Coach Demetrius Santos · Owner, Union City CrossFit

Most athletes don't need
more workouts. They need a better plan.

Precision, individualized coaching for serious CrossFit & HYROX athletes who are done guessing — built and run by Coach Demetrius Santos, owner of Union City CrossFit. At this level, effort isn't the bottleneck. Direction is.

Start your assessment See how I coach

No payment to apply · A real human reads every application · A plan built around you

The philosophy

Before the program, one question: what's the limitation?

Close to a decade across CrossFit, weightlifting, HYROX, endurance, and nutrition taught me one thing: serious athletes don't stall for lack of effort — they stall for lack of direction.

So I don't start with a workout. I start by finding the one thing actually capping your level — the weakness, the gap, the habit — and I build everything around removing it. That range is the toolkit. It lets me read an athlete from more angles than a single-lane coach ever could.

Owning a real box keeps me honest about it. I coach on the floor every week — the same eye goes into your plan, whether you train in front of me or remotely.

From the Box Floor to the Podium — presential or remote

Demetrius Santos

Owner & Head Coach · Union City CrossFit, NJ

Who I work with

Different sports. Same question.

The discipline changes; the method doesn't. Whoever you are, the work starts the same way — assess the real starting point, diagnose what's limiting you, and build the plan around it. If you train with intent, you're who I coach.

CrossFit & HYROX athletes

Competing or aspiring to — local, regional, HYROX, the Open. You've outgrown self-programming and you're done improvising.

Weightlifters & strength seekers

You want to get stronger and move better — with programming that targets the lift, not a one-size template.

Masters athletes

Still competing, training hard, and chasing progress — with a plan that respects recovery and the level you're after.

Endurance & ultrarunners

Building the engine without breaking down — strength, conditioning, and structure mapped to your event and your weaknesses.

Athletes returning from injury

Coming back deliberately — a monitored, progressive plan that rebuilds capacity instead of rushing it. More below ↓

Busy professionals · 20–55

Disciplined, time-pressed, and serious about progress. A plan built around your real life — not someone else's schedule.

Premium means excluding to attract better. This isn't built for casual beginners — it's built for athletes who want direction, and it's sharpest when you do.

The DS Method

Diagnosed. Individualized. Coached.

The signature method behind every plan — a person on a loop, not an algorithm. Four stages, in order.

Assessment

We assess the real starting point — goals, weaknesses, training history, and life reality. This is where your intake forms do their work, and where a real human reads every application.

Evaluation, not template

Individualized Plan

A plan designed around the limitation we found — built for your weaknesses, your goals, and the level you're chasing. Never the same program handed to thousands of people.

Built for you

Development

You learn the why behind how you train and eat — then build habits, autonomy, and real accountability. Adjusted on a loop by a person, not an app.

Buy-in, not blind compliance

Performance

Progress you can measure — across the board, sustained over time. From training hard without direction to performing with a plan behind it.

From the floor to the podium

A real human reads every application

No cold automation. No funnel pretending to be a coach.

Coached, on a loop

Adjusted as you progress — diagnosis, design, adjustment, accountability.

A specialty, not an afterthought

Return stronger from injury.

Coming back from an injury is where most athletes lose the most ground — rushing the return, re-injuring, or training around the problem instead of through it. This is exactly where individualized coaching matters most.

A plan built around your limitation — not a generic comeback template.
Progressive load, monitored by a person who adjusts as you respond.
Rebuild capacity and confidence so you come back better than before — not just back.

Start your assessment

Why this is different

Built by a coach, not an algorithm.

Diagnosis, not templates

Assessment → weakness diagnosis → design → adjustment → accountability. Every plan is built, not assigned.

A real human in the loop

I read every application personally and adjust your plan as you go. No cold automation.

A real box behind it

Owner of Union City CrossFit — local authority, community, and in-person credibility a 100%-remote coach doesn't have.

From the box floor to the podium

I coach the athlete whether you're in front of me or training remotely — the same eye either way.

Range across disciplines

CrossFit, weightlifting, HYROX, endurance, and nutrition — read from more angles than a single-lane coach.

Closer and more personal

Precise before loud, close but not casual — coaching from criterion, never hype.

What athletes say

Real athletes. Real progress.

I've been training with Demetrius for almost 4 years. I first started after a herniated disc injury, worried I couldn't keep training CrossFit without re-injuring myself. He completely restructured my approach — proper form, mobility, gradual progression — and turned a major setback into real growth. I'm now stronger than I was before my injury, with significant improvements in both my olympic lifts and gymnastics skills. He has an exceptional ability to identify my weaknesses and develop them into strengths.

Allison Dillon Came back stronger from injury

I've been working with Coach Demetrius since 2023, and this journey has taught me a great deal about my performance — solidifying my strengths and developing my weaknesses. It's brought me confidence and a stronger commitment to my goals, helping me hit milestones like qualifying for Semifinals, competing at Wodapalooza, earning podium finishes at local competitions, and placing 1st on my country's leaderboard. Communication has been key to his coaching, with outstanding feedback after every session.

Pablo Arraut Competitor · Semifinals & podiums

I've been training with Coach Demetrius for the past two years, and the transformation has been nothing short of incredible. His structured, detailed approach set the tone for consistent progress — a personalized plan that helped me get stronger while steadily losing weight, a balance that's often hard to achieve. Every phase of my training had a clear purpose, and he always took the time to explain the "why" behind each movement, meal, and adjustment. If you're looking for a coach who is knowledgeable, disciplined, and truly committed to helping you level up, I can't recommend him enough.

Michael DeBari 2 years · stronger & leaner

I started working with Demetrius 4 months before my wedding with the goal of losing weight. He didn't just give me macros and nutrition — he looked at sleep, recovery, exercise and stress to get the full picture. Over the four months I lost 12 lbs, 10 of which was body fat. I leaned out while eating more food than I ever had before, all in a calorie deficit. I had more energy, kept making progress in the gym, and looked incredible in my wedding dress.

Catherine Brask Nutrition · −12 lbs before her wedding

Most athletes don't need
more workouts. They need a better plan.

Before the program, one question: what's the limitation?