CrossFit Arx Origin Story

It was 2011, I was a year out of the Arkansas Police Academy, and over a year into CrossFit. I had graduated from the University of Arkansas, the winningest collegiate track program in the country. It was intense, and I loved it. I had transferred there after my red shirt Sophomore year at Iowa State University, as I found that program to be a little laid back for my personality. Ya see, I am an “all in” girl. When there is a goal ahead of me, I want to make sure I am doing everything possible to reach that goal.

When school was over, I missed competing, I missed improving, I missed physically working towards a big scary goal. One of my high school track coaches suggested I try CrossFit. He suspected I might like it. That is how I found CrossFit.

You don’t see commercials, or ads for CrossFit. You hear about CrossFit from someone whose life has been transformed. There are endless jokes about people talking incessantly about CrossFit and it is truly because it had such a profound impact on lives.

I walked into CrossFit Northwest Arkansas, in Bentonville, Arkansas, and met the owner Lee Kelly, who opened one of the first CrossFit boxes. I was immediately hooked. I was TERRIBLE at so many movements and was getting beat in workouts by other members ! It was awesome ! There was so much room to grow and to improve myself.

I had also started dating a very handsome police officer from a neighboring department, whom I met one day on a traffic stop. That’s right. I was his back up, and I saved his life (obviously), but that is a whole other blog post. With this budding romance, my focus began to shift from thoughts of career to thoughts of family and a future.

During one of our visits back to New Jersey, my future husband and I were trying out different facilities, while imagining our lives near my family in New Jersey. We knew health was a staple for us both and we wanted to ensure that we had a great facility to workout at while we both had our careers, yet we couldn’t find a gym that had the atmosphere, the focus on form, and embodied the true spirit of CrossFit, like what we experienced at CrossFit NWA. I kept thinking about how lucky I was to have found CrossFit NWA and to learn from Lee Kelly, and how many more lives could be impacted by CrossFit in our area.

Recognizing the need in the community, and being the “all in” girl that I am, I decided that I could just create the product I was looking for myself.

In March 2012, CrossFit Arx was born.

CrossFit Arx quickly became a place where people could go to be surrounded with like minded people who prioritize fitness and want to improve themselves. Our box became a placeholder for people. Somewhere they could find reprieve from the world squeezing everything from them, and actually pour life back into themselves.

What we do is far bigger than a workout. It is a type of therapy that allows you to build your foundation on which the rest of your day can run.

I am so proud of the coaches and athletes that come to sweat between these walls. The obstacles they have overcome, the battles they have fought, and the progress they have made continues to inspire me and everyone in their lives.

A photo from the early days of CrossFit Arx, Toms River.

The post CrossFit Arx Origin Story appeared first on CrossFit Arx.