Innovation

As a provider of health and fitness facilities, Momentum faces fierce competition of many other local businesses that provide similar services. However, as a CrossFit affiliate, Momentum has a different way of conducting business in comparison to your everyday gym. Where a traditional gym charges extremely low prices for memberships with the knowledge that few members will actually show up, Momentum has a strong focus on community and getting their members to the gym every day.

Momentum looks to provide its members with a safe, supportive environment for them to pursue and achieve goals on a daily basis. All the traditional gym does for their member is provide the equipment and the space for their members, where Momentum offers a whole lot more. Momentum actually offers its members pre-programmed classes with a maximum of 18 people that is led by a fitness instructor. Throughout these classes, members will receive 1-on-1 training, coaching, and advice of certified professionals. Also, members are provided with access to Wodify, which is an application that allows members to set, track, and evaluate personal goals.

Due to the small sizes of classes and expertise of fitness instructors, Momentum is able to create a safe environment where individuals of all ages and fitness levels feel comfortable to pursue goals. Within this environment members are not only more likely to reach personal goals, but also start to connect with one another and build relationships. This supporting culture within Momentum allows their members to experience ‘going to the gym’ to be a fun and pleasant experience rather than a dreaded task.

Inspiration

As fitness fanatics Nicholas Sorrel, David Elias, Katherine Toups, and Michael Ory recognized the positive effects CrossFit has on their lives and the people around them, together they saw an opportunity of an unserved market in Thibodaux. Shortly thereafter, this foursome started to pursue their idea to open a new CrossFit affiliate and through hard work and dedication, they opened Momentum Thibodaux CrossFit in July of 2014. With backgrounds as medical professionals serving patients in hospitals or health professionals providing people with professional nutritional consulting services, all four look to contribute to society by helping others be healthy and stay healthy. With their passion to help and better the lives of people around them Momentum was the perfect platform to do this. Giving the opportunity to people to become part of a community, be active, and reach fitness and health goals through the support of that same community is what drove these four to open Momentum.

Overall impact

The overall impact Momentum and CrossFit has had on the well-being of their members has been tremendous. As a gym, Momentum encourages people to live an active, healthy lifestyle by creating workouts consisting of only functional movements – movements that are based on real-world situations. In addition to the mental and physical health effects of being more active, the focus on function movements allows members to become stronger and more efficient in performing everyday activities, increasing their overall well-being. There are endless examples of individuals with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mobility issues, or other problems who manage to improve and resolve their situation by joining a CrossFit affiliate like Momentum. In addition to the fitness services, Momentum also provides its members with consulting services regarding food and nutrition.

Business benefit

Momentum really benefits from adopting the philosophy of CrossFit affiliates that community is what makes your gym successful. Focusing on creating a bond between gym members and ensuring that, no matter who you are or what your background is, anyone fits in the community is what allows Momentum to attract a wider target market. Where your traditional gym can be intimidating or overwhelming due to the lack of support, CrossFit gyms provide this support along with a supportive community. This support is what allows Momentum to provide its members with a better experiences and an increased quality of life, which eventually allows CrossFit affiliates like Momentum to charge premium prices in comparison to traditional gyms.

Social and environmental benefit

As a CrossFit affiliate Momentum allows members to get to know one another and build meaningful relationships, which by itself already proves to be an extremely meaningful benefit of CrossFit. Allowing members to be a part of a great community helps many people with their mental health as it allows for many social contacts. Besides the benefits from a social standpoint, CrossFit offers tremendous health benefits. Getting people to move and actively look at their diets simply improves basic health and quality of life of members. As the CrossFit community is very welcoming and outreaching to newcomers, there is basically a huge promotion of healthy, active living accompanied with the rise of CrossFit.

Interview

Katherine Toups, Co-Owner