Cheers and applause break out in the room as music blares and a group of about 60 people socialize and eat pizza. This family-friendly event isn’t your typical house party, local concert or even a basketball game.
This is the scene at South County CrossFit, a Gilroy gym owned by Alfonzo and Benae Basurto.
The fitness regimen of CrossFit has dramatically risen in popularity in recent years, and South County CrossFit is one of two CrossFit locations in Gilroy teaching members the proper form for popular moves of the regimen including dead lifts, squats and presses.
Though the focus on strength in exercise moves that are beneficial in practical life is one draw to people, another big aspect of CrossFit that attracts people is the sense of community.
“I love the relationships I’ve built here,” said Alicia Avila, resident of Gilroy for 10 years who works out at South County CrossFit three to four times a week. “I’ve belonged to gyms in the past, and I wind up signing up then hardly ever going back.
“This gym is different. I love the people here, the trainers are great and I’ve made so much progress in my fitness since I started working out here. I love how the workouts are always varied, and I’ve been able to do things I never thought I’d be able to do.”
For other members at the gym, the primary goal in doing CrossFit has been to increase strength to combat disease, as is the case for 50-year osteoporosis sufferer Tami Pipkin.
“I didn’t understand how important weight training is for the building of strong bones and muscles until recently,” Pipkin said, noting that she has seen a big improvement in her strength level since she started exercising at South County CrossFit last September. For many members like Tami, the gym is a family affair, as her husband exercises there as well.
South County CrossFit owner and father of five Alfy Basurto has built strong ties with the Gilroy community, where his wife, Benae, is originally from. With his focus on combatting childhood obesity, he first began a nonprofit boot camp program in the town, offering exercise classes in local elementary schools and as part of after-school programs. Realizing that the primary way to help children become healthier is to first help their parents adopt a healthier lifestyle, Basurto opened a facility where he began to target his exercise programs to adults, called Honu Boot Camp. The boot camp became a business for profit in 2011, and the same gym location on Wren Avenue became a CrossFit affiliate in May of last year.
Offering more than 40 CrossFit classes weekly, customized meal plans and onsite massages, Basurto’s gym provides what he refers to as “new age CrossFit” to members.
“Conventional CrossFit wisdom is to throw the idea that aesthetics are important out the door. It stresses the concept that people should focus on their strength and their performance and not be overly concerned with what their bodies look like,” Basurto said. “Personally, I believe that it’s about not only how well you move but how you feel and how you look. I want to help people be healthier in the long run. I don’t think that it’s beneficial for our members to always do high-intensity, high-stress workouts. Rest days are important; lower impact days are important. It’s about overall health. Many people care about the aesthetics and are motivated by their bodies changing, and my goal is to help them achieve their goals.”
CrossFit membership prices tend to hover around $170 monthly, depending on plan, age and commitment. Recognizing that CrossFit is an expensive activity and having the desire to make the fitness regimen available to everyone, Basurto is currently working with the City of Gilroy to offer free classes in San Ysidro Park. Deeming it “Party in the Park,” the program is set to kick off in the near future. The gym also offers a monthly contest where people can nominate a mom they think would benefit from doing CrossFit, and the winner gets free membership to the gym.
South County CrossFit’s recent Friday night party marked week two of the CrossFit Games season. The season is broken down into three stages. Firstly, there are five weeks of the CrossFit Open, during which one new workout is released weekly for athletes in every CrossFit gym worldwide to perform and compete against one another. According to CrossFit’s website, last year there were more than 138,000 CrossFit Open participants worldwide, a dramatic increase from the 69,000 competitors that registered in 2012.
The second stage of the competition is regionals, where top scorers from the five weeks of the CrossFit Open compete in 17 designated locations around the world. The CrossFit Games is the culmination of both the CrossFit Open and Regional competitions, bringing the top athletes together for a showdown to crown who they deem to be “the fittest on Earth.” The event takes place this year on July 22-24 in Carson, Calif.
Making it to the CrossFit Games is a huge accomplishment for CrossFit athletes. Wes Piatt, co-owner of Gilroy’s Coast Range CrossFit, part of the Gilroy Health and Fitness Complex, would know firsthand. Last year he qualified for the CrossFit Games after placing third in the SoCal Regionals, and he hopes to make it back to the Games to compete again this year. First introduced to CrossFit six years ago while on a deployment with the Air Force, the former firefighter opened Coast Range CrossFit last August with his wife Megan and friends Steven and Christine Clet.
Piatt pointed to the community aspect and the scalability of the workouts as major factors in the rise in popularity of CrossFit.
“Our gym is a family,” Piatt explained. “I know my members on a personal level. We push ourselves to our own individual limits during workouts and have fun together. The core focus of CrossFit is functional movements that help to benefit daily life. It’s like, are you going to be healthy enough to easily pick up your grandkids when you’re 80?”
Coast Range CrossFit member Junior Bobadilla can attest to the family atmosphere of the gym.
“I always look forward to coming here to workout. CrossFit is addicting, and it’s a stress reliever for me,” Bobadilla said. “Everyone here feels at home and encouraged.”
Bobadilla, who had never heard of CrossFit before last year, is now a CrossFit coach hopeful at South County CrossFit. He’s one of four people currently participating in the gym’s internship program, which selects up to two coaches-in-training to move forward with becoming an instructor at the facility.
Not only does the gym build a sense of community in-house, Coast Range CrossFit gives back. Earlier this month, the gym hosted a memorial workout to benefit the family of 6-year-old Jennifer Lynn Kranz, who just passed away from cancer. Last fall, a memorial workout was held at the gym to raise funds for the families of the 19 firefighters who died in a wildfire in Arizona.
• Morgan Hill CrossFit, 17680 Butterfield Blvd., Ste. 200, adult monthly rate: $150 for unlimited membership.
• Brethren CrossFit, 675 Jarvis Drive, Morgan Hill, $119-189 depending on commitment. Fire, law enforcement and military discounts.
• South County CrossFit, 7789 Wren Ave., Gilroy, $170-210 unlimited adult monthly membership. Family discount rates available.
• Coast Range CrossFit, 8540 Church St., Gilroy, $150-199 depending on commitment. Discounts for military, fire, police, teachers and students.
• Additional startup fees of up to $160 for mandatory “on ramp” classes apply.
CrossFit founder Greg Glassman opened the first CrossFit gym in Santa Cruz in 1995. The exercise program has recently exploded onto the mainstream health and fitness scene, and the number of CrossFit affiliated gyms has soared to more than 5,500 facilities worldwide, according to CrossFit’s website. Put in the simplest of terms, CrossFit describes itself as the “sport of fitness.” It focuses on functional movements, incorporating a variety of bodyweight exercises and movements with weights at maximum intensity.
To learn more, visit crossfit.com.
