SLSC is open under Illinois’s Phase 5 guidelines. Check out our response to Covid-19 here.

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645 S CLARK CHICAGO IL 60605
INFO@SOUTHLOOPSC.COM
(312) 857-5230

Learn more about CrossFit

If you’re looking for a new challenge and you want to take your fitness to the next level, our CrossFit program gives you the tools you need to get there.

Get started by booking a free consult with one of our expert coaches.

Looking for accountability, fun and challenge?

Our members don’t just get fit doing our CrossFit program – they have fun doing it.

Todd SLSC Headshot [Square Crop]

Todd Nief, Founder – South Loop Strength & Conditioning

Do you want to look better? Feel better? Have more energy? Tone up? Lean out? Build muscle? Burn fat?

What else is new.

Everyone says their program offers these kinds of results, but it’s a totally different thing to actually help people get better.

And, although there’s a lot of bad information out there and a lot of silly gimmicks, the truth is that most fitness programs do work…provided people follow them consistently.

What’s missing for most folks isn’t the perfect workout plan, or a dialed in macronutrient ratio.

It’s steady, consistent effort. It’s, to paraphrase Dan John, showing up, not quitting, and asking questions.

Now how do you get that? You have to care. You have to be held accountable. Your training has to be fun.

We have a community of like-minded people working towards their goals, which means that we show up when life gets crazy, we ask questions and learn from each others’ experience, and we make lots of steady progress with occasional “big wins.”

Our group classes offer tiered programming for different fitness levels and goals.

We have people have been lifting weights for 10+ years, and we have people have never touched a barbell before starting with us.

It’s not as simple as just “scaling” one workout of the day for everyone.

Another key component to our group classes is the coaching. Our expert coaches are capable of distilling this information into easy-to-understand, actionable cues.

To get started with our group classes, we require everyone to go through our Elements cycle to learn the fundamentals of technique on the primary lifts we use, the feeling and goal of different types of training sessions, and to learn what kinds of weights and intensity are appropriate for you to get started.

You can check out our class schedule here, or book a free consultation to meet with one of our coaches and get started.

Here's what to expect

Expert Coaching

We have some of the best coaches in the business — who are focused on answering questions, watching technique, and providing individualized feedback.

GET FIT

We build fitness that carries over to activities outside the gym — from going for a bike ride on the lake to carrying a heavy suitcase to just going up a few flights of stairs.

Join a commuity

We’ve got a group of like-minded people in a team-like atmosphere holding you accountable and making going to the gym fun.

Here's How We Do It

Conditioning

Our conditioning protocols are challenging and you never know what to expect—but we are still focused on keeping you healthy and progressing for the long haul.

Strength Training

Squatting, deadlifting, and pressing don’t just make people stronger—these lifts also change body composition and prevent injury.

Calisthenics

We regularly use our own body weight to build strength, conditioning, and muscle endurance.

Thoughtful Programming

We make training fun while still prioritizing safety and long-term progression.

Accessory work

It’s not enough to just go hard and lift heavy all the time—we also regularly train the core and other smaller stabilizing muscles.

Technique and skill

Instruction on improving technique and developing more advanced skills is a regular part of our classes.

What People Are Saying

Frequently Asked Questions About Our CrossFit Program

Do I have to know how to do everything before starting classes?

Definitely not. Everyone starts somewhere, and most of our members—even those who have been training with us for years—are still working on improving their technique, strength, and skills.

That said, we do require all new members to go through our one-on-one onboarding process called “Elements” in order to ensure that they have a baseline understanding of the movements that we use in training.

If you want to learn more about getting started at SLSC, check out our “What to Expect” page.

Will classes work for me if I have a specific goal? (Weight loss, running a race, doing a competition, etc.)

The programming for our classes is more generalized and provides a solid foundation of fitness upon which people can pursue more specific goals.

If you’re specifically targeting weight loss, a regular training routine is important, but nutrition coaching is the most direct path to that goal.

If you are targeting a marathon or triathlon, you’ll want to make that your primary focus in your training, but our classes are a good cross-training option.

Some people prefer to work one-on-one with a coach through personal training or program design if they are targeting specific goals or training for a particular event.

How are classes structured?

Classes are one hour long and typically include a group warm-up, some form of skill or technique instruction, and a workout of the day.

The workout may be focused more on building strength, working through conditioning intervals, developing gymnastics and calisthenics capacity, or some combination of all of the above.

Each section is explained by the coach, and members work through the day’s training together as a group.

Will I still get coaching during a class?

Yes. We prioritize ongoing coaching and individualized feedback during all of our classes.

Coaches explain the training and review technique with the group. They also check in throughout class to offer pacing tips, form checks, and to make sure everyone is comfortable.

How is programming for the classes structured?

We have different tiers of programming to align with different goals and different levels of experience. Members can self-select which tier of programming they follow in every class.

Our Performance track should challenge the best and most experienced athletes in our classes, and our Fitness track should be a comfortable starting point even for total newbies.

Many of our members are in between the Fitness and Performance tracks, and we encourage people to make adjustments to find the right level of challenge for them.

How many people are in a class?

Our class sizes vary depending on the time of day. The classes right before and after a typical work day tend to be the busiest (6am and 5:30pm). We cap our classes at 20 people to ensure that everyone gets individualized attention and coaching.

Do I have to come every day?

Our programming is written so that people can attend classes five or six times per week, but that is not the expectation. Most members attend between three and five times per week, and that is a sweet spot for getting results.

DON'T WAIT FOR THE PERFECT TIME

There’s no such thing as a perfect time, and you’ll learn more and get more out of coming in to chat with one of our coaches than you will in hundreds of hours of continued research.

Besides, your first consult is on the house.

We’re happy to invest in spending some time with you so that you can find out if we are who we say we are (since we know lots of people have been burned by disingenuous marketing in the fitness industry in the past).

Come see what it’s all about.