On the front lines of the fitness revolution
Pawtucket’s Industrial Revolution CrossFit is on the leading edge of an exercise trend in the midst of a global boom
PAWTUCKET – With a mission of shaping a better world one athlete at a time, Industrial Revolution CrossFit on Smithfield Avenue is seeking to build strength in bodies, hearts, and minds as it continues into its second year of operation.
Co-owned by District 15 State Sen. Donna M. Nesselbush and her wife and Industrial Revolution coach Kelly Carse, the fitness center opened last March with the idea of operating their own gym that would emphasize community and nurture
athletes of all ages. To that point, Industrial Revolution has been bringing in a combination of experienced crossfitters and first-timers, ranging in age from children to people in their 60s.
“It’s such a great support system for all of us,” Carse said of herself and her fellow coaches at Industrial Revolution. “We just wanted to really encourage that type of environment, that was the impetus to start our own crossfit.” Most of the coaches, she said, have been crossfitting for about five years.
For some who are perusing the seemingly endless options that pitch themselves as offering an avenue toward better health, the question when considering crossfit is usually fairly simple – what exactly is crossfit?
Carse said that crossfit deals with “functional movement,” encouraging a highintensity workout, with activities ranging from barbells, power lifting, Olympic lifting, cardiovascular work, metabolic conditioning, running, throwing, and jumping. Additionally, crossfit offers gymnastic components and allows participants to use much of their own body weight via push-ups, pull-ups, and squats.
“There’s also a great sense of playfulness,” Carse said, noting that people can have fun while they get healthy at Industrial Revolution. “They encourage having fun at a high intensity. One of the focuses is longevity. No matter how old you are, you’re taking these movements and using them in the real world.”
Nesselbush explained that Carse was interested in opening a gym for her community and she said she wanted to see it in her senate district – which includes Pawtucket and North Providence.
“I started scouring the streets of Pawtucket to find a suitable location to contribute to Pawtucket’s evolution,” Nesselbush said. “We were very fortunate to get a great spot over on Smithfield Avenue. It’s really a great place and we were so fortunate that we found such a wonderful building in my district.”
“The location is great because it’s in the right kind of neighborhood,” she continued, adding with a laugh: “Crossfitters are loud with their barbells but it’s across the street from a cemetery. I said ‘You can’t wake the dead.’”
Carse joked: “When you look, you have a choice, you can be either here or there,” referencing the gym on one side of the road and the cemetery on the other.
Over the past half-decade, crossfit as a method of exercise has witnessed a boom in popularity, which Carse attributes to adults wanting to involve themselves in a community while getting healthy at the same time.
“You continue to grow as an athlete, you can get stronger, you can get faster, the community aspect is extremely strong,” she said. “You come in and you’re doing heavier weights. It’s difficult, it’s hard, but as you struggle together, you become a lot closer, the intensity draws people closer. It becomes more than just a sport, it goes into people’s lives on a mental or emotional level, it becomes like their church in a lot of ways.”
“We all support each other,” she continued. “It’s very social, but there’s that desire to be an athlete to get stronger and faster and always be challenged that way.”
What separates Industrial Revolution from the rest, Carse said, is that “we really nurture each person. We know them individually, we know their needs, we know them in and outside the gym.”
“I’m 57, we’re very welcoming to people that are 40 and over, people who are finding crossfit in a later age are very welcome and accepted,” she said. “But our general manager is 28 and more on the competitive side of it, we have that which encourages the younger group. We have a full spectrum but we’re very tight, we’re very much a family which I think is really important.”
As Industrial Revolution rolls into its second year of operation, Carse and Nesselbush are finding more opportunities to make themselves part of the community. They are looking to get involved in some of the local high schools, working with children, and reaching out to become more communityoriented.
“It’s a process but it’s exciting,” Carse said. “Working with kids, growing our population with younger athletes, I think is very exciting and it’s being really open to what’s out there and getting out in the community.”
Located at 154 Smithfield Ave., Industrial Revolution CrossFit can be reached at 401-725-3300 or via email at IndustrialRevolutionCF@gm ail.com.
“As people get better here as athletes, it just spreads,” Carse said. “And as hard and as difficult as the world is, if we can do our little piece here to make the world better, it’ll increase the quality of people’s lives.”