CrossFit Protocol

On Central Parkway in Decatur, Alabama, CrossFit Protocol runs out of a 12,500-square-foot facility built specifically for functional fitness training, one of the larger dedicated CrossFit spaces in the area. The gym is owned by Hanna and Ethan Netherton, a husband-and-wife team whose backgrounds shape how the gym is run day to day. Hanna is an L-2 Head Coach and former physical therapist assistant, a combination that shows up in the gym’s emphasis on movement quality and injury prevention alongside intensity. Ethan, a Decatur native, brings a different set of experience to the business, including time in professional baseball and a background in health and safety, both of which inform his stated priority for the gym: “The safety and health of our gym members is my number one priority. I want people to leave better than they came.”

New members do not start by walking straight into a group class. CrossFit Protocol runs a CrossFit 101 program first, a short two-session course built around one-on-one coaching that walks newcomers through foundational movement patterns, corrects technique issues early, and includes an initial fitness assessment. That kind of structured onboarding is common at well-run CrossFit affiliates and reflects a gym more concerned with building a member’s technique safely than rushing them into high-intensity workouts before they are ready for that level of intensity. From there, members move into the gym’s core CrossFit classes, which combine functional movements, strength training, and cardio in group sessions designed to scale up or down depending on a member’s experience level, so a first-timer and a longtime athlete can train in the same room at the same time.

Beyond the standard class schedule, CrossFit Protocol runs a bootcamp program and offers standalone nutrition coaching for members who want support outside the gym as well as in it. The coaching staff includes specialists in different disciplines: Scottie Hubbard, an L-2 certified trainer who competes in Olympic lifting at the regional and international level, brings expertise in barbell technique; Billy Kritinar focuses on mobility and nutrition work; Bill Gibson coaches powerlifting; and Amy Tucker leads bootcamp instruction. That kind of specialized staffing, where coaches lean into their own areas of strength, is more typical of an independently run gym than a generic franchise location with interchangeable trainers rotating through the schedule week to week.

Each summer the gym also runs a Sports Performance Camp for athletes age 12 and up, a program built around speed, agility, strength, power development, and mental toughness training rather than general fitness. The camp has run in a morning format, roughly 8 to 11 am, over a multi-day stretch in June, giving young athletes in Decatur an off-season training option outside of school sports programs. Membership options include student memberships, which line up with that summer camp offering and give younger athletes an accessible way to keep training once the season ends and fall sports have not yet started, bridging the gap between one season and the next.

For anyone in Decatur weighing CrossFit gyms, the combination of a Decatur-native co-owner, a structured beginner program, and specialized coaching staff sets Protocol apart from a more generic fitness option. Members describe the atmosphere as social as much as athletic; one longtime member is quoted on the gym’s site calling it “a great way to start my day, week, weekend,” a comment that captures the community-first tone the Nethertons appear to have built into the business from the start. The gym sits at 1111 Central Parkway, within easy driving distance of most Decatur neighborhoods, and welcomes drop-ins from athletes traveling through the area as well as prospective local members considering a first visit before committing to a membership.