BRITAIN’S FAVE WORKOUT

It’s the fitness method that has transcended all others; moving from professional championships to mainstream workout, from the US gymnast community to the British public. We chart the rise and rise of Crossfit

Trends come and go, but this one’s a keeper

It takes something very special to win over the British populous; we are, if nothing else, a tough crowd. So it’s fair to show more than a little appreciation for Crossfit, the Us-born fitness method that has successfully infiltrated every corner of the UK. Where other exercise fads have failed to stick nationwide (anti-gravity yoga didn’t quite land), have a search for your local ‘box’ on the brand’s website and you’re likely to come up trumps, whether you’re based in the centre of Manchester or a diminutive village in the Welsh Valleys. What’s perhaps most surprising about Crossfit’s takeover of our tiny isle is that there are plenty of reasons why it shouldn’t be so popular – the cult-like devotion of its members, the low-fi gym setting (this is no place for fluffy white towel enthusiasts), stories of participants pushing themselves to injury and beyond, and the notion that only those who can already nail a pull-up

‘OVER 27,000 UK WOMEN ARE NOW TRAINING AT 554 CROSSFIT BOXES’

need apply. But all these arguments evaporate once you look past the rumours and actually give it a go for yourself. ‘I hear a lot of people say that they need to get fit before they start Crossfit,’ says Sam Briggs, Crossfit and Reebok ambassador and arguably the fittest woman in Britain, thanks to her success in the (quite honestly, ridiculously hardcore) international Crossfit Games. ‘But that’s the biggest myth – it will help make you fit, that’s the whole point. People see videos on Youtube and Netflix documentaries about the Crossfit Games and think, “That’s insane, I could never do that,” but the mainstream fitness trend is much more scaled back, something that everyone can participate in to build themselves a fitter body.’ This promise of functional fitness is the lure that’s seen – despite Crossfit’s macho image – thousands of women stepping up to the, erm, rack. Seduced by the method’s muscle-building, fat-torching gains, over 27,000 women are now training at 554 boxes (Crossfit speak for studios – proudly unglamorous garage-like spaces) in the UK, joining 10 million members worldwide. And if you’re not doing Crossfit, you’ve probably googled it: UK searches are through the roof every month and #crossfitgirls has clocked up almost three million posts on Instagram. Devised by ex-gymnast Greg Glassman, Crossfit workouts look to challenge the entire body and its larger muscle groups, combining moves from gymnastics, HIIT, weights training and Olympic weightlifting (such as the snatch and the clean and jerk). In contrast with most gym classes, which publicise exactly what you can expect from your session – barre, bums and tums, dance aerobics, etc – Crossfit attendees don’t know what the day’s workout will be until they turn up and see the WOD (workout of the day) scrawled on a whiteboard. One thing’s for sure – it’ll always be tough. But each session is designed to be fun, too: think handstands, rope climbing and burpee challenges with a partner. ‘New members walk into a Crossfit box, see ropes hanging and think, “I haven’t climbed a rope since I was a kid, I can’t do that,”’ says Sam. ‘But they’re encouraged to try and, a few weeks later, they’re scaling that rope like you wouldn’t believe.’ And the sense of community is infectious. ‘Every member of the class, not just the coaches, celebrates your PBS with you; you become a family.’ It’s a concept she puts at the very heart of why women are flocking to Crossfit boxes in their droves. Coach Arend Wissing, who owns Crossfit Dawn in East London, reveals that women outnumber men at his box. ‘And I always find that women progress quicker than the guys,’ he says. ‘There’s less ego involved. Women are there to learn.’ A quick scroll through Sam’s Instagram – the aptly named @bicepslikebriggs – shows off a jaw-dropping six-pack and incredibly toned arms. She’s a machine. But scrolling back, the 35-year-old didn’t always look this way. One of her most popular posts is of her at the age of 23, an amateur footballer and firefighter, looking fit and happy, but with a very different body composition. The current trend for a stronger, fitter female physique is not only drawing women to Crossfit, but being led by the method, too. According to researchers at Ohio State University, women who participated in a Crossfit programme of five weekly workouts for 10 weeks boosted their aerobic capacity by 11.8% and cut their body fat by more than 3%, while upping muscle mass. It’s a timesaver, too: Kansas State University research has found that obese or overweight adults benefited more from eight weeks of Crossfit than an aerobic training programme, despite Crossfit sessions being shorter. Its mainstream success has been bolstered by the fact that some of the world’s biggest sports brands are designing and launching best-selling kit inspired by and created for Crossfit workouts. Reebok, the official sponsor of the annual Crossfit Games, has a whole host of gear and released its latest iteration of the Crossfit trainer Nano 8 (Sam’s go-to training shoe) in September 2017; Nike – for whom Icelandic Crossfit athlete Sara Sigmundsdóttir is an ambassador – boasts that its millennial pink Metcon trainer is

a UK favourite; and No Bull and Under Armour are famed for their Crossfitfriendly training shoes, too. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and you know something’s well and truly stuck when the rest of the fitness world start to take note. Luxe London gym Third Space has introduced a new class called The WOD – a gut-busting session drawing inspiration from elements of Crossfit with rounds of EMOMS (every minute on the minute) and AMRAPS (as many rounds as possible), while functional fitness is being touted by the most switched-on PTS around the country. But Crossfit boxes aren’t sitting back basking in their success. Wessing has teamed up with Rachel Stephenson, a

‘WOMEN TEND TO PROGRESS FASTER THAN THE GUYS – THERE’S LESS EGO INVOLVED’

Pilates instructor and recent Crossfit convert, to combine the best of both disciplines. ‘I was seeing clients suffering from injury due to poor form or a lack of body awareness after performing Crossfit or another high-impact class,’ explains Rachel. Their new combination sessions – 40 minutes of Pilates to activate the core (or midline, as Crossfitters call it) followed by 20 minutes of traditional Crossfit – minimise the risk of injury and are a nice introduction to the method for those who might be a little tentative. Sam’s best tips for nerves? ‘Channel that external pressure that we humans constantly put on ourselves and prove yourself wrong.’ Best check where your nearest box is then.