Solcana Fitness — Local services in Minneapolis

Solcana is a great space, while any gym/box is intimidating (at least to me) it was friendly atmosphere. I scheduled an intro session and met with Jerik who was warm and attentive. We went through a quick workout after he explained a few of the types of classes they provide. When you start, Crossfit has a way of letting you know you're out of shape LOL. After our quick circuit and having a look around, I knew I'd want to join. The gym is close to my home, the people are friendly and it's pricing is on par with other Crossfit boxes (i.e it's expensive lol). The thing that set it apart for me is their involvement with the LGBTQIA community. They provide classes geared towards their transitioning members as well as femme centric classes. They advocate in the crossfit community for their members as well. It's incredibly moving to me and while sure the membership may seem expensive, I'm so happy knowing my money goes towards such a good cause! . The day after my 8 minute butt kicking with Jerik, I signed up for my first actually crossfit session! I'm painfully awkward in new places so I got there and got my shoes on and wandered around wondering what to do with my hands. A few members trickled in and I sat across from Casey who is doing body adapt classes, a few people they knew came in and one of them showed us pictures of their friend's dog. Once 630 hit the crossfit crew gathered around Jerik and he explained the days warmup exercises. I had never kipped before so Jerik explained in very simple terms how to feel it in my shoulder blades. It'll take some practice but I got the hang of it sort of :) We went through the warmup and Marijke arrive shortly after. She was our session's coach she was just late due to snow and public transport issues so Jerik started us off. She helped me with my cleans or jerks or whatever they're called since I've never done those and had no idea where to start. She told me to keep my knees high on the t2b portion (i could only do knees up not toes to bar) The session was fierce and naturally I was the slowest lol. . The classmates were great though. All wonderfully diverse. Between heavy breathing there were some jokes and some talk back and forth with various people. You bond in the pain and suffering it seems lol. . I don't know how I feel about the competitive nature of crossfit, the point system and the trying to get through things quickly. I'm def not trying to cut corners or sacrifice form for speed. That's easy to do when you start getting exhausted. I've worked out a lot (many years ago lulz) and listen to my body well and also correct myself the best I can when I am starting to arch my back or not squat deep enough(those things your body tries to do when you're tired). Maybe I'll always be the last to finish a circuit but I'll be happy to get that work in and done right :) . Overall it was a fantastic experience. My legs are sore today but it's not stopping me from doing one more session today before I take a few days to recover. Looking forward to the...

I never thought crossfit would be useful for a runner. I use to have a very negative image of what crossfit was, and thus was very hesitant to try it. My friend/coworker brought me in to meet with the owner/head coach, Hannah, about 9 months ago. I told Hannah my goals for running and marathon training. She listened, gave feedback, and made me feel extremely validated and hopeful! I was not even considering myself a competitive runner nor had any aspirations of qualifying for Boston's marathon (I was about 35 minutes too slow at that time). I have been going to Solcana for approximately 8 months now. Throughout that time, I PR'd my 10 mile race by 8 minutes, PR'd my half marathon race by 13 minutes, and most recently PR'd my marathon race by 19 minutes! The only thing I changed in training was adding crossfit; most specifically Solcana Crossfit.

The coaches are absolutely incredible, and get to know each of the member's goals and give assistance on how to reach them. My goals looked much different than that of my peers, and the coaches were able to assist me in tailoring workouts so that I could get my "fast feet" going. I even had an injury during the marathon training and was extremely discouraged. The coaches helped me maintain my motivation, each showing me various ways to improve and work with the injury, incorporating rest with workouts that wouldn't stress the injury. I was able to get cardio workouts in without needing to run! I don't think I could have stuck out the training after the injury if it hadn't been for Hannah's coaching, encouraging, and belief in me. The Solcana community is also beyond anything I could have asked for. Each member is excited for each success of their peers, no matter how large or small. I have not experienced anything like this. Members were concerned for me when I was injured, rejoiced with me when I finished races, and encouraged me throughout each workout.

8 months ago, Boston's marathon was not even in my mind. Now I have a goal that by the end of 2016, I will be a Boston qualifier. I know that with the assistance of Solcana, the coaches and community, I can accomplish this goal. I...

Joining Solcana is literally (really, literally) the best decision I've made for myself in year). It's not just where I work out; it's my home.

Lifting weights in the most affirming fitness space in the world has fundamentally changed my relationship to my body. I want to tell everybody about my yearlong journey to a 115lb bench press and a 115lb push press (I started at 55lb and 30lbs and string bean arms), my 10 pushups, my 10k. NOT about the weight I've lost. Because of Solcana's mission (which is more than just words), I'm truly on a journey of celebrating how my body moves and what it can do.

What does this mean in a greater sense? It means that I've found a way to silence the negative narratives I constantly tell myself about my body: that I need to be smaller to be loved, to be valued, to be seen as hardworking. At Solcana, I revel in what my body can do and the amazing change in what that body feels like with all of these new muscles and abilities. I'm smaller in certain ways by default but I'm also allowing myself to be bigger, too, as I gain strength. And becoming bigger and taking up more physical space is something that has disrupted this ubiquitous sexist narrative that plagues so many women.

While I could have gone through the workouts anywhere, I don't think I would have so intensively worked through these toxic narratives without the most body positive, feminist, inclusive space that is Solcana.

And you know what? A year later, I make it to the gym 4 times a week after 10 years of failed fitness plans. And, 90% of the time, I enjoy it,

For all of you looking for a fitness home, I cannot recommend this place enough. It's worth every penny - which means a lot coming from me since I was so price resistant. I work in a nonprofit and I am still willing to make budget sacrifices to fit this place into my life because it has brought immense joy into...