CrossFit Watford

I can’t recommend this box enough! Hat and Charlie are amazing, I’ve been going for a couple of months and it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed fitness and look forward to excercisig! It’s a welcoming and friendly atmosphere and the coaches are very knowledgeable, patient and adapt movements to your own needs ! I’ve just come from a class and although my arms feel like jelly I wanted to share how enjoyable this gym is ! If your thinking about starting CrossFit .... do it !

I was a member at Crossfit Watford for almost a year and recently decided to leave. I thought I’d leave a fair review that highlights the good, the bad and my personal reason for leaving, so anyone like myself who is looking for this kind of training.

The location is good. Ample parking, not incredibly busy. The industrial estate backs onto moorland that can be used as a cut though if you live close to the canal in Croxley. I rarely had to travel by car but I found the traffic to be fine, even at busier times.

The gym is spacious, there is a main class area and a separated “open gym” area. This is in a warehouse so obviously there is no heating but that isn’t an issue after you start the warm up. All areas were always clean and tidy.

Most of the equipment is in good order. There are plenty of bumper plates and bars, enough for 16 people on a deadlift day! There is a massive line of rigging, so there is no need to fight for a space to do pull ups. There are limited rowing machines meaning you have to share in a WOD

They have 6am classes that get booked up quickly. There are 10am classes that can also be quite busy. In the evening classes start from around 5pm and run through to 7/8pm so there is always something that’s available. Apart from WODs and Metcons, there are strength and gymnastic classes, as well as barbell and strong man. The weekend classes are fewer in number and are always team or partner workouts to accommodate a larger class size. There is a waiting list option on the app used to book but I’ve personally never needed it.

On the whole, all the staff are very nice and very friendly. My only criticism is that some don’t really seem to pay much attention during the strength portion or the actual WOD. There have been many times I have seen people not performing the moves correctly and this has not been picked up on. I have seen quarter squatting or round back deadlifts, those IMHO need to be addressed without the subject asking for help.

There is a nice atmosphere most of the time and there is a real family feeling with quite a lot of the people training there. There are drinks and social events organised. If anyone is competing, a lot of the gym will show up at competitions.

Most of the points I’m going to raise are personal to me and wont necessarily resonate with all.
Firstly, there is no way of knowing what kind of workout you will have on the day. It isn’t shared in any way and you have to wait until you arrive to find out. This means if you are doing other thought the week it won’t always sync. Nothing worse than a heavy leg day Monday and Tuesday is squats.

Secondly there are a large number of partner workouts.This might be preferable to some but I don’t like my timing dictated by another and equally I don’t like to let my partner down if I’m not quick enough. This has crept in over time, originally weekends were all partner workouts and I just didn’t book in on weekends. Once they started to be more often than not, it really affected my enjoyment of the class and contributed massively to me leaving.

Thirdly is children in the gym. Most of the children in the gym are well behaved and in a safe location (away from people lifting) But there have been a number of occasions where mothers and staff have brought a baby into the work out area while people are snatching weight. This has put me on edge as I have to be especially aware of where the child is. On one occasion a mother decided she didn’t want to squat and press weights anymore and got her baby onto the floor to squat and press the child while we were all still training. I understand that it’s nice to have a place to train that is accepting of children but it is obnoxious to expect everyone to be comfortable with you bringing your child into their personal training space.

In conclusion I’m really sad I stopped enjoying it there, It’s the kind of training I enjoy and excel at. There are no hard feelings on my part and it is down to the owner to decide how they want the gym to be. I did provide feedback on request but heard nothing back.

Started 3 months ago and my fitness has boomed. Very Challenging but also very inclusive with different levels of activity depending on your experience. Hat and Charlie are great at coaching you through the stages and exercises

Great place to train. Did a great beginners course - and the bonus month of cross fit is brilliant as well. Their Gymnastics class got me really sore, but definitely improved my range of motion and isometric strength.

I’ve come from a local box to try somewhere new and the quality blew me away from the very first session. Also this box has well priced, flexible membership options (yearly, monthly or set of passes), which is much appreciated as I can work it around my ever changing schedule easily. Really happy with my decision to try this box.

Never been in but drive past it most days. Lots of fit and healthy lookin Bods in and out of there. Give it a go.

Great atmosphere, brilliant training and PT. Trainers are hugely knowledgeable and focus not only what/how much you can lift but also (importantly) on your technique and how to avoid injuries. Highly recommended if you are looking to get fit and enjoy training in a group!

Did some dropins. I noticed it was friendly, inclusive, great team spirit, well equipped, professional coaches that go the extra mile to teach the right techniques. Well priced. Oh and there is a wide range of courses from Olympic lifting, wods and gymnastics.