In all of the years of exercising prior to joining Functional Fitness, I had failed to find a programme that I could fully commit to for any real period of time.

I have always enjoyed going to the gym and had used standard commercial gyms alongside playing football from an early age. Over the years, I moved away from football but kept going to the gym a few times a week without really having an aim. I would start a new 12 week strength programme but get bored and stop after 3. The repetition of the same exercises, same workouts
week after week got dull very quickly.

Leaving football, my love for endurance sport led me to taking on marathons and, more recently, triathlons. Running has always been my go to exercise because of its simplicity and how it can improve your mood as well as your fitness. Having worked in gyms for more than 6 years now, I’ve always continued to do strength work but it’s always been just something I felt I needed to do
rather than something I really wanted to.

Then just over 3 years ago I stumbled upon a ‘Fittest on Earth’ documentary and saw CrossFit for the first time. It looked fun, different and challenging. Mixing heavy lifting with skilled gymnastics and endurance. For the rest of that year I dabbled in a few workouts at the gym I was training in at the time, around my triathlon training. I noticed a massive improvement in my fitness but more importantly, my enjoyment of exercise again.

Not being in a CrossFit specific gym meant most of the workouts were limited and not exactly pretty. Dumbbells were dropped on wooden floors. Solid rubber med balls made massive holes in the plasterboard walls. Even the format of workouts was limited because anything which needed more than 1 piece of kit meant you’d lose your rower or bench to someone else whilst you were doing your burpees in the studio next door. It was chaos but it worked and I felt fit!

In 2018 I did my first trial class at FFD. I signed up for a membership the next day and did the Open the following month. By the end of that 6 week period, I had managed to tick off a few milestones like double unders and linked toes to bar. I was hooked and couldn’t get enough of it. The fun of training was back after a few years since hanging up the football boots. I was enjoying the training and being part of Functional Fitness so much I decided to sign up to the L1 Trainer course that summer.

Less than 6 months after joining as a member, I was lucky enough to be coaching classes and totally changing the way I approached training for myself and how I programme for clients. Functional Fitness has given me the most enjoyment I’ve ever had from exercise along with the chance to do what I love with coaching and helping others get fit.