The CrossFit Games


strength & conditioning equipment specialists


T


he CrossFit Games is an annual event that takes place in California, US. And last


October saw the fi rst event for UK affi liates: the York Divided We Fall Games. Held at CrossFit Velocity in Swansea, it attracted 54 teams comprising four athletes, at least one of whom had to be female. Owner of CrossFit Velocity Matthew


Evans explains: “The event consisted of team games, and teams had to represent the make-up of their affi liate. We have many women CrossFitters in the UK, hence their involvement.” The composition of the 2010 Games


included fi ve WODs on one day, each featuring a number of lifts, ground- to-overhead activities and a team row. While Evans admits there was a competitive element to the Games, CrossFit’s accessibility ensured that


TACKLING THE FUTURE So what does the future hold? The rate of growth shows no immediate sign of slowing. York Barbell UK continues to work with new openings, while Allan Collins of Jordan Fitness believes the latest trends are more than capable of establishing themselves as mainstream.


“The success of our business is to understand the industry – not just to be able to say what’s popular now, but also to predict what will be popular in the next fi ve to 10 years,” he says. “Although some products may be


described as niche today, we know they may be the most popular things in the fi tness industry in the next few years. “As a general trend, people are


using free weights more and more as an integral part of their training programme. CrossFit slots into this trend perfectly as clients seek simple exercises and equipment to train for metabolic acceleration. The emergence of kettlebell training over the last fi ve years has coincided with CrossFit’s growing popularity.” Disaffection with larger gym chains may further drive the growth of UK


january 2010 © cybertrek 2010


anyone could take part. “We allow scaling so that everyone can get a sense of what it’s like to compete,” he says. For example, if a participant were unable to do pull-ups, there would also be the chance to do jumps or band-assisted jumps. York Barbell UK sponsored the


event, with the winning team receiving York equipment as a prize. Both Evans and Tom Haynes of York


Barbell UK agree that UK affi liates could get a lot more mileage out of the Games concept: the international version in the US attracts major sponsors, and the Swansea event received a good level of commercial interest. One of the next events on the


calendar for UK CrossFitters is the UK Sectionals – qualifi ers for the 2011 CrossFit Games in the US – which are scheduled for around March 2011.


CrossFit. Shrago believes that some gym operators “softened the idea of fi tness by trying to remove the unpleasant idea of hard work from the equation”, referring to health clubs with facilities such as steam rooms and assisted machines. Above all, however, it’s the sociable


and fl exible nature of CrossFit that provides a major selling point. “CrossFit is something that’s done in


an atmosphere where everyone’s doing the same thing,” says Millings. “There’s no arrogance and everyone helps each other. It’s more like a social club. “CrossFit makes also working out into


a sport. It’s also recordable and your progress can be tracked easily. The constant variety in workouts means the typical argument that people get bored in a traditional gym no longer rings true.” And for affi liates? Evans sums up:


“There’s no better feeling than seeing people overcome challenges and ultimately improve their health so they live better lives.”


healthclub@leisuremedia.com pete hayman


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Absolute Performance ensure that you have the right equipment package for your individual environment.


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07866 599910 and let Absolute Performance take you to the next level


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