Meet Our Neighbor: We are excited to feature Extravagant Realty’s
“Meet our Neighbor” series. Each month, we spotlight one of our fabulous North
Shore business neighbors. This month, we get pumped up with RADD CrossFit NSLI.
The CrossFit philosophy is simple and
sweet: You are never alone.
“The journey of fitness is a long and
difficult one,” says Diana Jimenez, Operations Director of RADD CrossFit NSLI in
Glen Cove. “But CrossFit is different in that you are never alone, and when you
embark on our journey, the level of support from the CrossFit community is
monumental. Dreading a workout quickly
becomes a thing of the past and looking forward to pushing the limits with good
company becomes your motivation.”
The way it works: “CrossFit is a
strength and conditioning program that is constantly varied, uses functional
movements, and operates at a high intensity,” says Jimenez, adding, “there is
no routine, we like to prepare your body for the unknowable by keeping your
body guessing.”
Since it was founded in 2000 by Greg
Glassman, CrossFit has grown by leaps and bounds. By 2005 there were 13 gyms
affiliated with CrossFit. Today, there
are over 4,400 CrossFit affiliates worldwide, primarily located in the United
States, and the number of affiliates continues to grow. “We are passionate and firmly believe that
this is a new age in fitness,” says Jimenez.
“CrossFit has been life changing for me,” says
Roberto Gutierrez, certified trainer and coach at the Glen Cove facility, along
with his brother Daniel Gutierrez. “I was an ex-athlete and had gained a
significant amount of weight and I had let myself go in a terrible way
physically as well as emotionally,” says Roberto. “My brother introduced me to
CrossFit, and after my first workout, I felt like I was back in the gym with my
football buddies. Slaps of high fives and positive sayings made me fall in love
with CrossFit. From then on I began to
challenge myself in every way and I started making the impossible, possible.”
Roberto’s brother and certified trainer and coach,
Daniel Guterriez, also grew up playing sports and went on to become an
elementary school teacher and coach. “Having a direct impact on a person’s life
through guiding and teaching has always been my passion,” says Daniel, “and
while working as a CrossFit coach began as a quest for something fun to do in
addition to my teaching career, it is now my lifelong goal to inspire others to
strive for a better quality of life through fitness, community, and support on
the North Shore of Long Island.”
The coaches gauge a member’s fitness
level and improvement with benchmark workouts. “Most of our benchmark workouts
are named after girls and one of our most popular is ‘Fran.’ Fran is an intense
workout that requires you to complete 21, 15 and 9 repetitions of thrusters and
pull-ups. Your score is your time and if you improve on your time, we believe
you have improved your level of fitness.”
RADD CrossFit had been
vetting the perfect Long Island location for a year before the fitness and
training company “fell in love” with the community of Glen Cove. “What
attracted us most was the friendliness of the people and quaint appeal,” says Jimenez.
“Our hope for the future is to move to the area.” She adds, “Other businesses
here have been very helpful in our start up process by allowing us to post
information and spread the word about RADD CrossFit. Attending Chamber of Commerce meetings has
also been a great way for other businesses to share what works for them and
what could potentially work for us in our facility. We plan to promote their
efforts and collaborate to plan and host various events that support each
other’s endeavors.”
CrossFit will hit a new benchmark in
2013, with 100,000 people registered to compete in “The CrossFit Games,” says Jimenez.
The Games began in the summer of 2007 in order to find the fittest man and
woman in the world. There are three
stages to the games that include the Open Sectionals, Regionals, and The
Games. “The greatest part is that anyone
can compete in the Open Sectionals,” says Jimenez, adding, “the top 48 people
from each region are invited to compete in regionals. From there the top three individuals from
each region are invited to compete in The Games. “Competing in the Open
Sectionals is a good way to see how you rank in terms of fitness against the
world.” 
RADD CrossFit also hosts nutritional
seminars and events throughout the year that are offered to members. “The
classes are free and help to inform our members of current nutritional habits
that are recommended by the CrossFit community.”
Everyone can participate in CrossFit’s
general-fitness program, “from high school students to adults of all ages,”
says Jimenez. “Every movement is modifiable so anyone can benefit.” And young
kids are getting into the action, too.
“We recently introduced our RADD Kids program for children ages
seven-to-fourteen years-old, which meet once a week on Saturdays,” says Jimenez. The biggest challenge for CrossFit? “Leaving at night would be the biggest challenge for us,” says Jimenez. “We love what we do and finding time to end the day is a challenge. We want to continue to improve the quality of our service for everyone in the Glen Cove community and we continuously seek out ideas and innovative methods to do so.”
