Vienna Business: CrossFit North Vienna

When Reed Libby, Chris Hafer and Ryan Muniz opened CrossFit North Vienna in August of 2012, they wanted to promote exercise and healthy living in the Vienna area.

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness program created by former gymnast Greg Glassman in 1995. There are now more than 1,000 CrossFit affiliated gyms in the United States, including CrossFit North Vienna.

What sets CrossFit North Vienna apart from other CrossFit gyms, according to Libby, is its small class sizes and highly-concentrated focus by coaches. He said a class will rarely have more than 12 participants at a time, and can sometimes have as few as four members exercising together.

"Ryan and I wanted to build a real boutique gym that we'd want to be members of," Libby said. "We're just normal people that want to go spend an hour a couple times a week and like the experience."

CrossFit workouts are made up of three components: a warm-up, a skill-of-the-day and a workout-of-the-day. Every day each of the three components will change, but the idea behind each remains the same. 

Warm-ups will typically include stretching and cardiovascular exercises like running, push-ups and crunches. The skill-of-the-day is always focused around a different lift, with the idea being it will help participants improve form and increase weight over time.

The workout-of-the-day is the meat of the program, where participants will do the same routine beside one another while recording time. Workout routines can include weight lifting, as well as push-ups, pull-ups, crunches and other variations of those exercises.

The times of members from previous classes are posted on a whiteboard in the gym, and sometimes members will find the times of rival members on the board and try to beat them.

But, as Libby pointed out, everyone goes at their own pace and uses their own weight. Some of the more skilled athletes, like college athletes home from school for the summer, will go much faster than novice participants or older members, while also typically using more weight. If someone is struggling, a coach will immediately recommend that they drop weight and focus more on their form. 

"(A potential coach) has to have a passion for a healthy, balanced body. That involves being in shape, believing in diet, believing in balance," Libby said. "You need to know if someone is doing squats is their form right? Because you could get hurt. That's the trainers role- to keep you safe and keep your form."

Because CrossFit North Vienna is a smaller gym with only 70 members, most gym members know each other and will support one another throughout the workout. Libby says if a member is close to breaking a new milestone, whether it be adding more weight in a lift for the first time or approaching a new low time for the workout, other members will stop their exercises to rally around and support their fellow participant.

"When you beat (a personal record), the whole class knows," Libby said. "You've got a group of people wanting you to do five more pounds than you ever thought you could do; the whole class will stop and cheer you on. It's real personal, and you've got six, eight, ten people cheering you on. It's infectious."

CrossFit North Vienna is located at 434 Mill St NE  Vienna, ViA. Phone:
(703) 576-2217. Online: http://www.crossfitnorthvienna.com