I agree that CrossFit is too expensive.

I also know I lack motivation to work out on my own. If I could find a CrossFit with a coach that didn't suck ass, I would pay up in a heartbeat.

I think it all depends on the person, I know plenty of normal people that CrossFit. I also know a couple that take it too seriously.

Dave,

I'm confused: CROSSFIT IS FREE!! Log onto the main site and do the workouts? Where else do you get such an awesome program for nothing??? and why do so many people run it down???? Who's fault is it if you overtrain??? Who's fault is it if you overeat?? or fail to eat clean???? The whole "cult" thing is ridiculous; we joke about it all the time. Are people who eat paleo in a "cult". Are vegitarians in a cult?

My CrossFit gym cost me $100 a month for unlimited sessions. I usually go 4 times a week @ 6 bucks a visit. My co-workers pay twice that for their daily frappa-mocha-trent'e. For my money I get personal attention at every workout. A personal trainer would cost a lot more. Could I do this on my own? sure but working out with this community is way more fun and challenges me every workout. I did crossfit in my basement for a couple years before Spartan CrossFit opened up in my area. Since moving up from my basement gym I have someone to watch my technique and correct improper form which lessens the chance of injury. I have a group of friends that inspire me to push myself to do the best I can.

FYI: I'm a 52 year old Firefighter/paramedic that has lost 25lbs this year since going paleo & doing CrossFit. I'm in better overall shape than ever in my life. I'm a better (safer) firefighter because of CrossFit. The police officers who work out at my gym are better cops because of CrossFit.

If CrossFit doesn't work for you PLEASE find something that does... But don't bad-mouth it because it doesn't fit your lifestyle or pocketbook.

I've been in the fitness industry (personal training, group ex, boot camps, nutrition coaching, etc.) for years and have been working out since I was a kid (not counting years of martial arts, youth sports, etc.)

I have literally done it all and the only thing that I have experienced that tops a Crossfit workout for sheer intensity is the workouts my sadistic Krav Maga instructor put us through.

I do think that many Crossfitters (based on personal experience) are overtraining. There is no reason to go 5 days a week. I have generally put up the best AMRAPS (@ RX w/ no modifications) on every workout I've gone to and I think that this is one of the reasons why.

Crossfit is not a perfect system and it isn't the be-all-end-all that some Crossfitters believe it to be, but Crossfit does A LOT of things right and I am VERY happy that they are getting more popular.

Crossfit has done an awesome job with getting women to lift weights and take pride in being strong, the competition makes working out a lot more fun and exciting, the movements are generally scalable and functional, AND Crossfit has generally embraced Paleo/Primal, bringing it into the mainstream much quicker than if the Crossfit community didn't exist.

It's all about what YOU consider to be bang for your buck. Yes $150 per month is expensive if you are not seeing any gains, don't enjoy the interaction at your box or only go a couple times a week.

There are so many negative spins you can put on that cost. That was just to name the obvious few.

On the positive for me, I love the interaction and the passion and encouragement of my trainer (not to be confused with a cult leader) and fellow CFers. I go at least 5 times a week (maths = about $7.50 per session, much cheaper than a pump class with only half the squat ROM) and thoroughly enjoy sharing in other peoples CF gains and experiences.

I love that my outlook on life has changed for the better, not to mention that getting those heavy items off the top shelf in the kitchen is so much easier now. I also look better in strapless frocks and you simply cannot put a cost on that at 42yrs of age :)

If I did not get these positives or felt that I was paying too much I wouldn't go. It's a choice. If you don't want to pick up the bar then don't. If you don't want to go to CF, then don't. Walk away with your $150 and spend it where the outcome makes YOU feel good.

It's pricey, but that monthly due comes with an on site trainer. I didn't join a gym (box?) because it's too expensive for me. I built a home gym in my garage.

I hear you on the cult like attitudes. If I ever mentioned that I couldn't keep up with the 3 on 1 off schedule because I was too sore, people would tell me that I "wasn't really doing CrossFit then, so I couldn't complain about anything."

ouch.

I dunno too much about crossfit specifically, but I always advise people to above all else make sure they are working out in a sustainable manner. If it requires a lot of money, driving, sales pitches or any other annoyances, the odds of you actually sticking with it are way lower.

I workout with kind of crude equipment that I've stuffed into my office at work. Is my workout the best out there? Nope. Is it one where I have zero excuses about not doing it? Absolutely. This is why I don't recommend people to even start out with a gym membership. I think an effective, simple, sustainable program can be built out of pull/chinups, pushups, jump squats, calf raises, wrist rollers etc. Buy one of those door-mounted chinup bars, some dumbbells if you want and so forth and I bet you could arrive at something that is at least 80% as effective as using all of the equipment at a gym. If it's 80% as effective but you do it for 10x as long, obviously it's way better.

There's a lot of antagonism these days toward anything not involving a barbell, but that's silly. All that matters is that you're doing something with at least a reasonable amount of intensity/frequency/volume and that there's some measure of progress workout to workout.

I saw a guy on here say that he just finished a "12 week strength course at Crossfit" and then listed his routine. I was thinking "that's basically Starting Strength with minor modification!" Could have saved a ton of $$ doing that a local gym.

I think that Crossfit is great if you like a group workout environment. If you like to fly solo or use the gym for stress release then perhaps it is not for you. I think Robb Wolf had a good point about the fact that every few years the top athletes at the Crossfit games changes. He says that this is due to burnout and unlike every other sport you get worse past a certain time point not better. But I have some friends who swear by it so to each their own (as long as you leave those annoying "today's WOD is X" out of your facebook/twitter updates :-)

I agree: CF is overpriced, because most CF trainers suck. They are often inexperienced, uneducated, and have little idea how to program effectively. What they have going for them is mostly enthusiasm and sometimes, a basic understanding of Paleo.

If you find a good gym with excellent trainers, like Kelly Starrett's gym in SF, you should be willing to pay double what they charge, and you will easily get your money's worth.

If you think that $150/mo. is too much to pay for shitty coaching, you are spot-on. If you think that $150/month is too much to pay for excellent coaching, you simply aren't serious about training.

(To be honest, most people who pay $150/month for CF aren't that serious about their training, but they can either afford it or they enjoy the camaraderie. And don't underestimate the camaraderie. It's awesome, and vitally important for long-term fitness success for most people.)

In CF's defense: all of the criticism above apply to non-CF trainers and gyms, too, except most globogym memberships are cheaper than $150/month. There are many extremely crappy non-CF personal trainers who charge $60+ per HOUR.

The fitness industry as a whole is plagued by a large number of overpriced, undereducated trainers who fail to deliver on their promises. This is further compounded by the fact that the general public has no clue how to effectively train themselves, so they have a hard time figuring out who the true experts are. The situation is very similar to the problems that face nutrition counseling.

Find experienced coaches who know what they're doing, and pay whatever they charge. You will save so much on long-term medical bills and injury treatment that it will be worth it. (I guess the catch-22 is that most people don't know how to figure out if the coaches are any good!)

(FWIW, I was briefly a trainer at a CF gym.)

I agree it's way to expensive, but remember its not just space, equipment and help. There are taxes, and I would guess the big one with a setup like Crossfit would be insurance. However, yes, I agree its way too high.

As far as the overtraining, I think that is up to the individual. You control your exertion levels, your reps, your weight, etc. Get to know what you can handle and what you cant. I run, but I'm not running a marathon tomorrow because I cant. If you can only do a couple of pull ups at a time, maybe doing three sets of a couple is a bad idea.

As in everything paleo, the poison is in the dose.

Dave - if you have to ask why people CrossFit you will never understand any answer given to you.

Best of luck to you in the future when you make broad statements with huge assumptions. Personally I pay $150 a month and I KNOW that I receive top notch training and the environment in which I train is unmatched. People spend $150/month on all sorts of BS...cable, phone, entertainment, etc. If you can't afford to invest in your health and longevity now I really don't know what to tell ya other than good luck in 25+ years.

If you get any angry answers I would say it's due to the abrasive manner in which your original post was worded.

Peace, RTL

To each their own! But CrossFit isn't for me, even if it wasn't out of my price range. I think they're a fantastic program - for people that want to be part of a program. But there's so much I can do on my own to improve my fitness, for free, outside of a gym, and away from people, which is what I prefer.

Getting some basic equipment and getting started in your garage or wherever doesn't take much capital. WODs are posted all over the internet. We can all make excuses. If it's something you really want to do, you will find a way to do it. I can honestly say finding CrossFit and the friends I've made through it have changed my life. Granted, part of that change is being sore a lot of the time.

There are a couple reasons crossfit is $150 a month on average.

1. A good crossfit box should provide personal attention to you and your needs, with coaching that helps you progress. You're getting a great bang/bunk if you're getting almost personal training. at 5x a week that's $7.50 an hour which is an insane deal. HOWEVER if your trainers/facility are not giving you attention or not providing you with what you need you should tell them. If they don't respond then follow a website with good programming or go to a different box.

2. The operating costs of crossfit facilities are somewhat complex, but if they charge less than $150 they are not only somewhat devaluing the brand but also screwing themselves over as owners. More people come and train who are less focused and the equipment/trainers get stretched out. It actually makes for less quality programs. People should know that they are getting amazing quality and paying for it. That's why you pay extra for free range beef right?

Now if you don't want to pay for a box, you don't need a ton of coaching, and you have specific goals, follow a crossfit website and work out in a "globo-gym." That's what I'm doing. I followed main site for a while but it didn't align with my goals so now I'm following www.crossfitfootball.com for some strength-based awesomeness. If you want a good WOD blog with all the main focuses (crossfit/CFF/Crossfit Endurance) check out www.crossfit-strength.com which posts everything.

Good luck! Crossfitting or not, get some workouts in and have fun!

So I show up to my CF box on a Saturday morning and my awesome coach asks me why was I wearing make-up? I told him that I had many errands to do after the work out and I wanted to get right to them after the WOD without going home to shower and primp. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Girl, after this WOD you are not only going to have to go home and shower, but you will also need to brush your teeth again."

And that is why I pay $110 for CF...because I have an amazing coach who will not allow me to "phone it in". I have been a dancer, a tennis player, a runner, a Stair Master freak, a Step Aerobics extraordinaire, a couch potato, over weight, super skinny, a binger and a starver and through it all I have never found a program that safely & systematically pushes me past my mental limits like CF does. I have been thinner, I have been fatter but I have never been more FIT than I am today. And the cool thing is that I will be even more fit next week because the program and the coaches never allow me to say "this is good enough, I am satisfied enough to coast from here".

When I look at the WOD and my mind whispers "you can't it's too hard", and then I complete the WOD scaled to my ability...that feeling is priceless. FTW!

I pay $130/month for 12 Crossfit classes for me and another $130 for my girlfriend. We both LOVE Crossfit and our box is full of great people and really excellent trainers who take the time to prepare realistic WODs, check form and offer encouragement. For me its worth every dollar. For years we both had gym memberships that barely got used. How much money was wasted there? Gyms make a ton of money on people that sign up, show up twice and never come back. I am always psyched to go to Crossfit and push my body past limits I didn't think I could reach. Just my 2 cents.

People spend money on what is important to them. Some people do Paleo but won't spend the money on grass fed beef, rather they eat factory farmed meat that is contrary to "Paleo" lifestyle. Some people don't buy organic produce because it costs more.

Some people spend money on an expensive hair stylist or clothes or cars. It's individual thought and what is of personal importance. To each their own.

I don't think CF is too expensive. My health and fitness level is very important to me and working out at a CF gym with great trainers and next to people who push me is worth every penny, not to mention how CF helps me manage stress. It's an investment in me.

Now if I couldn't afford it, I'd do it on my own…but I'm fortunate I can afford it and enjoy it and have never felt I was paying too much.

Crossfit is prohibitively expensive. That being said, if you don't know what you're doing, there is a reason to pay that much, assuming you're going to a high quality box. I think crossfit is a wonderful concept and I made great gains when I was doing crossfit with my friends at my college gym. I think there are many many boxes out there whose trainers aren't careful/patient/watchful enough so if you don't know what you're doing, its important to get competent trainers.
If you know what you're doing, you're committed to to pushing yourself to intensity and you keep an eye on form (or have a workout buddy who will) its easy to do crossfit at a gym like Gold's. You definitely miss out on atmosphere but its only $30 a month. I did crossfit for years at my university gym.

I've since left gyms entirely. I joined two local meet-up groups (meetup.com), one that plays ultimate frizbee and one that does obstacle course race training sessions. I get my high intensity interval training in playing ultimate (and I do it much harder and longer because I'm playing a game) and some cross-fit style workouts from my obstacle course group. I go to each twice a week. I get the camaraderie from these groups that I used to enjoy while doing crossfit with my climbing buddies. Oh, and the groups are free to join and attend. I go "rock climbing" at a climbing gym a few times a month to keep my chops up.
I also made some "lift heavy stuff" gym equipment for my house that I work out with. Each item costs less than $30.

I tend to agree that CrossFit is too expensive, but also it would be roughly an hour for me to drive to a box. I tried to do it on my own for a while, but it's too much to figure everything out (different lifts, etc). I would spend as much or more time getting ready to work out as I would working out. This was pre-paleo days for me but it did work to cut some weight off and get stronger.

I haven't quite established my paleo workout routine, but so far it consists predominately of walking. I am quite busy right now with work/school, but when summer gets here, I plan to increase the walking and add in sprinting/lifting a la Primal Blueprint. I do believe it likely that a lot of people overtrain and it seems CrossFit would fit right into the overtrain approach. But I think it can also make you a beast if you want that. I just want to keep getting in shape, and I think lesser workouts will suffice. (That being said, Mark Sisson wrote that his workout was like CrossFit for the rest of us, so he is probably okay with it.)

I do find crossfit at an affiliate gym to be a bit too pricey to do all the time, but I gladly invested in a one-month package to learn some new stuff and get the built-in motivation of working out with a group (and the motivation to do workouts that weren't particularly enjoyable / not just stuff I find fun). The trainers at my nearest affiliate all have numerous crossfit certifications and were experienced personal trainers before getting into crossfit, so I felt like I was in good hands (EXCEPT I once saw one of the coaches telling a new girl to do power snatches in a workout when she didn't even know how to do a clean properly). Will probably buy a package every few months or so, but it just ain't doable as an ongoing thing- the boyfriend and I got a couples' unlimited package with a 10% military discount and it ended up being about $160 for each of us.

I never priced cross-fit... but for the prices I'm seeing in this thread I'd much rather invest in something like martial arts training and throw in some outdoor workouts on the side.

I pay a bit over $100 a month for martial arts training - I get a great workout, go as many days a week as I want, and learn ninja skills as a bonus.

I've priced crossfit, and am mildly interested in joining a box.

However, it is more pricey than I can reasonably justify - but the big clincher for me is that my schedule is pretty jam-packed as it is, and neither of the 2 (that I know of) boxes close enough to me to be worthwhile have hours that could possibly accomodate me.

Crossfit is the latest fad so people who are the type that follow exercise fads won't even question whether it's right for them let alone question the price. People already have so much inflammation from their diets with sugars and rancid fats, they add insult to injury with this and boot camps that contribute to a high incidence of injury and overtraining.

$150?! i wish i lived near you guys... being in LA of all places.. it starts at $150! ive seen upto $250. go figure.

I had only used a barbell for a closet shelf extention before joining! I need the help with my form so I don't throw my back out or make some other bonehead move. I suppose I could get that at our post gyms, but my "personal trainer" was overweight, had a double chin and NO personality! Not exactly the person I wanted spotting me. It turned out that she only really knew how to set the Nautilus machines and use those, and that is apparently what qualified her as a "personal trainer". That told me I needed to get away from those facilities.

We're not made of money, but I'm willing to pay for quality things that matter to me. That runs the spectrum of everything I buy. It also helps that my gym is the cheapest in the area (with an even better military discount) and the coaches are great. We've even had several people move to our place from other CF groups because the coaches do such a great job. They have not once let me hurt myself yet they are still able to push me just enough that I'm making gains. It turned out to be a great way for me to meet people that are interested in being active. I am a magnet for really nice but really sedentary people!

As for motivation, I don't lack it because I was going to the gym the same number of days per week. I just seem to perform better with people around me who aren't chilly and aloof. Also, it wasn't a matter of motivation as much as confidence and the need to find a place where it could grow instead of just hang out and waver occasionally. It wasn't just my workout that was static.

You and I probably may not place the same value on things, but you asked and that's why I Crossfit! Don't be angry, just do your own thing, I'll do mine and we'll be gaining the way we gain best. Hmm. That sounded very Sesame Street, didn't it?

I used to do Cross-fit because I love working out with other people and it keeps me motivated. I'm one of those people with very low self-esteem, so to have not only trainers but people going through the same activities as me make me feel less alone. I also like the fact that you are sure those people will accept Paleo, rather then trying to argue with a trainer who disagrees with you. But I stopped doing it because I'm a college student and can't fork over $100 a month when I have to pay over $3000 a year for books. Someday, I'll be back, just don't know when :(

My husband and I have both gone paleo and have gone back and forth about joining the local crossfit gym but it's just too expensive with me not working to stay home with my 6 month old. We even tried to see if cutting our cable bill would make it possible and at almost 300 bucks a month for both of us, there's just no way. I just borrowed a friend's p90 DVDs and we're walking every night. We'll ramp it up when we are ready.

Hmmmm to end up overtrained with joint injuries because your workout is not scaled correctly to your ability... yeah, a little pricey for my taste.

I like this: http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

The P90 and P90x videos are very good.

Walking, Lifting weights (even a little) and interval aerobics (less than 45 min a day) are great ways to work out...

I could not afford cross-fit.