Having a weight set in the garage to work out with is one thing, but having an entire gym elevates your hobby into a business.

Randy Greer, trainer and co-owner of CrossFit Carbondale, said he became intrigued with the concepts and ideas of a CrossFit system from a friend of his in the Navy.

His friend had been using the CrossFit system at the naval base where he was stationed and thought it was an excellent program. Greer started researching it online and said he was really impressed.

"A lot of the elite military, police forces and athletes around the country are adopting the CrossFit system of training," he said. "I got involved and I started doing it, and was getting great results and saw all these other people opening these garage gyms that are not that expensive to get started with and are doing very well."

The aspects about CrossFit that impressed Greer the most are its versatility and how little time a session takes. He said the exercises are all set up to use several different muscles at once, unlike many machines. There is also very little time planned between each exercise, so an entire workout only takes about 45 minutes.

Greer said another aspect impressed him about the system; it is very versatile. The same system of basic exercises can be modified so many different kinds of athletes find them beneficial. This is why it is becoming popular with military and law enforcement.

The system is also very successful with the elderly, who may not need major strength training but can benefit from the light exercises.

When Greer was putting his gym together he was also impressed with how inexpensive his equipment was. CrossFit doesn't use any costly exercise machines that take up a lot of space. That was a big help for the limited space Greer had to work with.

"We have enough space for about seven people to be working out at once. They don't usually get in each other's way, because they're working out as a group," he said.

Since opening the gym, he said, he has enjoyed getting to know all the people who have come by looking to train. He has seen many different types of people wanting to use the system.

"We get some people who come in, who are really out of shape, who need to lose weight and increase their cardiovascular conditioning," he said. "Then we get people who come in, are really strong and have been doing strength training, but maybe don't have cardiovascular endurance. Each person who comes in has their own challenges and their own strengths and weaknesses and learning how to deal with that with each person, and help them achieve their goals, is really satisfying."