CROSSFIT AND ME

 

I first heard about CrossFit several years ago. CrossFit is a brand with a training method which includes high intensity, functional movements which are constantly varied. I didn’t know much about CrossFit but there was a growing buzz about it in the fitness industry. People were talking about it and it was gaining popularity.

However, some of the people who I associated with at the time spoke negatively of it, saying it increased the risk of injury. Luckily, I was taught growing up not to believe everything that I hear. I prefer to see and experience things for myself, to learn more and to make my own mind up. This is one of the values I have grown up with.

My journey into CrossFit started with Olympic weightlifting. My specialism as a personal trainer is calisthenics and I also have a running club, but a coach came into the gym I used to own. He did Olympic weightlifting an when I saw him lift, I wanted to know more. I started watching Olympic weightlifters on social media and was impressed with the dynamic movements of lifting heavy weights from the floor and overhead. Some of these athletes were lifting more weight overhead than I can deadlift – I was in awe! I asked the coach to teach me a little about the technical aspects of the lifts and my interest grew.

The coach moved on, but he had planted the seed. From there I started to see CrossFit athletes on social media because CrossFit incorporates Olympic weightlifting movements, so I started to follow the sport more closely. I remember watching the 2016 CrossFit Games which is an international competition and what I saw the athletes doing blew me away. CrossFit incorporates movements from gymnastics, cardio, and Olympic lifting as well as other functional movements such as moving odd objects and the fact that these athletes were proficient in all these areas was astonishing. It was a spectacle!

Meanwhile, the negative murmurings about CrossFit continued but I wanted to try it for myself. At the time I had my own gym in Stockport, I worked long hours as a personal trainer and the closest CrossFit gym as a few miles away and difficult for me to travel to. Then in December 2019 one of my clients (who was equally as interested) told me there was a new CrossFit gym opening in the New Year. We went to the opening day in January 2020 and there were people there who made me look like I haven’t done a day of fitness in my life! It inspired me and I wanted to be a part of it. We both signed up on the spot. The rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward to 2022 and I now work there instructing CrossFit classes and have moved my personal training business to the premises. In the two years I have been there, I have fallen in love with the sport. I’ve made friends there and I have met some great people. I’ve seen individuals that have inspired me and helped me to be better.

After hearing the negative opinions, I can honestly say these criticisms depend on the instructors. You can go to any gym of any kind and do any exercise. If its bad coaching, people can get injured. It’s not the brand or the type of fitness that can cause injury, it’s the coaching and whether instructors teach you to move safely (and whether instructions are adhered to). The coaches at CrossFit PRL have extremely high skill sets and I have learned a lot from them. Making this move has excelled my skill set and I’ll stay there fore the foreseeable future.

I’m glad I didn’t listen to the naysayers because CrossFit helps me to coach my clients, has increased my confidence, strengthened my calisthenics skills. One of my long-term calisthenics goals was to perform a bar muscle up and CrossFit helped me to achieve this goal because of great coaching, building strength in other areas and consistent practice. Finally, those who know me know that one of the things most important to me in my personal training business is to build a community amongst clients and going to CrossFit PRL has enabled me to be a part of their community. We’re friends, we compete together, attend events, have social gatherings. This is what it’s all about.

This is my next chapter.

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