Decatur Strength & Conditioning

Fantastic experience: Great place to get stronger and build new skills and abilities.

Fantastic experience: I have been going here for a little over two years now. I was originally invited by a friend and hoped it would be a good way for me to get active again. I am mom of two little ones and work full time job. I needed something I could get to quickly, get my heartbeat going, and get home quickly. This started out as just that. Over the past two years it has grown. It has grown into something that is not only physically positive for me, but emotionally/socially positive as well. At the surface, my weight is much more manageable. I also eat better, as who wants to put all the work in just to tear it down in one meal? The self-improvement I’ve noticed in my ability to complete everyday tasks and work projects (i.e. my brain health) has improved too. Yes, I am tired after the 45-minute to 1-hour workouts, but the increased energy I have for the remainder of the day is much better than it was when I was not exercising. My stress levels are also much more manageable, and I’ve found it much easier to perk up than I use to before I was regularly exercising. What I’ve gotten from going here, to this gym, that I could not have gotten from working out independently or at home, are the positive effects on the social side. On the social side, I’ve also made really great friends with both the coaches and class attendees. As an adult, making friends and pushing yourself to socially interact can be easier left undone than done. As being part of regular exercise classes at Decatur Strength & Conditioning, I’ve made friends who want to see me do well in meeting whatever goals I set for myself. We cheer for each other, we share restaurant recommendations with each other, we enjoy each other. If one of us is not there one day, we reach out to make sure they are ok. My fitness journey has brought me not just positive physical changes, but also positive social changes. I encourage regular exercise to anyone. If you live near, or regularly find yourself around, the same area as Decatur Strength & Conditioning, I would recommend you give it a go for a week or two. I bet you’ll like it too.

Fantastic experience: Had a great time at Decatur Strength and Conditioning! I wish I started this place sooner before I moved but was very pleased and happy with the results in the two months I was there. The instructors are knowledgeable and make the classes fun. People of all ages are there! I’m a physical therapist and have been recommending this place to my patients once they reach their goals. Highly recommend and will definitely come back if I’m in the area. :)

Fantastic experience: I was in town for a wedding this past weekend and wanted to get a workout in. I emailed to get some info and I received a response immediately! I went in Saturday morning and had a GREAT workout! Old school crossfit! I was greeted and welcomed like I had been there a dozen times. Great programming and coaching Decatur Strength x Conditioning is probably one of the cleanest gyms I've dropped in. I will be back the next time I'm in Atlanta for sure!

Negative experience: I've been doing crossfit for almost a decade and enjoy the challenge! This gym is convientely located and thought I give it a chance. Cool members and great coaches! Covid was at the beginning phases then transitioned into $160 online classes which weren't for me. No hard feelings. My problem is not the gym but how the owner showed zero compassion or conflict resolution skills in the emails attached even when I gave a logical solution. Personally, I'd rather give my money to a gym with a more reasonable and empathetic owner.

Fantastic experience: Awesome gym home… they don’t seem very partial to Oxygen but, other than that, two enthusiastic thumbs up!! 5yrs and counting-

Fantastic experience: JJ

Fantastic experience: I love this gym! I was very nervous at first because I am in no way athletic. I cannot do even one modified pushup but wanted to challenge my body and mind and this has provided that outlet for me. Eric and all the coaches are top notch trainers, friendly and fun. I've enjoyed every workout of the day and the one on one personal training I've done. They have modified things for me so I'm not overwhelmed but still push me to get stronger. I feel very thankful I was brave enough to try it out.

Fantastic experience: I love this gym! I was very nervous at first because I am in no way athletic. I cannot do even one modified pushup but wanted to challenge my body and mind and this has provided that outlet for me. Eric and all the coaches are top notch trainers, friendly and fun. I've enjoyed every workout of the day and the one on one personal training I've done. They have modified things for me so I'm not overwhelmed but still push me to get stronger. I feel very thankful I was brave enough to try it out.

Fantastic experience: One of the best places for a complete workout.. if you want group training you have.. also definitely recommend one on one.. well worth it. Fast results, very professional. Eric and and staff make you feel like family. Love love this place!

Fantastic experience: Year after year a standout gym with welcoming fit fellow athletes and great coaching and programming that will put you through your paces! Whether for the Open or a daily WOD CrossFit Decatur delivers.

Fantastic experience: Did a couple of drop-ins while traveling through Atlanta. Nice big facility with good equipment. Great coaches. Friendly vibe from the 5:30 a.m. regulars. Thanks guys!

Fantastic experience: Love my CFD gym this please are the best coaches are great know what the doing this please are awesome field like family.

Fantastic experience: I joined CFD 6 years ago and then had to move away after a couple of years. Life brought me back to Decatur and it's even better than when I started. I was a member at two other gyms before coming back and always missed this place - it's always been a gym to measure up to in my opinion. It feels like a family when you walk in. Coaches are terrific and the programming is stellar. Never feels lazy or thrown together. Happy to be back.

Negative experience: I am giving CrossFit Decatur a 2 star rating because while it was not all bad, I had an overall unpleasant experience at this gym. When I joined, the coaches were friendly, talkative and seemed to be very involved. As time went on, this proved to be not so true. With the exception of 1 (out of 3) coaches, none of them would say hello unless you did first. It was not a friendly environment at all (in terms of the coaches, not the members, who were great), and to be honest, I didn't feel welcome/comfortable there majority of the time. The main coach, in particular, did not even say "hello" or "welcome" to my boyfriend for over TWO WEEKS when he joined two months after I did. This coach rarely gave me feedback, and never gave my boyfriend feedback on any movements. He was extremely sarcastic in the way that he would speak to the gym members, and would set crazy high standards that if you were unable to meet, there was "something wrong" with you. If I had been brand new to CrossFit and this was my first gym, I certainly would not have been motivated to continue with the sport. Something worth noting is this gym's odd emphasis on WOD scores. At the end of each workout, the coach will walk around the gym and it is expected that you kept track of your performance and will report it. The coaches then enter your scores for you. Instead of saying "good job" or "nice work!", all that seemed to matter to the coaches was your time and/or reps. At every other gym both my boyfriend and I have been to, Wodify is used by athletes IF THEY CHOOSE in order to track their own progress, not see where they place on the scoreboard. This can be extremely discouraging to somebody who is new or injured.The way the Open was ran was not community-oriented, to say the least. Almost every week, at least one of the coaches was away on vacation (and only one had emailed us in advance to wish us good luck), and oftentimes the owner had his personal training clients in the gym at the same time we were doing the workout, and he would say nothing to anybody else except for his own client. The main coach also programs a "Fitness" workout, oftentimes completely different then the regular WOD, for those who "don't care about Crossfit and just want a workout". Oftentimes, scaled athletes have to do the movements programmed for the Fitness workout simply because they are not yet able to do the regular WOD movements. To say that this means you "don't care about Crossfit", again, is extremely discouraging and is not a good way to motivate others to get better at the sport. There is no place in the gym for members to hang-out before or after a WOD (again, not very community-oriented). The building rarely runs the AC, which in the Georgia summer, can be dangerous. When the AC is turned on, it seems as though we are expected to act grateful....which is odd considering this is the most expensive CrossFit gym in the area. There are limited classes throughout the day, and no classes on Sundays (just an open gym and no music playing. There is no place to safely do muscle ups, and the rigs are extremely hard to hold onto. You are not allowed to use tapes on any of the rigs either (and there are threatening posts along them to remind members not to tape them). The runs are all programmed along busy main roads, again, not very safe. When my boyfriend and I gave our notices that we would be leaving for a nearby CrossFit gym, we were not asked why or for any feedback by the owner. In fact, the owner NEVER even had the courtesy to reply to my boyfriend's notice, which is if nothing else, rude. All in all, I would say that the environment here is not a great one if you are looking for a community-oriented crossfit gym.

Fantastic experience: I've been going to CFD for about two and a half years. It's been a wonderful experience! As background, I have lifted weights for many years. Before coming to CFD, my most recent programming had been powerlifting-based. While I had gotten pretty strong, I was dissatisfied with my aerobic capacity and my general appearance, and so I decided it was time to try out Crossfit. I selected CFD partially because I live close by, but primarily because a friend of my wife's, a fantastic athlete, told me that Johnny (the head coach and main programmer) is the best coach she's ever worked with. These workouts are tough - really tough - but they are effective. My first few weeks were a real struggle, even with barbell movements that I thought would be easy given my background. But every time I've had questions about how to perform a movement or modify a workout, the coaches have been accommodating and wise in their suggestions. And slowly but surely, I've adapted. I've learned a lot of movements I didn't know, or didn't think I'd ever be able to do. I've gotten in *much* better shape - better conditioned, able to do more things, and stronger. The community aspect of Crossfit is real, and it works. It works during the workouts, because there are people you count as friends working their a**es off right beside you and cheering you on. It works outside of the gym, because you gain friends and a good sounding board (for topics both exercise-related and not). My sense is that this box's membership skews toward people in their 30s and 40s with families, kids, jobs, etc. who value their time and their fitness. There are lots of parties and get-togethers outside the gym. And, this gym actually has its own podcast, where the coach interviews a different member each episode so everyone can learn more about them. All in all, it's a very tight community. As for Johnny, what my wife's friend said about him is true. He is an exceptional coach. Johnny has an amazing amount of technical knowledge (he recently got his Crossfit Level 3 certification, which is rare, and constantly takes seminars on other topics and shares learning with us). More than that, he cares about becoming a better coach and making us - all of us, regardless of fitness level - better athletes. I'd follow the guy anywhere. I try to make it a point to drop in at other Crossfit boxes when I travel. Nothing I've found compares to CFD - in terms of equipment, coaching, or community. It really is a special place.

Fantastic experience: I have been going to CrossFit Decatur for almost four years now and I can unbiasedly say that this gym has some of the best coaching, largest variety of equipment and some of the best community members I've come across! (Full disclosure, I'm married to one of the coaches but as any lady knows, husband/wife relationship is different than a coach/trainee relationship) The workouts are so prescribed and varied - you can really tell they are not just dialed in. Instead, there is a reason for the madness. Every workout is designed with growth and improvement in mind. Additionally, everyday there are 2-3 different options of each workout to allow anyone to participate at any skill level. You don't get this at many other gyms. The coaches are friendly, well trained and truly care about your form and technique. Again, living with one of the coaches - I have had to listen to technique talks during many date nights... these coaches care. And the members are amazing! They are welcome, close knit and friends outside of the 4 gym walls. I travel a lot and have visited many gyms. CFD's coaching staff and members are a personable, a class act and stand out above the rest!

Fantastic experience: place is awesome, i got jacked. additionally, best coaching and programming in the atl bar none

Fantastic experience: Got laid in the bathroom! Hahahahah cant believe they didn’t smell the booze!!!

Fantastic experience: I have been attending CrossFit Decatur since 2009. All the coaches I have had here throughout the years have been amazing! I've learned so much about nutrition and have lost a lot of weight since I first started. But most importantly to me, I have forged many lifelong friendships through this gym that I will cherish my whole life!

Fantastic experience: They were welcoming and friendly. I really enjoyed the class and felt at home!

Fantastic experience: This is a CrossFit gym I would recommend to anyone, and that says a lot. Beginners will find coaches with emphasis on SAFETY. Which is easily the most important thing in this sport. Veterans will find coaches with competition-level knowledge. This is a great all-around Crossfit gym. I am a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist so my standards are fairly high. For what that's worth, I recommend!

Fantastic experience: I joined this gym about 2 months ago when I moved to Decatur. I'm really impressed by the coaches dedication to each member - they care about you using proper form, your diet and your over all well being. I hadn't been to a Crossfit before and I have learned a lot and my body is becoming stronger every day! I would highly recommend it!

Negative experience: you will find a better option than this trust me

Negative experience: Instructor turnover is high. New instructors usually have very little, if any, experience coaching Crossfit. They often don’t adequately supervise your workout. Crossfit involves many high-risk for injury moves in which it is imperative that you have the proper form. The Basic workouts still involve plenty of exercises where you can hurt yourself. Don’t be fooled by “Crossfit is for everyone.” It’s not. Here’s how a 45-minute workout breaks down: the first 10-15 minutes is spent waiting for everyone to gather his or her equipment and discussing the workout. Sometimes you might do a quick warm-up. The next 15-25 minutes is the actual workout (it can be as short as 8 minutes). Cool-down and stretching is almost always on your own. The reality is in 45-minute session you’re only getting about 20 minutes instructor-led time. You’re paying a lot of money for a little exercise time overseen by green instructors. The facility and equipment are dilapidated. I know Crossfit boxes are bare bones, but this gym is in disrepair. Look around before you join. It’s very telling of the owner’s personality. His large office is very nicely decorated, with one of the largest computer monitors Apple sells and a flat screen TV on the wall. Compare it with the condition of the rest of the gym. The women’s bathroom makes you feel like you’re in a third-world country. The baseboards are rotted, the sink basin has a rusted out hole in it, and the showers…well I don’t know of anyone who has ever dared to use them. And you’re definitely going to need a shower after using the tattered ab mats that reek of years of sweat. The owner clearly tries to skimp on the amount of money he invests in the gym, except for his office. The building is small with low ceilings. It feels claustrophobic during peak times, especially when the Crossfit Kids classes are also in session. During the summer, the owner has a thing about not running the A/C. If you like working out in a sauna, this is the place for you. Good luck on not getting hit by a car running up and down busy Church St. Cars dart in and out of the numerous driveways. I’ve seen several close calls. If you’re looking for a Crossfit gym in Decatur, Crossfit East Decatur is by far the superior choice. Also another Crossfit gym nearby that is a well-run with certified coaches is Crossfit Identity. Another fitness program option is Operation Boot Camp, which will whip you in shape without the high injury risk.

Fantastic experience: I've been a member for over 4 years. The owner, Eric, runs a great program. Everyone is wonderful and they truly care about the members. I highly recommend it.