Who We Are & Where We're Going

Written by Jeff BinekThe concept of what Friendship was and what we wanted it to become began one evening after a hard garage workout among friends. A group of 25 and 26 year old guys were struggling in between that zone of not 'feeling the bar scene' and 'not yet into a long-term relationship/marriage' - we bonded and found a healthy habit to sink ourselves into with CrossFit & the pursuit of strength and fitness. The jokes, laughs and fun reminded us of college & the military, the hard effort reminded us of the sports or competition we now missed, and the endorphins left us feeling accomplished and fulfilled. We wanted to spread that vibe to others, and our excitement towards this newfound passion allowed us that opportunity. We didn't realize at the time the impact we could have in this fitness movement.Along the way, as it's grown and developed, and the community has established itself as a leader, it remains an amazing place for anyone in that same place of life (as evidenced by all of the marriages, relationships and life-long friendships built). However, we found other transitional periods in life where it can be just as powerful -- Mothers coming back after pregnancy, parents who's kids can drive now regaining some freedom, retirees, and veterans making transitions into a new lifestyle. Creating a welcoming, fun and friendly place for these groups will always remain our core, our main focus. But in the background of the amazing community, we have taken the passion for fitness to a new level.Friendship is trying to raise the bar of what CrossFit means to fitness. We flirted with the idea of following the "trend" and removing CrossFit from our name, however I feel that it is what makes us great and it is what we do better than anyone. We are experts at CrossFit, and CF is an amazing, proven and established way to get amazingly fit, lean, muscular, strong, powerful and confident. That doesn't mean that we will stop trying to advance what CrossFit training can entail -- That is its beauty and power...that it is flexible and evergreen.Over the past 2 years I have rounded out our staff to include; a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Licensed and Registered Dietitian, Precision Nutritionist, Licensed Massage Therapist, Personal Trainers, Strength and Conditioning coach, and a CF Kids expert. On top of that, we have created a developmental team with Columbus Chiropractic to work with Dr. Jenny Borda in establishing a continuing education curriculum for our coaches. We share and grow together with a forward-thinking community focused on a holistic approach to fitness. This atmosphere of growth, humility and learning will provide our current coaches, future coaches and community a cutting-edge approach to health.We've also overhauled our introductory program. Now, we focused on the BEST possible path to development for the athletes. We know that the best way for substantial learning to take place is in a dedicated, one-on-one setting. We also know that those first 6-8 weeks is the most crucial time in your fitness career, as you're developing habits in the gym and at home. You must be able to ask questions and have a personal coach available to you frequently. This has caused us to invest heavily in more coaches, more hours and much more care and touch to our athletes. There are many "easy way out" ways to introduce people to CrossFit, we know because we made those mistakes in the past. I hope that any other gym owners, or coaches reading this can see the value in taking the appropriate amount of time to properly develop an athlete's movement and nutrition in a 1-on-1 setting, the effort and time early on will allow the athlete to enjoy a long-term, healthy fitness journey at ANY fitness facility for the rest of their life.With a staff that is motivated and energetic about their own personal growth and learning, and a community that has decided to make an investment in their health, we are poised for amazing things in 2018 and beyond. This year we hope to be able to put more of our expertise out into the open, posting more videos, blog posts, and creating specific workout templates to be performed at home in or a garage to reach those who cannot yet afford a full-time coach & gym. In short, hopefully you will be seeing more of us, and hopefully we can continue to drive information and knowledge out into the Columbus community.We want to change people's perception of the "Quick Fix" "$9/month" "fitness isn't worth investing in" "But prescription drug fixes are" type of world we're living in. The commercialization of unhealthy food and lifestyles paired with a deteriorating healthcare system is setting up America for failure. I want to be a leader working towards change in the opposite direction, and everything we're developing is working towards that. We will continue to consult and help other CF and fitness facilities grow and develop their systems and coaches, and be a forward thinking leader in the preventative healthcare & fitness community.$1,112/Person/year for Drugs vs. $66/Person/Year on Gyms (Gym Stats). Prescription Drug spending charts in the US almost exactly mirror the Obesity charts as well.  We will collaborate with other experts to strengthen our programming, offer special clubs and 6/8-week courses for our athletes to specialize. While Seminars are great for getting information and knowledge across, we know that people forget 77% of what the seminar taught within a week (CITING SOURCES LIKE A GOOD BOY). That means that people maybe take away one or two things from Seminars. Instead, we want practical applications...we are building 6-week templates and programs that can begin with a seminar, then implement a 6-week training block so that you can put the things you learned immediately and directly into action. This will allow us to work more intimately with athletes, provide experts to come in and coach, and see tangible results from the information given. So far, this has been INCREDIBLY successful and I am so excited to see this carry forward into more areas of fitness.We will have some very exciting announcements this year. I am more excited and passionate than ever to continue to spread our community and our ideology towards fitness and friendship. I am so proud to call myself the leader of this community and appreciative that you all continue to trust in myself and my coaches.