Although it may come as a bit of a shock as one who is quite frugal, I’m a huge Crossfit fanatic. That’s right, I cough up the big bucks and pay for a membership at a local Crossfit gym and workout several times a week. I’ve done it for a probably 4 years now, and absolutely love it. It’s a fair question as an outsider to inquire whether or not such a workout regimen is worth it. It’s quite the commitment, both financial and time. So, is it worth it? I think so, and wanted to walk you through the reasons why I think so.

What is Crossfit?

Crossfit is a workout class that occurs at Crossfit gyms around the country, and even the world. It’s got a devoted following (almost cult like, some would say) of gym fanatics that seemingly spend all their time and money there, have all their friends there, and slowly get more and more sucked in: adopting a new diet, getting new wardrobes, entering competitions…suddenly a workout routine becomes a lifestyle! That might be a little extreme, although some people may fall into that category. Hmmm, sorry I got distracted talking about how much I like Crossfit to actually tell you what it is. Crossfit gyms (called ‘boxes’) typically have morning and evening classes (some have middle of the day classes too) and all classes go through the same WOD (workout of the day). A normal class lasts about an hour; with a warmup, weighlifting then the WOD, which is typically circuit style in which you do a few exercises (‘movements’) for a period of time. It can get quite competitive, with times and weights being recorded, so you can compete against your friends, or yourself as you try to improve over time.

I personally got hooked on Crossfit when I was a rising senior in college. I had spent the past 3 years working out in the student rec center gym, in which I focused of course on the important muscles for a college guy– biceps, chest and abs. I went pretty consistently, about 3x/week for 3 years. My brother and my friend told me about a local gym that offered a special $100 rate for the whole summer for students, and I decided to take them up on it. I still went about 3x/week and saw more results (in terms of strength and overall fitness) in 3 months than I had seen in my 3 years of working out. I was then converted and returned to college where I did Crossfit with the student led Crossfit club. After college, I wanted to keep Crossfitting, but found the gyms a bit too pricey for my budget at the time. After leaving college a broke college student, I entered the working world a poor young professional. I couldn’t bring myself to pay the monthly rate and instead found some basic WODs online and did those (mostly bodyweight movements like push-ups or air squats) at my house for a year. After a year or so and feeling a bit more financially sound, I joined a Crossfit gym. I paid $95/month for a twice a week membership. I did that for a year and then after my promo rate expired I paid $135/month. Feeling that was a little pricey, I decided to shop around and stumbled onto a fairly new Crossfit gym that was offering a founders promo rate for $100/month, if you paid the whole year up front. I’ve been doing that ever since!

The investment

Back to the original question – is Crossfit worth it? Let’s first lay out the investment that I’m making into such an endeavor. Crossfit is typically pretty expensive. Crossfit gyms vary in price, depending on where you’re at, how many other Crossfit gyms are nearby (i.e. competition) and how much they want to charge. Most prices I see are $100-$250+ each month. Yes, you can drop a car payment sized membership fee at these gyms, spending potentially $3,000 each year at a place where you work out. WOW. That is normally enough for people to immediately be turned away. With LA Fitness type places offering super low rates like $10/month…it’s hard to stomach paying that much. Additionally, there’s the time investment. Each class is an hour long, and then there’s travel and shower time (you’ll definitely need a shower post workout) to tack on. I personally go 5x/week, which means I’m spending probably 8 hours/week at or near the gym. As you can see, Crossfit is quite the time and financial investment.

So, with all that investment, let’s talk about what I get out of Crossfit in terms of a return. Any endeavor should be judged both on the investment and the return, and the endeavor should be taken if the return is greater than the investment at a rate that is enough for you. With me paying $100/month (others definitely paying more) and going to 5 classes per week, what are the returns on my investment?

Return on health

The older I get, the more I’ve come to realize that health is probably one of an individual’s greatest assets that they can have. You can have all the money in the world, all the free time, all the friends, all the stuff but if you don’t have your health, your life won’t be all the great. Being healthy I’ve learned is definitely something you have to work for and that if you don’t work for it, your body will definitely start fading, which can lead to all sorts of diseases or health problems. Having some health problems run in my family, I realize that I need to be resolute in staying healthy, and I’m convinced that diet and exercise are the two main ways to get healthy. I can’t control my genetics but I can control my diet and exercise. At the end of the day, it’s hard to put a price tag on being healthy and it’s an investment I’m willing to make.

By doing Crossfit, I feel healthy and in shape, so I’m able to meet my goal. I also look around at the gym and there are a few folks in their mid-40’s and they are in incredible shape (arguably stronger than me) which is super encouraging to me. If I can be healthy now and healthy when I’m older, it’s definitely a program I want to follow.

So, one of the biggest returns I find is the return on my health and how I feel that Crossfit allows me to get and stay healthy. The next question will be – could I not get and stay healthy at a much cheaper gym?

Return on commitment

As with anything in life, it’s hard to be successful without discipline. Same goes with exercising – if you’re not committed and disciplined with it – you won’t get the results you’re looking for and won’t meet your goal of being healthy. Would I be able to get the same results and return on my health at a $10/month gym? It’s difficult for me to say as it’s been a few years since I’ve been but to be honest, I’m not sure. One of the great things about Crossfit (which might also be why it’s so expensive) is that there are a number of built in mechanisms to keep me committed. The format is always in classes, although you can come and do your own thing, or go during open gym, most people go during an actual class. That means I have to think and plan my day to make sure I attend, whether it’s the 5:30am, 5:30pm or 6:30pm class. Planning my day increases my commitment and likelihood of going. Also, the classes are fairly competitive. Whether I’m competing against myself (beating my old time, beating a goal I set for myself), or competing against friends in the class (a healthy rivalry), I’m very motivated to improve and to improve you have to practice. Finally, I’m also paying a decent chunk of change, so in some ways I feel like I have to go; to get my money’s worth. All that said, Crossfit is pretty well designed in such a way that it keeps me coming back, keeps me excited and motivated and therefore keeps me committed. Perhaps I could stay as motivated at a regular gym, but perhaps not – I’ve found in the past that I was much less committed. Crossfit keeps me committed, which keeps me going, which keeps me healthy!

Return on community

As mentioned, Crossfit is a gym focused around classes, whether in the morning, middle of the day, or in the afternoon. Often times your schedule will dictate you going to the same class time each day, as it will for other people too. So, you often see the same people during the class and start to get to know them. Soon you’re competing with them and becoming friends! Mrs. Money and I have developed a good group of friends at the gym that we’ve really come to enjoy. When you’re spending 5 hours a week at the gym and hanging out with the same people, it’s easy to develop a community. Having community is so important in life, regardless of where you find it. We love our gym friends; in fact we just refer to them as our friends now! We’ve hung out, gone to breakfast Saturday morning post WOD, celebrated birthdays and all sorts of other fun stuff. The competitive community in Crossfit is also great because of all the coaching and encouragement that comes along with it. Everybody at our gym (and I don’t think it’s unique to our gym) is always willing to lend a helping hand, advice and is always encouraging me and others to do our best. A very positive and uplifting environment from the friends and fellow gym mates really makes it a special place.

With any investment, you must consider whether the returns are great enough on the cost of the investment (whether financial or time). Crossfit is definitely an investment ($$$$ and a lot of time) so if you’re considering it, you’ll definitely be looking into the returns. I get a ton of value out of my Crossfit membership and consider it a worthy investment. I feel the returns on keeping me committed, keeping me healthy and fit and the return of a solid community are well worth the financial and time investment. Crossfit may not be for everybody as your perception of the returns may not be worth the investment, but they certainly are worth it to me!