All About Crossfit
Blue Aldridge is the owner, operator, and just one of the many coaches at Wisco Fitness Solutions that strive to defeat the stigma that surrounds Crossfit. Blue is a lifelong player of competitive sports. When he moved on from football, he was hungry for competition, camaraderie, and a new challenge. When Blue was introduced to CrossFit in 2009. He received his first CrossFit certification six months later and opened what is now known as WiscoFit Solutions in 2013.
In this video, Blue tells Anthony Karls his goals for people when they start Crossfit. “We don’t push anyone past what they can do. Everyone is at a different level, finishing at different times, using different weights, and sometimes using different movements, but they are all working hard together.”
CrossFit is the branded fitness regimen that was created in 2000 by Greg Glassman. Over the last 5 years, it has gained both popularity and infamy due to the intensity of some gyms and the injuries associated. CrossFit is defined as constantly varying functional movement done at high intensity. While the athletes that you see competing online or on TV may be “shredded”, they are the top 0.01% of the CrossFit community.
Introducing Wisco Fitness Solutions
What you see when you start at WiscoFit Solutions is a community of your peers in a safe environment, under the watchful eye of a coach to instruct and prevent injury. “We don’t push anyone past what they can do. Everyone is at a different level, finishing at different times, using different weights, and sometimes using different movements, but they are all working hard together,” explains Blue Aldridge.
Studies have shown that working out with a group at your gym can be very beneficial to the overall outcome of the exercise. It promotes consistency and healthy competition, according to a study published in the journal of social sciences, which found that participants gravitate towards the exercise behaviors of those around them.
When you join WiscoFit Solutions, the first challenge to complete is the movement assessment. For up to five sessions, members work one on one with a coach at the gym, after which the coach relays all relevant information about how the member moves to the rest of the staff. From there, all coaches at the gym are involved in creating a plan to help make movement easier and feel better for each individual member.
Blue talks about the staff collaboration, “We really try to work as a team, we all have different cues, but we are all taking the same approach to try and get our members to move better and I think that unified approach is what makes us different from many gyms.”
As is true with any lifestyle choice, starting is the hardest thing to do. There is fear of what the workout will be like, of not knowing anyone, of not being able to keep up. As Blue says, having the courage to actually walk through the doors is often the hardest part. Nowadays, there are an overwhelming number of gyms offering all kinds of services. “You need to pick a routine that fits your lifestyle, something that you really enjoy.” Blue stresses, “But you also need to look for the gyms that are qualified to work with you.”
WiscoFit Solutions offers many different programs, which includes but is not limited to a bootcamp program (similar to CrossFit, following a different path), Warrior barbell (weightlifting program), as well as a nutrition coaching program.
This interview was conducted before the events of Covid-19. To get updated hours of operation or to inquire about changes in services, contact WiscoFit Solutions:
262-682-0343
15801 W Schaefer Ct.
New Berlin, WI 53151
[email protected]
https://www.wiscofitsolutions.com/
Follow Up Response To Coronavirus Situation:
1) The Wisconsin Safer At Home order in response to the Coronavirus Crisis has been difficult for so many families and businesses. Can you tell us what this time has been like for you and your family? How have you stayed positive during the uncertainty?
What helped me or maybe lit my fire more was knowing our members hired us because they wanted help. Quarantine didn't change that. They still needed help and it was our mission to do everything we could to help them. Now more than ever they needed us and we did not let them down.
2) Crossfit Muskego has been part of the New Berlin community for over since 2013. What have you learned about your community during this difficult time?
We were in Muskego from 2013-2018 and now have been in New Berlin since 2018. Muskego is a fiercely loyal and a very tight knit community that reminds me a great deal of my home town in Iowa. Our members are the same, they are caring and driven individuals that want to have the ability to actually enjoy life as they age.
3) Looking at the Wisco Fitness Solutions Facebook page, it appears that you have been trying to keep your members motivated and inspired to get creative with their workouts throughout this shutdown. What are some of the other things you’ve done to stay in touch with your clients during this time?
Once we learned the state was shutting everyone down we checked out almost every piece of equipment we owned. Which worked out to be around $25000 worth. After the equipment was checked out we paired them off into groups and assigned an accountability coach to each.
We created daily at home workouts for them, checked in multiple times a week and issued weekly challenges. We sometimes have fun distractions and sometimes workout challenges. The goal was to keep them connected with us and moving their bodies through a full range of motion every day.
4) Has the use of Internet technologies to stay in touch with your clients provided you with insights that you might bring into everyday operations once we are able to open?
Like many we implemented zoom classes right away. A positive that came from this situation, Because we had to evolve our program is our new Thrive at Home program. At home workouts with minimal equipment designed to be done in the comfort of your home.
5) When do you think you’ll be able to open your doors to the community?
We are back open now! We are limiting class sizes to just under 50% with each person in class getting their own individual station complete w/ everything one might need to workout with at a gym.
At Sterling, we believe the final foundational piece to a strong family is time together. When we speak of time, this is not just time around each other, but more importantly, time free from external distractions. We believe spending time together engaging in conversation in settings such as family dinners at home, playing old fashioned board/card games or settings such as “around the campfire” digitally free and disconnected from the outside world are critical to building a solid foundation.
Flourishing Families is a Sterling Series aimed at highlighting organizations in our community that support and build up strong families.