What Your First Week Looks Like

September is when the phone starts ringing. Summer’s over, the mornings in Derry have some bite to them again, and people decide this is the fall they finally do something. Then they picture walking into a CrossFit gym and they stall out.

So here’s exactly what your first week here actually looks like. No mystery.

What Happens Before Any Workout

Nothing. That’s the point.

Your first appointment is called a No Sweat Intro, and it’s named that on purpose — you don’t train, you don’t get tested, you don’t get put through anything. You sit down with us and we talk about you. What you want, what success actually looks like for you, and how we’d map out getting there. That’s the whole appointment.

If you’ve never done this before, we’re not throwing you into a class the next day either. As one member wrote in a Google review: “For newbies they work with you one on one to start to give you a chance to get comfortable, understand the structure, and build confidence before jumping into group classes.”

You can see what membership costs on our pricing page before you ever book, if that’s the part you’re wondering about.

Your First Class

A class is 60 minutes, coach-led start to finish, and usually somewhere between 5 and 15 people. It’s strength and conditioning work, and it’s meant to be hard — but hard for you, not hard for the person next to you.

That’s what scaling is. Every workout on the whiteboard has a version that fits where you are today. Lighter weight, fewer reps, a different movement entirely. A coach makes that call with you before the clock starts, so you’re never standing there guessing.

We’re straight about this: we coach people who want to be coached, who care more about moving well than moving fast and heavy, and who pull back when a coach says to. If that sounds like you, you’ll do fine here. More on how we think about it on our about page.

What Nobody Tells You

The first week is mostly nerves, and the nerves go away faster than you think — usually because of the people, not the workouts.

One member put it this way: “Breathe is a great gym. It’s welcoming for everyone which can be hard to find for a lot of people, it’s not the type of place you walk in and feel awkward the first time.” Another wrote: “I had never tried CrossFit before… The atmosphere is so positive and motivating - it makes you actually look forward to working out! As a busy mom of two, it has become such an important and rewarding outlet for me.”

Also: you will not be the fittest person in the room, and nobody cares. We check in with members regularly to make sure they’re happy with their progress and adjust the plan when it needs adjusting. That’s the job.

How To Start

We’re open Monday through Friday, 5:00am to 7:00pm, so there’s a time that fits around work and kids and everything else.

One step: book a free No Sweat Intro. Sit down with us, tell us what you’re after, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we can help. Start here.