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We were fortunate to have an article in the News Sentinel, that truly captured our vision and methodology behind what we do. We’ve included the article below, but for the original, feel free to click here: SLCF News Sentinel Article
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A passion for “helping people for the long haul” has inspired a South Knoxville couple to open a new CrossFit facility near Island Home Park.
“I think the common misconception is that all CrossFitters are crazy intense,” says Crissy Glarrow, who coowns South Landing CrossFit with her husband, Shane. “Really, though, we take the workouts and scale them. Truly, anyone can do CrossFit.”
In fact, Glarrow delights in teaching people what they are capable of. Over the past three years as a CrossFit coach, Glarrow has worked with people who have had double hip replacements and double shoulder replacements, for example.
“I love seeing people do things they never thought they could do,” says Glarrow, who discovered CrossFit five years ago. “People come to the gym and say, ‘I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.’ But they can.”
Because CrossFit classes are small — “almost like personal training in a group setting,” she explains — Glarrow gets to know the folks she coaches personally. “I love knowing their goals, how I can walk alongside them,” she says. “I work with my mom, and her goals are different from a high school athlete’s. She wants to be able to play with her grandkids.”
CrossFit can help her do that, Glarrow notes. “It’s the functionality of it,” she explains. “It helps you do everyday things without pain.” CrossFit also has helped Glarrow’s husband, a Type 1 diabetic, control his blood sugar, Glarrow adds. Now they both are passionate about CrossFit, which their Facebook page bills as “using movement to enhance lives.”
“CrossFit combines mobility, strength and endurance,” Glarrow explains. “We program typically eight weeks at a time, and we look at the whole body for balance.” That is helpful even to serious athletes, she notes, because so many sports isolate particular movements.
“I used to be a terrible runner, for example,” says Glarrow, a former collegiate gymnast. “But CrossFit has helped my running because my legs are stronger.”
Although Glarrow has managed a gym in the past, this is the first time the couple has owned one. They decided in December to take the plunge and open their own CrossFit facility, she says, but first they had to find the perfect place. They kept finding themselves drawn to South Knoxville, although neither grew up in that area.
“We honestly kept driving around every weekend, knowing we wanted to be somewhere that really built community,” Glarrow explains. “Everyone in South Knoxville really loves it here, really loves their neighborhoods, and we are excited about everything going on on the Sevier Avenue waterfront.”
The Glarrows bought their Lake Forest home in April and then signed a lease on a former print shop at 1020 Sevier Ave. in July. Buildout on South Landing CrossFit started in late August.
“Shane is a fulltime civil engineer, so he’s good on financials, and I’m good with the dreaming,” Glarrow laughs. “We love coaching together. We have a lot of fun.”
Though South Landing CrossFit probably won’t be ready to open its doors until midOctober, the Glarrows have been offering free workouts on Saturdays at Island Home Park since June, part of the city’s Programs in the Park. Between eight and 11 people typically show up. “It’s been fun to get into the neighborhood and meet people,” Glarrow says. “Plus, the park is shaded and beautiful, right by the river. We have loved it.”
The hour long Saturday workouts start with a group warmup and then move into teaching a skill or strength, Glarrow explains. “We really break it down and work on form, and then we incorporate the new skill into the workout,” she says. “There’s a real emphasis on form and technique so that we make sure the base and foundation are correct. And they aren’t picking up weights until they can do (skills) perfect without weights.”
South Landing CrossFit will continue offering free Saturday workouts even once the facility opens its doors, Glarrow notes. In addition to regular CrossFit classes, South Landing CrossFit will host a Fundamentals class for those new to CrossFit, which teaches beginners the foundational movements.
And with Island Home so close to downtown, South Landing CrossFit also will feature a “lunchtime express” workout during the week, Glarrow adds, for busy professionals. These 30minute workouts will not use barbells, she notes, so that anyone can jump into the workout without having completed the Fundamentals class first.
“Our passion is helping people for the long haul,” Glarrow says. “This is not about ‘What can I do next week?’ This is about, ‘What can I do for the rest of my life?'”
For more information about South Landing CrossFit, visit www.southlandingfitness.com/, email info@southlandingfitness.com, call 8657767230 or find them on Facebook and Instagram.