Great people, coaches are very helpful and love crossfit... Lots of gymnastic options for the kids... Parcour... If you love crossfit, this is the place in Marin read more

Come. Try it out. Have fun. Get stronger. CrossFit Marin has morning, afternoon and evening classes to suit any schedule, and there are plenty of concurrent classes so that parents with kids of any age can work out at the same time. It's the best gig in town. Our first experience with CrossFit Marin was at their weekly Sunday afternoon classes at Town Park in Corte Madera. We saw a couple of athletic guys setting up a tumbling and gymnastics course next to the playground, and signed our two boys (3 and 5) up for a drop-in gymnastics class. The boys had fun, learned some new moves, and worked off a Sunday-morning-worth of energy. Andres de la Rosa and Roger Harrell told us about their program and invited us to check out their gym over at Tamal Plaza. A couple of weeks later, I signed the boys up for gymnastics once a week. While I watched those first few classes, it quickly became clear that the CrossFit Marin team are patient, talented and positive teachers for both the littlest tumblers (whose attention often wanders) and those kids who have had more experience (who may need more focus and harder challenges). And as we spent more time at the gym, I saw how our boys' natural flexibility and strength were being enhanced by balance work, skill training and fun games during class. The prices are very reasonable, so we quickly went from once a week to twice a week for the boys, and I started chatting with the trainers (thanks, Bill!) about their adult CrossFit program. Now comes the personal part: I have a lousy body image. I was a plump unathletic little kid, and as an adult have always been more inclined to play Scrabble than racquetball, if you get my meaning. So it took a couple of weeks of watching at the gym before I was willing to open myself up to trying an adult CrossFit class. And you know what? It turns out I'm *great* at it! Sure, I can't really do many pushups yet, and I can't yet do a chinup, but for the first time I can actually see myself getting there one day. I'm learning ways to work toward those goals. I'm getting stronger every week. The focus at CrossFit Marin is on strength and overall conditioning, so the workouts are really varied -- we've done skill work on everything from deadlifts and pullups to juggling and balance beam, so I feel like I'm always making progress. They can scale a workout for any skill level. Can't do a pullup? Keep one foot supported! Can do 50 pullups? Wear a weight vest! They can even work around past injuries so that you can come to the gym even if you have, say, a bad back or a chronic knee condition. If you think you're strong, you'll get stronger, and if you think you aren't fit, you'll discover strengths you didn't know you had. There is always something new to work toward, and they welcome whatever you bring to the table (or the floor in this case). Bottom line? I am working harder and feeling better about myself than I have in years, and I can do it at the same time as the kids are doing their classes. So they see me being active, and they're well-cared-for and busy while I'm focusing on my own health and well-being. Roger, Andres and the rest of the CrossFit Marin team are talented, open-minded, positive and committed to teaching all ages and skill levels. Their gym promotes community, hard work and good habits, but without the posturing or 'sales' mentality of some other local facilities. They love what they do -- helping people to grow stronger and more physically confident -- and it shows. read more

"The Cave" is my personal choice for a Crossfit in Marin. I come from a couch potato AND long distance athlete background. My recent "accomplishments" are Ironman, Lavaman...5 marathons in a bit less than the last year. But I'm always the LAST woman over the line. Happy, but last. (Hey, way to make ABC-Sports, you know...) Mind you, in reality, I'm just a couch potato - I didn't really have any formal gym (coming from a private school background) until college, so I'm PERFECTLY happy to have life without Recess... I came to CrossFit Marin a/k/a "The Cave" after doing some personal sessions at another Marin CrossFit. I'm not sure if it was because I have some "medals under my belt," but after 12 (12!) personal training sessions I was basically a mess - I felt completely belittled and like a Big-L-Loser. Oh sure, I can run for 30 miles, but do a pushup? Puh-LEEZE. I'm not sure if the trainer thought that because I've done a lot of long distance stuff and have a military background that telling me I was completely f*d up was a good idea, but it just made me cry and give up (in the privacy of my own glass of wine, of course). I have as a "bucket list" thing to actually get to do an unassisted pull-up and rope climb. I even told that trainer that was one of my "bucket list" things. (We never even got close.) I keep circling back to CrossFit because it seems to be the right way to get there. I did some research and called/talked to the various CrossFit boxes (CrossFitSpeak for "gym") in the area. The thing I really liked about The Cave is that you can do CrossFit Conditioning Sessions. All other Marin boxes make you do an "OnRamp" which is 3 or so personal training sessions (pricey), and then you're thrown into the standard CrossFit WOD (CrossFitSpeak for "Workout Of The Day"). And as the funny T-shirt goes, CrossFit is pretty much expensive calesthetics in a garage...a month pass is generally around $200, give or take (The Cave is one of the least expensive in Marin.) The good part about CrossFit is that they will "scale" the WOD for you - whether you need to do pullups by jumping up from a box/putting a stretchy-band under your leg, or do a squat (did you know your heels are supposed to touch the ground for these? Oh, yeah, sure...) by holding onto a vertical stanchion...your trainer will figure out a way for you to do it. That's a hallmark of CrossFit. The thing that The Cave has that the others don't, as I said, is "Conditioning" classes. So instead of doing a pricey personal "OnRamp" then being thrown into the WOD from CrossFit-HQ, you do something "a little less" - until you're ready. I'd like to mention a Yelp thing. The only reason this box has a "less than 5 star" rating is that some bitter reviewer gave it a 1. I think that's ridiculous. YES, the box is a little hard to find - DRIVE ALL THE WAY down Tamal Vista Plaza, turn left, go all the way to the end, it's there. All CrossFit "boxes" are like garages that you do calesthetics in....this one, however, also has Day Care, and classes for kids. The other Marin ones do not. It also has Parkour. Not like that's something I will do soon, but it's cool! I have to tell you, there is NOTHING like watching "single digit"-aged girls doing kettlebell swings and dead lifts to make your heart sing! It's very cool. Back to CrossFit. When I went my first time to The Cave, I was greeted with a "friendly, uncaring" attitude from the other participants. This was PERFECT. I had a couple of panic attacks during the first couple repetitions of the WOD - because I was SO comparably unfit. Don't judge a book by the cover, either - the gal you think looks like she spends her time munching bon-bons on the couch can probably deadlift her husband. It's amazing. But as I said - everyone was friendly, but not TOO friendly, and didn't CARE what i was doing. In a good way. (One "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" would have sent me to the hills.) The M-W-F trainer, Anthony, is UNBELIEVABLY good. He puts the trainer that I had at the other box to shame. He really cares about my various injuries, but makes sure that I'm doing the WOD - modified, of course. I am not sure that I have had a better trainer, and believe me, I've had a LOT of trainers. The best part about CrossFit is that when you do the WOD, it's almost like have your own personal trainer without having to have someone "staring just at you" for an hour. I have Bo for the T and Th evening Conditioning (yes, I'm going 5 days a week - I tease that it's only because after the first few days I couldn't drive my car because I was so tired). Bo is more the sort of person I knew when I was in the Marines - the strong "Stoic" type. My husband is even going with me now.He went for 2 days & this morning said "the only muscle on his body that didn't hurt was his tongue."He works out a LOT more than I do, but has complained (silly him) for the last year or so that his gym workouts had gotten "formulaic." Give it a try! read more

I've been training at Crossfit Marin for the past 3 months and I'm totally hooked. The trainers are awesome. The people are awesome and the workouts are a incredibly effective to achieve total body fitness. I shopped around and Crossfit Marin is the most affordable Crossfit gym in the area. In addition to Crossfit they offer full adults and kids gymnastics programs and parkour classes. Now I've never been a big gym guy. The meat market, the bad music, ect. ect. besides training on machines doesn't actually train the body to be functional in life. Crossfit is all about training the body so that you can live the life want to live. The works outs can all be modified to meet people where they're at and safely challenge them to grow. As a chiropractor its super important to me that trainers, working with the body, know there stuff. All the trainers at Crossfit Marin are incredibly knowledgeable about how to keep the body safe during work outs. If you're over the conventional gym scene and you want to get into the best shape of your life check out Crossfit Marin! read more

This is a great gym for the whole family from little tumblers to those of us getting up there. My teens like the parkour classes. JB and Josh make it challenging and fun. read more

CrossFit Marin - Parkour! - Interval Training Gyms Near Me - Corte Madera, California

I have been a monthly member of Crossfit Marin since October 2009 and am definately a fan! Here is my list of reasons for recommending: 1. The People! The other clients (who they call 'athletes') are fantastic. They have great personalities and are super friendly, intelligent, caring, funny, and encouraging. It is a joy to go to the gym everyday and I often find myself actually looking forward to going just because I know I'll have a chance to see these poeple. I have formed many friendships and am very thankful for this community. Everyone encourages each other and helps each other during the workout. 2. Kid Friendly/Family Environment! I am a single-mom with a 7 yr old boy. At Crossfit Marin, there are a ton of families who 'work out' together. The kids don't acutally workout with the adults (unless they are teenagers), but they workout consecutively while the adults are in class. There are both gymnastics and Parkour classes for the kids at many times during the day and evening (as late as 6pm for those working parents like me). This is fantastic because you can get a workout in while your kid is having fun (and learning.) So so so much better than putting your child in some kind of daycare at a gym. Its also wonderful to have your kids see you working out. For those without kids...not to despair...there are also a lot of single people there too :-) 3. Challenging Workouts that are not boring...AND are adjusted for your level: A lot of my friends ask me, "what do you actually do at Crossfit?". Well, Crossfit is definately very different than a normal gym. At Crossfit, you attend a one-hour class that consists of a warm-up, then a skill training and then the actual workout. A warm-up could be something like a 400 meter run, 10 squats, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, then repeat that same thing 2 more times. The skill training is a 10-20 minute portion that covers a particular move that you will use in Crossfit, such as how to do Kettle-bell swings, or how to do a backsquat or work on your pull-ups. Then, the actual 'workout' is also varies from 10-30 minutes. The idea is to go 100% maximum effort during the workout., while the warm-up and skill training is more in the realm of 65% of your maximum effort. You get a full hour of working out, but in different intensity levels. Workouts vary everyday and involve ususally 2-4 exercises that you repeast in 'rounds'. The neat thing is that no matter what level you are at, there is a way to adjust the exercise to work for you. For instance, I cannot do a pull-up, so instead I do jumping pull-ups where I jump off the ground to lift my chin above the bar. 4. The Trainers: So, anyone who has wanted to have a personal trainer but cannot afford it should try this! Each class is led by a trainer who gives you individual coaching on your technique and encourages you throughout the class. Its fantastic. And the trainers at this gym are really great. My favorites include Roger, Ben, Nick, Bill, Stephanie and Carlos on Friday nights. 5. Location: The photo that is shown in this profile is the view from the gym. Its gorgeous to workout while looking at Mt. Tam especially when the sun is setting. The gym is in a llght-industrial building in Corte Madera. It is a little 'funky' with roll-up garage-type doors. But its spacious (especially with the new room), open, high ceilings. Its not like a regular gym and doesn't have cardio equipment or weight machines. Instead its free weights, jump ropes, and a lot of gymnastics equipment and mats (for Parkour and gynmastics classes.) The only reason I wouldn't give it 5 stars is that its a bit pricey per month. But, for me, its worth the money. read more

The trainers at CrossFit Marin definitely give you your money's worth. It's more $$ than most gyms, but you get way more attention and someone is always there to help and give you feedback. If you're tired of the normal workout grind at a regular gym, I'd try CrossFit. read more

My 13 year old son goes to Ryan's parkour class twice a week and LOVES it. Ryan is a positive and creative instructor - always keeping the kids active and interested. You never know what skill they're going to learn but you do know that they will have fun, improve their balance, become stronger and more confident. Another positive thing about Crossfit Marin is the remarkably friendly people who train there. I have never met a more supportive, friendly group of teenagers. read more

Uhh-Mai-Gud! Talk about a great place to work out. First of all, it's crossfit, and there are a million things that I could say in that regard that are positive, but I won't. I have always been sort of a gym rat since very young, and never have I ever been able to truly reach my health and fitness goals like I did at XFit Marin. I joined for selfish reasons, I wanna look great, but what I got in return was so much much more. This is almost like a community of folks that have become my very dear and good friends,and I have been able to forge some incredible relationships while there. Do anybody out there have any clue as to how hard it is to do a muscle up? Got that there. Weight loss? Got that too! Both Andreas de la Rosa and Roger Harrell have so much expertise in the fields of gymnastics, crossfit, and parkour. The other trainers are absolutely graceful and knowledgeable. I've even gotten some nutrition tips there. Who woulda evah guess that I would be going paleo or zone? Anyways, I can't say enough good things about them...they're good people and have nothing but your best interest in mind. Very well rounded athletes in that place. When they're not organizing some sorta expedition over to Planet Granite or the local park or Stinson beach...they're hosting parkour jams, or barbecues or some sort of fundraiser. Great great fun....def. recommend it. read more

It is great place for kids and adults, great lessons. Management is good and they are definitely great in utilizing the facility by squeezing out every possibility to make more lessons and more money. Now they need to work on individual attention to the kids so they can achieve, not just participate. read more

I'm really surprised to see the 5-star reviews, but perhaps the adult experience is different. I signed my toddler up for a demo class here and had a terrible experience. The place was so hard to find, tucked away behind a building with zero signage, in what looked like a warehouse or garage. No one answered the phone when I called looking for directions. For the price, I was expecting a nice facility with a reception area, instead it was one big room, with equipment piled everywhere, very dirty and crammed with people. My son got body-slammed by a big kid just walking in. No one knew who we were, despite them insisting I make a reservation. When we finally found an employee, she asked my son to go to the class, but he was scared (it was across the room, noisy, and had much bigger kids, despite being advertised as a toddler class) and said no. She simply walked away then - no effort to engage him or start age-appropriate play. Eventually we gave up and left. Very disappointing and not at all as advertised. read more

My teen son started at "The Cave" about 6 months ago. He has learned many different flips and tricks that he uses regularly in his dance competitions, shows and also at school rallys. I cannot say enough about how wonderful this place is and wish it was up and running when all 3 of my kids were little. We would have been here all the time! This facility is fantastic for all ages youth to adult and I find the supportive and friendly atmosphere to be inspiring. JB is AMAZING! His sunny and caring personality is so nice to be around. His patience and advanced expertise go hand in hand with his teaching style which from a parent's point of view is very safe which is so important to me and from a teen's point of view - so very fun! SO MUCH to do there! I highly recommend this place and I love that it promotes better health and a higher self esteem for all ages. We are so lucky to have found The Cave and JB! read more