Orange Coast CrossFit is a private gym founded by Justin Flynn in 2008.  Located at 1677 Superior Avenue in Costa Mesa. It is a no nonsense, no gimmick place to build elite fitness. We take fitness very seriously and we have a heck of a lot of fun in doing so. We run, jump, climb, balance and move in ways that are dynamic and powerful. You can also expect to sweat. A lot. We train everyone from high school football players, collegiate rowers, an Olympic fencer,  to busy top executives and soccer moms.

Your success is of utmost importance to us. You will find that working out in groups is not only more fun but superior in building your level of fitness. The group workouts are extremely demanding and will flat out kick your butt no matter how fit you are. Our programming will build world class fitness. All you have to do is show up and complete the prescribed workout with 100% of what you have that day. If you can manage that than I guarantee that you will get in the best shape of your life. Period.

On your first visit to Orange Coast CrossFit you might be very surprised to find that it looks very little like the 24 hr Fitness or Bally′s gym that you′re used to working out at. Here are 11 reasons that we stand head and shoulders above other gyms.

First. When you walk through the door we greet you by name. This is a private gym. There are no annoying sales people in polo shirts that try to get you to buy things. You will be guided by one of our coaches who will lead you through the “Workout of the Day”. Unlike most gyms or personal trainers we provide complete instruction and motivation through the entire workout. We don′t just stand there and count reps while you are there doing sit-ups on a Bosu ball like the guys you would find at a globo gym. Technique and form are of utmost importance to us both to avoid injury as well as to teach you the way to gain the most power and efficiency from each movement. The moment a person joins our ranks his/her success is of utmost importance to us and that is very evident. Every athlete (all our members are athletes) workout is dutifully tracked and logged so that progress can be carefully measured. Our athletes like that we expect a certain amount of commitment to our program. Nutrition, body composition, and lifestyle are stressed on a daily basis. There are certainly cheaper places to work out where you can go jog on a treadmill while watching TV. We don′t compete on price. We strive to be the best in our field and want members who also want to be the best in theirs. If you′re here you′re already telling us a whole heck of a lot. Now let′s make sure we leverage that.

Second. We do not use machines, ellipticals, Bosu balls or mirrors. Yes if you didn′t know it already all those fancy chrome machines with names like the Iso Lateral Raise 2000 are worthless. You will never find one of those anywhere near our facility. We wouldn′t take it if you gave it to us. Why? Because machines are an inferior method of training. They are on a track so if you press up it goes up. Up down, up down, up down€¦In real life the training wheels are not there and you have to use balance and stability to move an item through space. Pro athletes don′t use those why would you? We want to train people to use their bodies not push around machines. The big box gyms love them because they are foolproof and they think you′re stupid and will hurt yourself and sue them if you put a barbell in your hands. It′s also great because that means they don′t actually have to pay someone to show you how to do the movements correctly. More employees mean more taken off their profit margins. Big box gyms want as many members as they can possibly stuff in there because they know that less than 10% will actually show up on a regular basis. At Orange Coast CrossFit you can expect a phone call if you miss more than two workouts in a row. We demand commitment and accountability from our members.

Third. Professional Class of Coach. At the big box gyms the “trainers€ that they employ are more often than not a kid with a polo shirt and a “certificate from an online fitness school. Would you have your wisdom teeth pulled out by a dentist with an online degree? Hell no! So why would you trust your health and fitness to a “trainer with one. Ask them about their credentials. The only ones worth two cents are CrossFit, the CSCS from NSCA, and the USAW club coach. Everything else is junk. We are not doing this as we are going to school getting our degree. This is not a part time gig. We are professionals and we want to be the very best in our field. We strive to continually improve our skill set so we can deliver the very best training in the marketplace.

Fourth. Breaking the Mold. Their exists more fraud and phoniness in the fitness world than in any other industry I know of. It′s unfortunate and the average Joe/Jill is none the fitter for it. Since the early 1970s the fitness industry has been completely enamored with bodybuilders and the bodybuilding protocol. First off bodybuilders are not fit! Yes you heard me right. Bodybuilders are not fit. They would be crushed in a CrossFit style workout. (I have witnessed it first hand). In fact their lifestyle and training makes them extremely unbalanced and unhealthy. Unbelievably their way of isolation training (training each body part separately) has become standard fare in our gyms and has cemented itself in the lexicon of fit minded people for the last 30 years. Just pick up a copy of Muscle and Fitness or any other men′s health magazine for that matter. It′s a travesty! Bicep curls, triceps extensions, leg press, pec dec. That′s a terrible way to train and only works if you′re training to look like a puffed up guerilla and you like using anabolic steroids. You will never do a bicep curl at OCC. Never. And yet your arms will be more defined than ever before. How? Because we train the body with constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity. Often times nothing more than your own body weight is needed. Doing these types of movements we elicit a major response from your nervous system and you will see results fast. Some of our athletes have dropped as much as 25# in two months. We believe the body is a beautiful thing and should be used in cohesion. It should never be broken down and trained in pieces.

Fifth. Location. Industrial space is essential to the CrossFit way and method of training. We need lots of open space to run, jump, throw and climb. It is essential for us to have high ceilings. The ceilings in our facility measure 16 ft. high. Not only does this allow us to do exercises′ like wall ball, rope climbs, muscle ups and other gymnastic moves, but it is also gives a feeling of space and openness which most of us love.

Six. Natural light. Our facility has a huge rollup door that faces into the sun all day and unless it′s raining cats and dogs its always open. Natural light floods into our space and fresh ocean air from the Newport coastline circulates the entire loft. Try to find that at your local claustrophobic globo gym with flickering florescent bulbs. No thanks.

Seven. Rubber weights. You simply cannot do CrossFit without the use of rubber bumper plates. These allow the athlete to safely drop the weight in a controlled manner onto the floor. Trying to do our workouts within a globo gym with iron weights is not only extremely loud and unsafe but it limits your ability to push yourself to new heights. This will become clear really quick once you start.

Eight. Ground Floor access. We do lots of short high intensity runs in our training and because of our 14 ft. rollup bay door we have direct access to the outside. Treadmills are a joke. They are vastly inferior to the real thing and just don′t work within the CrossFit workouts. Come run with us on some terra firma.

Nine. Equipment. We have some very specialized equipment that you are very unlikely to find in other gyms. We utilize c2 rowers, Dynamax Medicine balls, Kettle bells, Olympic bumper plates, rope climbs, gymnast rings, glute ham developers, jump ropes, custom pull-up bars, tractor tires, sandbags, and a variety of other goodies both high and low tech to create workouts that are constantly varied and never, ever boring.

Ten. Support. When you join as an athlete at our facility your training is strategically planned and executed. From the moment you walk in you are instructed and guided through that days workout. You need do nothing but show up and be ready to sweat. No more wandering aimlessly around the gym advancing from machine to machine doing the same routine over and over week after week. At Orange Coast CrossFit you will never repeat the same workout for at least six weeks and that is done in order to track our athlete′s progress.

Eleven. Flexibility. At OCC our members are like an extended and very fit family. We do things here that would get you kicked out of your globo gym. Have a playlist you really want to hear during your workout? Plug it in and turn it up. Want to write something on the wall? Go for it. In fact we encourage it. Want to bring a friend to check out our place. Don′t worry you don′t need one of those stupid guest passes and to sign a bunch of paperwork. We have even been known to take some of our equipment outside to perform our workout when its nice out. Try doing that at 24 Hr. Fitness.

People that have jumped on the bandwagon and are training “CrossFit like at globo gyms and personal training studios around the county are delivering a vastly inferior product. First if they are not certified they are breaking the law and second for the reasons stated above CrossFit must be done in a dedicated facility. We have tried it elsewhere and can assure you the experience and the results don′t even come close.