Percy (Neil, Jona, Jonesy)
After giving up football in my early 30’s and having played it for as long as I can remember, I still tried to keep myself fit. In the main, this consisted of running and lifting weights but never combined the two. I would run for 6 months and feel fit but would carry no muscle and I would be unhappy with my look so I would start lifting weights and drop the cardio but would end up looking heavier and feeling unfit. This continued and I would never be happy with how I looked and how fit I felt. I started looking for a way to train which combined strength and fitness and I came across Crossfit on YouTube. This type of training appealed to me immediately as my ultimate goal was to keep getting stronger and fitter at the same time. I joined Crossfit Braintree just over 3 years ago now. At first, it can seem a bit daunting due to the fact you’re learning different movements which I had never done before especially the olympic weightlifting but due to every session being fully coached, you soon start to pick up the movements and techniques which allow you to do these exercises. Since joining and with the help of the coaches patience and encouragement, I feel as fit and as strong as I have ever been. I also enjoy working out in a class which I was unsure of at first but you soon realise that everyone pushes and encourages everyone else which always helps to find that extra 10%. For me, being 41 years old, exercise needs to be appealing for me to do it. Crossfit being constantly varied and challenging makes me want to exercise which is why I have stuck at it for so long and will continue to do so as I enjoy it as much now as I did when I first started.
Becks
In the year and a bit I have been a member of CrossFit Braintree I have gone from being a mum of 3 who, never thought about belonging to a gym to person that feels like I’m missing out if I doesn’t go at least 3 times a week. After much persuasion from a current CrossFit member (my sister), I decided to give CrossFit a go. I was very apprehensive as I’d never belonged to a gym other than to use their saunas and sunbeds. I did my foundation course in Sept 2015 and after 8 sessions of waking up aching the next day, I was hooked and decided to join. Myself and a couple of my other foundation group joined together, so we could do our first few sessions together, meaning we wouldn’t be alone in having no clue as to what we were doing. Words like; clean, jerk, snatch, even barbell, seemed like a foreign language but I can honestly say I never once was made to feel stupid for asking for help or advice. All the coaches and other members made me feel extremely welcome and were always willing to help when needed. Whatever class I do at the box all the movements can be scaled so I am always working to my own ability and able to have a great workout. Some movements are obviously easier than others and some may take me years to master but I will continue to try. It’s such a massive sense of achievement when I get another movement under my belt. Never in a million years did I even think I would be able to do a full press up, let alone a chin up, and now working my way to my number 1 goal of a pull up.
Tom
Before I joined Crossfit Braintree (CFB), I was a regular (normal) gym user and was skeptical of the benefits of Crossfit. I started when a couple of friends recommended it who went regularly and always came back praising CFB and what they were achieving. I went down for a taster session which, opened my eyes to a whole new approach to working out. Soon after, I signed up for the foundation course. It was quite tough to start with and would continues to be challenging. I had to un-learn basic movements such as the squat and deadlift by being taught the correct way to perform the lifts (something that doesn’t happen in a normal gym unless you pay for a personal trainer). It was hard work and learning new movements such as the olympic lifts and double unders are challenging but rewarding! It is still a challenge now, even after being a member for over 2 years. Your goals are always changing, from lifting more weight, to achieving quicker times and performing more reps. This is regardless of your ability, fitness and strength.All the coaches have been great. Always knowledgeable, friendly and approachable. This sets the CFB coaches apart from regular gym coaches and personal trainers. Everyone that I’ve met at CFB have always been really nice and there is a fantastic ‘community’ spirit within CFB. Obviously it can be daunting when you are new, but the members are always friendly and approachable and everyone gets along.The regular classes have a dedicated warm up, a training session which is advertised and then a high intensity workout at the end! The coaches are always on hand to help out and offer coaching where needed. Even if you dont have any particular fitness goals in mind, crossfit is probably the best way to workout. I’d say any fitness goal can be achieved through crossfit – losing weight, gaining strength, increasing aerobic capacity. These are all achievble through crossfit. It has helped me with my levels of confidence as I feel much fitter and stronger than I have ever been in my life!Overall, I would ALWAYS recommend crossfit to ANYONE. As i said, I believe it’s the best way to workout compared to using a regular gym.
Laura
So it had been years since I did any kind of fitness my husband and I decided to take up something together. I actually wanted to join a regular gym but it was Josh who came across the Crossfit Braintree website! We looked at the video which looked cool! We did a 4 week taster which was great because we were in a group of 10 others who had never done it before which was nice as you didn’t feel the pressure. Every single person that goes to the box (name for a CrossFit gym) is LOVELY, everyone is for there you and so friendly! Every class is different and I have recently discovered open sessions – which is great for working solo on things you want to improve on. The coaches are brilliant, very knowledgeable, easy going and don’t make you feel stupid – I ask 1000 questions and ask them to repeat things countless times, where they get the patience I’ll never know! With classes of only 10 people you get one to one coaching which makes it personal! I have been coming for under a year and so far achieved: Box Jumps All lifting techniques with weights Box press upsWall balls Squats Jumping pull upsHead standsMore flexibility When I started I had no upper strength so to achieve all this is such a small space of time is very satisfying and surprising. I am still working towards: Press upsPull ups Double undersHand stand press ups Coming to crossfit has not only improved my fitness but boosted my confidence, I used to have a ‘can’t do attitude’, but now my attitude is it doesn’t matter if I can’t do it, I’ll still give it a go! Crossfit Braintree is a family not just a gym, I’m so glad I joined.
Janice
Being a mum of two young boys, I wanted to be fit and healthy to keep up with them! I was 38 when I started Crossfit. I was inspired by the effect it had on my husband, who also goes to Crossfit Braintree, but made my final decision was when I saw a girl do a box jump on TV and I thought to myself, I’d like to do that.I’ve always dipped in and out of exercise from different combat classes, running a marathon, attending gyms but I enjoy the exercises and variety of Crossfit. No two sessions are ever the same. Crossfit is hard and challenging but also fun and friendly and is coached by motivating and supportive coaches who push and encourage you as well as the other members. My intentions were initially too get a bit leaner and fitter but now I want to get stronger too. I enjoy the strength work as much as the cardio workouts. I can now do exercises I thought I would never be able to do.I am now 40 and I cannot see myself not doing Crossfit. I enjoy it, get a huge buzz from it, I’m stronger, fitter and I’ve made a great bunch of friends.
Mark D
I started at Crossfit Braintree from a recommendation from a friend who attended the same gym. At that gym we had been introduced to Crossfit moves which although were tough, were refreshing from what is normally available.After doing the foundation course at Braintree it’s straight into classes, never more than 10 people, but still you are coached as an individual regardless of what level you are at. Every exercise can be scaled so regardless of your ability you can do it. When you start out it is hard to take it all on-board and it can be frustrating when it just doesn’t seem to go right, but because you get superb coaching, because you get help and encouragement from all the members you train with (who also went through the same trials as you) it does come together. You become part of a team at CrossFit Braintree. I have done training of some sort since my early 20’s, now in my late 50’s I can say I have never been stronger. It is challenging, there are no easy classes and I have a long way to go still but it is so enjoyable and the sense of achievement of at last achieving a new move or a new PB is immense.
Caz
I started CrossFit as I had been doing circuits for several years and it became boring and predictable – sit ups, bicep curls and press ups in various combinations. We had a CrossFit coach for a short period and so I decided to try it out. I was looking to improve my fitness, which had plateaued and to find on going challenges. CrossFit certainly met both those requirements and more! Classes started tough and have not stopped being challenging! When you look at the board and see what’s lined up for the session, sometimes you hope you can disappear without being noticed, but if you’re not ready for some moves, they can always be scaled and you will soon see the difference – always try and do a bit more weight, bit faster than you think and you progress. When you’ve hit a new personal best the feeling is fantastic – colleagues at work are fed up of me enthusing about the previous days’ session, but impressed when I hit a weight / do a move they couldn’t think of doing. One of the major plus points for CrossFit is the support you get from the coaches and your colleagues – being cheered on to get to the end of the workout always helps, and pushes you for that last bit of strength you have. Coaches provide one-to-one encouragement and motivation, pushing you to achieve more than you think you can and to always offer tips to improve your technique. These guys are absolutely the experts and won’t let you get away with an easy session yet will always help you scale your moves until you do the workout RX, (how the coaches prescribe the workout). When I first looked at the CrossFit videos I thought I would never be able to do those things – not even my best friends could call me athletic! However, I have been able to do moves and weights that I never dreamed of! And while there are people who can lift more than I can and move faster than I can, I know that, if I’ve given it everything I can, then that’s OK! Is CrossFit still challenging after more than 2 years? Absolutely! I still want to: run a mile, do a pull up, do double unders, do a full press up. Each time I try I get a bit closer. And I’m fitter than I’ve ever been in my life.