Olympic Lifting Competition and Open Evening - Monday 16th Dec, 7-9pm

Our Olympic Lifting class have been going through a 10 week programme and we are currently on week seven. After five or so weeks of build up we are now at a pretty heavy part of the programme. There have already been some great results and progressions and I am very excited to see how everyone has done by the end of the 10 weeks.

This brings me on to how and when we are going to test our results.

I would like to run the test session at the end of the programme in the format of a mini competition. This will mean that we will have two platforms running; one for female lifters and one for male lifters. Each lifter will have three attempts to lift their heaviest Snatch and three attempts at the Clean & Jerk. One lifter will be on the platform at a time on a rising bar. This means that the bar will be set up at the lightest opening weight and the weight on the bar will then keep going up as lifters choose their weights. The weight on the bar can NOT be decreased. All lifters will have 30 mins to warm up to their start weights and must submit their start weights and bodyweight to me at the beginning of the session.

As the last week of the programme is just before Xmas we are going to be running the competition on Monday 16th December from 7pm - 9pm. Then everyone can enjoy their Christmas knowing they can Snatch and C&J like Milko!

This competition is open to all of our members. However due to the time available we can only have 20 lifters in total. If you would like to get involved please put your name on the board at the box.

We are also running this as an open evening at Connect. This is a good opportunity for people to come along and see the box, meet the coaches and learn what it is that is making Connect so popular. There is no need to book a space, just turn up during the evening where you can speak to us about CrossFit or Olympic lifting and learn how you can get involved.

Olympic Lifting is growing rapidly in popularity and we are now the biggest place in the South East where you can get into this sport. We have well qualified and experienced coaches and are happy to teach anybody the lifts from complete beginners upwards. We have four dedicated lifting platforms and a large range of Olympic barbells and bumper plates.

With the help of British Weightlifting we are developing Connect into a hub of South East talent and will be offering more and more opportunities to get involved over the next few months. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and this blog for future details.

Good luck Guys and Girls!

Take a look at Coach Holly performing an instructional video of the two Olympic Lifts on our YouTube channel here.

The Dream Comes True....

Its been a whirlwind three months since I last updated this blog and what a three months it has been! If you scroll back down the page you will see we last blogged about a new 'extra' unit (Unit 6) we took over as an overspill from our original Unit 9. This was only ever going to be an interim option until we found exactly the right place to relocate Connect too but we didnt realise quite how soon we would be moving again!

After a very well timed sea kayak at the end of summer Connect coaches Barney and George were dragging the kayaks up the beach and noticed that this big unit right on the beach was being cleared out. Upon closer inspection they found out that indeed the previous occupants had moved out and the unit was ready to be put back on the market.

An empty Unit 5 - Space!

Just got the keys

The last of the paint had only just dried in Unit 6 and we were already working our way to securing Connects future home. At first, Unit 5 looked enormous. At 5100sq ft we were slightly worried that we might not be able to fill the thing. Remember, we were graduating up from a measly 700sq ft that had been our home for the previous two and a half years! It was quite some jump. But we hadn't rushed this. One of the best pieces of advice anyone gave us was to stay put until we were absolutely bursting at the seems and couldn't fit another member in. This was definitely the case with us by October 2013 and in fact we had to stop taking on members for two months over this summer because we were at total capacity.

So we went for it. 

In one spectacular weekend at the end of October we completely changed Unit 5 from an empty warehouse into a stunning functional fitness facility. Flip it, lets say fully furnished functional fitness facility! With the help of our incredibly supportive members it took two days to clean, paint, carry, transport, arrange and fix everything in place. By the end of the Sunday night it looked like it had been our home forever.

Chris H dragging those heavy ass mats out of Unit 9

Equipment and people everywhere!

Things are taking shape

And you know what? We filled the space easily. How did we ever fit all this equipment in one and then briefly two 700sq ft units? It seemed crazy.

Classes kicked off on the following Monday and it didn't take long to feel like home. The individual space that everyone had was amazing and after spending too long having to programme WODs (workouts of the day) taking into account the space requirements of the small box, our devilish minds were finally set free to programme as we wished!

A dream come true

Sometime during that first week myself and Holly looked up and saw the box operating at full pace. A multitude of lessons were happening side by side from WOD classes to Olympic Lifting classes to Barbell Clubs and our amazing team of coaches were in the thick of it teaching people how to move better, lift better and become fitter and healthier. We cast our mind back to February 2011 when we stood in lil' old Unit 9 and had our first class with 5 people worried that no-one else might join up. Its been incredibly hard work and stupidly long hours to get where we are today but what a trip.

Day 1 of CrossFit Connect - February 2011 - Unit 9

October 2013. Fully furnished Unit 5. Come and play.....

We are now proud owners of one of the biggest CrossFit boxes in the UK, have one of the most extensive timetables of classes in the country and have funding from British Weightlifting to develop the box into a centre of excellence for Olympic lifters in the South East.

It really is a dream come true. 

We cant thank our members, friends and family enough for their help and support over the last few years as we wouldn't be anywhere without you guys.

If you would like to come down and check us out then don't hesitate to get in touch. We are a friendly bunch and have some of the best qualified coaches around. Whilst we take our coaching and programming seriously we still know how to have fun and create a great atmosphere. We run free taster classes on Saturdays and are now taking bookings for our next Intro Course that will be starting in January. This is obviously going to be a busy one so come on down and book your spot now.

Happy training...

www.crossfitconnect.co.uk

* Big thanks to Nerijus at RXdPhotography for the great professional shots of the box. Follow him on Twitter @RXdPhotography or Facebook - RX'd Photography