3 Reasons Crossfit Retaliation Is My Favorite Gym in Columbus, Indiana

The first time I walked into Crossfit Retaliation last September, my only exposure to Crossfit was from what I’d heard about it from a few friends and what I’d seen on ESPN (Reebok Crossfit Games). Rumors said that all the ripped guys in the movie 300 did Crossfit but other “experts” said it was a dangerous form of exercise. I decided to give it a try and see for myself what all the fuss was about. I had no idea though at the time how much Crossfit Retaliation was going to impact my life over the next 15 months.

When I first met Jase Robinson, owner and head coach of Crossfit Retaliation, I was drawn to his passion and energy for Crossfit. As I went through his introductory Crossfit classes, I learned how Crossfit was created to make people more efficient in their movement, stronger in their lifts, and sustain energy longer due to increased cardiovascular capacity. The secret sauce to Crossfit’s way of accomplishing this sought after exercise elixir is “constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains.”

Over my 3 months of training at Crossfit Retaliation before moving to Illinois, I was able to run The Mill Race half marathon without getting tired, shatter all of my personal records in every major lift (bench press, squat, deadlift, etc.), and successfully learn to do body movements like handstand push-ups and rope climbs. To put it simply, I got in the best shape of my life while training at Crossfit Retaliation.

Because of Crossfit’s word of mouth approach to gaining awareness, I thought it would be valuable for you to read the 3 reasons why Crossfit Retaliation is my favorite gym in Columbus, Indiana.

1. Jase’s definition of success as an owner/coach is based on how well he helps you reach your goals.

When you try out or join Crossfit Retaliation, you’re not going to a gym where you’ll need to create your own fitness plan. You receive top-notch training (called programming) from Jase and other talented coaches at the box (Crossfit calls their gyms boxes) that will help you reach your goals. While everyone does the same workout (called W.O.D.-Workout of the Day) together, your current fitness level will impact the pace you go, amount of weight you use, and the usually the length of time it takes for the hour long class.

When I joined Crossfit Retaliation, he told me to write down a few of my goals on a whiteboard that we would work toward during our time together. After thinking for a few days about it, I decided on something I’d always dreamed about doing but had never been strong enough to complete. I wrote down: I want to be able to do a rope climb. Jase looked at me without hesitation and said, “You’ll be able to do that. No problem.”

After two months of training at the 5:30 am class, my friend and forty something Marine Tina O’Dell did a rope climb with ease to the top of the building. She then looked at me and said, “Let’s do it Josh.” Normally, I would’ve been scared to death. Not only am I scared of heights but I didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of the group if I failed. There was something about the way Tina said “Let’s do this Josh,” that made me believe that morning was the time to conquer my goal.

As I started to climb the rope, I remembered the whiteboard and the conversation with Jase came back to my mind. “You’ll be able to do that. No problem.” As I came back down after completing my rope climb, Jase and the whole class went crazy and cheered me on. They high-fived me, hugged me, and made me feel like I slayed a dragon. To this day, it’s the most excited I’ve ever been about a physical accomplishment.

That’s the kind of stuff that gets Jase excited. When the people he trains succeed at their goals, he wins. It’s not about how great of an athlete he is. It’s about coaching people to become the best they can be.

2. The Crossfit Retaliation Community is an incredible group of encouragement, inspiration, and accountability.

The first workout I ever tried a Crossfit Retaliation left me gasping for air and wanting to give up. The reason I kept going though was because a group of strangers who only knew my name, encouraged me to keep going. Tim saw me wanting to quit and he said “you can do it. Keep going.” Clayton saw me slowing down on my push-ups and he said “Come on Josh. Only a few more minutes.” Tina watched me struggle at pull-ups and she said “You’re doing great! Almost done.”

You get to know people fairly fast when you work out at Crossfit Retaliation. One reason is that everyone is incredibly authentic and nice. The other reason is, you have to introduce yourself to anyone you don’t know or you have to do burpees. Many of the people at Crossfit Retaliation are in service fields as well. In addition to several Cummins and Siho employees, police officers, nurses, teachers, military, and pastors can be seen sweating together for an hour at each class. Afterwards, people hang out togetherand enjoy just talking about life, family, and work.

There’s Audra, one of the most inspiring women I know. She might look short but she ‘s stronger than you are. There’s Goose, a military man with the biggest heart. There’s Tina, one of my heroes and biggest cheerleaders. There’s Kevin, one of the best athletes to come out of Columbus East High School. There’s Chastity, whose deadlift makes me feel like weakling.

When you miss a workout, people genuinely care that you weren’t there. When you hear each person’s story, you cheer them on to reach their fitness goals. When you work out together and hang out, you become good friends.

3. You can’t help but get stronger, faster, and more healthy by joining Crossfit Retaliation.

Right before my family moved to Illinois for a church-planting residency position, my brother (Sam Burnett-pictured above) started coming to Crossfit Retaliation. As a part of a bring a friend to Crossfit for free promotion, I brought my brother. I wanted him to see what had helped me get in the best shape of my life.

After the first few workouts, he was hooked. He was already in good shape, but Crossfit made him a beast! He started coming five to six times a week and hasn’t looked back since. It’s now been over a year since my brother started Crossfit. He looks like one of the guys from 300 without his shirt on, he’s pound for pound one of the strongest guys I know, and he could run a marathon tomorrow if you dared him to.

While I was gone in Illinois, I didn’t workout much. Sam stayed committed to Crossfit and it has paid off in a big way. You can’t help but get in the best shape of your life when you go to Crossfit Retaliation!

I’m looking forward to getting back to Crossfit when I start back again at Crossfit Retaliation next week. If you’d like to join me, the first two weeks are free. I guarantee if you stick with it, you’ll get in the best shape of your life and you’ll meet some great people to help you reach your fitness goals.

To find out more information about the class schedule or more about Crossfit, check out Crossfit Retaliation’s website here.

Crossfit Retaliation is located at 1428 10th St Suite 5A, Columbus, Indiana. Their phone number is (812) 343–9237.