In less than seven months, Mic Santo’s fitness fantasy –Moscow CrossFit — has come to life.
Abi Stomberg | Argonaut
Jessica Santo climbs the rope during her workout Thursday, May 24, at Moscow CrossFit. The facility is open 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Saturday. There is a beginner “break-in” course from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Santo, Moscow CrossFit’s coach and owner, said he was surprised at how fast the gym took off.
“We grew fast, it really exploded. We started with nine people, then it was 15, then 20, 30 and now we are over 40 members,” Santo said. “It’s an awesome deal.”
Santo said the gym began in his garage in January, and they took steps to avoid infringing on CrossFit’s copyright until they became an official affiliate in April.
“We originally started calling ourselves the Boneyard because we didn’t want to infringe on CrossFit’s name,” Santo said. “We weren’t calling what we were doing CrossFit, and we weren’t taking peoples’ money initially.”
Santo said the donations, when they started taking them, went directly toward purchasing equipment.
“I mean, I still haven’t paid myself,” Santo said. “Everything went into purchasing equipment to build this thing in my garage. We just continued to buy more bumpers, buy more bars, buy kettlebells and medicine balls.”
Santo said they were working out in his garage until April, when they moved into their new home and became a CrossFit affiliate. CrossFit affiliates pay annual dues to CrossFit Inc. to use the CrossFit name. CrossFit Inc. also licenses trainers.
The typical CrossFit workout involves everything from aerobic work, calisthenics, gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting. Tim McCoy, a member at Moscow CrossFit, said the workouts are intense.
“Every workout is intense in its own way, whether it is weight lifting or cardio aspect,” McCoy said. “That’s kind of the purpose of CrossFit as I understand it, to push your boundaries whether it is a five minute workout or a 45 minute workout.”
Santo said his gym’s workouts don’t follow the CrossFit website, but they are still incredibly varied.
“CrossFit’s specialty is not being specialized,” Santo said. “The only workouts we repeat are the benchmarks.”
McCoy said the workouts have gotten him into the best shape of his life. He said he works out six days a week, sometimes twice a day and he feels great.
“I have some nagging pains from years of living because I’m a little older than most of (the other members) at 46,” McCoy said. “A little bit of nagging shoulder and knee injuries, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
McCoy said the thing he enjoys most about working out at Moscow CrossFit is the family-like atmosphere.
Misty Funke, who also works out
at Moscow CrossFit, said the group is
so tight-knit that if she misses a
workout someone will text her to ask where she was.
“They kind of guilt you,” Funke said. “It’s a great motivator.”
She said her friends who don’t do CrossFit joke about her being in a cult.
“It really is like a big family, we have barbecues and events,” Funke said. “It is more than just a gym.”
Funke said newcomers shouldn’t be intimidated by the programming because it can all be scaled for intensity that matches the individual. She also said Santo is really thorough in preparing them with eight boneyard break-in sessions, and he coaches every session.
“Even though it’s the most expensive gym in Moscow it is well worth it because you basically have a personal trainer every time you workout, and over the long run that will save you a lot of money,” Funke said.
Membership costs $80 a month for unlimited workout sessions.
Funke only had one complaint about CrossFit workouts.
“My famous quote is ‘my everything hurts’ because I’m always sore,” Funke said. “But it just means I’m getting stronger and healthier.”
Funke said at 31-years-old she is in the best shape she’s been in since high school.
Santo said CrossFit has gotten him in great shape since he really got serious about it two years ago.
“Before I got into CrossFit I did the Globo Gym thing,” Santo said. “Like everyone else I ran on the treadmill and I lifted weights; I thought it was the best thing I could do but I was sadly mistaken.”
Santo said CrossFit’s competitive aspect draws people to it, which may help to explain the rapid growth of his gym.
“You aren’t competing with other people, you are competing against yourself,” Santo said. “Our ages vary widely from early 20s to almost 50 and you’ll find in all those people an urge to compete. That’s what really drew me in. I’m almost 30 years old and I’ve been done playing sports for a while but this is something I can still do.”
He said he thinks that the high cost of joining the community at Moscow CrossFit is well worth it.
“Our membership, we do charge more than anybody else in town, but there is a reason for it,” Santo said.”It’s not to make anybody rich. That’s not the goal and honestly its not gonna happen. But creating value in something that pulls people in. Its like, I’m not paying for a gym membership, I’m paying to go get the best workouts of my life, feel better than I ever have, and do it with the coolest people I know.”
Moscow CrossFit is located at 2182 Nursery St. in Moscow.
Andrew Deskins can be reached at [email protected]