How were you introduced to crossfit? Tell us about your crossfit Journey?
I first started training CrossFit style workouts when a friend returned from a posting to a Navy Seal unit in America. I was already going to the gym a few times a week and represented the Australian Navy in multiple sports which didn’t give me a whole lot of time to train. I loved that I didn’t have to spend hours in the gym to get fitter and stronger and when starting out everything could be modified so I could do it.
For the layman how do you best describe crossfit in one sentence?
In our training program we combine gymnastics, weightlifting and cardio training into as many different workouts as possible. Each movement can be made easier or harder depending on your fitness level and strength so each and every person in a class is working out at an intensity which is high for them.
Some preconceptions around crossfit are thats its a young person’s activity. Is this a fair representation?
This one always makes me laugh because the average age of our clients is over 30 but we have some clients in their 50’s and early 60’s. We also have a few teenagers whose parents have been clients of ours for years. One thing I hear from almost every client who has walked through our doors is “I wish I found you guys when I was younger so I could have done this for longer”
If you could pass one piece of health and fitness advice to everyone in Australia of all ages what would that be?
I love this question… The best advice I can give to someone is to pick something and do it consistently. Jumping between programs, gyms or coaches because you’re bored or it’s not cool anymore is not going to get you far. Pick something, be willing to put in some hard work and I guarantee you will be proud of what you can achieve!
For someone who has never lifted weights before or done structured exercise could your approach to health and fitness help?
Definitely! While some things we do can be technical and challenging we like to play the long game. We start things off slowly by introducing new clients to our gym through our PT onboarding process before allowing them to jump into our classes. From there we add things slowly as clients are ready for them which allows them to train consistently and keep improving for a long time while significantly reducing their risk of injury.
We’re not interested in get fit quick type challenges or anything of the like. We have had clients for the 5 years we have been open and have now even had their children start training with us too.
If you want to be coached to a level you haven’t been coached before then we are the place for you!
Share with us one lesson you learnt the hard way?
I love this one because I see it happen in people all the time. You can only train as hard as you can recover. What I mean by saying this is, if you are going really hard in the gym you must be resting and recovering just as hard to support the training.
Your body sees the stress from your home life, work life and the gym as the same thing and needs adequate sleep, device free time and nutrition to support it. You can train as hard as you like but if you aren’t giving your body the time to recover before you do your next session you will get niggles which will turn to injuries and then have to spend some time on the sideline…
“You can only train as hard as your recovery will allow”
Which part of your health and fitness are you working hard to improve?
To be honest I don’t have any in the goals for in the gym at the moment but I love playing golf. My goal this year is to shoot a round under par in a local competition. To help me get there I have committed to a mobility routine, completing 4 classes a week at the gym to improve my strength and conditioning and addressing my weaknesses on the course as often as I can. We’re only a few months into the year and I have gone close so hopefully it’s not too far away.
Check out the Accelerate Strength podcast here.
