Jackson Heights Life

Can someone please open a crossfit box or boot camp class facility in the neighborhood? I know that Blink and Planet Fitness exist but those options don't float my boat. I always intend to run but then I remember I hate it. Definitely not about to do a dvd workout in my tiny apartment either.

Where do you guys exercise?!

I don't think crossfit would do well in JH.  The one in my old neighborhood in Bklyn charges $300 a month. And they probably pay half the rent that it would cost to open up in JH.

I always wondered why JH was overlooked by NYSC when they were in full expansion mode (they over-expanded). But maybe we weren't. The rent is high here. I mentioned the neighborhood to a district manager at Crunch awhile back, but chances are good the only way a Crunch is coming out here is if it were opened as an affiliate by an entrepreneur.

The three gym options are Planet Fitness, Blink, and Executive Fitness. Executive fitness offers a couple classes on Saturdays.

There's also Shape Up NYC classes offered at PS 149 (34th & 93rd)  https://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/recreation/shape-up-nyc. I'm not dying to work out in an unairconditioned elementary school cafeteria during the summer, but it's fine in cooler weather.

OP, I'm also someone who does best with fitness classes rather than motivating myself to get to the gym and do my own workouts. And I also can't stand running. I do what classes I can in the neighborhood, and I've taken to devising my own HIIT workouts for the gym. I had hoped we might get a decent gym in the Bruson Building, but it seems like a gym was not in the cards.

I recently joined Urban Jungle. It's somewhere in industrial Woodside (which I didn't know existed until I joined this gym). They have Crossfit, bootcamp, rowing, and kickboxing. My 5x/week class membership is $150/month, which is reasonable considering the small classes and individualized attention. The people who work there are lovely.

It's about a 20 minute walk from JH (coming from 83rd/35th) and parking seems to be easy.

Highly recommend.

http://www.trainurbanjungle.com/getting-started

My guess is that there are more large, former industrial-type places to rent in the neighborhoods listed above. You need a decent amount of space for a crossfit gym and then there's the expense of the potential owner having to get certified to be able to open one. My assumption is that the rent would be exorbitant in JH for the square footage that would be necessary.   

My reasons for not being fond of crossfit (for myself - YMMV):

1. Because you have to do whatever their workout of the day is - if I'm in the mood for something different then I'm out of luck. You can't just do your own thing. At least they've been changing their workouts at the national level to have better form and less speed of repetitions. (after lots of complaints and injuries).

2.  I prefer to work out alone. This was the main drawback for me - I don't want to even make eye contact with other people during my workouts, let alone have to talk to anyone! It's a negative for me, but I can definitely see how this would be a plus for some.

I am fascinated by the crossfit competition documentaries on Netflix (there are two of them from different years). The people at the top-levels are insanely fit and they do nothing but train for the annual "crossfit games". It's really becoming a sport in its own right.

Edited: I was just looking at the Urban Jungle site and that is a very interesting manner of offering crossfit - I thought that it could only be taught at a "box" (dedicated crossfit gym).  The owners get certified to teach crossfit at a weekend training session, which means there are all levels of coach - from crappy to amazing.  It seems to me like a place like urban jungle has trainers that are certified in much more than just crossfit coaching, which is a good thing.

Bumping this topic again. There are a couple of empty places on northern in the low 80s that would be ideal for a crossfit.....

Not in JH, but the Queens public library offers free health and fitness programs, including a CrossFit class in Astoria.  Most of the classes are not as intense, and you will have to travel, but the price is right.
http://connect.queenslibrary.org/1356?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=carousel&utm_campaign=healthandwellnesspromo_january20

Would just love a nice, not overcrowded, clean gym with classes. Too much to ask? Seem strange that it can exist in the city everywhere but here...