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Sometimes the hardest part of getting fit isn't the workout. It's getting off the sofa. It's making the decision to put your trainers on, leave the house and actually walk through the doors of a gym. And if you've never been to a gym before, or you haven't trained for a long time, that first step can feel pretty intimidating. You might be nervous about what people will think. You might worry that you're going to be the least fit person in the room or that everyone will be wat

When it comes to nutrition, there are two very different approaches. One is to go all in. Cut out everything you enjoy, be incredibly strict, follow your diet perfectly and see how much progress you can make in six weeks. The other is to make smaller, more realistic changes that you can continue doing for months and years. So which one is better? The honest answer is: it depends. The Problem With Going Too Hard A lot of people believe they need to be extremely restrictive to

Life is full of things that are hard. Going to the gym is hard. Not being able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath is hard. Eating well is hard. Not feeling happy or confident when you look in the mirror is hard. Getting up early to train is hard. Feeling tired, sluggish and unfit every day is hard. Saying no to the extra takeaway is hard. Feeling frustrated because you aren't making progress towards your goals is hard. Going to bed instead of staying

Sometimes fitness can make life feel like a constant battle between being "good" and being "bad". You're either eating perfectly or you've ruined your diet. You're either training hard or you're being lazy. You're either completely dialled in or you've fallen off the wagon. But you're not a robot. You're a human being, and your health should fit around your life rather than stopping you from enjoying it. You Are Allowed to Enjoy Yourself There are going to be times when you w

We have a strange habit of waiting for a specific date to make a change. January 1st feels like the perfect time to start getting fit. A new year, a fresh start and a new set of goals. But why wait until January when you could start today? You don't need a Monday. You don't need a new month. You don't need a new year. You can start on a random Tuesday in August. September Is a Mini Reset For a lot of people, September naturally feels like a fresh start. The summer holidays ar

One of the easiest ways to take the enjoyment out of fitness is to compare yourself to someone else. You walk into a CrossFit class and see someone lifting a weight you can't lift, doing pull ups you can't do, or finishing the workout minutes before you. It's easy to look at them and think, "I'll never be that good." But you're forgetting one important thing. You might be looking at their chapter 20 while you're still on chapter 1. Everyone Has a Different Starting Point Nobo

Walking into a gym can be intimidating. You walk through the doors, look around, see hundreds of pieces of equipment and have no idea where to start. Should you lift weights? How heavy should you go? How many reps should you do? Is your technique right? What should you be doing next week? For a lot of people, this uncertainty is enough to stop them going altogether. And that's exactly why coaches exist. You Don't Need to Know Everything You shouldn't be expected to know how t

Should you enjoy exercise? We think so. But that doesn't mean you have to love every workout. There will be days when you're excited to train, days when you're tired, and days when you'd much rather stay on the sofa. Some workouts will leave you feeling incredible, while others will leave you wondering why you signed up in the first place. That's completely normal. Exercise Is Sometimes Supposed to Be Hard If every workout felt easy and comfortable, you probably wouldn't be g

What is the point of CrossFit? The answer is different for everyone. For one person, CrossFit might be about losing 50kg, changing their lifestyle, and completely transforming their health. For someone else, it might be about competing in the sport, pushing their body to its limits, and seeing how far they can take their performance. For 65-year-old Barbora, it might simply be about getting stronger and healthier so she can live long enough to see her grandchildren grow up. F

We've already done the thinking for you. CrossFit Shenley might be one year old but between, us three; Andrea, Ben & Callum we have 30 years of coaching a fitness experience between us. Everything we do has a reason, we calculate things down to the smallest detail. All to benefit the class, the member and The Programme - You don't need to decide what you're training today. We've got a plan designed to help you progress. Each Block is periodised to help you move towards somet

Have a big weekend, Feel guilty about the excess of calories, have a super restrictive week. Sound familiar? This is the start of a binge eating cycle One of the easiest ways to break that cycle is your perception of food and how you frame it. You shouldn't punish yourself for eating food. If you don't eat you will literally DIE. Having a better relationship with the food you eat will shape how you feel and your progress towards your goal. Don't Label Foods Good or Bad, attac

Walking into a traditional gym can be overwhelming. You arrive with the best intentions, but after a few weeks you're asking yourself the same questions. What should I do today? Am I doing this exercise correctly? Is this programme even working? Without direction, it's easy to lose motivation or feel like you're training without a purpose. That's where coaching makes all the difference. Every Session Is Coach Led At CrossFit Shenley, you don't have to plan your own workouts o

One of the biggest reasons people never walk through the doors of a gym isn't because they don't want to get fitter. It's because they think everyone inside will be watching them. They imagine people judging how much they can lift, how fast they run, or whether they know what they're doing. The reality couldn't be more different. Everyone Started Somewhere Every confident member you see today was once a beginner. They remember what it felt like to walk into a gym for the firs

It's one of the most common reasons people give for not exercising, and on the surface, it feels like a valid excuse. Between work, family, and everyday responsibilities, finding an extra hour can seem impossible. But if you've been saying those words for the last few years, it's worth asking yourself one question: where has that left your health? We All Have the Same 24 Hours The truth is, we all have the same amount of time. More often than not, it isn't a lack of time—it's

One of the things that makes CrossFit unique is that your fitness isn't based on guesswork. It's measured. Every now and then, you'll see a workout appear on the whiteboard with a familiar name like Fran, Helen, Grace, or Cindy. These are known as benchmark workouts, often referred to as "The Girls." At first, they might just seem like another workout. In reality, they're one of the best ways to track your fitness, celebrate your progress, and keep yourself accountable. What

Walking into a CrossFit gym for the first time can be intimidating. You might worry that everyone is fitter than you. You might think you'll be the slowest in the class. You might wonder if you'll know what you're doing or whether you'll fit in. These thoughts are completely normal, and almost every member has had them before their first session. But here's a question worth asking: What's scarier—trying something new for one hour, or spending the next 10 years wishing you had

Fitness is important. But it isn't everything. You have a job. You have family and friends. You have hobbies, holidays, weekends away, and plenty of other things that make life worth living. Exercise should help you enjoy those things more, not become another thing that takes over your life. That's why we believe your hour at CrossFit Shenley should complement your life, not become your whole life. You Don't Need to Live in the Gym You don't need to train twice a day. You don

One of the biggest misconceptions about CrossFit is that every workout is an all-out effort where you're expected to push yourself to your absolute limit. That's simply not true. There's an important difference between high intensity and maximum intensity, and understanding that difference is one of the keys to making long-term progress. Intensity Is Relative What feels challenging for one person may feel comfortable for someone else. A workout that raises one person's heart

We live in a world full of quick fixes, miracle supplements, and the latest fitness trends promising incredible results. But the truth is, the biggest improvements to your health don't come from expensive gadgets or complicated routines. They come from mastering the basics. If you consistently focus on three simple habits, good nutrition, quality sleep, and regular exercise, you'll feel healthier, have more energy, think more clearly, and improve both your physical and mental

When people think about exercise, they often focus on looking better, losing weight, or getting stronger. While these are all fantastic benefits, there's an even more important reason to stay active: living a longer, healthier life. Longevity isn't just about adding years to your life, it's about adding life to your years. It's about maintaining the strength, mobility, energy, and independence to do the things you love well into later life. That's where CrossFit stands out. W