CrossFit Pintados is the first and currently the only CrossFit licensed gym facility in Cebu City. With Jayson “Jay” Santayana and wife, Mitzi Santayana, who are the only Certified CrossFit Trainers in the city, their goal is to forge elite fitness to anyone and everyone who is willing to take the challenge.
CrossFit Pintados is realized solely because of their dream—to bring true fitness into our community. They are here to educate people how important fitness is and to change the misconception that healthy living is only for athletes. They strongly believe that fitness is for everyone: athletes and grandparents alike have the same physical fitness needs, and they are here to help attain that in no time.
It is immensely important for CrossFit Pintados to share their only wealth to the community: the knowledge on how to get YOU fit.
We were given the opportunity to throw some questions for an online interview with Coach Jay Santayana, Owner/Head Coach of CrossFit Pintados in Cebu City.
What makes you different from other establishments that provide fitness services?
CrossFit in its own right is completely different from any other fitness services. We have the first class trainers that came from Diablo CrossFit who has brought athletes to Crossfit Games from the very first year CrossFit games began until today, to the podium.
CrossFit Pintados pride our great programming. A lot of high-intensity gyms that claim they do CrossFit are mostly random workouts and no science behind it. Our programming is state of the art and renowned worldwide.
We, among other fitness industries, have its specialties. We specialize in not specializing. Instead, CrossFit forges a broad spectrum of fitness. CrossFit is getting you prepared for everything. Everything unknown and unknowable. All our movements are functional.
What we don’t do though is muscle isolation. Our movements are multi-jointed which what makes it functional. We also just don’t do lifting, or just cardio, or just endurance. We touch on every aspect of a person’s physical abilities plus more.
What programs do you offer to your clients?
CrossFit programming, which will be constantly varied. Meaning our workouts will always be different, therefore, you will never have to worry about reaching a “Plateau”.
How would you define a “Crossfit” lifestyle?
Eat Clean, and Workout Dirty.
By that we mean eat clean, no preservatives, all natural and zero sugar. And give 101% when you work out because becoming fit is not an easy task. But we also strongly implement for our members to rest. It’s part of the program.
Discuss briefly your story of your beginnings here in Cebu City? Before coming to Cebu City, how did Crossfit start here in the Philippines? Where is it first affiliated?
Before my wife and I got married, or even before we met, we migrated to the US in the hopes of finding a career there. We both found jobs but we lacked the passion. Our careers were just not fulfilling. It was the night before Easter Sunday last year [2013] when CrossFit Pintados started as an idea. Prior to the birth of the idea, we had become avid cross fitters.
Lucky for us Diablo CrossFit (one of the First and biggest CrossFit affiliate in the world) adopted us with arms wide open. We have been going there for few years until becoming a coach had become an interest to me.
I have been doing my intern with elite CrossFit athletes & coaches and enjoyed every moment of it. I’m very lucky enough that in that night I actually knew what I wanted to do, what I love to do. And that is CrossFit.
Since then I never looked back and everything just fell into place with God’s grace. Finding a feasible place to start was not the hardest to decide, we knew that the Philippines is our target. It’s fiscally feasible for us and it’s home.
I believe that CrossFit in the Philippines started just like how it all started in the US, which was in someone’s garage or parks about 3-4 years ago. The very first CrossFit affiliate in the Philippines is CrossFit MNL. We now have about 14 CrossFit Affiliates in the Philippines and it continues to grow.
What is the ideal “Crossfit Lifestyle”?
Besides our three days on, one day off high intensity, constantly varied, and functional work out; we always make sure our nutrition is not being compromised. CrossFitters worldwide eat what we call a Paleo Diet. It’s a lifestyle that crossfitters embrace. It’s a caveman diet: we eat what was available during the caveman era. No processed food, no grains, zero sugar. All natural.
What are “Crossfit Pintados” signature routines?
When it comes to working out, there are no routines. No exercise is being repeated again since that’s the main culprit of muscle becoming plateau.
But in CrossFit Pintados, our main routine is to always cheer for the person working out. The last person to finish is just as important (or even more important) than the person who finished first. To us, it’s part of the sport.
How can we contact you if we are interested in enrolling to your fitness classes? What are the levels of fitness programs and how would you identify enrollees to level up?
You can contact us through Facebook or call us at (032) 420 3436.
There’s only one program which is the Crossfit program. We don’t change the programming because we believe that everyone has the same physical fitness needs, but all our exercises are scalable depending on one’s fitness level.
All our exercises are measurable. We take notes on our W.O.D (workout of the day) score. Through our scores, that’s where we know if one’s capability has increased. Thus, one can scale up on their workout. All our scoring here is science based. You will be in good hands with CrossFit Pintados.
Jayson Santayana is the Owner/Head Coach of CrossFit Pintados. He is a Certified Level 1 CrossFit Trainer, and a Certified CrossFit Olympic Lifting Trainer.
For more details about the fitness programs and schedules, join the Official CrossFit Pintados Facebook Page. You can contact them at (032) 420 3436 or drop by their fitness center located at CrossFit Pintados Bldg., E-zone Paseo F. Cabahug St., Brgy. Kasambagan, Cebu City.
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“CrossFit Pintados Unleash Your Inner Warrior” Artwork by Ralph Aldave; source: Jayson Santayana’s Facebook Account
Photos taken by Larry Jude Embrado and Ian Lim
Model: Rami Harven Gallego
Special thanks to Kay Marie Berangel for helping us with this joint project; to Coach Jay for giving us his spare time to answer our interview questions, and to the trainers and coaches of CrossFit Pintados.
