June 25, 2021

Nearly four years after opening, a CrossFit gym has expanded into a new, bigger location.

Owner Benjamin Swan opened CrossFit Viable on the west side and recently moved the business into a 4,000-square-foot space at 4000 S. Hawthorne Ave. 

“I have been CrossFitting and into fitness and health for a long time,” Swan said. “We decided to open a CrossFit affiliate to continue our journey.”

CrossFit is a high-intensity form of physical activity that combines exercises and elements from several sports. Across the globe, there are over 14,000 CrossFit affiliate gyms and 5 million members. 

“CrossFit is a globalwide fitness ideology and methodology,” Swan said. “We teach functional fitness, so there are no fancy machines or equipment. You are the machine.”

A large part of the ideology behind CrossFit is preparing your body for everyday activities, he said.

“We teach what we call general physical preparedness, meaning we teach you how to squat properly and how to dead lift properly,” Swan said. “In a nutshell, it is strength and conditioning. We teach things that translate into life: being able to sit down and get yourself back up, pick something up off the floor properly or being able to pick your kids up when you are older. We run, jump, throw, push and pull — all the things that you do just to make life easier.”

CrossFit Viable offers programs designed for every age or stage of the fitness journey, he added.

There is a traditional CrossFit program, which is a daily, hourlong coach-led high-intensity and functional fitness program; Viable Fit, a program that requires minimal equipment with a focus on body-weight movements, cardio and kettlebell; and Viable Online, an online version of the most popular programming.

“We also offer Viable Kids in the summer,” Swan said. “It teaches kids how to stay active and healthy with functional movements.”

In addition to multiple CrossFit programs, CrossFit Viable also offers CF Barbell, or Olympic weightlifting, a sport that requires an athlete to attempt a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates.

“We are a USA weightlifting official club because we Olympic weight in CrossFit, so it was just a natural progression into weightlifting,” Swan said. “Myself and four other coaches here are certified Olympic weightlifting coaches.”

After starting in an 1,800-square-foot facility, CrossFit Viable outgrew its initial space and decided it was time to expand, he said.

“CrossFit started in warehouses and garages and other small spaces, so it is very common to outgrow your space,” Swan said. “In CrossFit, it is all about the global community and the community within the walls, so it does not need to be fancy by any means. However, with our Olympic weightlifting and some of the other things we offer, it was time for more space — not to mention that our members and our community deserved a new and bigger space.”

The business model involves both membership and a drop-in rate. It’s open daily with class times varying throughout the week.