Albany Crossfit

I was a skeptic when i first walked into Albany CrossFit. My sister was already a member and thought it might be the place for me. I admit she was right. The community and the level of attention you get at ACF is un-​paralleled. I joined in September of 2010 and have been a member who has turned a coach. I found something that I love and a place with a tremendous sense of community that you cannot find anywhere else. I know that I will be a member for a long time to come.

I have been a member for approximately 3 months now. It has literally become my hobby, after work and sleep; I spend the most time here.
Before joining Albany Crossfit, I spent years on and off lifting at gyms and at home, getting discouraged after a month or two and then going back 6 months to years later, leaving me not as strong, very inflexible, and fat.
I find the vast majority of the staff and members to care about my personal well-​being and willing to even push me through a run beside me even after giving up myself.
I find this to be a great environment with many extra classes such as kettllebell conditioning and my personal favorite strongman.
I have tried to get back in shape for years and right now I have hit my 2002 weight, I plan on staying a member for the foreseeable future.

The owner took this review to a really negative place that resulted in his members sending me threatening & harassing messages. They also ended up having a bunch of reviews removed for violating the terms of use. He took this to an unnecessarily negative place rather than learning from it. Not everyone needs to love you & your business. The experience suggests to me that there are a lot of insecure and hostile people there, so no 2^nd review.
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I will be writing 2 reviews: this one for my introduction and sign up experience and an update after I am done with my 3 month membership. And after my first 2 weeks I am certain that I will NOT be renewing my membership due to the hostile attitudes of some of the coaches when you question them on anything. You also get the sense when trying to have a conversation with any of them (about anything) that if you don’t simply concede to their statement they are annoyed you are even talking to them.
I always appreciate that when there is a prospect that I’m going to sign up for something, pay a lot of money & then hate it that I’m offered a free trial. The «free trial» is a one-​on-​one with one of the coaches teaching you how to do a kettle bell swing and burpees, and some explanation as to the philosophy behind X-​fit work outs. Caleb was charming enough and did not give me a hard sell (which I appreciate) so i signed up for 3 months membership… the hard sell was left up to the sweaty smelly members in the hallway (many of whom had this glazed look and just kept repeating «YOU are gonna love it. you ARE going to love it. you’re gonna LOVE it». (is this Jonestown?)
I should have done more observation and chatting before signing up for this as thus far I am less than thrilled with some of the coaching staff. Memberships are nonrefundable for any reason and you have to sign a release agreeing to be «sexually harassed».
Make no mistake: this is a cult in which everyone involved thinks they are «elite» (a word that seems to have less and less meaning and my quest for elite status on Unilocal becomes cheapened). They admit to being a cult:
If you don’t like cheerleaders don’t go here. I don’t like cheerleaders, particularly cheerleaders who tell me that I’ll be able to get my squat beyond 90 degree if I just try harder when I’ve explained numerous times that due to a meniscus repair that changed my range of motion that may never happen, so please stop reminding me every single time we do a squat.
You spend the first 2 weeks (6 classes) in «On Ramp» which is designed to teach proper technique. There is one main coach & an assistant coach which gets confusing because one will tell you that you’re doing the movement correctly & then the other one will tell you that you’re all wrong. Some of them cannot handle an «intellectual challenge» (i.e.: 5 movements in preparation, I shortened to 4, the assistant coach said I was doing it all wrong and seemed annoyed when I said that I was simultaneously performing step 1&2 without jeopardizing the integrity of the movement). He didn’t understand how that was possible. Annoying.
The lecture on nutrition, they recommend the Paleo diet, was RIDICULOUS. Basically telling the class that the human body hasn’t «evolved» to digest grains (direct quote: «humans have only been eating grains for the last 200 years, we’re not evolved to digest them» read it again he said 200 years two-hundred…really? Hasn’t quinoa been consumed for over 8,000 years; dude, evolution takes a lot longer than 200 years). The diet might work well for some, but don’t give incorrect information.
So yes I’ve been annoyed by the «training sessions» and spent a week lamenting that I spent $ 400 to spend 3 months with these Jonestown characters, but because I like a good work out and I’ve paid $ 400 for this, I will be going to classes and hope to enjoy the classes (although I’m contemplating bringing ear plugs).
The space is a bit crowded after work and hot, humid, and smelly… but it is a gym so, that is what should be expected. I personally like to be warm when I work out so the hot and humid wasn’t that big of a deal… for now.
I’ll admit that part of the problem is that they want this experience to change my life. I don’t want my life changed. I like my life. I was just bored with my previous work out.
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I know there are a lot of skeptics and bashers of Crossfit, but honestly, after coming to Albany Crossfit, they really can all go SUCK IT.
For as long as I remember, I have hated exercise. As in, I was the kid who stayed inside during the summer to read, rather than riding my bike or running after the dog. Did not like. I tried so many times to force myself into exercising. I played volleyball for a few years, used ellipticals and stationary bikes, and basically hated every second of it.
Fast forward to November 2010.
I never, ever, ever would have thought I would end up at a place like this. I sort of got coerced by an acquaintance to go for a workout with her. I did. It ended up being a personal training session with Leb, and my ass was sufficiently kicked within five minutes. Read it. Five. I felt pathetic.
And even though I was not planning on coming back, I did, for the rest of their beginner’s training. And then for their WODs (Workout of the Day).
I can’t explain it, but they do something completely different here. You won’t find treadmills or ellipticals or Bowflexes. What you will find are a few rowing machines, one stationary bike (that’s gathering dust), some bars, and a lot of weight. While they have open gym time, they really shine with the WOD classes, which are part of everyone’s memberships. Essentially, there’s a coach for each class, and you do a workout together. Normally, I would run away from that, because there’s nothing I hate more than for people to watch me sweat and heave. There are no mirrors here. If you are doing something wrong, a coach will come help. If you finish last, everyone cheers you on. This is a place where coaches give you hugs and high-​fives.
I realize that Crossfit is not for everyone, but that seems to be what I need in order to be motivated to go to a gym consistently (which I now do!). These guys really care about you and how you’re doing. If they haven’t seen you in, they’ll harass you about it. Really, if I’m going, they’ve got to be doing something right.
Finally, I learned over December/​January that not all Crossfits are made equal. I went to one for a month when I was home for the holidays, and while the WODs were more-​or-​less similar, the head coach was not nearly as encouraging (actually, he was kind of an egotistical jackass), the facilities not nearly as nice, and the regulars not nearly as welcoming.
I love Albany Crossfit, and am so glad that they found me!