most gyms offer a punch card plan. Wendy if you are a power lifting you can test out of foundations then try for ~$15 a class to see if you like it.

The closest strength biased crossfit gym to me is a good 35 minutes from my apt. I keep a local gym membership and use the punch card whenever I can.

I used to have 3 gym memberships too. Once I started CrossFit in a local place, the globo gym really lost its appeal quickly. I've gotten to where I don't even like working out with mirrors and tvs around and silly music playing in the background. I want a pile of weights, some kettlebells, chalk and a pullup bar. I enjoyed working out at the local CrossFit gym, but about a year ago, two of my buddies and I decided to put together a home gym and workout in my garage. It gets chilly in the winter and hot in the summer, and I love it. Bottom line: pay the money, give it a shot, and I bet you drop the other memberships after 2 weeks.

I just joined 7 weeks ago. I am doing Crossfit Boot Camp on Tues/Thurs from 6-7 AM. It is the same as having a personal trainer, with the benefit of being in a group of like-minded exercise buddies. Nobody is there to "look" like they're exercising. We all want to strive for PRs and to get better every time. I pay $100 per month, which averages out to $11.54 per session. In return, I have lost 7 lbs (so far) and I have proof that I am stronger, more flexible, and have better balance. Crossfit led me to Paleo, and having the connection with people that understand why fat isn't evil is worth way more than $11.54 to me. It's also great to see a skinny triathlete come in for a free trial workout, and she can't even lift the bar over her head. It's a small internal victory for me, that lets me know I'm doing the right thing.

My husband got level 1 Crossfit certified about 6 months after starting Crossfit. This has brought his monthly costs down as most gyms give him a deal or he will teach a class or 2 a week in exchange for working out free or at a very discounted rate. So if you really like Crossfit, it may be worth it to look into getting certified.

The short answer is that the price is comparable to personal training. Comparing the cost to a gym membership just isn't the right comparison. Although a tremendous amount can be done on your own, the right coach and facility can be a huge benefit.

I do CF and many who workout there are Paleo as well. There are different levels of membership pricing. Foundations, group, private, then the strength intensive:

• Drop In $20
• 10 Class Punch Card $85
• 2x a week $157
• 3x a week $195
• 5x a week $216
• Strength Cycle 2x a week $400 and 3x 600

I chose the 5x a week, of course cheapest option when you break it down, and create my own cycle so I don't get burned out I mix up from a 4 day to a 3 day to a 2 day, building up but still getting lots of rest so muscles can relax and build. I like the option because if I just want to drop in I can and usually luck out with some free private coaching. Woo! I also, the next cycle, have joined a womens only lifting group which costs $100.

It's expensive. Hella expensive but worth every penny. What I did was figure out how much was I paying for certain things, how often was I going out, etc. A big treat for me was going out for Sashimi about once a week - average between $50-70 bucks each visit. I go once a month now and CF is pretty much paid for. I miss my tasty little fishies but looking good and feeling good all the time is much more important.. and makes when I do go for dinner all the better.

You're not just paying for a normal gym. You'll have access to tools and equipment that you can't find anywhere else. You'll have multiple personal trainers that really, really know their stuff and can teach you the proper mechanics of everything from olympic lifts to sit ups. The Crossfit community is amazing too, I've never EVER liked working out with other people but I'm so hooked on the team atmosphere at my box. Everyone is pushing each other (in a healthy way) to get leaner, stronger, faster and happier and I usually hang out and chat with all the other sweaty people getting high off their WOD.

Also, it's tough at first but you have to think of your fitness and nutrition as an investment in your health. The costs of Crossfit are absolutely cancelled out by the money you WON'T be spending on prescription drugs, doctor visits and stupid weight loss programs.

Easily one of the most worthwhile things I have ever taken a chance on in my life.

I'm going to post for crossfitfootball.com again. Free, open source, and strength-based. Sports-specific people use it mainly for football, rugby, and powerlifting. Check out the programming and the ideology and then ask your local boxes if they follow something like that. I wouldn't pay $150 a month to do Cindy and Karen all the time. In fact sometimes the box in my city does crunches. WTF. I would pay $150 a month for good coaching and strength-based kickass programming.

You could also probably email John Welbourn and he would let you know which gym in seattle he recommends.

My closest affiliate is about 40 mins away; they run specials sometimes for new folks and returners that haven't been in awhile, but it's too pricey to be sustainable for me. The bf and I get their best deal- couples unlimited + 10% military discount and it was still I think $160 for each of us. I thought it was a great investment for a month to get the coaching on technique and learn some new stuff, but not worth it to me in the long-term. However, we are fortunate to have a very CF-friendly globo gym in our town! It has lots of space, lots of barbells & kettlebells, and the nice boys that work at the front desk are all Crossfitters, so we still get that sense of community.

A crossfit gym is not needed. I worked out at a small town gym for over a year. You can do most CF exercises in a normal gym. I just would look at the main site's exercise and demo page for reference. If you have a hard time motivating yourself, or aren't a visual learner, then going to a box is a must if you want to be achieving your max potential in CF.

I paid $85 fOr bootcamp and I joined at $99 monthly rate that includes indoor rock climbing, mma, yoga and crossfit. My husband goes on the military post for free. I like the trainers and the one on one help sO I don't mind paying.

I pay 85mo.... and have been trying to follow a paleo lifestyle on and off for a while... I can certainly join any gym and save money but you wont get the same benefits and results at a gym.... plus the Crossfit community is very supportive all around... times are tough everywhere and the prices you are finding may be a bit high but in the long run it will be worth the investment. Good luck. :)

There is so much help available online that you could look at utilising your current memberships for beginning CF groundwork, and do some of it in a park, or at home.

The theory is that you shouldn't need a gym at all for a lot of things...you can improvise. Watch the games this week. How many gyms do you think trained for an ocean swim? Us Aussies should do very well on the first day :) CF is designed to make you ready for anything, so use anything that comes to hand.

[All this from a slacker who hasn't perfected unweighted squats yet, and who can manage about one push up, but is doing it without a gym. Too embarrassing to walk into one yet...]

$150 a month at my CF box for my wife, 2 kids & me. I do hate that the price keeps some who could really benefit from CF away, because I've seen it change many lives. I've tried a lot of gyms & not one comes close to the two CF's that I've been a part of. At 53 I'm in the best shape of my life. Can't stand to miss a WOD. For any injury you may have, everything can be modified. Just let your coach know what you're dealing with.

I'm a certified personal trainer who can workout for free at my own gym, but I quit and gladly pay $185 per month for my Crossfit membership. I've been crossfitting since November 2010. The Crossfit gym had a Paleo Challenge called 30 Days in the Cave from April to May of this year, which is how I started Paleo. Besides law school, joining Crossfit and going Paleo have been the best decisions I've ever made.

Comparing a Globo Gym to Crossfit is like comparing a donkey to a stallion. I know a lot of people don't like Crossfit and the price may seem high but if you find a great gym and good trainers the value is unlimited. I recently had to quit Crossfit after a consistent 2.5 years due to a financial hardship and joined the cheapest globo gym in town. It feels so foreign I rather not go now. No says hi to you when you walk in. So many people in there have no freaking clue what they are doing. Most are there just to be part of the scene. If you walk around the gym and carry your protein shake from machine to machine your not really working out your posing to look good. I start doing O lifts and making noise and the older ladies on the treadmills start looking at me like I'm disturbing their tranquility. Which reminds me, you can even attempt any high risk movements because the signs that are posted every three feet say not to drop the weights. There may be those of you who are fortunate to live near a Strength and Conditioning style gym and have a choice but for the vast majority of us Crossfit is the only option. Yeah some of the people in Crossfit may not be aspiring professional athletes like you (you referring to crossfit haters not the poster) but they are excited and enthusiastic about they're new found love to exercise. Crossfitter's so far as I met them seem to represent more of what's good in the world then bad. So how do you make it work? Any way you can. Collect cans or something. Actually I bet if you looked at your budget you can find plenty of things to cut out. I open meal out a week with friends is at least $25.00 x 4 is $100.00. Your almost there.

On-ramp was $200, but my Crossfit is only $125/mo. I came from a "boot camp" that was $199, so I thought Crossfit was a bargain. It may cost more than a YMCA membership, but I'd never be motivated enough to follow a program on my own at a regular gym.

Right now I go to 24 hr and use a trainer 3x a week. 1 week at that price pays for a whole month of Crossfit, so I'm about to start a Crossfit Bootcamp in the month of August. The main thing I'm actually most concerned about is injury. I have bad shoulders and my trainer is very aware of that and makes sure I don't do anything to injure them any further. I am afraid at Crossfit they won't be as sensitive to my situation, but I guess soon I'll find out!

That price fits the monthly fees of most CF boxes. I too thought it was crazy expensive until I realized what I got for that money. If you consider what you'd pay for a personal trainer, nutritionist and life coach, you'd being way more than that. CrossFit is about community but it's also about progression, motivation and acceptance. There are very few gyms that push me, care for me and support me the way my CF box does. I think my monthly CF fee is worth it's weight in gold! :)

I just joined on Tuesday, Cancelled 24 hr fitness, and pay $125 a mo for CF, after 2 days workouts, I got more out of that in 2 days with personal assistance and coaching than 5 years at 24HF...

3 gym memberships Wendy? Dump em!! Join CF for the extra money. You are making the investment for yourself!!

Find a way, there is no community better than the Paleo and CF community!! Find a way, you won't be disappointed.

Down in panama city, we pay 160 a month it's kind of a regulated price por cross fit affiliates. But it's way worth the effort and a combination of paleo and cross fit kicks butt.

We are very lucky that our gym on base is free for military members and their dependents. The gym out in town is 10000Y a month. per person which usually works out to 150ish with the exchange rate. And that isn't including their requirement of having you do a beginners course which is around 800 dollars for... I want to say 6weeks?

I just signed up though to go to the free gym :] they are only open twice a day, five days a week, but there isn't anyway that we could work that other gym in to our budget unfortunately.

I also wanted to get my sister a one month membership to a cross fit gym in washington, however they all run about 160-200 dollars a month around where she lives :(

it is a very high percentage of people, the ones that do cross fit usually follow a paleo, or at least a no sugar no processed food diet.