CrossFit Elst gives members control with Virtuagym

The Story of CrossGym Elst

CrossGym Elst combines boxing training principles with fitness. It was founded by a true Elst native, Gustaaf Pas. With years of experience in the fitness industry, he found the perfect balance between circuit training and fitness for his business.

“Sports have always been central to my life since I was young.” Gustaaf completed his CIOS training during his youth training at NEC and has since taken various sports management courses. With over 22 years of experience in the fitness industry—as a club manager and personal trainer—the dream of starting his own business never left him.

“I wanted to start my own business but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to open a standard gym. At the same time, circuit training in boxing was booming, so I fully immersed myself in it. I wanted to combine my fitness knowledge and experience with a popular sport. That’s how CrossGym Elst was born.”

“I deliberately chose the name CrossGym. We are not an official boxing gym. In boxing circuit training, you often need to be in top shape or highly competitive. People tend to be judged based on how much they can or cannot lift. But here, everyone can train at their own level.”

“Everyone is welcome here. The sense of ‘us’ is very important to us. We know everyone by name.”
— Gustaaf Pas, Founder of CrossGym

CrossGym Elst is for everyone, regardless of age, fitness experience, or physical condition. Training sessions are 45 minutes long, fun, and competitive, with groups of up to 12 participants. “We always offer full-body workouts, combining elements of weightlifting, athletics, and gymnastics. Functional training is always better than training with fixed machines.”

CrossGym Elst provides a wide variety of workouts, including different Workouts of the Day (WODs) for kids, teens, strength/cardio-focused sessions, and advanced levels. They also offer yoga, heavy bag training, mobility sessions, and TRX classes.

“We have a broad offering because our audience is very diverse—we train both kids and people over 65.”

“We are very accessible. Everyone is welcome here. The sense of ‘us’ is truly important. We know everyone by name.”

“We want to make life easier for our members. Everything happens online these days.”

How They Use Virtuagym

“We want to make life as easy as possible for our members. Nowadays, everything happens online.”

“In our first year, we used another software program, but it didn’t fully meet our needs. So, we started looking for alternatives and eventually chose Virtuagym because of its app functionality. That was very important to me.”

“With the app, members can book workouts, send messages, and track their nutrition. They also receive notifications when a spot opens up in a popular class. In 2020, I plan to introduce challenges and competitions, allowing members to compete against each other through the app. We also want to integrate our nutrition plans into the mobile app.”

“Recently, new members can also sign up online through our webshop, which saves a lot of manual work. I also want to dive deeper into the retention dashboard—that’s something I want to map out.”

Future Plans

“I want to establish CrossGym Elst as a solid and recognized brand. My first goal is to grow our member base and create a stronger financial foundation. This will allow me to offer more value to our members, such as new equipment or additional features.”

“My dream is still to open a second location in another town.”

At Virtuagym, we’re ready to support CrossGym with our gym management software.