Our Story

Built on friendship. Grounded in training.

Emilio Guerra and Joel Cruz met at Berkeley CrossFit in California in late 2016, when Emilio first discovered CrossFit. Joel was a coach there—and one of the people who inspired Emilio to become a coach within his first year.

Almost every Saturday and on evenings during the week, they spent hours together, bonding over hard workouts and plenty of laughs.

Eventually, life took them to opposite sides of the country. The friendship—and the training—continued. They still plan trips to see each other, visit gyms, write workouts, and put those workouts to the test. To this day, that's how they spend their time together.

Counterweight grew from sharing the workouts they did and having each other guess what scores and times they got. That shared enjoyment of training, comparing results, and exchanging ideas became something they wanted to offer others.

Today, Counterweight brings together strength training, bodybuilding, and functional fitness around one belief: the program should fit the person.

You bring the effort, results, and feedback. We use them to guide what comes next.

That's why Counterweight exists: to put a clear, thoughtful plan behind the effort you're already willing to give.

The Coaches

Built by people who train, for people who train

Co-founder | Head of Functional Fitness Training

Emilio Guerra

Co-founder | Head of Functional Fitness Training

Wherever life took Emilio, a nearby CrossFit gym was his minimum requirement. It meant he could rebuild a routine, find community, and feel at home.

Over the last decade, he has worked and trained at eight CrossFit gyms, building lasting friendships and shaping his approach to coaching.

After joining the Navy, he began training shipmates using Carry the Load, a program he has been refining for more than a year. Its philosophy is simple: build the strength, endurance, and durability to carry what life asks of you—whether that means moving heavy things, meeting the demands of service, or showing up for the people who depend on you.

At Counterweight, Emilio combines CrossFit, traditional strength training, and practical conditioning to help people become more capable in everyday life.

Build strength you can use. Become someone others can count on.

Co-founder | Head of Bodybuilding and Endurance Capacity

Joel Cruz

Co-founder | Head of Bodybuilding and Endurance Capacity

Joel found CrossFit in college and got hooked not only on the workouts but also on the art of writing them. He kept bringing ideas to his head coach until he got the chance to program for the gym. Soon he was writing programs for friends and family, and he went on to coach after obtaining certification.

Joel's love of fitness started in his teens and grew through his years in the military, where it became a way of life. Since then, it has taken him from half marathons to Olympic weightlifting competitions. Today, he lifts to build and maintain lean muscle and uses conditioning to build the endurance to keep doing the things he enjoys. Both are part of his pursuit to stay healthy, strong, and active for longevity.

Writing the program is his favorite part. He thinks through which lift should go first, whether a conditioning session deserves its own day, and when to add weight or repeat a lift with better control. He logs what happens and uses it to refine the plan. He's been doing that for years, and he's still finding ways to make it better.

At Counterweight, Joel brings that same curiosity to each client. He wants to know what you did, how it felt, and what got in the way. That's what helps him decide when to push you and what to change from week to week.

Find the training you'd do anyway. Then keep doing it.