For Statesboro residents tired of waiting in line for a spot on a treadmill as college students scramble to get in shape for spring break, a new fitness option is about to come to town.
    Next week, Crossfit will open up a new location on Northside Drive next to Statesboro High School. A grassroots fitness operation that started nearly two decades ago in California, Crossfit has seen a spike in popularity over the last few years.
    Many of the practices of other gyms or workout routines are still in place at Crossfit, but the final goals of this program aim more at the practical benefits of fitness than how much iron a person can throw around.
    “We’re mainly focused on getting people as fit as they can be,” Statesboro owner and trainer Ryan Brack said. “This is a program for all people in all walks of life. This isn’t just a place where you’ll find the Georgia Southern football team or other athletes working out. This is a place for people of all ages and levels of athletic activity.”
    Like many trainers, Brack is a living testament to what his product can achieve.
    “I’ve been into Crossfit for over two years now,” Brack said. “I’ve lost over 100 pounds and just feel better overall. That’s what we try to do. Make people fit in all different areas.”
    While the end result of participating in the program speaks for itself — just watching the myriad pushups, pull-ups and sprints by competitors at the newly created Crossfit games is enough to tire someone out — the methods used by Crossfit are a drastic change from the typical gym with endless rows of machines.
    The Statesboro location is still finishing up construction, but even after all of the sheetrock has been set and the paint dried, it will look more like a garage than a high-class training facility. High-tech machinery and stacks of weights are replaced by less-standard — yet just as capable — challenges for participants, lending to the ‘everyman’ clientele that Crossfit seeks to help.
    “Some days, you might see us flipping tires around the room,” Brack said. “Things might seem a little different, but it’s designed to help you in everyday life. You might not squat or bench things in your normal life, but you might have to lift a 50-pound bag of concrete, carry around heavy supplies, or pick up a big bag of dog food.”
    Since Crossfit aims for well-rounded health, the various exercises are similar for everyone, but the weight, resistance or duration of routines can be scaled to create a unique experience for all participants. Because of this, Brack states that the Crossfit program and its exercises can help a serious athlete, someone trying to get back into shape, or an elderly person staying fit enough to live on their own all the same.
    For those with already busy lives, Crossfit offers a workable schedule that can fit into free time on the weekend, a lunch hour, or even the time between dropping the kids off at school and showing up at the office.
    In addition to six daily classes — three in the morning and three mid-afternoon time slots — offered for convenience, a normal Crossfit workout is much more efficient than spending an hour on an elliptical machine.
    “We’ll get you in and out in 45 minutes,” Brack said. “With Crossfit, it’s a short period of intense physical activity. You don’t need to waste time walking around from one exercise to another.
    “We’ll have one workout or strength that we focus on each day. There’s a short warm-up, about 15 minutes of your workout, and then you’re done.”
    More than 180 people have joined Crossfit Statesboro’s Facebook page, and Brack has also received introductory signups from 81 people. For anyone on the fence about Crossfit, Brack welcomes everyone to take a look for themselves.
    “Anyone can sign up for an intro or just come in and watch a workout,” Brack said. “Either myself or another trainer will sit you down and tell you what it’s all about, then take you through a typical workout and let you decide whether or not it’s for you.”
   
    Mike Anthony can be reached at (912) 489-9404.