WOD stands for “Workout of the Day.”

You will first be learning nine foundational functional movements. Then you will learn how to perform bodyweight exercise and weight training. We use kettlebells, barbells, bumpers, gymnastic movements, Olympic lifts, bands, rings, rowers, medicine balls, and more.

Classes are approximately 1 hour. The first 15-20 minutes are dedicated to explanation of the WOD, cover the movements and help you scale (if needed), warm-up time, and mobility work. We then do some type of strength work for 15-20 minutes. Finally the group WOD is performed (this lasts between 5-25 min depending on the WOD). The remainder of the time is left for cool-down or skill work.

We program WODs Monday-Saturday at CrossFit Icehouse. That doesn’t mean you need to work-out 6 days per week! For newcomers, we recommend two days on, followed by one day off. Once you are acclimated to the training we encourage three days on followed by one day off for best results.

This really depends on how hard YOU are willing to work. Someone that is dedicated and wants results instantly can achieve it fast. If you are willing to change your nutrition and start exercising immediately, then you could achieve results in a few weeks. The average person can start to see physical changes in 4 weeks. Members often get other changes much quicker. They experience more energy throughout the day, better sleep, better focus, and less stress after a few sessions.

CrossFit is a complete regimen that will improve health, athletic performance, body fat loss, and build strength all in one. Whatever your goals are, CrossFit will help you achieve them faster.

No. It will actually be more beneficial if you start CrossFit without any knowledge of how to exercise. You get to learn the important fundamentals right off the bat. This will allow you to develop a great base. Exercising without coaching can lead to improper form, muscular imbalances, and higher risk for injury.

CrossFit is for EVERYONE! We focus on functional movements. These functional movements are essential human movements that we use every day. Any movement and any workout can scaled to fit each individual’s needs. Bottom line, everyone will benefit from CrossFit….even grandma.

CrossFit is perfect for athletes. Our goal is to make you a complete athlete by targeting all 10 general physical skills: Cardio- Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Speed, Power, Coordination, Accuracy, Agility and Balance. Most traditional training methods only target a few of those skills. The most important part of CrossFit for athletes is that we use functional movements, Olympic lifts, and gymnastics to propel you to the next level. CrossFit will also improve your mental toughness. Our workouts will push you mentally every time, which gives you an advantage over non-CrossFitters. CrossFit is known as the “sport of fitness.” Each training session will feel like a competition; which carries over into your sport. Being able to perform while you hit that mental wall and when fatigue sets in can be trained. Learn how to eat right, get stronger, more explosive, move faster, increase flexibility, and increase mental toughness to become a complete Athlete!

This is the biggest fear that most women have when exercising. That is why you mainly see women on the cardio machines in the gym and not in the weight room. Women need to incorporate strength training more than men because they are at higher risk for osteoporosis. Your bones are not going to get stronger by hitting the elliptical every day.
Also, testosterone is required for a person to develop large muscles. Women have 1/10 the testosterone as men which makes it impossible to develop huge muscles naturally. The huge and buff women you see in body building magazines are taking testosterone injections, eating a diet geared towards “bulking”, and working very differently than we do here at CrossFit Icehouse. Have no fear of getting bulky, I promise you it won’t happen; just google search CrossFit Women and take a look.
CrossFit will actually give women the look they are after. Our program will help you burn fat and increase lean muscle mass. This results in a lean and “toned” body much like a dancer, and not like a bodybuilder.

Many people hurt or tweak their lower backs, knees, shoulders, etc. and are afraid to exercise those areas. The problem with avoiding those previously hurt areas forever is that they never get strengthened. This is disaster waiting to happen. You create muscular imbalances by training other areas of your body and avoiding the problem area. You become stronger everywhere else but at the same time that problem area gets weaker in comparison. This actually increases your chance for that area to be reinjured.
CrossFit can actually be used as rehab for injuries. Many people have come to us, unable to Squat (get yourself up from a seated position), Deadlift (picking up your groceries), Press (putting something up on a shelf) CrossFit teaches you how to move properly and exercise with correct mechanics, which in turn helps you regain functional capacity.
If you cannot Squat, Deadlift, Press you may need to start considering if independent living is safe for you.

CrossFit is safe when done correctly. At CrossFit Icehouse we teach you proper mechanics for functional movements, and continue to develop strength in these positions throughout your time with us, as safety is our priority. We first teach you proper mechanics, we drill them consistently and then we add the intensity.
Remember, any activity can result in injury. CrossFit is safer than most activities because we incorporate movements your body is MEANT to do. When was the last time you saw someone outside of the gym doing a bicep curl? Never, this movement does nothing for you in real life. Now when was the last time you saw someone deadlift in real life? Pretty recently I bet.

Have no fear, 97% of the people at our gym cannot either! The WOD is made to challenge an elite athlete. But that same workout is scaled to YOUR skill level. When you start, you will be doing a modified version of the WOD. We change the load (weights), repetitions, rounds, and distances to fit your abilities. Modifying the WODs will prevent you from over exerting yourself and prevent overwhelming soreness.

The most important part is coaching. Having a knowledgeable coach with you during your WOD will reduce the risk of injury, improve your fitness faster, and fix bad mechanics. You can’t see yourself while you train. This leads to bad form and bad habits. These problems will actually be harder to correct in the future.
You are missing the warm-up, cool down, and fun time. We focus on warm-up, skills and cool-down daily. We also work a lot on mobility and stretching for injury prevention.
A big part of CrossFit is community, family, and camaraderie. Having a good base of positive people around you is the best environment to train in. Not only will you be pushed harder because of the support from everyone, but you will have a great time doing it. Take a look at your chain gym. When you walk in, you will see a bunch of people with iPods. Everyone is secluded and not interacting with anyone else. This leads to boring workouts that have no intensity (which means ineffective) and eventually pushes people to quit exercising. It is a sad sight to see. If you go to any CrossFit gym, you will see that the energy is high, everyone is encouraging, and everyone really cares about each other.

No. There are no drop-ins to the Group WOD classes unless you are an experienced CrossFitter and have tested into our classes. You must successfully test into our CrossFit Program by meeting one-on-one with a coach before being allowed to take our Group WOD classes.

We welcome experienced CrossFitter’s from all over the world. You must check our class schedule AND email us to come in for a Group WOD class. Please arrive a bit early to fill out the waiver and check in with the coach. Be sure to let your coach know your level of experience with CrossFit-style training, if you have any limitations or are still at a beginner level.