"The biggest difference between a global gym and a CrossFit Box is we are supporting the community. We’re building a family environment where people care for each other,” says Murat Erbaytan, discussing the Reebok CrossFit MeWellness Gym (RCFMW) he’s opening this month. “People hang outside of the class, workout together, help each other; that’s the beauty of CrossFit: we support each other.”
Erbaytan has been in the Shanghai community long enough to have built a devoted following amongst the city’s fitness fanatics. Opening his VIP lifestyle center MeWellness two years ago, the congenial muscleman has pushed innumerable classes through endless amounts of V-ups, jumping lunges and burpees. Yet even after seeing that sly smile which only means one thing – more burpees – the group always comes back for more, confident in the knowledge that former model Erbaytan knows how to get them into tantalizing shape.
So after building up a fitness program that works, why has he decided to switch to the CrossFit model? “I was so impressed with the quality of the [CrossFit] coaches,” says the trainer, recalling his first level-one session. “The way they explained everything and continued to make themselves available even after the course was over.”
For Erbaytan, the education and community support aspects are the biggest draws. Heavily focused on safety and all-round development, CrossFit combines aerobic and bodyweight exercises, gymnastics and weight lifting, taking in a broad sweep of different fitness criteria.
Erbaytan compares it to a bingo draw with 400 exercises. When it’s your turn, you’re hoping you don’t draw burpees, but if you can’t do an exercise, can you say you’re really fit?
Together with the newly hired Erwin Regidor, a California-based CrossFit trainer of four years, Erbaytan is excited to develop the concept in a country where it’s virtually nonexistent. The venue will be the second CrossFit gym in Shanghai and the first backed by Reebok, who are the title sponsors of the yearly CrossFit games, a muscle-powered competition to determine who is “the fittest on earth.”
The pre-opening party planned for June 21, RCFMW will be a 400-square-meter gym full of toys like kettle bells and Olympic weights. The only cardio equipment will be rowing machines, though most workouts will begin with cardio to get muscles warmed up.
After giving the body an invigorating kick-start, the workout of the day – or WOD – begins, posted in the gym as well as online for those training at home. Throughout the 30-minute to hour-long classes, the trainers push their pupils with semi-personal training, walking around to adjust and modify the positioning of each.
While climbing ropes and thrusting weights sounds intense – and it is – the program isn’t just for athletes or health addicts. Safety is the bottom line and every exercise can be scaled down. In fact, there are even CrossFit Kids classes, which will be added to RCFMW in the future.
For now, however, there will just be the Box, showers and a sauna. Plans in the works include a protein bar, a cafe with healthy eats and a playground for kids. Always one to support the local community, Erbaytan also envisions running donation-based classes and charity fundraisers. For the past two years he’s held Bootcamp for Boobies to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Along with continuing this and similar past events, philanthropic affairs run by the Reebok CrossFit community – like Barbells for Boobies – will be included in the mix.
With all the new additions, what will happen to his regular 6am ‘badass bootcampers?’ Not a thing! Devotees will still have the option of the out-of-the-Box camps and everything else MeWellness currently offers, including additional yoga, kettlebell and Olympic weightlifting classes. The regular CrossFit program will also start the day with 6am classes, plus additional midday and evening options, private sessions and open gym availability for members.
CrossFit crossed your mind yet? Anyone gearing to step into the Box, including current MeWellness members, will receive a trial class. Those raring to continue will be required to take six one-hour foundation classes to learn basic movements in order to comprehend proper form and function.
“First you need to understand it, before you can believe in it. There’s so much to learn,” says Erbaytan. “Look at it as a journey, doing things you never thought you could be doing. Wake up the athlete inside of you.”
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