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This is one of the biggest concerns people have about CrossFit. They've seen videos of people lifting huge weights, throwing themselves around and pushing through brutal workouts. They assume that's what every session looks like. And if that's CrossFit, why would you want to do it? But there's a big difference between what you see online and what good coaching actually looks like. CrossFit Is About More Than Going Hard At CrossFit Shenley, the goal isn't to get you lifting th

“I’m just not a gym person.” We hear it all the time. Maybe you've tried a gym before and hated it. Maybe you don't know what to do when you walk through the door. Or maybe you just don't like the idea of spending your evenings lifting weights on your own. That's okay. You don't have to be a gym person to benefit from exercise. Maybe You Just Haven't Found the Right Environment Walking into a big gym with hundreds of pieces of equipment can be intimidating. You have to decide

You don't need to spend your life in the gym. You don't need to train twice a day. You don't need to count every calorie. You don't need to build your entire life around fitness. Sometimes, people don't start because they think getting fit means completely changing their lifestyle. It doesn't. Three Hours a Week For most people, three one-hour classes a week is enough to make a huge difference. That's three hours. Out of 168 hours in a week. It's a tiny amount of your time wh

Life has become incredibly convenient. We can order food without leaving the sofa. We can have almost anything delivered to our front door. Entertainment is available instantly. We can scroll for hours without ever having to move. Convenience is great. But sometimes, doing things the hard way is good for us. Your Brain Needs a Challenge There is something different about doing something that you don't want to do. Getting out of bed when you're tired. Going for a run when it's

“I'll start on Monday.” “I'll start after my holiday.” “I'll start when work calms down.” “I'll start next year.” We've all said it. The problem is that Monday comes and goes. The holiday finishes. Work gets busy again. Then January arrives and we find another reason to wait. There Is Never a Perfect Time Life doesn't suddenly become quiet. There will always be something going on. A busy week at work. A holiday. A birthday. Christmas. A stressful period. A family commitment.

What if going to the gym was something you actually looked forward to? Not because every workout is easy. Not because you always feel motivated. But because you enjoy the people, the atmosphere and the feeling you get when you walk through the door. That's what we want CrossFit Shenley to be. A place you want to come to. We Lift Each Other Up Fitness doesn't have to be a competition against the person next to you. We want to see everyone around us succeed. When someone gets t

We've all been there. You've had a long day at work. You didn't sleep particularly well. Your energy is low and the last thing you feel like doing is picking up a barbell. So, should you still train? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, absolutely not. The important thing is knowing the difference. Being Tired Doesn't Always Mean You Should Rest There are days when you're tired because you're busy. Maybe you've had a long day, but you've still eaten reasonably well, you've slept enough

One of the things that makes CrossFit so good can also make it feel overwhelming. There are squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, pull-ups, handstands, burpees, box jumps, kettlebells, gymnastics, running, rowing and a whole lot more. If you're new to CrossFit, it can be easy to look at all of that and think, “Where on earth do I start?” And even if you've been doing CrossFit for a couple of years, you can still have movements that you don't really understand or know how to im

You start with the best intentions. You train three or four times in a week, eat well, feel great and think, “This time I'm going to stick to it.” Then life gets busy. Work gets stressful. The kids need you. You go away for the weekend. You miss a couple of sessions, and suddenly a couple of weeks have passed. So why is staying consistent so difficult? Motivation Isn't Enough The problem is that motivation isn't always there. Some days you will be excited to train, and other

One of the great things about CrossFit is that your fitness is trackable. You’re not just turning up, sweating for an hour and hoping that something is happening. There are lots of different ways to measure your progress, whether that’s getting stronger, improving your fitness, learning a new movement or simply feeling better than you did a few months ago. We Can Measure It CrossFit uses benchmark workouts that you can come back to again and again. Maybe you completed a work

It's a fair question. If you're busy, tired and already have enough things to worry about, why should you spend your time exercising? Why give up an hour of your day to lift weights, get out of breath and make yourself uncomfortable? Because exercise isn't just about getting fitter. It's about being able to live your life. Your Body Is Designed to Move Our bodies are built to move, but modern life has made it incredibly easy not to. We sit in the car, sit at work, sit on the

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