Circle around the old steel building and you come into a rustic place via a tempered door and notice the painted brick.
Boxes line the bright green wall, and in the back are rows of steel beams crossed by metal bars.
A radio blares in the corner, with names of workouts on a whiteboard on a wall.
Welcome to CrossFit STMA.
“It can be really intimidating walking into any gym for a workout,” said owner Jaqueline Jensen. “CrossFit, if you look it up online or Google it, you see some of the most elite athletes in the world. These are people who are just physically incredible. So our message and main job from the outset is to let people know that it starts here, no matter how you look. CrossFit can be for anyone.”
Jackie Jensen (left) works with a workout group at CrossFit STMA, located in St. Michael near Pinnacle Printing.
Jensen should know. She’s been in the field for several years, originally helping to start CrossFit Fast Factory, where the facility worked with hockey players. A former collegiate hockey player herself, Jensen saw what kind of impact it could have on skating, the physical play of hockey and increased stamina.
“It wasn’t like anything else I’d done in a gym. It’s fast. You work hard. And you walk away from a workout with this confidence like, ‘I can do anything if I can do THAT,'” she said.
With the help of boyfriend and partner Joel Werner, Jensen is bringing that spirit to STMA. The facility, which is located next door to Pinnacle Printing near the J&B Meats complex, opened last fall. The public support has been, she said, outstanding from Day One.
“We hit St. Michael Daze and Knights hard last year and handed out a bunch of information during the parade, and the response was great. There was a handful of people who had heard of CrossFit training and knew what it was, and they spread the word. Together with them we formed the first workout group. It’s been going full speed ever since,” Jensen said.
CrossFit’s goal is to make the body more fit and prepared for everyday activities.
“If you can lift a box of groceries from Costco or Sam’s and set it on the counter, you can do a dead lift,” Jensen said. “Every time you get set to sit down, you do a squat. Getting the muscles fit in these areas can help do day-to-day things more easily. And you’re getting strong, fit and healthy in the process.”
Rings, bars, and weights are all part of the process. So, too are running and biking. The body is used for handstands, presses, cartwheels, sit-ups and muscle-ups. All of it is part of a process to work the body into shape with succinct, sometimes explosive, workouts.
CrossFit STMA coach Joel Werner squats during a competition for CrossFit Factory. Groups can compete in regional and national contests across the Midwest.
“We supervise each client, because everyone has that mindset of ‘Oh, I can handle that.’ Maybe you can, but you have to work up to that next step,” Joel said.
To learn more about CrossFit, as well as CrossFit STMA’s Boot Camps, Group Lifts and the upcoming Memorial Day Murph, you can check out either their website or their daily updates on Facebook.
For an intro appointment, call Jackie or Joel at 763-777-9099.