on gym tricks, and chose a workout off Crossfit.com once a week. Sometimes, I rested.
Gradually, I got more into Crossfit workouts after noticing that the people who were "beating" me in fun gym competitions were almost always Crossfitters. It was becoming impossible for me to complete most Crossfit workouts (equipment-wise) at the Eeq, so I tried out nearly every Crossfit gym on the Westside - Brick, Crossfit LA, Focus Culver City, Dogtown, LAX Crossfit (which I loved), and Paradiso. After a month of gym hopping, I signed up for Paradiso's On-Ramp program and I couldn't be happier that I did.
Why did I end up joining PCF?
- PCF's on-ramp/intro program is a month long. If you're in pretty good shape, your compression shorts might groan at the thought of doing intro classes for a month. IMO, it's 100% worth it to take the time to learn proper form and the coaches at PCF really hammer that home in effective ways. There is nothing more terrifying than being thrown to the wolves in a workout with tons of snatches and cleans when you don't even know what they are or how to do them without destroying yourself and future generations of your clan. This month prevents that from happening.
- They have a great website with instructional videos and previews of the next day's workout. If you're like me, you can go full-on gym nerd and watch the videos while eating dinner. The best part about the site videos is that they're demo'ed by the coaches at a speed everyone can understand, not just taken off YouTube showing Crossfit superheroes that are smashing WODs in the face and then ripping doors off cars with their neck muscles to demo the advanced kipping door rip.
- Lots of smiling faces before, during, and after the workout. I think that people don't forget the fun part of working out here. It doesn't turn into a nightly f-bomb filled gruntfest (I do drop the occasional s-bomb when pushed, cannot lie). Nice Shrek who has a donkey friend would be here. Mean pre-meeting-Fiona Shrek would not. If you're looking to find friendly faces in your Saturday intro class, start it and be that first smiling face. It makes everything a lot more fun.
- No pressure to jump into heavy weights or "RXed" workouts if you're not ready, but encouragement to be awesome if you are. I feel safer doing the movements here than I did in some classes at Equinox, despite the fact that the weights are heavier and movements of higher intensity. Instead of just letting everyone go for speed in the name of all that is Paleo Burgener Zone Burpee Wall Ball Kipping Air Squat Thruster, there's an emphasis on doing things right (and I feel like I'm learning so much every day).
Sure, I miss my cushy stretching mat that I used to fall on my face on, spotless yoga studio where I would suck at yoga once a month and try not to let one go, my heated massage table, sauna and steam room, and all the cardio ass-kicking (yes, cardio ass, that thing) fun I had at Equinox, but joining PCF has gotten me excited about working out all over again.
There are gym superheroes all over this box and you'll have no problem finding gym idols for pretty much every lift, movement, or skill who will help you find your way to joining the League of Extraordinary Gymmery. Really, who doesn't like superheroes? read more