The original reason I started coming to NEPA Crossfit was, like most people that start going to a gym, to get into shape. But it has turned into something so much more. Yes, NEPA CrossFit has gotten me into great shape, the kind of shape I never thought I could be in (it has allowed me do things that I never thought I could do physically like completing a triathlon or competing in a strongman competition), but what NEPA CrossFit has that no other gyms in this area have is a sense of true friendship and family. This sense of friendship and family is forged by pushing your body to it’s limits and having other people do it right alongside you. My family makes me accomplish what seems impossible. My family cheers me on when I think I have nothing left to give. My family has changed my life forever. My family is what keeps me coming back.
It has been exactly 1 year since joining NEPA CrossFit and it has been the most exciting gym/workout experiences in my over 20 years of fitness dedication. NEPA CrossFit promotes an environment that motivates you everyday you walk into “the box”. The workouts, which are scaled to your ability, are some of the most creative and challenging I’ve ever experienced. When you complete these intense exercises along with your other CrossFit teammates a strong bond of friendship and camaraderie is easily and often formed. Each work out of the day, or WOD as we put it, is overseen by up to three different coaches, all of which guide your technique, push you to your max, and respect your limitations. These three coaches, each unique in their styles, are well trained, extremely knowledgeable in all facets of physical fitness and are outright gentlemen. It is this combination of demanding workouts in a group setting with quality coaching that makes NEPA CrossFit my favorite part of the day. I literally plan on being a member of NEPA CrossFit for life and I’m constantly recommending this program to people I know.
I have never in my life felt closer to a bunch of people in such a short amount of time. We are a FAMILY here. We care for each other. We are there for each other in times of need. We are brothers and sisters to each other and are not afraid to play that role. The day will come where I may have to leave NEPA but I know without a doubt that when I come back it will be like I never left. The PEOPLE are what make NEPA CrossFit extraordinary. Oh yeah, and if you think you are in shape now I hate to beak it to you but you have no idea what being in good shape is. I learned, and continue to learn, that from the first day I trained. The compliments I keep hearing never get old either!
I have been coming to the box for 2.5 years. I started coming because I wanted to compete in an IronMan competition but I suffered from two herniated disks in my lower back, a shoulder that had undergone a bankhart reconstruction five years prior, as well as a knee with a burst bursa sac. In essence, I had many weaknesses that I would have to endure in order to train for the IM. That’s when I met Brennan, the head coach at NEPA CrossFit. On the first day I warned Brennan of my myriad of injuries and informed him that I would never be able to do a pull up. He simply said “trust me”. Since that first day…I trained for and finished an IronMan competition pain free and injury free. I CAN do pull ups, and especially enjoy the strongman workouts. I enjoy the box because, although I am a 41 year old mother of two, I feel better than I did as a college athlete. I love the box because it truly is a family. The coaches truly care about our health and fitness, as well as our personal well being. We work together as a group, yet we all get personal attention. They know us all and what we are capable of, and we are all encouraged to perform at our very best. Everyone is made to feel welcome. Everyone is made to be an elite athlete.
After years of struggling with bulimia, I started training with different trainers from around the valley. What I saw was a bunch of people that didn’t know much about fitness and didn’t care as long as I kept producing results and paying their fees. Eventually, my body and mind caved and I had nothing left. After taking a year off to rest my husband mentioned NEPA CrossFit and how he’d join with me. I remember asking Brennan (the head coach) a question and his answer will forever be stuck in my head, “We don’t care what you look like, our goal is to get you in the best physical shape of your life.” I stuck with it. I can honestly tell you that not only am I doing things I never thought my body could do, and that I love my body for what it is capable of doing, but somewhere along the ride I learned that I love food! CrossFit truly saved my life. I am both thankful for the program and the coaches for doing such an awesome job!!
I train at NEPA CrossFit because I feel that I can’t get this kind of a workout anywhere else. When I started training at Cross Fit I couldn’t even do a pushup. There wasn’t much that I was able to do and I didn’t have much self confidence. I’ve since learned a great deal. Every day at NEPA CrossFit is a challenge for me. No matter how much my body hurts I still go back for more. I’m pushed further and further with each workout and I feel much better about myself than I did just a few months ago. I’m certainly not one of the fastest or strongest but I still try. It helps immensely that the workouts are scaled for any ability level. I was never able to stick to any kind of a workout for longer than a month or two previous to training at NEPA CrossFit. With the patience, training and much appreciated efforts of the AWESOME coaches…I’ve come a long way baby!!! This is a priority for me. I treat it as an appointment; somewhere that I have to be. I need to be there. : )
NEPA Crossfit has taken my fitness to an elite level, allowing me to accomplish a level of fitness vastly exceeding my expectations. I am now in the best shape of my life as a result of the coaching and programming by the staff of NEPA Crossfit. The creativity and intensity of the training at NEPA Crossfit is unmatched to any program I have encountered in my athletic career. I have achieved great advances in strength, power, endurance, and flexibility while training at NEPA Crossfit. The equipment and facilities are top notch, but most importantly NEPA Crossfit offers a very tight knit community where everyone knows each other by name and camaraderie and friendship are extremely valued. Here we’re all family, and our relationships extend far beyond the confines of the walls of the gym
As a lifelong athlete, I’m no stranger to gyms. And, being a former football player and wrestler, my workouts have revolved around ‘lifting to get big’ for some time. I always believed that my weight training was the best possible workout routine I could be following in order to be at my best. More recently, though, I found it growing more difficult to actually go to the gym and complete my workouts. I just lacked any motivation to get myself there in order to do the SAME routine I had been doing weekly. Then, I heard about NEPA CrossFit, and I decided to give it a try. The CrossFit workouts are like nothing I’ve ever done in a gym before. They are challenging. They change daily. The coaches and fellow clients are more than just people sharing a gym. We’re a family. You can guarantee you’ll never lack the motivation to push your limits at a NEPA CrossFit workout. Even better, you’ll actually look forward to going to them. I only regret that I didn’t switch to NEPA CrossFit sooner.
The only thing I need to do is show up! It’s like getting 6 days a week of personal training. I have always had a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with exercise. Now I LOVE working out!! The daily workouts at NEPA CrossFit are fun and I am always left with the thought, “Wow! I can’t believe I just did that!” which motivates me to keep going. My fellow CrossFitters are friendly, supportive and also keep me motivated. As a 42 year old mother of two school age kids, I am achieving my fitness goals and can see and feel the physical difference in my body and energy level.
Since I began working out at NEPA CrossFit, I am constantly reminded of the Walt Whitman poem Body Electric. With each workout, I am continuously amazed by the capacity of my body to do things I never would have imagined before coming to NEPA CrossFit. I have a grateful appreciation for this new body that has developed through CrossFit and am determined to keep it. When I started I thought I might be too old and would not be able to keep up or even do some of the things that the younger members were doing. I continue to be amazed that not only can I keep up; at times I am even able to surpass folks who are 10 to 20 years younger. Not bad for a 51 year old pastor! I love NEPA CrossFit and the body it has given me and look forward to many more years of being part of this incredible family and being trained by coaches who are beyond compare when it comes to fitness knowledge and training skill.” “I sing the body electric. I celebrate the me yet to come….
Simple, there is no other place where I can get the one-on-one coaching I need to build my strength and fitness. As a 51-year old ironman I know how to swim, bike and run. But I don’t like taking a break from those activities to build the core, the strength, and the power needed to keep my aging body fit. At NEPA CrossFit there are no egos and no pretending. Just workouts that get tailored just for me…my race schedule, my fitness level, my skill level. Yes, some of them are mind-boggling in their difficulty. But the challenge builds more than fitness…it builds confidence. One other thing. Family. Since there are no mirrors, no juice bars, and no wide-screen tv locker rooms we get to know each other. And to push each other. And to help each other inside and outside the “Box” (our affectionate name for the building where we train). I have never left the box without a smile on my (sweaty) face. Amen.
Originally I started going to NEPA Crossfit because like so many other people I became bored and frustrated with the normal gym routine. I am 33 years old, a former three sport high school athlete as well as former college baseball player. After the birth of my first child life slowed down quite a bit. I tried to work my way back into the gym on several occasions but there was always something was missing….. The Challenge. There was nothing to work towards anymore. After going to my normal gym for about 8 months of continuous 40 minute treadmill workouts and 30 minute weight training sessions yielding no results I had had enough. I found NEPA Crossfit through a friend of mine that was about 3 months into his training, went to the first class and was instantly hooked. The attention you receive there is UNPARALLED. The coach’s all show a genuine concern in your interests and help you work towards your personal goals. I have never experienced anything like it in my life. I always find reasons to keep showing up there instead of excuses why I shouldn’t go. Now I will share one more reason why I choose NEPA Crossfit. I write this letter as I have just returned from one of the flood victims from the 2011 flood of the Wyoming Valley. Several of the coaches and CrossFitters went out over the weekend helping out with other clients of the gym. To me that was not so surprising because everyone there looks out for each other as if we were all family members. I was surprised however when Brennan Morton the owner of NEPA CrossFit showed up to help clean up the Brookside section of Wilkes Barre which was decimated by flood waters. This was all after several hours of helping his coaches and clients move all of their furniture back into there house. I was surprised because I didn’t even call him to ask for help and he showed up. I was very proud and grateful at that moment to me a member of NEPA CrossFit. The flood victims on Brookside street were very grateful as well. I know that first hand because one of them was my father.