You already know that The Box is focused on community and this thing is appreciated by all its members. It doesn’t matter where you're from or how old are you. This was observed also by Keren and Adrian, a young couple from Israel. Why did they choose to come here, at The Box? Well, let’s find out together.
Who are Adrian and Keren?
Adrian and Keren are two people from Israel who came to Cluj-Napoca to study. Adrian studies medicine, while Keren is here to support him and studies an online master's degree in International Relations. Both of them like sports and prefer to have an active lifestyle. Keren was dancing since she was three until the age of eighteen when she enrolled in the national army. “When I quit dancing, I stopped doing sport for a really long time, until I started training at the gym four years ago.”
Adrian started dancing when he was seven. He used to dance ballroom. When he was in Israel, he was a champion: “Now I’m dancing west coast swing, and it’s like the opposite of salsa. I’m still doing it here. Less, but I do it.”
Their daily program depends on what priorities they have to fulfill on that day. For example, Keren could start a day with classes and continue with work, cooking and work again. At the end of the day, she relaxes with Netflix. Besides these, the order could change in this way: “If we have training, we’ll do it between work and Netflix time.”
Adrian’s program depends on the university schedule. He usually starts in the morning, at 8-9 a.m. The work in the hospital could last until 5 p.m. “If I’m during exam session, I have to study. And if not, it’s leisure time. We have dinner together and Netflix time also.”
They have adapted quickly with the Romanian lifestyle, especially with our traditional food. Keren likes “salata de vinete” and “mamaliguta”, while Adrian is a fan of “mici”.
Sporty Life at The Box
Adrian and Keren didn’t arrive at The Box by mistake. In the beginning, they were looking for a normal gym, where they could do usual training sessions. But after two months, Adrian realized that it was too boring for him: “I knew it’s not for me. I had prior experience in CrossFit in Israel, where I went twice and I liked it. I remember we were at the gym and I told Keren that I quit. She said to me `listen, you have to do something because you are studying all day long`. So, I said that the only possibility that I’m considering is doing something similar to Crossfit. After that, we were looking for a place and The Box sounded good. After the first class, it was obvious what we were looking for: a good environment, but still working very hard. We could tell that the trainers really care about what you’re doing and how you do it.”
Both of them are aware of the sport’s importance and this is why they try to cope with a sedentary lifestyle. Keren admits that sport is about keeping her body active. “In days that I don’t work out, I really feel bad. I don’t have a good mood. You start to feel old. It’s not about losing weight, it’s just about being active and doing something with your body.” For Adrian, sport means to be healthy. “Also, sport keeps your mind healthy because you push yourself to do something that is not staying at home studying, working.”
At The Box, Keren comes for power training, not the cardio ones. “I hate cardio. When Vali says `go out for a run` I’m not willing”. Adrian prefers The Box for the social part. “We can talk during the training, we can push each other, raise each other. I really like these social sports like dancing. I really like social sports more than individual work.”
The Box Community
As you already know, the community is a priority for The Box. Keren and Adrian feel this every time they come here. Adrian thinks that “I really like the whole group, the community and working together. It was very nice and I felt like I was really pushed to train in a fun way.”
Keren sees the good parts of the Box community: ”I think working out in a group, automatically is more competitive. So, if you train in a group with five people, you’re effort won’t be the same as competing in a group of twenty people. The more people you have around training, the more you wanna do better.”
Adrian admits honestly that ”I’m not competitive at all... I just don’t lose. I don’t like losing. I noticed that I was trained to be competitive. But the competition is a good thing because it pushes you to the top. You try to be better.”
The community promotes the interaction between its members. Adrian remembers clearly a story with a guy that also comes at The Box: “There is a guy here. His name is allegedly Tommy. This is one of the guys we really like and we came for him actually. We connected immediately. We talked and became really good friends. One day we said `let’s add each other on Facebook`. This is where the plot turns. I didn’t find him on Facebook. He was a ghost. So, I started thinking about this because we didn’t find anything. I talked to this guy and he was something like this `no, my name is Rareș`. This is the funny story: he told us that since he was a young boy, he always got really red, like red tomato. His parents called him Tomi. And guess what? He didn’t answer to Rareș at all.”
Do we recommend The Box?
Both of them think that The Box has influenced their lives. Keren explains: “We were subscribed to different gyms and we kept on going from one gym to another. Mainly, I did, because he bailed on me. And this is the only place that actually managed to stick with a good vibe. It’s not a punishment to go to the gym as it was before. We sell The Box to everyone we know.”
Adrian has the same opinion as Keren: “When we came here for the first time, we obviously didn’t know anyone and after a while, the same people came to the same classes. We got attached. The people were really really nice. I am extra happy to come to classes because I meet them.”
This is their last year in Cluj-Napoca, so they have already put together a list of things that should be done before leaving: “In the first place is finding new pizza places. I’m joking. We wanna enjoy Cluj as much as we can because it’s our last year here. We gonna leave this city and go back home. We have to find an apartment, we need to find jobs.” From the sportive perspective, they plan to eat healthier, to do sport and whatever feels good.