Start Here

This guide answers some of our most frequently asked questions and shows you step by step how to get started training with us.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a health and fitness program that achieves a very broad, general fitness that is applicable to everyday life.  CrossFit won’t make you the best in the world at any physical skill, but it will make you pretty good at every physical skill.  CrossFitters don’t run 4:00 miles or squat 800 pounds, but they might run 5:30 miles and squat 400 pounds.   Every athlete is different.  However, the ultimate goal is the same for all of us: increasing our level of fitness and health for a better life.  CrossFit is the most effective way to achieve a greater level of fitness and health.  If that statement sounds bold–it is.  We welcome anyone to show evidence to the contrary.

What is CrossFit Impulse?

CrossFit uses some equipment and methods that regular gyms don’t provide or sometimes don’t allow. Therefore, the best way to practice CrossFit is at a CrossFit affiliate like CrossFit Impulse.  CrossFit Impulse is a CrossFit gym serving the city of Madison, Huntsville, and northwest Madison County.  We are located in a 2900 square foot facility on Castle Drive, near the intersection of Highway 72 and Slaughter Road. We do two things every day at CrossFit Impulse: we advance our fitness and we have a great time doing it. If that interests you, then check us out.

Why should I CrossFit?

I’m hesitant to tell people how they should live their lives, so let me tell you why I CrossFit. I CrossFit because I want to live a long, healthy, active life full of rich experiences. I want to be capable of any task life might throw at me. I want to spend my limited time on this earth unencumbered by sickness and able to tackle any challenge. That is why I CrossFit, and CrossFit enables every one of those goals. If you’d like to read more about our philosophy of fitness, check out the About Us page.

Don’t you have to be really fit to start CrossFit?

Absolutely not. CrossFit is infinitely scalable to any ability level. CrossFit has  successfully trained the elderly who struggle to walk across a room, the obese who have 100 pounds or more to lose, and even kids. CrossFit is a method, not a pass/fail system. Your physical condition right now is irrelevant to whether you are “ready to start CrossFit.”  It’s OK if you’ve looked at the workout of the day (WOD) and thought “I can’t do that.”  Performing the WOD as prescribed is meant to challenge the fittest athletes.   Most people scale the WOD to their ability level.  At CrossFit Impulse we help you find a scaled version of the WOD that’s right for you. We can also work around any injury. CrossFit is the path to fitness, not the result of having already achieved it.

Is this really safe?

Yes. We operate on a principle called mechanics, then consistency, then intensity. First we teach you the mechanics of a movement. This first occurs in Fundamentals, and then we always refresh everyone on correct movement patterns before each workout. Then we look for you to display the correct mechanics consistently. If you can’t get consistency, then we lower your load or otherwise alter the required movement to something you are capable of. Finally, after you have the mechanics and consistency with those mechanics, we then introduce you to intensity. We never throw you into something you aren’t ready for, and you are always in control. We are here to lead and instruct you, but you always have the option to say “I’m not ready for that.” However, usually the opposite happens and we have to convince athletes to reduce their load or change a movement that we think they aren’t ready for, even if they’re chomping at the bit.

How Do I Get Started?

Most of our clients have no CrossFit experience when they start training with us. Therefore, we offer a class called Fundamentals to get you started. In Fundamentals you’ll learn more about CrossFit and why we’ve chosen it over other fitness programs. You’ll learn the nine basic movements of CrossFit and get introduced to all of the equipment we use. Just like CrossFit as a whole, Fundamentals is a learning experience, not a gut check. You can’t “fail” Fundamentals. After you graduate you’ll be ready to jump into our daily group classes and start moving safely, efficiently, and effectively. You can sign up for Fundamentals by giving us a completed application, waiver, and submitting payment. Fundamentals is $100 for all three classes. We offer Fundamentals about every 2-4 weeks. Slots are limited, so contact us to complete your registration and reserve your spot. Check out the sliding panel near the top of our homepage for news on the next Fundamentals class.

What should I bring to Fundamentals?

The only thing you need to bring to Fundamentals is yourself, on-time, in exercise clothing. It’s critically important that you arrive on time, because we cover information in the first few minutes that you will need for the rest of the weekend. If you arrive late then we cannot integrate you into the class, and we will have to reschedule you for the next Fundamentals class in 2-4 weeks. Traffic on Friday afternoons is traditionally heavy, so plan ahead, arrive early, and use that time to chat with us about your fitness goals and how we can help you reach them.

How do group classes work?

After you complete Fundamentals then you’re ready for our regular group classes. Training at a CrossFit box (yes, we call our gyms “boxes”) is kind of like taking a group exercise class. At CrossFit Impulse a trainer conducts each class. Our trainers start class on time, every time, to respect you and your schedule. It’s very important to arrive on time because the class is a group activity and everyone starts together. The trainer will discuss the WOD with the class and refresh everyone on proper movements and standards relevant to the WOD. The trainer will help you determine the right workout of the day (WOD) for you based on ability level, injuries, and any other relevant factors. The trainer will lead the warmup, coach and encourage each athlete during the WOD, and ensure each athlete is performing movements safely. Workouts are generally timed or measured in some way. In CrossFit every class is a friendly competition, both with ourselves and others, so we compete for the fastest time in the class. Not only does this push you to greater achievement, but it’s also a lot of fun! But this isn’t competition like you may have experienced before. This is competition where you cheer for and encourage your opponent–where you celebrate with your peers when they outperform you, and they in kind respect your effort to beat them. You simply have to experience it to understand…so why not give it a shot?

How much is this going to cost me?

We have a detailed explanation of our rates here. Remember, this is a totally different product than membership at a traditional gym. The environment is different, the community is different, and most importantly, the results are completely different.

What type of payment do you accept?

Inside the gym we can accept cash and check. We also have an online system to accept credit cards. To pay for Fundamentals online via credit card, click here. To sign up to have monthly membership dues automatically billed to your credit card each month, click here.

When are your classes held?

You can find a complete schedule of all our classes here.

How many classes can I attend per week?

Unlimited. Attend as many classes as you like in any time slot you like.

Can I workout at some time outside the scheduled class times?

CrossFit relies on group classes that foster friendly competition and are led by a competent CrossFit trainer. Therefore, we do not allow gym usage outside scheduled class times.

Do you have child care?

No, we do not currently offer child care and we cannot allow your child to be unsupervised in our facility. If your child is old enough and disciplined enough to wait for you in our staging area, then we may allow this on an individual basis. However, our product is for adults, and we cannot alter our product based on the occasional presence of children. In short, it’s absolutely OK if your 8-year old daughter sits at our table and colors while you workout, but be aware that she’s going to hear loud heavy metal music and possibly see a half-naked man swing from a set of gymnast rings and yell the f-word when he falls off. If she can handle that then she’s probably a future CrossFitter anyway.

What should I be eating?

You should eat real food. To learn exactly what I mean by that, check out our article on basic nutrition here. After you’re eating real food then you may want to improve your results even more by adopting a stricter diet like the Paleo Diet or Zone Diet. We have an excellent resource on the Zone Diet here.

How often should I workout?

That greatly depends upon your goals and existing level of fitness, but somewhere between 3-6 times per week. Read our article here to determine the schedule that’s right for you.

Will this stuff make me bulky?

Weightlifting by itself will no more make you bulky than occasionally running a few miles will make you win the Boston Marathon. Becoming “bulky” generally requires consuming huge amounts of food and ignoring many aspects of total fitness–neither of which we practice or recommend. We perform weight training, sometimes with heavy loads, and our results have been nothing but strong, fit, lean physiques. Honestly, this question usually comes from women. The truth is this: as a lady, unless you plan to shoot up with steroids and consume five bags of bagels per day, we couldn’t make you bulky if we tried. Furthermore, both women and men who “become bulky” put in endless hours of training to do so. Another ugly truth is that most people don’t have the motivation and dedication to make themselves “bulky” even with a deliberate plan to do so. If you’d like to read more about common misnomers, I suggest our article on why “toned muscles” don’t really exist.