CFA Athlete Profile

Each month we will be featuring one of our awesome CFA athletes here and finding out what makes CrossFit Ampthill such a special place to train.

 

Name: Chris Smith

Age: 33

Occupation: Asset Finance Manager

Home town: Woburn, Beds

Started CrossFit in: Dec 2012
 

Favourite WOD: Karen - 150 wall balls
 

Biggest achievement so far: Doubling my deadlift in the two years I've been doing Crossfit!
 

Describe yourself in 3 words… Rational, creative and focused. 
 

Tell us about your sport and fitness background... All my life I was never in to fitness and only occasionally played squash and footy, that was about it. I started working out with Matt during 2012 before the gym even opened. We've been friends for years and I was exceptionally unfit and overweight and he was making a habit of training every day.  At the time we lived just around the corner from each other and, after a drunken conversation in the pub, he invited me along.  After he tried to kill me on our first training session by making me carry kettle bells around a football field several times; I was hooked.  When the box opened I was very keen to join and make fitness a regular thing.   
What are your goals? To stay healthy and to maintain a relatively decent level of fitness. I'm still chasing that elusive first strict pull-up, I'm sure it will come in 2015! 

 

Your biggest GOAT (thing you find difficult)... Running. Its my nemesis. My cardio has improved massively since I started Crossfit but my running stamina is still something I really struggle with
 

What are your hobbies, interest, talents outside of CrossFit? Love walking, cycling and spending time with family. Love visiting new places around the country. Love to travel, have lots of family around the world so enjoy visiting them during the summer months. 

 

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on CrossFit that were unexpected? The changes in health and the general feeling of wellbeing is the best thing ever. Actually enjoying eating healthily and challenging myself is something I would have laughed about if you have asked me 3 years ago. 

 

Please share your favorite CFA moment... The day the high pull up bar was mounted! 

 

Any advice for people just starting out?  The only person you need to be faster than is yourself; therefore record everything and compare your movements and WODs to the previous visit. Oh yea, most importantly, buy a foam roller!

 

Complete the sentence: I love CrossFit and training at CFA because…  its not just a 'gym'. Its a fantastic community with strict but helpful coaching, meaning you push yourself on every visit, no exceptions. 
 

A proud moment for Team CFA

We are just a few weeks in to January, and already we have a number of new faces smashing their way through our on ramp, some impressive lifting PRs and full commitment to our 8 week wellness challenge from our regulars. 

With all this is aside, we are very excited to announce that two of CFA's most familiar faces are now about to become even more familiar...

CONGRATULATIONS to  Joanna Hollingdale and CrossFit Ampthill original Catherine Paterson for completing their CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certs. 

They joined over 20 of the UKs most passionate CrossFitters at Reebok CrossFit Thames last weekend to complete their training and have had a nervous wait this week for that inevitable email to say that they had PASSED (not that us other proud coaches had any doubt). 

When you see them in the box next, be generous with those high fives and start fixing up those squats, there may well now be more eyes on you as Joey and Cath embark on their step as intern coaches at the nest. 

Gone in 60 seconds...

Meet Luke and Evaldo...our latest "On Rampers" to smash the baseline, knocking 60 seconds off of already very quick times. Make these guys welcome when you next see them at the nest.