CrossFit Riverfront has kept pace with the constantly growing Wilmington Riverfront, starting in a small store-front space in 2010 before moving into our current 12,000+ sq. ft. facility. Our philosophy on fitness and community has also continued to evolve, from being a small ‘box’ to now being a complete athletic performance center. Despite having a lot more members and a much larger facility, we have kept our close-knit feel intact by always focusing on our most important component, our community!
Mission Statement
CrossFit Riverfront is a fitness community that provides a positive and motivating environment to improve our members’ quality of life through health and wellness.
Core Values
1. We provide a Welcoming and Inclusive environment to everyone, regardless of fitness level or athletic background.
2. Professionalism is fundamental– Coaches and Staff are held to high standards of integrity and are expected to treat everyone fairly and with respect.
3. Our Community is the cornerstone of CrossFit Riverfront and it’s what separates us from other gyms and boxes.
4. We are Passionate about the personal development of our members and the improvement in their health and wellness.
5. Our classes are Fun, motivating, and will challenge you to push yourself to be the best you can be!
Getting Started
The process is simple! Stop in and check out the facility anytime during business hours! There is always a coach or staff member available to give you a tour and answer your questions. Take advantage of our Free Trial that includes 7 days of unlimited access to our Standard classes! These include: RivFit, RivEndurance, FightFit, and Yoga! To start the trial, come in about 10 minutes prior to ANY of the Standard classes offered from our Schedule. After you complete a waiver, you can begin your 7-day trial with no obligations!
It has taken a long time, but Erik has finally found himself as Athlete of the Month! Erik gets a lot of flak, but he seriously is one of the most committed and hardest working guys in the gym.
What made you decide to join the Riv?
1. I used to go to the gym a lot in college with my friends, but when I moved to Delaware I didn’t know anyone. I tried going to the Y when I could, but it just wasn’t the same. My sister had been doing CrossFit for about a year at this point, and she suggested I try it out. I used to bash CrossFit on a regular basis, but decided to give it a shot. I looked up gyms near me and the Riv came up. I remember the first person I saw was Chris Johnson. I never saw a man so large able to move so well (at least I thought so back then…j/k Chris). I wasn’t all about it at first, but then there was a WOD with overhead squats involved. I couldn’t even do the bar, which was extremely humbling. After that I was determined to break parallel for an OHS. Thus began the never ending journey to master the myriad amounts of movements that are CrossFit.
How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?
2. CrossFit helped me actually create fitness goals. I never really had any when I first started. After becoming some what proficient in most of the movements I started writing down my goals and looking at them everyday. Month by month I started chipping away at the weights or the skills, and by the end of my second year in CrossFit I had accomplished almost everyone that I wrote down. That mindset has translated into my professional and personal life as well. I’ve never been more focused in my life than I am now with CrossFit as a large part of it.
What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?
3. My favorite workout would be anything with ring MU’s, snatches, and heavy deadlifts (mainly because I can dominate Josh Reed in those movements). In all seriousness, ring MU’s are really fun. I remember seeing them for my first time and thought I’d never be able to do them. Snatches are the most technically difficult movement out there, so being able to move decently heavy weight for reps in that skill is satisfying.
What is your favorite part of the Riv?
4. The community is definitely my favorite part. I look forward to coming here almost everyday. This is the one place I can be myself and not be judged…for the most part. This place has really helped me become myself, and I don’t think I could be anymore grateful for it.
Congratulations to Emily for being Athlete of the Month for April! She has been killing it and the hard work is paying off big time!
1. What made you decide to join the Riv?
My husband had been coming to the Riv for a few months and kept trying to get me to check it out. He would come back from a class and tell me all about his workouts and I would stare blankly (“did he just say snatch?”). Now, we have CrossFit as a joint hobby and it’s been really fun to learn about all of the workouts and people he had been raving about for so long!
2. How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?
How has it not!? When I joined in December, I was at my heaviest weight and my body fat percentage was in the unhealthy range. Now, just four months later, I’m down 11% body fat! I’m just 2% away from being out of the “healthy” range and into the athletic range. I feel strong and empowered at what my body is capable of. The weight I was working out with when I started is now my warm up weight, and I keep hitting new PRs with every WOD. I can’t wait to see how my body continues to transform with these workouts!
3. What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?
I have a love-hate relationship with the snatch to overhead squat because it’s the one move that I still don’t feel quite as comfortable with, but holy smokes it’s a pretty badass move!! I’ve always wanted to be able to do pull ups, and I’ve graduated from the biggest band to one of the medium sized bands, but my big goal is to be able to do unassisted pull ups.
4. What is your favorite part of the Riv?
I think my favorite part about it is that it isn’t anything I expected. I always equated CrossFit with meatheads and people who were working out super intensely and getting hurt. That couldn’t be further from what I’ve found at the Riv. Everyone is so kind and the sense of community is palpable; for example, I was so nervous for my first WOD but my coach announced it to everyone at the start of the class and everyone cheered me on throughout the workout. The coaches are always making sure our form is correct and they help me figure out what weight I should be using. I feel very supported in this fitness journey and am happy to have found some new friends along the way!
‘I’m quite sure the first thing ever done with a barbell was a standing press, because it is the logical thing to do with a barbell.’
-The CrossFit Journal Articles (#45)
Now that we’ve fully covered squats, our video demo series is moving on to presses! We’re starting with the strict press.
Pushing a bar over your head is one of the most basic, obvious, functional movements, but just because the movement is simple doesn’t mean it can’t be tough. The strict press develops both upper body strength and your core.
This week Coach Kirsten offers up tips for correctly executing your strict press as well as common errors to avoid. Next up: push press.
Congratulations to Christian for being the Athlete of the Month for March. Christian is one of the strongest guys in the box, even though he doesn’t like to show it off. We’ll get him competing soon…
1. What made you decide to join the Riv?
I joined the Riv because I thought it was best box around. I looked around and no other box was offering what the Riv offered. The Riv offers a variety of classes while still maintaining the CrossFit environment.
2. How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?
When I started at the Riv I just wanted to get active again & stay active. The Riv has helped me do that plus so much more. I’m at the box 4 days a week so the Riv has definitely kept me active.
3. What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?
My favorite workout doesn’t have a name and we’ve actually only done it once. But it was when we snatched until we failed. Then we used that same snatch weight and started doing cleans. Once the cleans got too heavy we moved onto deadlifts until we failed. I love all the strength related workouts.
4. What is your favorite part of the Riv?
My favorite part of the Riv is the community. Coming to gym with friends is probably the main reason I’m still here today. The way everyone supports & encourages each other is amazing. You won’t find that many in gyms.
Congratulations to Cheyenne Ji for being our second Athlete of the Month for February!! Cheyenne has been at The Riv for almost two years now and is no doubt one of the most dedicated!
1. What made you decide to join the Riv?
I really wanted to improve my overall health. I knew I was unhealthy because I ate horrible and was always tired. There are a lot of illnesses that run on both sides of my family and I knew being healthy by eating right and exercising was something I needed to do. At the time, my old co-worker was a coach at the Riv and told me about CrossFit. I was a little intimidated and didn’t join at that time. However, with living right across the street, it was just too convenient to not at least try.
2. How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?
When I first joined the Riv almost two years ago, my only goal was to get healthier and in better shape. I feel like I’ve way surpassed that goal and am now focusing on performance. The programming and class variety helps a lot with improving skills, endurance, strength, etc. but the coaches are the ones that have helped me the most. They push me to get out of my comfort zone and to try new things all the time.
3. What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?
I can’t say I have a favorite workout since we’ve done so many but I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my strength and endurance. I love looking back to where I started and where I am today. Just to put things in perspective, I had never done a squat prior to joining the Riv. I also could barely run a mile without almost dying. In April, I will be running a 10 mile race and a half marathon and also competing in my first CrossFit competition, things I wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing prior to joining the Riv.
4. What is your favorite part of the Riv?
I love the community at the Riv! Everyone was so welcoming and encouraging when I first joined and I can still say that’s true today. It really makes a huge difference and one of the major contributing factors of why I enjoy working out every day. It’s great to see familiar faces but also to meet new people.
Andre is one of the hardest working members, consistently doing two-a-days in RivFit. He is a huge motivation for us as Coaches and we are proud of where he has come since joining the Riv!!
1. What made you decide to join the Riv?
Curiosity. I drove by many times and never went to check it out. Then one day I was on living social and came across the trial. So I decided to check it out. Walked in to grab some info, the staff was cool during the greeting. I then saw some members working out and in my head I’m saying this place is no joke. The first set of classes beat me up a bit, which left me aching in places I forgot about. Those pains brought the most pleasure though because I knew I was doing something and I wanted more.
2. How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?
My goal was to just lose some weight, get back into the fitness lifestyle, and to be great. I was able to lose quite a bit of weight, run longer, and do exercises I was unable to do before joining. The intensity of everyone in the box drives me to go hard everyday and to be better than I did the previous week.
3. What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?
My favorite workout would probably be burpees (sad to say). It’s a full body exercise that can destroy even the strongest athlete. My endurance is most improved. Imagine walking up a flight of step and being out of breath once reaching the top. Now I have no problem doing that and more. Being able to keep up with others was big thing for me when first starting.
4. What is your favorite part of the Riv?
I have many favorite parts. Doing a different set of workouts each class, exercising your full body, the intensity of the box, and the music to name a few. My most favorite part its the push I receive from the coaches when I feel like I have nothing left to give. 14 minutes and 26secs into a 15 min AMRAP with someone saying “give me 10 more burpees, you can do it” and when you do, they want 2 more lol. It helps!!!!
Last week, The News Journal’s Jen Rini stopped by The Riv to try out a RivFit class for the ‘Take It Off Challenge’. Sponsored by Christiana Care Health Systems, the challenge is encouraging people to track weight loss over the next 12 weeks. Jen picked a great day to come try out a class, as it featured the dreaded sled pushes!! Follow the link below to watch the video and read the article!
