If you’re contemplating joining a CrossFit gym in the New Year, but still not 100% sold, let’s have a look at some of our current members’ CrossFit journeys and see if we can get you over the line.

In the next few weeks we’ll be sharing some real-life stories of our members who have not only changed their bodies through CrossFit, they have grown in confidence, which, as a coach is fantastic to see!

Let’s start with…Jonny Doney

Jonny has been with CrossFit Pendle right from the outset and has trained consistently 3-4 times per week for the last 4.5 years.

He knew that fitness went hand in hand with the right diet, but with three small children, one a baby, he found himself struggling to focus on getting the whole package right.

Jonny said: “I’ve always struggled losing weight, but I had hit my heaviest at almost 17 stone. While it had bothered me for some time, it was when I saw pictures of myself on a family holiday in Switzerland...

Did you know that less than 10% of people actually stick to their New Year’s Resolutions?

And then beat themselves up for being a failure.

The problem is we put so much pressure on ourselves to work harder, train harder, lose weight, blah, blah, blah, it’s no surprise that we can rarely keep up with our own expectations.

So, here’s a suggestion… how about ONE New Year’s Resolution this year that will actually do all of the above and more.

Yep, you know what I’m going to say…

JOIN CROSSFIT

Because, by making this your one New Year’s Resolution for 2019, you are actually achieving so many of the other goals you normally have on your list.

Let’s explore them…

JOIN A GYM

Check, checkity, check. You joined a gym as so many people do in January. But joining is one thing, going is another. The beauty of CrossFit is that before you can start throwing any weights about you have to attend an introductory session.

These are either...

Dad-of two Simon Fletcher has just returned from a dream family holiday which four months ago he feared he’d have to cancel.

The 40-year-old CrossFit Pendle member tore both his patellar tendons after taking part in a dad’s race at his son’s school sports day on June 22^nd leaving him in excruciating pain and wheelchair bound.

He said: “The dad’s race is notoriously competitive but I’ve never known someone to be taken away in an ambulance before!

 “All I remember is running fast then stopping suddenly, hearing a ‘pop’, feeling searing pain and then falling to the floor. I don’t even know, to this day, if I won!”

 Jokes aside, Simon was admitted to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where he was told that both his patellar tendons had separated from the kneecaps and without these attachment, he could not bend or weight bear on his knees.

 He underwent a painful three-hour operation to reconnect the torn...

Whether you’re a CrossFit newbie or long time CrossFit lover, now’s the perfect time to waft an ‘All I want for Christmas’ list in front of your significant other’s face, or casually leave it on the dining table for them to see.

 Yes, we know Christmas is all about giving, but wouldn’t it be good to open a gift you actually want this year?

 So, here our ideas. You’re very welcome!

 CROSSFIT PENDLE CLOBBER– yes, of course we want to see you in our own gear! We’re a community and we love seeing you representing the gym and looking part of the TEAM. You can try things on, which saves the pain of having to order various sizes online and sending back the ones that don’t fit. Have a changing room fashion show (before you get sweaty, of course), pick the item/s you want and find Mike to organise payment. Don't have your size, let us know and we'll get it ordered in straight away.

STANCE SOCKS- the...

Zombies, superheroes and avatars were the order of the day for a popular Nelson gym as CrossFit Pendle held its annual Halloween Throwdown.

Members really got into the ‘spirit’ by dressing in spooky costumes to undertake a series of CrossFit heats in teams of four.

And the group of 60 made for a fearsome sight as they set off out on to the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate for their first heat; a two-mile run.

Mike Rawson, owner of CrossFit Pendle, said: “The Halloween Throwdown is a real hit among members, as it’s challenging but fun and gives people the opportunity to get to know other members of the gym.

“Teams are drawn out of a hat, so they have no idea who they will be partnered with until they arrive that morning, so we really have no idea who will take to the podium at the end of the day.

“It was a really cold day, yet that didn’t stop the teams from giving each workout their all throughout the day and cheering other teams on when they...

“Why don’t they shut up about CrossFit?”

Here’s why. Here’s our secret.

All too often we have a thing we want to get done, yet it never seems to happen.

Why is it that these all-important tasks seem to be put off? We’ll take a look at one simple method today that is successfully applied all around the world.

Work smarter…

You may have heard of SMART goals before – they’re pretty popular.
This is a way of ensuring a goal is likely to be achieved before you even start working towards it.

Specific – The goal needs to be detailed, enough for you to fully understand what you need to do. The most common goals are weight-loss orientated, so in those cases, the specificity needs to focus on this. If it’s a productivity goal – mention this.

Measurable – You won’t know success unless you can show it. The easiest example is weight loss, you’ll note what you weight now, and what your goal weight is. Simple and measurable. If you want to get stronger, you could record the weight of a max lift and set your...

“Diets starts on Monday…”

A diet for life

Start small

Stress is an everyday part of life, but you can reduce it.

When we talk about CrossFit, and particularly CrossFit Pendle, as being family-friendly we aren’t just referring to the family charity days or competitions that we hold throughout the year where kids are welcome. We are talking about the gym being a place that encourages our members’ children, grandchildren and younger siblings to come along.

If you speak to any of our members in their late 20s and upwards, the majority will tell you that they are gutted that they didn’t get into CrossFit sooner…and that’s not necessarily their fault, CrossFit is still pretty new in Britain. It’s only really been over the last five years that it has been getting more recognition and we have seen more CrossFit gyms pop up in different locations.

But there’s still that sense of regret that they wish they had something similar available to them when they were growing up – something fun, that tested them and will ultimately got them growing up...