By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Tucker and Jill Mall and Josh Beiker recently realized their dream of owning their own building with the move of their business SouthWind CrossFit to the former Fire and Ice Club, 229 W. 10th, in downtown Hays.

“We had always envisioned owning the location that we are in, and we had actually tried to buy our old location,” Tucker Mall said.

The former club, with its 8,000 square feet of mostly open floor plan, was ideal for the workout facility. The move increased SouthWind’s space by about 3,000 square feet. SouthWind was formerly at 2005 General Custer.

The high ceilings at the new location also lend themselves well to the gym’s 15-foot rope climbs and workouts, such as wall balls in which participants throw a weighted ball and try to hit a mark on the wall near the ceiling.

Although the Malls and Beiker were not specifically looking to locate downtown, Tucker said they have been very welcomed by the downtown community.

Tucker said SouthWind will be expanding its offerings in its new location. This includes an expansion of its CrossFit Kids program and addition of CrossFit Teens.

CrossFit can be appropriate for a variety of ages and fitness levels. SouthWind also offers a Legends class for more mature or deconditioned athletes. Tucker’s parents participate in CrossFit, and they are over 60.

“My dad asked me, ‘When does it get easier?’ and I said, ‘When it gets easier, we’re not doing our jobs because we want to challenge you all of the time,’ ” Tucker said. “I have been doing this a little over six years now, and I keep coming back for more because there is always something more challenging, and it never gets stale, and it never gets old.”

CrossFit is defined as constantly varied, functional movement performed at high intensity. The workouts try to simulate movements that you would do in an average day, such as running, jumping and lifting. The wall ball workout, for instance, is a similar motion to Tucker tossing his child in the air at home when they are playing.

“We want to mimic everyday life and make your body more functional,” he said. “Eventually, we want you to have general physical preparedness. Your are generally physically prepared for anything that life can throw at you.”

Jill Stecklein of Hays has been doing CrossFit for four years, a year and of half of which has been at SouthWind. She switched to CrossFit from primarily running, which was hard on her joints and she thought put her at risk for injury.

“I really like to do CrossFit because it has a wide variety of workouts that you get to do,” she said. “You get to work on strength training, flexibility, endurance. The classes are really greatly organized by all the coaches, and you’re led on how to do the movements. Throughout the workout, people are watching your form for you. The programming is really solid, so it helps me to get a workout really efficiently in an hour.”

Stecklein said an efficient workout is important to her because she is a mom and works.

Stecklein, 29, modified her workout and continued her CrossFit classes through her pregnancy with her son, Kolbe, who is 1 and a half.

“Also I really like the community of CrossFit,” she said. “Going to class with other people who have the same goals really helps to inspire you to really work toward your best and really work on your fitness goals.”

Tucker said he and Jill have tried to build a community at SouthWind CrossFit. Class sizes are small from between five and 20 people.

“The people you are working out with here are not just accountability partners, they are friends,” he said. “It is a family here. Everyone knows your name when you walk in the door. That is more powerful than anything else we have to offer here.”

SouthWind offers personal training. However, Tucker said coaching is strong even within the classes. SouthWind also requires all new members to participate in a program called On Ramp, which is four one-on-one classes that prepare you for group classes. Cost for a monthly membership is $90, which Tucker said is less than the average personal trainer.

SouthWind offers classes in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. More details can be found on their website.