I had the opportunity to visit one of these "globo boxes" this week to see for myself.
On Wednesday I dropped in on the 9am class at CrossFit Sanitas to join them for a workout. They had only been open for a couple of weeks but you absolutely wouldn't know it when you stepped in the front door. The space is vast and feels incredibly open. A gentlemen noticed immediately by my wide eyes that it was my first time in. He was exceptionally polite and welcoming. The front desk was similar to what you would see at a larger health club. He had me fill out a liability waiver and inquired about my CrossFit experience.
I am directed to the locker room and on my way back Caleb introduces himself to me. His energy and enthusiasm is palpable. The website was down so I had no idea what the workout was going to be, which made me nervous considering I had a competition in a couple of days. I was relieved when Caleb told me that we would be doing sled pulls, push jerks and double unders.
The locker room was well kept and once again similar to what you would expect to see in a corporate type facility. I can't speak for the women's facilities but the men's locker room had three showers as well as an abundance of storage for your gear.
There was a "Base Camp" class starting at the same time as ours. Base Camp is CF Sanitas' version of an elements or on ramp class. At a couple of minutes before 9am Caleb took control of our group and had the others go with their respective instructor. We had about 10 people in our group and it looked like Base Camp had close to 15. Caleb's military service was made apparent in the way that he controlled the group and described the movements; using terms like "cease fire" instead of stop. Before the workout we performed the CF Standard warm up which includes squats, pull ups, dips, sit ups, and hip extensions.
THE WOD
Partner based. 5 Rounds for repetitions.Person "A" pulls a weighted sled 20 feet while Person "B" does 10 push jerks (135/95). If person "B" finishes the jerks before "A" finishes the sled pulls then they will use the remaining time to do double unders. The workout was scored individually. The objective is to allow your partner the least amount of time to accumulate repetitions. There was no other time component.
This was a gasser, no doubt. Like most people I have a tendency to use one movement, or the transition between movements as a rest period. Any slowing would result in a higher score for someone else. As the semi competitive person that I am, I worked a little extra hard to make sure that didn't happen! I think my partner had a little of that competitive GFY because by the last two rounds of the workout I wasn't even getting through the 10 reps. He was pulling that sled FAST! While it would be difficult to score a workout like this at a competition, you have to love any training that brings out that level of increased competitive drive in someone. (See Why we Compete)
The post WOD skill development was cool. Caleb had us practicing a handstand transition from bakasana (crow pose) on the astro turf. Yeah, I said astro turf. CF Sanitas has it's own astro turf! Following our handstand skill development we worked on shoulder mobility. All in all it felt like we got a lot done in an hour.
The equipment
This is going to be short, Sanitas is not short on anything. I have never seen a gym so well equipped in it's first month. Judging from the box after box after box that was being brought in from FedEx during our workout I am guessing that they still only have a fraction of their toys on the gym floor. 
So are the rest of us small box owners in trouble? Are gyms like Sanitas going to steam roll us by having deeper pockets? I don't think so. There may be a paradigm shift at work, however. Gyms like Sanitas provide a certain level of transitional comfort. For most people who have been working out in a traditional "globo gym" for years are typically pretty surprised and put off by the idea of spending 2-3 times as much to train in what looks like a garage or warehouse. By creating an environment that is similar to the gyms that these people are accustomed to it increases the likelihood that they will give it a shot, further expanding our community. The service that they provide is really quite similar to that of any other gym that has highly experienced and trained coaches, the difference is there presentation. I understand better than most how tight a budget can be for a new gym and how difficult it can be to provide all the little extra amenities that you want to. That said, I believe that small gym owners would do well to look at what gyms like Sanitas are doing. I have always despised statements like, "It's a CrossFit gym, people don't mind if the walls are beat up and the floors look like shit." As our community grows, so should the expectations and quality of our facilities. There will always be a place for the garage gym, there will always be people that want that grit. Hell, I am one of them. My favorite gym of all time remains my CrossFit OG training partner Jess Fisher's barn gym. Sanitas, however, is setting the bar very high and appears to be leading the way for "The New Guard"
The Score
For it's progressive approach in staffing, business operations, marketing and athlete development, I am going to give CrossFit Sanitas a score of......
20 pound Snatch PR.
Ohhh..... the shirt! I got set up with an American Apparel long sleeve thermal, which was perfect for enjoying a post WOD coffee on a chilly Boulder morning! well worth the $25!
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