Two members jogging past the Windy City Strength and Conditioning sign at the gym entrance at golden hour

Est. 2007 · Ravenswood, Chicago

The OG
hybrid gym.

Before hybrid training had a name, we were building athletes who could do it all. Coached group classes seven days a week. Open gym all day. A dedicated Olympic weightlifting area.

Book a free consultation See the schedule

2007Chicago's original functional fitness gym

7 daysCoached classes every day of the week

All dayOpen gym around every class

12Classes to know if we're your gym, or your money back

What sets us apart

Three things you won't find together anywhere else.

Scaled programming for every body, every goal

Individual coaching inside a group class. Whether you're in class or training on your own in open gym, the programming meets you where you are and moves you toward your goal.

Open gym, all day

Train on your schedule, not ours. All-day open gym is rare in functional fitness. Here it's standard, every day, around every class.

Chicago's original

Nearly 20 years of coaching, community and culture on Ravenswood Ave, with members from our first years still on the floor.

Inside the gym

This is Windy City Living ESTD 2007

Rigs, rowers and bikes under big warehouse windows, a dedicated Olympic lifting area, and usually a dog keeping an eye on things.

The main training floor at Windy City with rigs, rowers and Athlete of the Month banners hanging from the ceiling

Member finishing an overhead lift on the gym floor while the gym dog rests on the turf

Member picking up a kettlebell during class with gymnastics rings hanging in the foreground

Two members rowing on Concept2 rowers under the gym's industrial windows

Programs

Pick your program. Train with the whole gym.

Every day

WC WOD

7 days a week · Programmed by PRVN

Our everyday strength and conditioning class. Lifting, gymnastics and conditioning, scaled for every level.

Learn more → Race ready

HYROX

Every class Thursday · Plus Tue & Sun

Running, sleds, wall balls and carries. Built for HYROX racers and anyone who wants a bigger engine.

Learn more → Coming late October

FORTIS

Mon & Tue 9:30 AM · Mon, Tue & Thu 3:30 PM

Latin for “strong.” A coached strength class. Barbell first, planned progressions, and time to actually get stronger.

Learn more → Olympic lifting

RAWW Barbell

Tue 6:00 PM · Sun 9:00 AM

Snatch and clean & jerk coaching from an official RAWW Barbell satellite location.

Learn more →

From the community

Don't just take our word for it.

BEST gym in the city! I can't say enough about WCSC. They're welcoming, friendly, knowledgable, community oriented and are there to help you achieve your health & fitness goals! Whether it's in or outside the gym, the staff is there to support you 100% of the time. I've been going for over 3 years! Feels like my second home.

I've never done CrossFit before and it seemed intimidating at first. Once you sign up, they require two private lessons to ease you in and teach you proper techniques before your first class. The coaches are very aware of each person's abilities and will always have you go at your own pace and always challenge you.

Top notch coaching & very supportive community. On top of that, just an incredible gym & space itself with great equipment that makes for a great environment to work out in. Having open gym sessions throughout all of the day is a great perk for when classes don't make sense/work.

Read all our Google reviews ↗

How you start

Four steps from first text to your best training.

Connect

Text us or book a free consultation. We'll talk about your goals, your schedule and any history we should know about.

Prepare

Our Prep Course teaches the movements and how class runs, one on one with a coach, before you join the group.

Train

Join classes, use open gym, and follow the track that fits you. Coaches scale every workout to you.

Thrive

Stronger, fitter and more confident, in the gym and outside it. That's what we mean by Live Big.

Send us a note

Rather we reach out to you?

Leave your info and a coach will get back to you within one business day.

Train on your schedule

The week at Windy City.

Coached classes from 5:15 AM on weekdays, seven days a week. Open gym runs all day, every day, around every class.

Open gym

Open gym runs all day.

Come in any time during these hours to follow our programming, chase a PR or put in extra work around scheduled classes.

Monday – Wednesday: 5:15 AM – 8:15 PM
Thursday: 5:15 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday: 5:15 AM – 7:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Your first visit

Not sure which class to try? Book a free consultation and a coach will help you pick your first classes. Start here.

RAWW Barbell

Olympic weightlifting coached in person by RAWW Barbell, Tuesdays at 6:00 PM and Sundays at 9:00 AM. See the program.

New to the gym?

Everyone starts with a free consultation and our Prep Course, so your first class never feels like a guess.

Member pushing hard on an assault bike on the gym floor

Programs

Four programs.
One floor.

Everyone trains together. What changes is the goal you're chasing and the track you follow to get there.

Our everyday class

WC WOD

WC WOD is the heart of the gym: a coached strength and conditioning class that runs six days a week, with every Thursday class done as S+C (HYROX). Programming comes from PRVN and mixes barbell strength, gymnastics and conditioning so you get stronger and fitter at the same time. Every workout has a scaled version, and your coach adjusts it to your level on the spot.

Programming: 7 days a week, by PRVN
Classes: Mon–Wed & Fri from 5:15 AM · Thursday, every class as S+C (HYROX) · Sat 7:30 & 8:45 AM

Built for

First-timers who want coaching on every rep
Experienced athletes who want smart, varied training
Anyone who likes training with a crew

Members running down the sidewalk on Ravenswood during a workout

Race ready

HYROX

HYROX is fitness racing: running paired with sled pushes and pulls, rowing, SkiErg, lunges, carries and wall balls. Our HYROX track builds the strength and engine to race well, and it's just as useful if you simply want to run farther and recover faster. Every class on Thursday is HYROX (S+C), with more HYROX classes on Tuesday and Sunday, and the full track is posted for open gym the other days.

Programming: 6 days a week, Sunday to Friday
Classes: HYROX (S+C) every Thursday class, 5:15 AM–7:15 PM · HYROX Strength Tue 8:30 AM & 7:15 PM · HYROX Conditioning Sun 8:00 AM

Built for

Athletes training for a HYROX race
Runners who want to get stronger
Anyone chasing a bigger engine

Member locking out a barbell overhead in front of the gym's striped wall

Coming late October

FORTISLatin for “strong”

FORTIS is our new coached strength class, launching in late October. Every session is built around the big lifts, with planned progressions from week to week and accessory work that supports them. There's less conditioning and more time under the bar, so you can learn to lift well and watch your numbers climb. The midday and afternoon times fit around work, school pickup and everything else.

Focus: Strength, barbell technique, progressive loading
Class times (starting late October): Mon & Tue 9:30 AM · Mon, Tue & Thu 3:30 PM

Built for

Members who want strength to be the priority
Lifters who want coaching on heavier, lower-rep work
Anyone whose schedule fits a late-morning or mid-afternoon class

Lifters from the first RAWW Barbell class at Windy City posing on the platforms under the USA Weightlifting banner

Olympic weightlifting

RAWW Barbell× Windy City

Windy City is now an official satellite location of RAWW Barbell, bringing a higher level of Olympic weightlifting coaching, structure and community to the city. RAWW coaches have worked with Olympians, national-level lifters, and athletes who have won state, national, Pan-American and world titles.

The program is for athletes who want to move better, lift heavier and train with intention, whether you're just learning the lifts or dialing in technique at higher percentages. Sessions focus on positions, timing, bar path and confidence under the bar, all aimed at a better snatch and clean & jerk and strength that carries over to everything else. Class sizes are limited so every lifter gets real coaching.

Classes: Tuesdays 6:00 PM · Sundays 9:00 AM
Focus: Snatch, clean & jerk, positions and bar path

$179per 4 weeks

2 in-person coaching sessions and 1 open gym session each week

$1998-session punch card

Use your sessions any time within 2 months

Text us about RAWW Barbell →

New to training

Start with the Prep Course.

Want a one-on-one start before you join a group class? The Prep Course pairs you with a coach so you can learn the movements and how class works at your own pace.

Text us about the Prep Course → Book a free consultation

What you get

One-on-one coaching
Private sessions with a coach, built around your experience and goals.
The core movements
Lifting, gymnastics and conditioning basics, taught step by step.
How to scale
Learn to adjust any workout to your level, so every class meets you where you are.
How class runs
What happens in a group class from start to finish, so your first one already feels familiar.

Completing the Prep Course is the first step of the Windy City Guarantee.

Memberships

Train your way.

Three memberships, no contracts. Pay every four weeks, or commit to 12, 26 or 52 weeks and save. We'll go over pricing and help you choose at your free consultation.

Unlimited · Most popular

Windy City Black

Everything we offer, as often as you want it.

Unlimited WC WOD, HYROX and FORTIS classes
Open gym all day, every day
Access to every programming track

Available in 4, 12, 26 and 52-week terms.

Text us about Black →

Flexible

Windy City White

A set number of visits each week, used however you like.

Choose 1, 2 or 3 visits per week
Use each visit for any class or for open gym
Upgrade any time as your schedule opens up

Great for busy weeks, travel schedules and people pairing us with other sports.

Text us about White →

Open gym

Windy City OG

For independent athletes who want the space, the equipment and the programming.

Open gym during non-peak hours
Follow any of our programming tracks on your own
Full Olympic weightlifting area

Non-peak hours: 5:15–7:00 AM, 9:30 AM–4:45 PM, and 6:00 PM to close.

Text us about OG →

The Windy City Guarantee

Twelve classes to know for sure.

Complete your Prep Course and show up 12 times in your first four weeks. If Windy City isn't the right fit, we'll refund your first month. No contracts, no fine print.

The rig area with climbing ropes, rings and open floor space for open gym

More than a workout

Add-ons and amenities.

Private training

One-on-one and small-group coaching for kids and adults who want individual attention on a goal or a lift.

RAWW Barbell

Olympic weightlifting from an official RAWW Barbell satellite location, Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings. See the program.

Showers on site

Train, clean up and head straight to work. Showers are available every day.

Lockers for rent

Keep your gear here so you can skip the extra bag on the way in.

Member in a Ravenswood Chicago tank top looking out over the gym floor

About us

Chicago's original
since 2007.

Helping people live the strongest lives they can imagine.

Community-driven strength and conditioning for the individual

Who we are

We believe the quality of our health determines the quality of our lives—and nothing is more important than that.

We believe real fitness is about strengthening and conditioning your body and mind so you can get out there, explore the world, seek new adventures and be the person you were meant to be.

Windy City is a dedicated, full-time strength and conditioning facility, and Chicago's original functional fitness gym.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Come live big with us.

Windy City Strength & Conditioning opened on Ravenswood Avenue in 2007 as the first gym in Chicago built around functional fitness. Back then, most people had never heard of a box, a WOD or a kipping pull-up. We were coaching functional fitness in small groups years before anyone called it hybrid training.

The idea was simple: coach people to be strong, fit and capable at almost anything, and give them a place they'd want to keep coming back to. The training has grown since then, adding Olympic weightlifting, HYROX and a dedicated strength class, but nineteen years later that's still the job.

Today our coaches run group classes seven days a week, and the floor stays open all day around them, so members can take class, work through our programming on their own, or spend extra time on the lift they're chasing. There's a dedicated Olympic weightlifting area, rowers and bikes lined up under the big warehouse windows, and usually a dog keeping an eye on things.

Most of our members are neighbors who live and work in Ravenswood, North Center, Lincoln Square and Old Irving Park. They're busy professionals, parents, first-timers and competitors. Some walked in during our first years and are still on the floor today. What they share is that they value real coaching and a community that notices when they're missing.

We're not a big-box gym, and we're not built around a trend. We're a neighborhood gym that has helped Chicago get stronger for nearly two decades, and we're just getting started.

Members deadlifting and doing box step-ups in the afternoon sun from the gym's warehouse windows

Since 2007

2007

Doors open on Ravenswood Ave as Chicago's first functional fitness gym.

19 years

Of classes, open gym and community, with original members still training here.

Today

WC WOD and HYROX classes, Olympic weightlifting and open gym all day, with FORTIS, our new strength class, coming in late October.

Our core values

Empowerment
We encourage people to pursue their passions and goals, trust their instincts and take ownership of their lives.
Movement
Movement and fitness improve physical and mental well-being, so we make movement part of everyday life.
Community
A supportive community shares the experience and pushes each other toward their goals.
Holistic health
Health is more than a workout. We focus on nutrition, functional fitness and setting goals you can reach.
Fun
Fitness should be enjoyable. We celebrate small victories and enjoy the work along the way.

Our motto

Live
big.

Living big isn't about lifting the most weight. It's about saying yes to challenges, supporting the people around you and showing up consistently.

It's getting stronger physically and mentally, and walking out a little better than when you walked in.

Member on the rower during class with an it's ok sign propped in front

Start here

There's a place for you here.

Brand new to training, coming back after time away, or chasing your next PR, you belong on this floor. Book a free consultation, tell us your goals, and we'll build a plan around you.

Step one

Book your free consultation.

Pick a time that works for you online. We'll meet you at the gym, talk through your goals and show you around.

Book a free consultation →

Questions first?

Text or email us.

(773) 217-0402

Text us

info@windycitysc.com

Email us

Visit

4043 N Ravenswood Ave

The front lounge just inside the gym entrance, with a couch, benches and big warehouse windows

Address: 4043 N Ravenswood Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
Getting here: A short walk from the Irving Park Brown Line stop
Open gym: Mon–Wed 5:15 AM–8:15 PM · Thu 5:15 AM–8:00 PM · Fri 5:15 AM–7:00 PM · Sat & Sun 9:00 AM–12:30 PM

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Send us a note

Rather we reach out to you?

Leave your info and a coach will get back to you within one business day.

Our process