Welcome to CrossFit Edwardsville!
First, WELCOME to our gym and community! You’re going to love the program and the people. Get excited about moving into a new phase of life! Our programs are amazing and will change ALL areas of your life (health, wealth, relationships) for the better.
Refined to perfection over several years, our OnBoarding, Private Coaching, and Custom Programs cover the absolute best of fitness. You’ll learn the common movements, establish baseline numbers, acquire our lingo, learn training principles, track progress, identify resources, and get comfortable with the environment- so you can thrive and get the best results.
The content of this page is proprietary, the property of CrossFit Edwardsville, and should not be shared with anyone outside of CrossFit Edwardsville.
Before your first class…
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Commit to just SHOWING UP! Just showing up is the biggest part of the battle for many people. EVERYONE is nervous before their first class (and often, nervous before EVERY class). EVERYONE has butterflies in their stomachs as they head into a new gym for the first time. That’s okay! We’ll make you feel welcome and we’ll gradually transition you into the program.
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Get the following smartphone apps from your cell-phone app store. All of the apps are FREE, but super-helpful.
-ZenPlanner (you’ll use this to RSVP for classes)
-SugarWOD (you’ll use this to track your workout data; strength and conditioning numbers) -
Sign the standard waivers on your account. You can do this through your ZenPlanner account.
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RSVP for class by using your ZenPlanner smartphone app (the one you downloaded in the previous step) by logging into your account (click here) and clicking yourself into the classes you’ll be attending. It’s best to go ahead and RSVP for all the classes you’ll attend in a given week at the start of the week.
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Watch the Class Preview videos listed below. You’ll get a visual of the content so you know what to expect!
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Eat breakfast, lunch, and a snack about 1-2 hours before class so you have some fuel in your tank. If you’re doing your classes in the morning, at least be sure to eat something light 1-2 hours before your class. Good ideas for snacks include fruits and vegetables, which give you an energy source but don’t ride heavily in the stomach.
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Wear comfortable shorts (or sweatpants, depending on the time of year), a shirt or tank top (you can ditch ’em when the workout starts, if you want), and workout shoes like running or tennis shoes. Dress in layers so you can add/subtract as needed.
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Bring a water bottle, sweat towel, and card/cash if you wanna check out some of the cool stuff in the retail shop when you’re here.
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Arrive ~15 minutes before your class so you can get signed in and settled before things start up. You can place all personal items in the cubbies in the Athlete waiting area.
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Meet the greeter in the front foyer. The greeter or coach will welcome you, get you checked in for class! (You’ll check in for class at the kiosk. This is something you’ll do every time you come to CFE.
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Start! At the appointed time, your OnBoarding coach will come to meet you and begin your class.
So what is CrossFit?
CrossFit: Constantly varied, functional movement, done at high intensity.
Constantly varied: We mix up the stimulus constantly.
Functional movement: We do movements that carry over to life, sports, and combat.
High intensity: We strive to keep the intensity/power output as high as possible in our conditioning workouts.
But most importantly, CrossFit is a COMMUNITY. Our workouts are done in a group, with others who will push us, and who we can push to do much more than we’d ever do on our own. It’s a group of achievers who demand more of themselves. It’s a place where people come to push themselves outside their comfort zones, to become something GREATER than they were yesterday.
It’s never easy, but it’s always worth it.
5 Ways to Get the Most Out of CrossFit
Learn these items, and put them into action!
1) Show up consistently. Magic doesn’t happen without action. You don’t need to feel 100% ready, you just need to SHOW UP to CrossFit and we’ll show you the way!
2) Move with excellence. Your coaches will help you know how. Follow your coaches’ guidance to your greatest fitness!
3) Get comfortable being uncomfortable. You’ll always be nervous before your workout. You won’t always feel fully ready to exercise. You won’t always be in the mood. The workouts are always hard. Greatness comes from accepting discomfort as part of the journey. It’ll always be uncomfortable; but it’s always worth it.
4) Have fun with, and TRUST, the process! If you’re not having fun, you’re probably not doing CrossFit right! And progress takes time, so trust the process!
5) Eat for success- eat CLEAN! It’s hard to out-exercise a bad diet. Success follows intelligent, purposeful exercise AND nutrition.
Before each class, watch these preview videos!
Bonus: A Meal Plan for you!
Want to feel amazing, look amazing, and perform well in your workouts? You need a nutrition plan! You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.
There’s MORE than one way to eat and cut body fat, feel better, or improve your performance. The Paleo diet is a popular approach to healthy eating in our fitness world.
Here, we’ve attached clickable links for four weeks of a very specific guided meal plan by our friends at Ancestral Kitchen.
Important note 1: It’s important to realize that the Paleo diet is NOT the only way of doing healthy eating; it’s just ONE way that works for lots of people, and that’s fairly practical to put into action.
Important note 2: There’s SO MUCH to discuss when it comes to nutrition, that we could NEVER cover it all in this one website! GOOD NEWS: We do free nutrition classes (click here to find the next one) periodically for our new incoming clients, we regularly email nutrition ideas directly to your inbox, AND you can sign up for a one-on-one Step-One Nutrition Consultation here to discuss nutrition game plan for you.
Important note 3: The Paleo starter guide, sent to us by a nutritionist friend, is “anti-bacon and anti-potatoes.” Personally, we aren’t against EITHER of those things, so don’t be discouraged if you’re a fan of bacon and sweet potatoes; so are we!
Extra benefits for our OnBoarding Freshmen!
We love to surprise our clients with additional and unexpected benefits. Here are some of the bonuses we’ve added in for you.
1) The nutrition class. This is a free class, where we discuss nutrition principles to help you maximize results. This free class is typically offered once per month, please click here to find the schedule for the next one and RSVP online using your ZenPlanner app.
2) Dr Ryan Cleland’s risk factor screen. This is an optional and free screen for structural risk factors in your body; learn what YOU need to do to prevent future movement/alignment problems. It’s offered from 6:30-7:00 pm on the Thursday of Foundations Week 2. To RSVP for the class, please text-message 618-559-1013 by Tuesday evening at 9 pm. Learn more about Dr. Cleland here.
3) Dr Rob Wise’s body composition analyses. Dr Rob Wise of Ooh La La Spa provides Bioimpedence Analyses (BIAs) for our clients. This body composition test produces a report with your body fat percentage, lean mass, wet mass, and more. The BIA PROVES how much your body is changing in CrossFit! It costs $300 for the general public, but you can get it for $25 by mentioning “CrossFit Edwardsville” when you call. Schedule with Dr. Wise at 618-288-9117 or learn more here.
4) Dr Greg Skelly 1-on-1 consultation. On Saturday afternoons between 1 and 3 pm, Coach G typically does free 20-minute consultations with anyone from Foundations who wants to ask more questions, get more answers, and dig deeper than can be done in classes. Sign in to your account and use the online scheduler-calendar to RSVP for a Saturday consultation with Coach G.
5) Get a stretching session for free. If you lack flexibility, the CrossFit program will definitely help. So will having a professional work on your flexibility. At Ooh La La Spa, you can get 20-minute blocks of time where a mobility professional stretches you. Buy a 5-pack of sessions for $100 and get a 6th free; that’s 2 hours of stretching for $100. Book stretching appointments at 618-288-9117.
6) Free child care at many class times. Child care is offered during most class times (usually 9:30 am, 10 am, and 6 pm classes). If you would like to take advantage of this service, please visit this link for more info!
7) Free access to our online community. We have a private, invite-only Facebook member page where we post news, announcements, opportunities, and have group conversations about anything and everything. To gain access, add Coach Greg Skelly as a friend on Facebook so he can add you to the group (its accessible only by special permission).
Important Contact Information
For exercise-related things (“the gym side of CFE”), contact your coach by call or text:
Coach Greg Skelly: 618-248-4256
Coach Shawn Crocker: 618-357-0277
Coach Kyle Cary: 618-974-4403
Coach Jake Sebok: 217-521-9778
For administrative things (“the office side of CFE”), directly contact:
Membership Info, Childcare Coordinator, Technical Support: Membership@CrossFitEdwardsville.com
Competition Admin (Fittest Team, Masters) all other general questions: Info@CrossFitEdwardsville.com
Supplements we endorse
Click here to see a page with info on the supplements we carry and endorse. It’s the healthiest stuff in the world, and it’s what your coaches and fellow CFE CrossFitters use.
Exercise gear we endorse
Click here to see a page some of the exercise gear we carry and endorse. As you become experienced with CrossFit, you’ll realize how helpful it is to have wrist wraps, gymnastics grips for your hands, knee sleeves, your own jump rope, etc. You can buy this stuff in our online store and pick it up at CFE.
Referring Someone to CrossFit
The greatest compliment we can receive is the referral of a friend, family, colleague, or anyone in your life who needs to jump-start their fitness. It’s also more fun doing fitness with friends.
If you know someone who would benefit from CrossFit Edwardsville, here are some avenues…
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Bring-A-Friend Day. Every once in a while, we’ll do a BAF Day where you can bring any newbie to any group CrossFit class. It’s free and fun for everyone. When we do BAF Day, we’ll email AND post to the private Facebook client page to let you know.
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CrossFit OnBoarding. It’s the required start-point for everyone. People can sign up by clicking here, same as you did!
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Just come talk to us. Coach Greg is more than willing to meet and talk, show your friend the facility, and answer questions. You can give Coach Greg’s phone number (618-248-4256) to your friend and have them contact him directly. Or give Coach Greg your friend’s number, and Greg will contact them directly. 🙂
