Exciting announcement!!! We have completely revamped and improved our entrance/beginner assessment process. It gives us a better picture of your overall health, fitness, nutritional, and mobility/stability needs, which helps us make more informed decisions about your training.
The other big change is that your assessment at the DarkSide Performance Enhancement Center comes with no obligation to join the gym. You now get the opportunity to see the value in your membership before you are committed or just to gain a little knowledge about yourself.
At just $25, our initial assessment is required of anyone wanting to join the beginner classes, but comes with no requirement to start beginner classes. Our goal is to show you the value of what you get for our $300 beginner sessions. Email staff@dccrossfit-darkside.com to schedule your assessment.
OVERVIEW
CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, and Power Lifting can all be safe and effective exercise programs for physique, health, or performance enhancement. At Derby City CrossFit and DarkSide Strength, we pride ourselves on making this statement true. Our entry process has been, and will continue to be, a flexible and evolving program designed to cater to any skill level or goal.
It is common within CrossFit for a gym to require you to do a quick, 3-session “on ramp” when joining. In these sessions, you spend an hour learning the air squat, back squat, front squat, and overhead squat. Then an hour long session to learn the press, push press, and push jerk, and finally, an hour to learn the Deadlift, sumo deadlift high pull, and the med ball clean. We have been down this road and have not been impressed with the end result. Aside from the fact that it is utterly ridiculous to think that you can achieve any level of mastery in these movements with no more than 20 minutes to spend on them, there are really only 3 or 4 things that you need to learn. Once you master those basics everything else seems is pretty easy to pick up on.
We are aware that this sounds like common sense, but sometimes common sense is an uncommon virtue.
The fact is that a successful program must always begin with the basics. Great athletes must have a solid foundation or you set your ceiling before you even get started. Our entry process is designed to set you up for success in the long run, to learn about yourself and your body, and to give you the foundational skills you need to be able to build yourself into the CrossFit / Olympic Lifting / Power Lifting /fill in the blank athlete that you want to be.
What do we do? Why is it different? Why do you need it?
STEP ONE: Individual Assessment
The is the most often overlooked aspect and without a doubt the most important. A wise man once said “If you aren’t assessing, you’re just guessing.” Guessing is a waste of time, money, and energy. It leads to frustration, and often times the failure to stay committed to goals. If we don’t assess you, then how do we know where you are currently?
The basic assessment is a 45 min session with a coach. First, we sit down and talk about your training history, injury history, nutrition history, sleep history, any topic that will help us better establish realistic and achievable goals. Then we will have a short movement screening. This is the most important aspect. We have yet to see someone walk into the gym who had perfect movement. Inefficiencies or asymmetries will cause injuries, make “learning” techniques more difficult, and limit your ability to reach your genetic potential… whatever that may be. Finally, you will do a short cardio test. Don’t think of it as a test, we don’t really care where you are at from a cardiovascular standpoint, but we have to know where to start.
STEP TWO: Small Group Training
This is where our program really begins to stand out. Our small group training sessions allow us to tailor a program to your needs with the data we gathered in the assessment. Your 11 sessions are completed in a very small group (no more than 3) and they will allow you to learn about your body: the way it works, the way it is supposed to work, and what you need to be doing to get it there. Position is the key to pain-free, clean, efficient movements and the #1 goal of your first month is to learn what you need to be doing to achieve optimal position. You learn how to scale workout back or progress them to make them more difficult, and the standards that you need to achieve in order to warrant that progression. Moving through progressions too quickly is surely a recipe to stunt your progress. Don’t worry, you will still get good hard workouts (adjusted to your ability level) because another goal of this first month of training is to build the work capacity that you need in order to be successful in whatever athletic avenue you proceed in.
STEP THREE
Group CrossFit Classes – This is the majority of the gym. We run classes Monday – Saturday. 10 classes a day during the week and then 1 on Saturday. Your membership will be good for unlimited classes each month, with no requirement to attend the same one each time or to pre-register before you attend.
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Individual Programming in Small Group Training – If you liked the individualized process you experience during the beginner program you are more than welcome to continue on this route. You will be working with a coach who will be able to write programs for your goals and experience level as well as an added level of accountability. You will also have the option for a more in depth assessment that will further enhance our ability to meet your needs. This is without a doubt the most effective way to train.
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DarkSide Strength – We have athletes who train and compete in CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, Power Lifting, MMA, and Strongman, as well as sports strength and conditioning for athletes in local middle schools, high schools, and colleges. If you are interested in competing in one of these disciplines just contact a coach and we will discuss where you are at and if it is a good option for you. Please note that our regular CrossFit classes have produced and continue to produce solid CrossFit athletes and the DarkSide program is for high level athletes selected by the coaches.
Costs:
Initial Assessment = $25
Entry Level Sessions = $300/(12 classes)
Monthly Membership – 1 year = $100/month (auto-withdraw); 6 months = $110/month; month-to-month = $130/month
Athletes with prior & extensive CrossFit or Olympic lifting experience can test out of our Entry Level Sessions.
Small Group Training (after initial sessions) = $250/monthly or $225/monthly with a 6 month contract
The class times for our Entry Level classes are as follows:
Morning = Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday @ 6am
Evening = Monday – Friday @ 6pm
If you’re interested and ready to get started, please use the form below to send us your contact info. Someone from our team will contact you within 48 hours. You will be redirected to our homepage after clicking “Submit”.
Where is Derby City CrossFit & DarkSide Strength?
139 Breckenridge Lane
Louisville, KY 40207
Call: (502) 551-5413
Email: staff@dccrossfit-darkside.com
We’re located in the heart of St. Matthew’s, next to Porter Paints – down from Molly Malone’s.
