Friday, October 10, 2014

CrossFit Napa Valley

CrossFit Napa Valley

We were in south Napa about a month ago for a work retreat at the Meritage Resort.  Since that involved a lot of epic eating and drinking, obviously I had to work some of it off.  I was leaving for Aruba the next day, so I wanted to find a gym that would let me do my weightlifting programming.  Lucky for me, CrossFit Napa Valley, was just one mile away!  

I came in at 7am for open gym with the owner, Ruben.  I didn't do the class, but below is what was programmed for the class:
  • Warm Up: run, leg swings, bootstraps, walking lunges, handstand walk, shoulder passes
  • Skill:
    • Push Press - 2RM
    • Super set 100 Hollow Rocks
  • Workout: Four rounds for time, 25min cap:
    • 400m Med Ball Run (20#/16#)
    • 20 Toes to Bar
    • 20 Med Ball Cleans (20#/16#)
 
Some things I really liked here:
  • Really nice facility... probably one of the nicest CrossFit gyms I've been to so far.  It is almost 9,000sqft, has 25' ceilings (and rings and ropes hung from them!), two large garage doors, plenty of parking, lots of light, and ridiculously clean.  In addition, the ground is flat and the equipment is arranged in such a way to maximize the open space and also allow for seamless growth.  Ruben designed and built the gym from ground up.  Impressive work!
  • Since they just opened about a year ago, all the equipment is brand new and well-kept.
  • Variety of equipment: high ropes, 60' pull up rig (and they will soon get another coated rig), area to do bar muscle ups, airdynes, sleds, prowlers, benches, competition plates (lb and kg), fractional plates down to 1.25#
  • Class structure.  Though I didn't do the class, I came in early enough to watch most of the 6am class as I warmed up.  I really liked how engaged the coaches were.  There were about ten people and two coaches, one of which was Ruben.  They watched everyone's movements and motivated them to grind through the long workout.
  • At least two hours of open gym on weekdays.  Check out their schedule.
  • Child care available
  • Free filtered water
  • $20 drop in fee, buy a shirt (their shirts are actually quite nice and not printed on cheap fabric), or make a friend.

Some things that could use improvement:
  • Finish off the kilo plate collection with fractional plates.  The smallest kilo increment is the 10kg plates right now.

Some pictures:


2. outside


3. Inside, so much space


4. pull up structure


5. hanging rings from different heights


6. side, super clean


7. back


8. view from back

9. 2nd garage door


10. view of front

11. WOD board


12. week's WOD board


13. cool cubbies/seats in the front


14. desk/store

Overall, CrossFit Napa Valley is a very tasteful and relatively new gym in southern Napa.  The trainers are chill and you can work out there with confidence that you won't get injured by bad gym set-up/facility.  I'm looking forward to coming back and seeing all the new enhancements Ruben puts in it!

Nearby Gyms: Franco Fitness