Tucked away behind The Aeolian and across from Wells and LaHatte stands a gym that is one of a kind in Vicksburg.

Crossfit Bayou Bluffs – owned by Samantha and David Blount – is the only affiliation to the program in the city, with classes from as early as 5:30 a.m. to as late as 6:30 p.m. Samantha has been in Vicksburg since November and has more than 60 members enrolled in her gym.

“We are getting ready to start a new beginners class,” Blount said.

The current members of her gym began as novices, with the exception of a few. Blunt put those unfamiliar with the program in an on-ramp session, which is where participants learn the basic lifts and terminology of the program and are slowly moved into the class.

“We’re going to teach you what Olympic lifts are. We’re going to teach you what the movements should look like, and we’re going to slowly work you into where you’re ready to jump into the class,” Blount said.

Crossfit could be scaled to an individuals fitness level, which is one of the reason’s Blount enjoys the program. A class can have members who are in peak physical fitness to beginners.

“Whatever your skill level is, whatever your fitness level is, Crossfit is completely scalable to where you are and get you to where you want to go,” Blount said.

Her class appreciates the familial atmosphere. Participants tend to stick to a regular schedule and attend the same class session.

Another aspect participants tend to enjoy is having a coach who has developed the day’s workout instead of devising one of their own.

“They get to come in, enjoy themselves and they can be in and out in an hour,” Blount said.

In Tuesday’s noon class, Blount developed a plan where participants worked out every minute on the minute for an hour in 15-minute intervals.

The class started with supinated grip ring rows to work biceps and shoulders and graduate to a traditional pull up. Next were tempo pushups to encourage good position with the move and to ensure the move is done correctly. Then participants moved in a more difficult version of a sit up called a v-up to work the abdominal muscles.

The class finished with four rounds of metabolic conditioning to get the heart rate up.

“They ran, did push press and they finished it with a run,” Blount said. “Crossfit’s goal is to be constantly varied. If you come in tomorrow, you’ll see nothing like we did today. With Crossfit you never work the same thing day in, day out.”