Notes
Kevin M.: Mixing
It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that
introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their
stories.
Kevin M.: Episode
nine. Jonathan Smith with Big Barn CrossFit. On today's episode, Jonathan talks
about the impact the coronavirus has had on Big Barn, what differentiates them
from other Boxes, and more?
Sara Y.: Hi,
Jonathan. Thanks for joining us today. How are you doing?
Jonathan S.: I'm
doing as well as I can be. Good to be here.
Sara Y.: Good,
thanks. So tell us about Big Barn. You guys have been around for quite some
time. So give us some history, including where the name Big Barn came from.
Jonathan S.: Sure.
Yeah. We are officially eight years old and Big Barn CrossFit is actually under
our other company, the Institute of Community Wellness and Athletics. So Big
Barn and the name came from the original owner who has a barn behind his house
that he was doing CrossFit and other workouts out of. So and the idea came up
to open a facility and they found a space. It was sort of a natural progression
from the little barn behind their house to the big barn that was going to be
open to the public. So we like the name. We kept that after we took over.
Sara Y.: And so
you said since 2012. You've been around for eight years. That's a long time. So
what has kept you going? What has kept you moving forward in the CrossFit
community here in Albuquerque?
Jonathan S.: The
biggest thing for us is our membership and the people and the community. And
that's been the funnest thing for us, is just to see that grow and to watch
people not only change physically, but emotionally to and develop friendships
and relationships. So that's what keeps us going and keeps us enjoying
ourselves doing this, it's that that community aspect? We all just want to have
fun and work out hard. And this is a nice space to do it in.
Sara Y.: And with
Albuquerque being kind of saturated with CrossFit gyms, what do you think
separates Big Barn CrossFit apart from the others?
Jonathan S.: You
know, there are a lot of great facilities and a lot of great coaches. We try to
set ourselves apart by continuing to do our own programming and continuing to
train our coaches. We want movement to be the priority, not just getting a hard
workout in our full time starts have Masters degrees or higher in human
movement science of some aspect. And so we utilize that to train our coaches
above and beyond, even the CrossFit certifications. And we encourage and
support our coaches in continuing education or leveling up in the CrossFit
world. The other thing that sets us apart is we have our rehab side of things
so we can treat a lot of the aches and pains that come with working out hard
and CrossFit in-house. That's a nice offering to our members. But we also see a
lot of other people as they get overworked or just a little bit over use
injuries. We can help them take care of that and get them back to training.
Sara Y.: Yeah,
definitely. I think many people may not know this, but Big Barn is pretty
multifaceted. You have CrossFit classes. There's Olympic weightlifting. There's
a functional fitness class for maybe like older people or people maybe not
ready to join the CrossFit classes yet. Just talk about all the different
options that Big Barn has.
Jonathan S.: Yeah,
that's exactly right. Our goal around community is not just to bring in those
who enjoy CrossFit. CrossFit isn't for everyone. That community isn't for
everyone. But the community of fitness and health is. And so we offer, like you
said, USA weightlifting, the clean and jerk and snatch, specific classes and we
have a room for that. And what we call functional strength and conditioning.
But that's just lower intensity classes, more face specific. Great for any age
level. The majority of our clients and members and those tend to be in that 50
plus range who aren't as interested in the high intensity of CrossFit, but
still like to move and challenge their bodies. And then we also offer our, we call
it rehab, but our treatment side of things with a licensed massage therapist.
And then Nathaniel on staff, who our postural restoration specialist. He does a
lot to get people out of pain and injury cycles. And that's for everybody from
every age group.
Sara Y.: I love
the class that obviously, like you said, it's open for everybody, but you have
like an older population. So it's really awesome to see those people who could
be your parents age, really getting an awesome work on it. And it really just shows
that, you know, CrossFit, or even just movement in general, like you've been
saying, is for everybody.
Jonathan S.: Yeah,
and we found it's a neat benefit. It's great to have multiple generations
working out, even if they're doing different things in different rooms. It's
just a cool environment and community to be a part with it. And the more
crossover that we've seen as CrossFitters have gotten to know some of our
strengthen and conditioning members and vice versa. That's just blossomed new
friendships and expanded our community.
Sara Y.: How have
things changed maybe recently with adapting to the current situation that we're
in. Where do you see Big Barn going from here?
Jonathan S.: Well,
that's a very good question and a tough question to answer. We're at a
standstill. And really wanting to follow the mandates of the governor. But at
the same time, nervous about the impact this has on us as a small business and
the community of Albuquerque as a whole and how everybody is going to get through
this time. Especially if we see this federal aid or not. Again, our passion is
really working with people and developing a whole community. And the hard thing
about that now is that involves being social and being around people. So while
we have gone and posted some workout's online and done a little bit of that. We
are doing some virtual coaching for our clients. Our goal is to really open
back up as soon as we can and get that community rolling and hopefully be
stronger because of this and rebuild that social aspect again, which I think we
as humans really desire and need.
Sara Y.: Absolutely.
Do you think that what we're dealing with will kind of bring the CrossFit
Community here in Albuquerque closer?
Jonathan S.: I
certainly hope so. Again, it's hard to predict anything at this time. As this
stuff as this continues to go and their isolation continues. It'll just be
interesting to see how we as a people adapt and change. I don't think
everything will come back to how it was before. But I do believe that we need
community and we need social interaction. And I think the CrossFits could
really be a good place to show that and demonstrate to the larger community.
Sara Y.: Absolutely.
On a positive note. What is your favorite CrossFit workout?
Jonathan S.: Oh,
jeez. Favorite CrossFit workout probably of me...
Sara Y.: Or
favorite movement?
Jonathan S.: I
love Annie. So 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, double-unders and sit-ups. But my favorite
movement is the snatch. One, I'm farely good at it. And two, I like the total
body challenge of it.
Sara Y.: I agree.
It's definitely a challenging movement. Anything else you'd like to say about
Big Barn CrossFit?
Jonathan S.: Just
to our members and the CrossFit community out there. Keep strong, keep moving
through this and we hope to have everything back and going as soon as possible.
Sara Y.: Wonderful.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Jonathan S.: Thank
you, Sara.
Kevin M.: Thanks
for listening. If you enjoyed the Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community
podcast, we'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and leave a review!
Kevin M.: Next
week, Sara talks with the owner of Hot or Not Yoga, Marisol Enriquez. She talks
about what makes Hot or Not Yoga different from the other studios in town, the
changes she has seen in her students, and more.
Sara Yingling Instagram
Big Barn Instagram
Intro/Outro Music: Jack McCarthy