Meraki CrossFit - Gym in O'Fallon, MO

"I was not able to post a review with my regular G mail account so I am using an alternate account. Amy is absolutely wonderful. I have put off physical therapy for years because all I ever heard was that the PT will just give you exercises to do to build up your muscles. Well I have lower back pain and very tight muscles spasms between the shoulder blades. I have tried building muscle and it only agitated the issue. So I pushed on and just suffered through the day so that I could sit in my chair for relief. I even went to pain management and they wrote me a script for pills. I tossed the script away and never went back. I will take pain over an addiction. A friend recommended Amy while talking one day. He said that it is who he would go to, so I decided to give it a shot. Amy is hands on for the entire session. She knew what to start with and it wasn't strength training. During the evaluation she correctly determined that I was agitating my back on a daily basis. I was sleeping in a way that made it worse, I was working through the pain making it worse. All this while I roll to the different positions for the different tests for evaluation on the table and having to stop for cramps. I was not getting the proper electrolytes because I used the Army way of hydrating. If it isn't clear then you need to drink water. I understand now that it was wrong and I was draining my body of electrolytes. I am doing a lot of stretching and strengthening my core while improving my posture currently and the difference after just a couple of weeks is almost a 180, only because I am still broken, so I still feel pain, but I know I am going in the right direction. One time during a session Amy said, hold on a minute and left the room. Apparently she saw someone doing an exercise in the main room and he wasn't using proper form. She went out to correct the individual and came back and apologized, but it was not necessary. I know now how important form is during stretching and exercises because of Amy. Doing them with bad form is asking for trouble. She consistently reminds me during sessions to breathe, use proper form, straighten my posture even if it means I go slower until I can do the exercises in the correct form at a normal speed. Amy is amazing at what she does and you can tell after 1 session with her that she has the knowledge, the passion and really cares that you get better at whatever your goal is, from physical therapy to getting back into shape or getting to the next level in your strength training, Amy is there to teach and help you the proper way. Her staff is supposed to be very good as well, but I am not ready for what they are doing yet. I am not sure I would survive 1 minute of the cross fit training, but I do plan to continue past PT and getting back into shape when I am given the all clear from Amy."

"Super friendly and fun box! Amy is an excellent owner/trainer, really knows her stuff and ensures new people trying it out are well assessed and well taken care of. I would recommend her for any personal training needs, especially if high level athlete. Met 3 other coaches, all of which had an excellent grasp on running a class and explaining movements."

"I'm a new member at this gym, and I can't express how grateful I am already that I joined. In the weeks I've been coming, I've received such support and encouragement from the coaches and fellow athletes. The coaches are great at pushing you to do your best, but with compassion and helping you know your limits to avoid injuries. I'd highly recommend this gym to anyone who genuinely wants to achieve more health and fitness in their lives, no matter how much of a beginner you are, or how much it seems out of your comfort zone. It's worth it!!"

"Meraki has been an incredible experience over the past two months. I joined in hopes that they would coach me at my level and they have been exceptional in doing so. I've experienced mobility limitations for many years and the coaches have all gone above and beyond to support my needs. The culture they have built with their athletes and community makes you feel welcome and inspired. I highly recommend!"

"First day doing crossfit ever. It was alot of fun, everyone was nice and cheered each other to push themselves. Amy was instructing, she was very thorough going over everything and helped me ALOT with form. Highly recommend!"