A New Beginning
We are excited to finally announce the new name of our business; Aristos Fitness!
In ancient Greek, aristos means “best” and shares its roots with arete, which in its most basic sense, means “excellence of any kind”. We feel that this new name perfectly embodies our core values; to fulfill potential; to become our best selves.
Four years ago we opened our doors as a CrossFit affiliate. Since then we have relentlessly refined our core program and added new services in order to provide our clients with the best fitness experience possible.
We have now arrived at a crossroads. On the one hand, our business – and the fitness industry as a whole – owe a lot to CrossFit. On the other, we believe the common ground we once shared with the CrossFit methodology is shrinking.
We are not the same gym – nor the same people - we were four years ago; we’ve grown. We believe that to continue this journey, we would be best served by shedding the moniker of CrossFit, which no longer defines our business as succinctly as it once did.
From a client’s perspective, not much will change other than the signage above the door. However, it may be useful to outline how our beliefs differ from those that underline the CrossFit methodology, which is defined as;
“Constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains.”
So, how are we different?
We value progression over constant variation. In our experience, progression is the hallmark of effective programming, especially in the development of strength, which we believe to be the most important of all fitness components.
Although high intensity training is useful when dosed appropriately, we program workouts of undulating intensity across a period of weeks and months. Low intensity work is not only essential in developing the aerobic pathway, it also aids recovery and reduces injury risk. Varying intensity also helps to account for client lifestyle stressors that we as coaches aren’t always aware of.
We don’t like to label movements as functional or non-functional. Just because a movement is not “multi-joint” or incapable of producing “high power” does not mean it is without function when applied in the correct context. The much maligned bicep curl, for example, has numerous functions; it may help to reduce or prevent elbow pain, it can be used to rehab an injury, or it can just help to build bigger biceps – because there’s nothing wrong with wanting to fill out the sleeves of your shirt!
Over the past few years we’ve invested significant resources in gaining a premier education in nutrition and lifestyle coaching. We do not share CrossFit’s views on nutrition, and have acquired knowledge from a wide variety of sources in order to develop our nutrition support program.
Ultimately our goal remains unchanged from when we first opened our doors four years ago; to promote health, wellness and fitness within our local community. Or, put simply; to help people live better lives.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
See you in the gym,
Robbie