Drawing a tie between Crossfit and Church, ACU alumni open The Pit gymnasium in hopes to engage inner-city kids and the Abilene community.

Having always been interested in health and fitness, Chad Walters, Physical Therapist at Hendrick Hospital and 2000 ACU grad with BS in Biology, had taken up Crossfit-style workouts. After reading an article about the similarities between Crossfit and Church, he saw community to be the link between the two.

“I asked around to see if anyone had a building they would be willing to let us use,” said Walters. “Within one hour, Becky Almanza from Highland had offered part of the warehouse behind Christian Ministries of Abilene. Since then it has really started to take off.”

Both Walters’ and David Pittman, Director of Recruiting at ACU, 2003 ACU graduate in psychology, founded the Pit gymnasium, giving it a name from the Bible verse Psalm 40:2: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Walters said this is the purpose of The Pit- to work together in community to overcome the workout no matter how tough.

“We want to remind each other that it is God who pulls us through – whether that is a workout, a struggle, a tough situation, really anything we have to persevere to get through,” he said.

Right now, the Pit offers a group “workout of the day,” which follows a Crossfit style model. These workouts can be made to fit any level of participant really, but are always challenging, Pittman said. Eventually they would like to add other activities like basketball or maybe even some other class types.

“We are open to idea from other people who want to get involved. Last week someone even volunteered to come lead Zumba for our folks,” Pittman said.

The Pit was modeled after a country chain of gymnasiums designed to be a positive environment for inner-city or troubled teens.

Part of Walters’ and Pittman’s plans for The Pit involve developing a mentorship program of being paired with a workout partner to encourage through workouts and keep in touch.

“I would love for students to come in and partner with us in the vision and come up with brand new opportunities for people in the community to become engaged. Any student who has an idea, we would love to hear about it.”

“As former ACU students,” Walters said, “we know that we are encouraged to think about changing the world. Sometimes that seems far off or too grand to think about. But opportunities are always right around us if we are willing to look for them.”

Walters and Pittman both push for students to get involved with one of the many Abilene volunteer organization opportunities from The Pit, to World’s Backyard, to Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Wildcat Kids.

“We want ACU students to join in this vision and dream with us about new ways to reach folks in Abilene,” Pittman said. “It is also a great opportunity for students to engage with the Abilene community.”

As more volunteers and the need arises, Walters said hours are subject to change. Currently the gym is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:45 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. The Pit is located at 701 Walnut St. sharing the building with Christian Ministries of Abilene.

If you would like to get involved with The Pit or contact Pittman or Walters to volunteer, they are available online at Twitter @ThePit40 or Facebook.com/ThePit40.