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...

Whilst we don’t want to teach our new members to “suck eggs” – as the saying goes – the vast range of different movements and exercises involved in CrossFit means that some tips from the community are great to help new members settle in a bit more easily and crack on with working out and getting fitter.

To help us out, we asked some of our members what advice they would give to a new member of CrossFit Pendle. And, to make things a little bit more interesting, the members in question are all from the same family…introducing the Gill siblings... pictured here in their first CrossFit competition together! When they first started the girls especially didn't want to lift weights for fear of getting bulky - just look at them now!!

BOOK your FREE CrossFit Pendle Taster Session Now!

Name: Victoria Gill (the big sister)

Age: 26

Joined CrossFit Pendle: June 2015

Top tip 1:

Attend the gymnastic classes – they are a massive help if...

PICTURE THE SCENE: You meet up with a friend that you haven’t seen in a while. They are looking great, you compliment them and casually ask them what it is they have been doing to get into such good shape.

Friend: “I’ve joined a new gym. You should come down with me, they run FREE Taster Sessions for beginners.”

You: “Yeh, sounds good. Which one is it?”

Friend: “CrossFit…”

You: “Whoah, no I’m no way near fit enough. Maybe in a few months when I have gotten a bit more active.”

Getting fit before you join a gym? It’s like tidying up before the cleaner arrives. It makes no sense at all.

There are generally three types of people who join us at CrossFit Pendle:

1 >> Those who come from an already athletic background – weightlifting, gymnastics, circuit training etc. These people tend to already be able to do most movements to a pretty high standard but benefit greatly from the advice and guidance...