Business Profile: CrossFitSomersX, Somers
A few years ago, nearly no one heard of the CrossFit exercise program, but today, it is so popular that CrossFit competitions are held internationally and the championships draw thousands of spectators and broadcast nationally.
A Somers resident, Stephen McNamara is helping to promote the program locally. McNamara and his brother, Michael, own CrossFitSomersX. The X stands for extreme.
The McNamara brothers have owned CrossFitSomersX since April 2011, when they operated a facility on Old Tomahawk Street in Somers. The brothers moved the business to its current location on Miller Road in the Baldwin Place section of town in March because they wanted more space to conduct classes.
CrossFit, which was started in 2006, “is for everybody,” Stephen McNamara said, adding children as young as five to senior citizens take part in his program.
The program “is kind of a throwback” because no exercise machines are used in CrossFit, McNamara said. The program is mixture of free weights use, gymnastics, palates, flexibility and speed training and the use medicines balls and other equipment.
CrossFit participants have workouts that last a little bit under one hour and they come various days of the week, based on the program they choose. While CrossFit “can look a little intimidating,” McNamara added his programs have people “from every walk of life; from superfit to never worked a day in their life.”
CrossFitSomersX offer both small group and individual training for males and females.
McNamara has been working in the fitness industry for about 15 years, working at gyms and formerly owning Westchester Athletic Conditioning in Mount Kisco, which he described as “an outdoor boot camp.”
The McNamara brothers, who both teach classes, are SomersHigh School graduates who played football in college. McNamara said his brother played quarterback at SUNY-Albany and he played strong safety at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire.
CrossFit has grown significantly in popularity since the middle portion of the last decade, McNamara said. The CrossFit Games, which have annual championships that are broadcast on ESPN networks, are “basically a competition to find the fittest person in the world,” McNamara said. The world championships test several skills, including running, swimming biking, weightlifting and gymnastics. The male and female winners of the finals earn $250,000 each. “It really is becoming a sport,” McNamara said. “CrossFit is now becoming the sport of fitness.”
McNamara said this year 32 participants from his facility took part in a CrossFit open competition.
McNamara’s business has been very active in charitable work. Recently the business hosted a Lets Play it Forward fund-raiser, working with SomersHigh School students. Over $2,000 was raised to send gently used sporting goods to Third World countries .The business also took part in the Go the Distance Walk to benefit the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.
Many participants in McNamara’s program have lost significant weight, with some people losing as much as 100 pounds.
McNamara said he gets the most professional satisfaction from “seeing people grow, seeing people change, and seeing people actually making life changes.”
CrossFitSomersX is located at 54 Miller Rd. in the Baldwin Place section of Somers. For more information, call 845-628-4939 or visit crossfitsomersx.com.
