The fitness-competition craze isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, as more brands launch their own events to promote community and push people to their limits.
Crunch Fitness is one of the biggest names to get in on the craze, but its event won’t just take place over one day or weekend. Crunch’s biggest franchise operator, CR Fitness, is testing its members with a three-month Conquer Challenge, which invites participants to “Conquer their Limits” for the chance to win $17,000 in cash prizes.
The program, which will be open to members at 93 CR Fitness-owned Crunch gyms, will be broken down into three phases from April to June: Registration, Preparation and Competition.
Sponsors include Red Bull, Matrix Fitness, Precor, The abs Company, Diamond Edge Construction, PromoVault, Daxko and Big Brand Graphics.
CR Fitness hosted the competition one other time, in 2019 before the pandemic.
During Phase 1 from April 1-30th, members will have the opportunity to register for Crunch’s largest competition to date, paying a $50 fee to enter. Included in that fee is:
A spot in the Conquer Challenge Qualifier Round on June 6th
Personal Training Kickoff and 2 free personal training sessions
Premium “Athlete” competitor shirt (handed out June 6th)
Weekly workout guides to help prepare
Registrants will also have access to a structured training program throughout May, including trainer-designed workouts and exclusive promotional offers on personal training packages to further support competition prep.
Next is Phase 2: the Preparation stage, during which members “Train to Win” from May 1-31st. That’s where the series of trainer-provided weekly workout guides come in handy to prepare for the competition itself, as registrants also receive exclusive access to promotional personal training offers.
Finally, Phase 3: the competition itself. On June 6, registrants participate in the Qualifier Round from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. across all 93 CR Fitness clubs. Details about what exercises make up the competition were not disclosed.
Each CR Fitness-owned club is aiming to host up to 100 competitors, who will be supported by an on-site team of certified personal trainers serving as referees and coaches throughout the event.
Members will compete in the exact same workout challenges with the chance to advance into one of the eight final Regional Events, taking place on June 20th in each major market in the CR Fitness system: Crunch Land O’ Lakes (Tampa), Crunch Lakewood Ranch (Sarasota), Crunch Altamonte Springs (Orlando), Crunch Port St. Lucie (West Palm), Crunch Tucker (Atlanta), Crunch Rowlett (Dallas), Crunch Arboretum (Charlotte) and Crunch Sunrise (Miami).
Winners will be announced at the end of the events, with cash prizes awarded at the Regional Events to be announced.
Amid the Hyrox boom, in-person fitness competitions are proving to be popular and successful ways to entice newcomers and maintain engagement among current members. Boutique fitness brands are getting in on the action, too.
F45 Training just announced its own competition in partnership with Red Bull, while Fitstop will host its own global competition in Brisbane, Los Angeles and Singapore.
