“That’s what we strive for,” said Eamon Coyne, the co-founder of CrossFit Pallas, a gym that occupies the garage of 713 W. Court Street. “By perfecting human movement, when the workout comes, and it always does come at the end of the training session, movement is second nature.
CrossFit Pallas is one of 7,000 CrossFit Inc. affiliated gyms in the world. The fitness company founded by Greg Glassman in 2000 posts daily workouts on its website that are completed by people in affiliated gyms around the world.
CrossFit Pallas, the Ithaca affiliate, was founded in October of 2012. Since it’s inception, membership has reached capacity at 150 people. Coyne and co-founder Tim Paulson recently finalized construction plans to begin the building of a new gym on Cherry Street which will be 10 times the size of the current one.
[swfobject]2308[/swfobject]
“We have outgrown this space twice over,” said Coyne. “We have a waiting list of 90 people. We have had try-outs for the few spots we have available when there are spots available. With the new facility the waitlist will be erased.”
The $70,000 investment into a new, larger facility comes at the same time when another CrossFit affiliate will be opening up in the Ithaca area. Ultimate Athletics will offer CrossFit certified training at their gym in the Ithaca mall beginning November 19th.
“The size of our facility is what sets us apart,” said Ryan Ciotoli, Ultimate Athletics owner. “A lot of CrossFit gyms are very small. We have enough space to accommodate everyone that’s interested.”
The owners of CrossFit Pallas did not seem intimidated.
“I’m not worried,” said Coyne. “We know why we are doing this, and it’s not to make a quick buck. We are doing this because we love this.”
Jim Garofalo, a trainer at CrossFit Pallas, emphasized the usefulness of having trainers available at his place of employment.
“The ability to complete a full workout with warm up, skill instruction and cool down, all within an hour makes it accessible to those of us with limited time during the day,” he said.
“The CrossFit community within each CrossFit gym supports and encourages each person to do things they’ve never done before,” said Williamson, a college student who trains at CrossFit Fairport near Rochester, N.Y.
The change from garage to 10,000 square foot facility may be drastic, but Coyne predicts the community feel will stay the same.
“People are going to get their last workout in Saturday and come into the new facility Monday,” he said.
Construction on the new gym is slated to begin at the end of November and it’s expected to last roughly three months.
