Local CrossFit gym owners reflect on business growth

In the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area, several gyms offer personalized workout plans with varying levels of intensity, but three gyms have a particular focus: CrossFit. The program itself involves brief, intense workouts that hit different target muscle groups, working all of the body's systems together. This relatively new exercise program has proven popular worldwide and locally as well.

Charles Williams, owner of Muddy Water CrossFit in Cape Girardeau, says his business is doing well. After the initial burst four years ago, when CrossFit was still new on the scene, there were a lot of clients coming in, but a lot of turnover as well.

"There was definitely a honeymoon stage the first two years," he says. "There were a lot of people in and out, but most people coming in now, they've done their homework and they know what to expect from a CrossFit workout. We have a more dedicated core group now."

He says he plans to build a new facility next year with more square footage to accommodate his clients' workouts. "With the lower turnover, we have more steady income, which, as a business owner, I really appreciate. That helps me plan so we can do bigger and better things with this great community of people we've built."

Williams says he sees his CrossFit devotees keeping each other accountable, calling or texting each other if one isn't at the gym for a while, whereas "with most gyms, you can buy a membership, but you might never hear from them again. That is not the case with us. We're looking out for each other."

He added, "For new people coming in, I'd just ask them to have an open mind. This'll be different from anything you've done before. We tell the guys to leave their egos at the door. Try something different. CrossFit's kind of a hate or love relationship. You'll know after your first workout -- we have a free class every Saturday. Give it a try, that's all we ask."

Laura Meece, owner of Nearly Perfect CrossFit in Jackson, says CrossFit has benefited her personally.

"It's the only workout I've ever seen results from and stuck with, because I saw those results. Everything else I've tried is boring, repetitive," Meece says. "If it's so boring that I need headphones to distract me and I'm not seeing results, what's the point?"

She says this is a high-intensity interval training that emphasizes shorter, more intense workouts.

Meece says her facility offers an onramp program, which includes 10 sessions that introduce a new client to the movements used in the workouts.

"We want people to feel comfortable with how their bodies are supposed to move with this, then introduce resistance training and otherwise ramp up the difficulty," she says. "Maybe we start you with fewer reps, lower standards. We still scale everything so it's difficult for you to do, but not impossible. People watch CrossFit Games on TV and they think, 'I could never do that!' Well, that's the professional level! We help people do all those same things, but not as fast, high, heavy -- to start out anyway."

Meece says her membership has increased by word of mouth.

"We're family friendly, and we're seeing a more mainstream following show up," she says. "Our membership's increasing, and we're seeing people really stick with this now. Moms bring babies in while they work out, leave them in bouncy chairs. We're friendly toward older people, younger, in-between. We all work together, encourage each other, across the board family-wise. It's not a gym with super-pumped hyper athletes; we're just plain folks trying to stay fit and healthy. Anybody can do this. That's why I fell in love with it."

Stephen Powell, owner of Old Orchard CrossFit in Jackson, says it's been interesting watching the public's reaction to CrossFit over the years.

"At first, there was a lot of skepticism, criticism of CrossFit because it was new. But people have really learned more about it, and it's remained popular," Powell says. "Each year, there's a worldwide competition held by CrossFit, and every year since that started, they've increased the number of participants."

He says membership in his gym has followed that trend.

"We get committed people who see results from their first visit, and these people, they train in groups, they form serious bonds with each other," Powell says. "It's great to see these people who are just hanging out with their 10 best friends, but they're working out, getting fit together in the process."

He says many of his clients spend time together outside the gym as well.

"We really emphasize the community aspect here, but our main, overarching focus is safety," he says. "We want to teach people how to move properly so they can transfer that knowledge to their daily lives. You never know what life's going to throw at you tomorrow, and we want people to go through this intense training so they're physically stronger and mentally tougher. It really helps prepare people for bigger challenges if they train hard, which we do."

Powell says it's important to remember that CrossFit is not as intimidating as people might think.

"Our workouts include aspects of a lot of more traditional training, like cardio, but we also do gymnastics, weights, so you can be ready for anything," he says. "We want you to train your muscles so you can react correctly, safely, as a reflex, then build from there. We're not out to do anything but better prepare you for your normal life."