WHY CROSSFIT ROCHESTER?

To start, CFR owner Joe Celso is the only Level 4 CrossFit Certified Coach in the region.  With over 14 years of teaching fitness to kids, grandparents and everyone in between, he's developed a knack for getting the most out of his clients.  Very few motivate people to exclaim, "Wow...I had no idea I could do that!" more often than Joe does.  Come in and you'll be amazed at what you can do, too.
Our team includes a fantastic group of experienced trainers who all started with Joe's guidance and are now certified to help you become your strongest self.  ​
Joe Celso
owner/Level 4 Crossfit Certified
Joe Celso grew up a “315er” with a passion for motocross and football.  Having finished with football – while working on his undergrad at UB, he concluded the workouts in bodybuilding magazines really only made his chest bigger and did absolutely nothing to help him ride his dirt bike.  It was at that point he began experimenting…  creating and testing workouts to improve his own level of fitness.  While he found success, he knew there “chinks in the armor.”  In the spring of 2006, a former Marine suggested he look at CrossFit and upon reading the philosophy Joe KNEW he was on to something good.  Unable to find anyone locally to help him learn the movements, Joe went to CrossFit Atlanta to learn from the man himself – CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman.
Stash merritt

My transition from an athlete to trainer was something that I never planned, nor thought would become a reality.  I have been passionate about fitness since I was 14. This was my first introduction to a weight room.  After a few months of working out, I realized how training off the field could translate to better performance on the field. Since then, I have been hooked.  Whether that training was for the field, pitch, mat, or platform, I was constantly looking for more ways to improve. 
In late 2008, I was looking for another way to train myself and the wrestling team I coached. A friend of mine mentioned CrossFit. I started doing some research on it and began to try the workouts. Realizing that this program was more complicated than I originally thought, I decided to attend CrossFit Rochester. Joe and I became good friends. He taught me a ton. I started coaching classes for him and ended up representing CFR as a competitor at local and national CrossFit events. 
In 2011, and several certifications from CrossFit and USA Weightlifting later, I decided to give training my own clients a run. I started VooDoo Fitness and worked with clients of all ages and abilities for over 8 years. It was an amazing experience, and little did I know at the time it would lead me to my future wife! 
Regardless of their point in life, everyone has a goal. I feel that it’s important to identify what that goal is and help facilitate a path to reach it. That path is a journey, not a destination. My path has led me right back to where I cut my CF teeth in 2008, the one and only CrossFit Rochester. I am excited to be back to help people reach their goals, and to continue to work on mine.
​
Julie Melnik
​Level 2 Crossfit Certified
Julie Melnik grew up doing gymnastics and playing field hockey in Deerfield, MA. She received a BA in Management from Simmons College, Boston in 1994 and is ​now  a mother of three boys in Fairport,

Julie completed the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon, the 2008 Rock ‘n Roll Marathon and several half marathons. She has also coached soccer for The Pittsford Mustangs. Julie has a strong interest in diet and nutrition after being diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease in 2008.

Julie has been at CrossFit Rochester since October 2008. She received her CrossFit Level 1 Certification in August of 2010, CrossFit Endurance Certification in May 2011 and attended the Coaches Prep Course in August 2011.  In 2012 she obtained her CrossFit Kids in May and attended the CrossFit Strongman Certification in June.
charlene merritt
​
Fitness training brings out the best in people and challenges their limits. Having been a personal trainer and group exercise instructor for the 25+ years I have enjoyed seeing the physical changes that occur for my clients, but it's the new found confidence and happiness that comes with these results that I find the most rewarding.
I have trained people from all walks of life; from elite athletes to people who have never set foot in a gym. Although I consider myself a tough trainer, I am compassionate in my approach and understand that each client has unique goals.
I understand that maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn't easy. I was not a natural athlete when I started and have never been the type of person who "can eat whatever they want." I've had to control my diet like most people and built my physique around learning the balance between food, weight lifting, and cardiovascular exercise; skills and knowledge that I love teaching to others.
It is for these reasons the Transform program was created.  Transform is about making clean eating, weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise part of a normal routine.  Through daily food journaling, and exercise Transform can help you focus on being a healthy new you, not being a certain “size”.
​3750 Monroe Ave | Pittsford, NY
​(585) 202-7295

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