Liberated Fitness NYC

I can’t speak highly enough of this gym. I came there completely new to crossfit, and the coaches took their time to help me perfect my form and ensure I was building up strength safely. It’s only a 40 minute workout each time, but it’s incredibly efficient and I’m pushed to my limits each class. The other people at the gym are easy going and encouraging, and the guy who runs it (Mike) is awesome and is constantly bringing people together for charity sports events and other events. It’s not flashy, and its unassuming nature is such a refreshing contrast to the glossed-​out marketing campaigns of other gyms. Each class has a diverse range of different body types, ages and skill levels and it makes for an inclusive vibe for new comers, no matter what your background or fitness level is.

This is an amazing gym. Challenging workouts, supportive community, and incredible owner.
I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have found this gym until I moved to another city and had to try out a few other crossfit gyms. I quickly realized that the atmosphere and coaching at liberated fitness was one of a kind. The coaches pay attention to everyone during the workouts, offering corrections and guidance on form. Safety is always valued and no one is trying to outshine anyone else, which personally I loved. But there is still an atmosphere of strength and people are supported to reach their personal bests.
I would recommend this gym for new and experienced crossfitters. I had no experience doing crossfit before liberated fitness but that wasn’t a problem. The gym is so welcoming, especially for women who may not have a lot of weight experience. Can’t say enough good stuff about this gym. It really changed my outlook on fitness and has made me a more positive person all around.
I can also say that unlike another reviewer – who said that she had a bad experience working with a coach because of a damaged rotator cuff – I had a lot of support working through modifications with the coaches. I was born without half of my left arm, and every coach I worked with actually thought of modifications for me without making me feel out of place in the class setting. If you’re in need of modification, I would recommend talking to the owner, Mike, or signing up for classes with Coach Bjarki and/​or Alex.

This is a great gym with a great community. I highly recommend it to anyone!

I have a diet that trends toward Domino’s and leisure habits that tend towards lying on the couch.
The two years I spent at this gym were the healthiest of my life since I was playing HS sports. My wife and I got excellent coaching from Coach Mike, Coach Mandie and their team. I did my first pull-​up, ever. (This was after months and months (ok, 18 of them) of coaching and assistance and working with the bands.) I got into good shape and was supported by good coaches who emphasized form and posture.
I like this place so much because it’s not a meathead factory like some other CF places I’ve tried. There was a sense of community, of cheering each other on, and a range of abilities and body types there. People there also have interests other than CF — it’s near Columbia, so there were a bunch of students, a fair number of teachers, and so on – so you can talk to normal people about normal things.
I also liked the shorter classes — toward the end of my time in NYC, I was using them almost exclusively. A chance to get a solid workout in and move on with my day.
My wife and I miss this gym 3 – 4 times a week.

Michael Rapoza is the owner and coach of this lovely boutique gym. A small serious place to overcome your fears regarding your body.
I am older and overweight. Michael treated me with dignity and carefully pushed my limits through calm knowing. He listened in order to tailor the workout for both my abilities and my fears and resistance. I would recommend this gym for personal training.
I did not take the classes .I don’t think I could have kept up. They look like they are fun and highly challenging.
Just a fresh little gym. All the coaches have big hearts and serious physical cross fit workouts.
I definitely recommend this gym. You will consider yourself fortunate to be a part of this gem of a gym.

The class times are convenient, the coaches are superb, friendly and attentive and the membership options are simple and affordable. I owe allot to this gym because it’s given me a new quality of life. When I came in I could barely do ten push-​ups, but since then I’ve run a spartan race, completed some very challenging hikes and completed a go ruck challenge, and constantly break my personal records over and over again.

I really wanted to like Liberated Fitness, since it’s in the neighborhood and is convenient, but I really wasn’t feeling it. I went to a Level 1 workout at Liberated Fitness NYC and was very underwhelmed by the experience. The workout was very light, it felt more like a warmup than it did a workout and I barely broke a sweat. The class was only 30min and the coach was very rushed to stay within that time constraint – she even shortened the «WOD» portion of the workout to keep the class at 30min. A class like this should be at least an hour, especially if the coach is having to cut the workout short. Perhaps I should have attended a Level 2 or 3 class, but their website really doesn’t have a clear description of what a class of each level entails or how to know which level is appropriate for you; I also feel that a level 1 class should have been appropriate for me, since I’ve only been doing high intensity, high interval workouts for three months.
The space also is not suited for the type and size of classes that LF offers, the main reason being how small the space is. I know that space in NYC is a commodity, but this gym had barely enough floor space for the eight athletes who attended the class. Athletes were piled on top of each other, I didn’t even have enough space to do pushups without my feet hitting either the wall or another athlete. The space also did not have enough equipment or sufficient pull up bars: we did pull ups from what appeared to be exposed pipes (yikes!!!); there was only enough room on the bar for three, maybe four, athletes to do pull ups at a time; and I had to do dumbbells at a lighter weight than I wanted to because there weren’t enough 15lb dumbbells (which seems like a size a gym should have a lot of) for everyone who wanted one.
Shannon, however, was a solid coach; she was good at giving direction and correcting people’s form, which is why LF gets two stars instead of one star.

I was hoping to integrate the crossfit workouts into my exercise routine. I was disappointed by my experience here — not once I was asked about my fitness goals, and when I explained to the instructor that I had a damaged rotator cuff and needed an alternative to pull-​ups, the instructor laughed and said it was weakness, not injury, and I would never get stronger if I didn’t challenge myself. (Really? Have you seen my MRIs???).
I returned a few times hoping for a better experience. While I liked certain aspects of the workout, I found the other gym members to be cold & condescending and one of the instructors (female, I don’t know her name) tried to tell me, unprompted, why distance running is the reason I’m overweight (note: I am 5’7″ and 130ish lbs. Raced Div I. Run 5+ half marathons and countless 10ks a year). Lady, you do yours, I’ll do mine.
Apparently a lot of what I experienced is just inherent in the crossfit experience, so maybe its more the whole philosophy that I don’t like rather than this gym, hence 2 instead of 1 star. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever met Coach Mike who everyone is raving about, so maybe my experience would have been more positive with him.

This place simply rocks. The classes accommodate all types of people at different fitness levels which was a big concern when I walked in for the first time. The small group classes make you feel like every class is a personal training session. You really can’t beat that. Combined with a little friendly competition, every class is different and challenging while still focusing on good technique. I have never felt better and am astounded by the energy and strength I have gained over a short time. I would highly, highly recommend this place as it is my new favorite addiction.

I kind of don’t want to write about LF bc I want to keep it all to myself :) When I moved to NYC, Liberated Fitness was there to welcome me and keep my CF obsession alive. Not only is LF a hidden neighborhood Crossfit box on the UWS, unassuming and personal, it’s an amazing and supportive community. The coaches drill you on skills so you can see marked improvement, and push you to keep growing and improving. I don’t think I could live without CF and I definitely don’t know what I’d do without this gym!

in the few weeks i have been at Liberated Fitness NYC i can already feel the change in my body and how i am getting stronger. Coach Mike gives you a strong foundation and all his attention to help you with your posture and technique. Plus he is an excellent DJ!

I’ve been coming here for a few months now and I really love it. I’ve been to other Crossfit gyms before and they don’t give you the same level of personalized attention that Mike an company at Liberated Fitness do. I find the instruction is great and the workouts are very-​well suited to each person’s ability. The instructors are all really nice, flexible and fun to work out with. I hands-​down recommend this place.

The Start-​Up program is great for people that haven’t done CrossFit before, and it’s really cheap too. The classes are very personalized and they emphasize a lot on technique, which I think is specially good for beginners. I am moving on to Level 1 training, and I am very excited and looking forward to it.

When I first saw Mike at the liberated gym I felt like the Karate Kid visiting Mr. Miyage for the first time.
I started out a budgie, insecure man, who can only do 4 push ups and 0 pull ups. After four months of learning wax on, wax off, eating paleo, and with Mike’s unrelenting support and encouragement, now I can crank out at least 25 push ups in one set and I am finally able to lift my heavy ass up to do 5 kipping pull ups. Mike was more happy to see me do those pull-​ups than I was. I’ve never felt healthier, more fit and more energized and it’s all thanks to Mike in depth knowledge, philosophy and expertise in Cross Fit style training.
Hands down Mike and the liberated fitness group/​gym is one of the best things about the upper west side /​morning side.

Liberated Fitness is like a clandestine crossfit gem (and gym) hidden in the Upper West Side/​Harlem area. The rates are fair and significantly cheaper than Crossfit Black Box downtown or any of the other superhero crossfit gyms in manhattan (Hells Kichen, Gotham, Metropolis, etc.). Furthermore, Liberated Fitness provides a truly unique fitness experience because the classes aren’t strictly crossfit oriented. While Mike, the owner, is crossfit certified, his philosophy is give someone complete and total mastery over their body. That means a lot of body weight stuff along with the olympic lifts. The gym is very small, which means the class sizes are also small and intimate. Mike is able to give more one on one help as opposed to huge crossfit classes of ten or more people. The gym is also close to Columbia University, so for all of you undergrads and grad students alike who are tired of the cramped conditions at Dodge, I highly recommend giving Liberated Fitness a try.