Today we review Wards Gym.
If you’re wanting to seriously accelerate your progress and happy to invest a bit of money into your health and fitness, we highly recommend Wards Gym. The two Ward brothers have achieved something to be commended here, creating a downright incredible environment that any local gym would yearn to possess.
We spent some time trialing the classes, chatting with the community, and researching this facility.
Here is our honest experience:
What's inside?
Wards Gym – In a Nutshell
⇒ Wards Gym is a group fitness facility mainly tailored towards high-performing general population.
⇒ They offer CrossFit, Weightlifting, Gymnastics, HIT, Mums & Bubs, Corporate Fitness and more.
⇒ Memberships range between $45-70 per week depending on what classes you do. It’s $30 for an unlimited trial week and $25 for a casual session.
⇒ Wards Gym is a fantastic, three-level facility; it has a positive atmosphere of learning and self-improvement, yet at the same time all members are there to work hard.
⇒ This community welcomes people from all walks of life. Beach and park sessions, Christmas parties, and 8-week challenges are common in the Ward’s experience.
⇒ Co-owners and brothers Gavin & Callum are incredibly friendly and have a great ability to include everyone. “Joining Wards isn’t just joining a gym, it’s joining the family!”
⇒ Heavy panting and sweat will certainly be shed when you decide you want to step into a class at Ward’s Gym. The coaches are certainly not afraid to push you to your limits.
⇒ We recommend you have several months of consistent strength training under your belt before you will really get the most out of the weightlifting/Crossfit classes. For new gym-goers, begin by completing gymnastics, as well as HIT.
Membership
Offerings
Wards Gym is a group fitness facility mainly tailored towards high-performing general population clients. Although not a strength & conditioning facility, at least not by our definition, they certainly have some seriously high performing members in their ranks.
Wards gym is mainly centered around CrossFit & Weightlifting, however, they also offer a vast array of other options which we’ll explore. Most classes will require a moderate amount of gym experience, so we, therefore, recommend HIT or the Mum’s and Bub’s classes to begin with if you’re a beginner.
Yes, this gym does CrossFit, but it’s not your typical ‘Crossfit’ Gym. In her personal blog, one member states “this isn’t an ordinary gym…despite the fact that Wards Gym is a cross fit affiliate, in my opinion it is by no means a… ‘cross fit box’.
Photo Credit: Wards Gym Instagram
Here is what Wards Gym has to offer, in their own words:
Crossfit
“CrossFit, also known as the Sport of Fitness, focuses on constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements. The workouts (called WODs) include elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, and mixed forms of cardio…this program is best suited for people who have at minimum some lifting experience and base level of fitness…in saying that though everything is scalable in CrossFit making it all inclusive.”
Weightlifting
“Our weightlifting program is branded as ‘Richmond Weightlifting Club’ and is designed to get athletes ready for weightlifting competitions…Weightlifting forms a core component of CrossFit, and this class is designed to get athletes conditioned for those workouts…This program is best suited for those looking to increase their max lifts, or get started with weightlifting for the first time.”
High Intensity Training
“High Intensity Training (HIT) is designed to ramp up your cardio while adding some lean muscle at a, you guessed it, High-Intensity. Some weights are included with the occasional gymnastics components, and these are tailored to your abilities…This program is useful for anyone looking to work on overall fitness. No background in exercise is necessary.”
Gymnastics
A class run once a week to help with the fundamentals and derivatives of the CrossFit and weightlifting movements. You’ll improve your mobility, bodyweight strength and functional movement.
Mums & Bubs
“Mums & Bubs (& Dads) is designed to get parents into fitness in a social and enjoyable setting, and removes “have to look after the kids” as an excuse for not being able to work on yourself. This class is designed for parents who want to get back into training and set a positive example for their children at the same time.”
Corporate Fitness
“We can customise a health and wellness package to suit your business, which has a 10-fold return on investment to your employees. Whether you’re wanting to run a team building day, have your own regular designated slot, or just want to encourage your employees to get active, we can work with you to achieve a healthier workplace.”
Other offerings
Wards Gym also offer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Personal Training, Treatment (Massage, chiro) and Nutritional advice.
Value
For what you’re getting at Wards Gym, especially with regards to CrossFit and weightlifting, the value is up there. Often you can pay over $100 a session to learn weightlifting with a coach.
A membership at Wards Gym certainly isn’t for the half-hearted – you’d want to make sure you get the most out of your financial investment by attending regularly. For instance, if you attend 5 days a week each session will only be costing you $10, however, if you’re lackluster in your attendance and only go twice a week, it’s a lot more expensive at $25 per session.
The value is really up to you.
Photo Credit: Wards Gym Instagram
Getting Started
If you’re wanting to get started and test the waters, Wards Gym offers a $30 trial week, which gives you unlimited access to all of their offerings for 7 days.
If you want no commitments or just want to try an individual class, they also offer a $25 pay per class option.
No-Commitment Options
No upfront fees, month to month, no commitment membership options are packaged into:
- Crossfit & Weightlifting – $70 per week
- HIIT – $55 per week
Long term options
No upfront fees, 12-month commitment membership options are packaged into:
- Crossfit & Weightlifting – $50 per week ($2600 all up)
- HIIT – $45 per week ($2340 all up)
Environment
Facilities and Equipment
Wards Gym facility boasts three separate but dedicated gym floors.
Level 1 – Crossfit & Weightlifting
This floor has weightlifting equipment such as barbells, plates, racks and rings as far as the eye can see. You’ll also find kettlebells, dumbbells, roman chairs and benches, among other free weight equipment. For the most part, this level is dedicated to the Crossfit & Weightlifting classes.
Level 2 – Multi-Purpose Floor
This floor is the heart of HIT at Wards Gym, with rings, running tracks and ropes owning this domain. You’ll still find plenty of strenth equipment in these classes, including benches, barbells and dumbbells to get those heart rates soaring!
Level 3 – Jiu-Jitsu
And finally, comes level 3! An entire floor dedicated to Jiu-Jitsu.
Atmosphere
From the outside, Wards Gym looks like any ordinary warehouse, but the moment you enter, the spaces open up and you realize how massive the facility really is – it almost feels surreal. Wide-open spaces, multiple levels and a huge arrange of equipment add to the authority and variety offered by Wards Gym.
During each session, there is a really positive atmosphere of learning and self-improvement. Everyone is there to make themselves better and to give new skills and exercises a crack. In saying this, you’re also there to get shit done and if you think it’s going to be a walk in the park, you’re very much mistaken.
Even their logo is somewhat badass in nature – a skull with a beard, suggesting that Wards isn’t your ordinary gym. For all this may seem a little intimidating if you’re a relatively new gym goer, it doesn’t take too long before you realize that the atmosphere is in fact very welcoming, just with a little attitude to go with it.
Community
Members
Ward’s Gym prides themselves on being a welcoming environment for people from all walks of life. Male or female, young or old (not so young), experienced or beginner, it really doesn’t matter at Ward’s, you’ll still feel like an equal part of the community, also known as #wardsarmy. Beach and park sessions, Christmas parties, and 8-week challenges are common and make the Ward’s experience much more than just working out.
Despite all the challenges that COVID-19 has brought, the Ward’s Gym community continues to thrive. This is a genuine testament to the intimacy of the community here. At Get Gym Fit, we have seen many gyms suffer at the hands of lockdowns this year, struggling to adapt to the unpredictable circumstances.
Not in this case. Instead, Ward’s has doubled down on online platforms such as their exclusive member Facebook group and daily zoom calls to keep members engaged and fit. They regularly share posts and stories of their members progress and achievements to sustain the sense of community and belonging.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCzZRNrgb19/
Coaches
Ward’s Gym is named after co-owners and brothers Gavin & Callum, who certainly practice what they preach, both achieving CrossFit regional status. It’s certainly a family affair at Ward’s Gym, with both their wives and sister also coaches.
When speaking to one of the members, he spoke incredibly highly of the Ward Brothers, mentioned their incredibly friendly demeanor and ability to include everyone, no matter their ability or gender. The Wards lead from the frontlines and aren’t afraid to ‘get their hands dirty’, taking a very practical approach to co-owning the gym, rather than pulling strings from the sidelines.
At Get Gym Fit, we are big advocates for independent gyms who remain humble and draw lifeblood from family roots, rather than trying to scale too quickly and lose the culture they’ve built. It’s clear that Ward brothers are truly invested in the community they’ve built and are not motivated by money or ‘to take over the world’.
Photo Credit: Wards Gym Instagram
Training
Intensity
Heavy panting, sweat, and even some tears will certainly be shed when you decide you want to step into a class at Ward’s Gym. The coaches are certainly not afraid to push you to your limits and won’t hold back if they think you’ve got more to give. In particular, the HIIT and CrossFit classes will have your work cut out for you.
CrossFit has been given a bit of a bad rep at times for how extreme and at times dangerous they can be, however, as we’ve mentioned already, the way that Wards go about it isn’t the same as your typical CrossFit gym. All of their programming is done in-house, meaning that every session has been uniquely designed by the Ward brothers to ensure you won’t be overtraining or injuring yourself.
Complexity
The complexity of training really depends on which membership option you go for. The lifts and movements in Crossfit and weightlifting require a great deal of mobility, strength and technical ability to be performed safely and effectively. This isn’t to say you should be fearful of these exercises, but we recommend you have several months of consistent strength training under your belt before you will really get the most out of these classes.
In saying this, Ward’s do offer a gymnastics class which teaches you the fundamentals of quality movement and mobility and is the precursor for the more complex classes. If you are a relatively new gym goer, don’t be disheartened, instead, you could perhaps begin by completing gymnastics, as well as HIIT, before moving onto the more complex lifts.
