TRIBECA — A lifelong athlete, Jim McDade decided to give up cycling and rowing a couple of years ago to spend more time with his young children.
But he kept his up competitive edge, he said, with an intense workout regime that’s rapidly become a cult fitness trend: CrossFit.
McDade, 41, and his wife, Jennifer,43, became so dedicated to the conditioning program, which uses repetitions of aerobic and body-weight exercises, gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting, that they decided to open their own CrossFit gym.
Last year, the couple launched what they say is TriBeCa’s only CrossFit gym, called CrossFit 212, at 84 Franklin St.
But now, the pair said, they’ve already outgrown the space, which accommodates up to 15 people for its ten to 12 classes a day, and are opening a second TriBeCa location a few blocks away at 281 Broadway.
“We want to keep the keep the classes small, to really give everyone the personal attention they need,” said McDade, who leads many of the classes, which he says are regularly filled.
“This new 5,000 square-foot space gives our customers another location to use, and also lets us offer CrossFit to more people.”
The new space, which just opened for its soft-launch, will have its official opening Sept. 19, and McDade said they’ll celebrate the new outpost by offering free classes that day.
“We want people to try CrossFit and see that all fitness levels and ages can do this workout, ” said McDade, who began offering CrossFit workout five years ago — out of his emptied three-car garage in Connecticut.
He and his wife Jennifer have since moved back into Manhattan — and Jennifer quit her job in investment banking to make their CrossFit gym her fulltime business.
"We think CrossFit is a way of life, to keep yourself healthy and strong," said Jennifer McDade. "It works your entire body, and its done in a group — you grow to feel like you're part of a team."
Typical CrossFit classes last for about an hour with participants completing a "WOD" — workout of the day — which consists of an ever-changing program of exercises, include squats, pull-ups, using rowing machines, lifting dumbbells or throwing medicine balls.
Membership costs a monthly $275 for unlimited classes, now at both gyms.
The gym also offers a kiddie version of CrossFit, as well as yoga classes — a good way to stretch those hard-used muscles after a week of high-intensity workouts, the couple said.
Jim McDade said that taking at least two to four classes a week is recommended to really get the total CrossFit benefit.
"We thinks its absolutely the best, most complete workout," said McDade. "We love it, and that comes through in what we do here."
