The 1st Southern Series Invitational

We have just wrapped up the first day of competition in our Southern Series Invitational.....and what a great day it was too!

The idea behind the competition is to bring together 6 of the local boxes in the East Sussex area and hold a competition day every two months at each one of the boxes locations. The format of each stage of the competition will change on each leg, so today was mixed pairs, next comp will be teams of 4 and so on utilising six different formats. Each box is encouraged to use different people for each competition to encourage as many people as possible to participate and the WODs will also be set up so the vast majority of box go-ers can take part without having to scale weights or movements. One extra little incentive to train is thrown into the mix too as at each competition there will be one specific skill movement somehow involved that people will know beforehand and have a chance to work towards before the next competition rolls around. This time it was Double Unders!

Our aim was for this to be an inclusive competition that brings together our different communities throughout the calender year.

The boxes taking part are:

Connect - Fitness & Performance

CrossFit Blackbrook

CrossFit Hove

CrossFit Corinthians

CrossFit Crawley

CrossFit Smart Performance

Today saw 15 mixed pairs teams taking part and on a wet and miserable day they smashed through five different point scoring WODs including a final.

The WODs were:

For each WOD the teams were ranked in order and then given 1 point for 1st place, 2 points for second etc so that at the end it was all about the lowest points total. After all of the 6 competitions being held over the next 12 months one box will have the lowest points total and be crowned Southern Series Invitational Champions.

It was really good to meet so many new people today from the local area and to throwdown some great WODs with them.

Well done to our Connectors who took part this first time round especially as most of them had not competed before:

Sean & Donna Beale (The Bar Beales)

Adam and Natasha (Think of One)

Louise and Russell (Dizzy Rascals)

The Connectors!

WOD 2b going down - 15 mins to establish both 3x rep max strict press.
Plenty of new PBs were put in the bag today!

WOD 3 was a gassy combo of shuttle runs and a bar complex

I will put some more photos up on here in the following few days once we have some from Jason our official photographer for the day (better than my phone snaps above I'm sure!). Cheers Jason!

Thank you so much to Barnaby 'Gabos' Gehlcken for creating the idea for this competition event and for organising it amongst all the other boxes. I'm sure we are going to have a great time over the next year meeting up and getting more and more people involved in CrossFit competition. There's no buzz like the adrenaline induced, dry-mouth just before the clock counts down 3, 2, 1...Go!

Standings and scores for the four WODs

Totaled points for each box will be sent out to the boxes over the coming days.

Get working on those Strict Pull Ups for the next comp boys and girls!

If you are interested to know more about what we do at Connect and how you could train with us and become part of the community then don't hesitate to get in touch. We hold regular free taster sessions and Intro workshops throughout the month,

Tough Times - Neils Blog - Part 5

Hello again.

I have struggled with this blog and by a long way it has been the hardest one to write to date.

The problem is that I messed up a lift and damaged the ligaments in my wrist which meant I ended up in A&E. That was ten weeks ago and although it's gotten better it’s been a very long and slow process. I have tried to write this blog so many times but it always came across as negative and I'm sure nobody wants to read something like that.

To be honest the last two months have been horrible for me. I could train but there were many things I couldn't do. My motivation was lost and I have to say there were times when I felt like giving it all up and calling it a day. I firmly believe that if I didn't train at Connect I probably would have quit.

The support and help that I received was amazing. Members lending me equipment to help recovery, coaches writing special workouts for me that didn't use my wrist. I have learnt (along with 'get your technique right') that if you do any sort of sport you are likely to get injured at some point and it's how you cope with that that makes you stronger within yourself.

There's been a lot of running lately!

Well that's enough about my problems. Let me fill you in on the rest of the family. Madi has not been training at Connect as much as she would like as she has had school athletics and has been selected to represent the region at the national trampolining finals in Exeter. There is a limit to how much even Madi can cram in! She did very well in the athletics and in the trampolining she won a bronze medal in her age group which was an amazing achievement.

Sarah finished her Paleo challenge and lost over two kilos in weight and two inches off her waist which was a great result for all the hard work she put in. Her training is coming on in leaps and bounds but she has found it hard to get down as much during the summer holidays as she would like so we have had some grumpy faces!

Both she and Madi took part in a competition that was held at Connect. They hold one every few weeks, just for members, and it's mixed in with a bit of a social as well. It's a nice way for new members to get involved alongside more experienced members. They are always good fun and I have to say it was the scene of one of the strangest conversations I have witnessed; Madi and another …. How can I word this …? Let’s say ‘mature male competitor’ discussing loom bands! What they have made, how frustrating it is when one breaks midway through etc. Absolutely fantastic. It’s things like that - for me - that make Connect stand out. Everyone is involved, no matter who you are, whether you have been going for five years or five months, it really doesn't matter.

Madi repping out some med ball slams at the In-House Throwdown recently.

Leo has been his normal self, coming down playing on whatever he can and leaving little chalky handprints everywhere! Again, he is always made to feel welcome and loves coming down.

At one of the recent events one of the owners spent a good half an hour playing with him doing magic tricks. There may have been a motive for it as David wanted a sweet from Leo but never the less it was great to see that Leo is as welcome as anyone. (David did get a sweet in the end!)

One last thing, we have had a letter from the NHS saying that Leo is overweight. He got weighed and measured at school and based purely on the outdated BMI scale it said he was overweight and it required a letter home. This annoyed us greatly as this is so far from the truth its ridiculous. The leaflet about becoming a more active family also amused us! If anyone has any ideas on how we can do this then please get in touch! (Yes, I’m being a bit sarcastic!)

That's all folks, till next time.

CONNECT – more than ever, THE place to train!

Photos by permission of RXd Photography (https://www.facebook.com/rxdphotography)

A Great Testimonial........

We had a fantastic email today from a member who just wanted to let us know how much Connect has meant to him in his first year with us. It really is brilliant to hear how much we help people out through everything we do at the box and really reaffirms why we do this job.....Over to you Kev......

Kev at the completion of his Intro Course at Connect one year ago today (first on the left)

"Ok I'll try keep this short as possible but here goes. On this day last year I did my first intro course after wanting to try CrossFit for a while, it was fun and nearly killed me! We learned some tech and CrossFit was explained by David Draper and Holly Gehlcken and this was followed by a WOD (workout of the day) of: 3 RFT (rounds for time) of 400m run, 12 x 12kg kettle bell swings and 12 box jumps which I completed in 9 mins 46 secs. I believe this is why we are always told to write stuff down so you can go back and see if you've improved."

"I then completed my intro and after 8 sessions was ready to join the big boys (and girls). I signed up to do the 30 day paleo challenge and was training 3 days a week. After 1 month I was a stone lighter and felt great. I was now hooked on CrossFit and couldn't wait for each session to come. A few months went by and every thing was going great. Then shortly after Xmas things went downhill for me in my private life and I more or less hit rock bottom. I was depressed and CrossFit was the last thing on my mind as I had lost all interest in it."

"I stopped training, took time off work and didn't know what to do with myself. Then one day (about 3 weeks later) I got a text from Dave asking if everything was ok as he hadn't seen or heard from me. I told him I had some issues so he offered to freeze my membership but also said that a workout would prob do me some good and to come for a chat. I went to see him and we had a really good chat about everything and I thought 'right', time to sort myself out."

"I've been there week after week since and still enjoy every minute of it. I just want to say a massive thanks to David as if he didn't care about his members than I certainly wouldn't of come back. Let's face it how many gym goers actually know the guy who owns it. I want to thank all the other coaches for pushing me when I've needed it cause sometimes I do need a push. CrossFit is now a big part of my life and I've met some great people and made new friends. Long may it continue. Thanks for reading" 

Kev at a recent In-house Friday Night Throwdown at the box. Contemplating his next move!

It is a pleasure to help our members through the tougher times and we realise that life isnt all plain sailing. With the support you get through friendships made at the box it really can be life changing (although i hate using those words because it sounds so cheesy!).

If you would like more info on what we do or would like a free taster session with us drop us an email or give us a call using the details to the right. :)

Personal Training and Semi-Private Training in East Sussex at Connect

Due to such high demand you may have seen from our website that we have recently closed our CrossFit memberships at Connect. We place a great deal of emphasis on community and the level of coaching at the box and want to ensure that every member gets the full attention they deserve. With our reputation now solidly established in East Sussex and the results we achieve with clients and members making a great impact on their friends and family, the demand for our services has been at an all time high over the last few months. As a result we have closed our memberships for the time being to let all our newer members settle in and to let the community get to know each other through socials and events (our Summer Throwdown is coming up on Sat 12th July).

However, despite closing our general CrossFit membership we are excited to announce the arrival of our premium personal training services at Connect. 

For three years we have been solely focused on becoming one of the best CrossFit boxes in the country which I believe we have achieved. We are now expanding our range of services to offer what we know will be the best and most comprehensive personal training service in Brighton & Hove. In fact we are so confident in what we do we offer a full money-back guarantee on all our personal training packages.

Our coaches have over 25 years of combined personal training experience and are some of the best in the South East. They are ready to help you achieve your maximum potential if you have a high level of commitment and really want to make serious improvements to your health and fitness.

Whilst you are choosing us as trainers we also choose you as clients. We only work with people who are fully committed to making a serious change to their health and lifestyle and during our free consultation with you we decide together if we are the right fit. There are plenty of personal trainers in Brighton & Hove where you can just drop in and out when you feel like it but with us it is a commitment, its a vision and its a plan to get you there.

Whether you're looking to increase strength, lose weight, improve performance for a specific sport or event or just prefer a more personal setting our programmes will get you where you want to go.

What you get:

*Initial Consultation - First off we need to find out if we are the right fit as trainer/client so we sit down and discuss exactly what it is you want out of the programme. We'll find out what drives you, what you want to achieve, your levels of commitment and of course get you excited about whats possible.

*Specificity - A specifically customised programme with personalised sessions, drills and mobilisation exercises that you need to get you to your goals.

*Accountability - You and your trainer work closely together to keep you on track and set goals that are achievable. We work with you to keep you motivated, ensure you are heading in the right direction and you'll have monthly check-ins and reviews.

*Nutrition Plan and Advice - Whether it be eating to lose weight or tweaking your nutrition to increase performance your trainer will go into detail about what foods you should and should not be eating. They will give you regular advice on meal ideas and review your food journal constantly. Your initial assessment includes a 30-minute consultation with our 3AA Rosette winning chef who will detail a comprehensive first 30 day menu.

*Your own chef – You will have the option of buying nutritionally balanced meals and snacks that are delivered to the gym whenever you want them from our paleo food service.

*Access to our on-site Sports Therapist – You’ll receive a complimentary half-hour session with our sports therapist to give you a current movement analysis and diagnose any mobility issues.

You have the option of private one-to-one sessions or semi-private sessions in groups of 2-4 people with perhaps friends or family.

You are not paying for a one-hour session with our coaches at Connect. You are paying for a fully implemented, periodised training plan to help you visualise your goals and get you there. Guaranteed.

Our packages range from 3 months to 12 months with the choice of training frequency. Please see our website for more details, give us a call for a friendly chat on 01273-410899 or fill out our consultation request form here.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Bank Holidays & Paleo - Neils Blog - Part 4

So more news from the Farley camp......

We all went training as a family on the recent bank holiday and once again (as they usually do on bank holidays) Connect opened up the classes to over 30 people and by using expert programming made it a team WOD that everybody could enjoy.

Plenty of room at Connect for some big Team events!

Team WODs are always great fun and this was no exception. It did have a downside as my team got beaten by Sarah's team and Madi's team but Sarah did manage to hit herself in the head with a 10kg plate whilst beating me so not all bad!  Haha! (I might be going to pay for that later ...!)

The fact that we can all go together makes training easier and even though my son Leo is only four and obviously too young to take part he is always made to feel welcome and loves coming down with us. He gets to swing on the rings and he loves the punch bag but I think his favourite is the chalk bucket!

Away from the training, Sarah has also started what is called the 30-Day Paleo challenge. This again is something that Connect offers and is an excellent support to fitness and health. It’s run by Barney and Holly who created Caveman Snacks and PlanP (check them out on Facebook and Twitter) and every six months or so we are invited to commit to a 30 day strict Paleo eating plan.

If you have never heard of Paleo, it is a 'modern nutritional eating plan based on the diet of Paleolithic humans'. It is also referred to as the caveman diet and avoids refined/processed foods and any that are perceived to be agricultural products. Basically you can eat what cavemen used to be able to hunt or gather. a great resource and place to start learning about this is on Marks Daily Apple.

The 30 day challenge results are amazing. The first time I tried it I lost 7kg and 3in off my waist. An astonishing result in just 30 days. I also had more energy and felt great. I can't recommend this highly enough. We have followed Paleo since starting at Connect but it’s always good to strip it back every now and again and do this challenge in its entirety.

I know we have posted this before but its always good to see the change Neil has made!

CrossFit sometimes gets some bad press; people slate it for bad coaching, poor form and high injury rates. I'll agree that there are some poor quality coaches out there who tend to teach weight over technique and if you search YouTube you will see some horror stories. This is not true of Connect. Our coaches are second-to-none with years of experience and the one thing they all tell you is technique, technique, technique! They always have three different scales to the workout too (Health, Fitness and Performance) so you can choose exactly the right difficulty level for your current level of ability or fitness. Along with the normal CrossFit classes they offer Olympic lifting classes, gymnastic classes, mobility classes and barbell classes too to ensure everyone can develop the essential skills that make CrossFit so damn fun!

With 3 different WOD options each day we always scale you to your current
abilities to ensure safety and the fastest progress.

Competition Time! - Neils Blog - Part 3

Hello to you all again.

What a fantastic few weeks we have had!

Firstly, I took part in my first CrossFit competition outside of Connect on Saturday 26th April at CrossFit Kent and Sussex. Now you can ask anyone who knows me but I am not a very outgoing or confident person. I am much happier blending in and definitely don't like to be the centre of attention.

I know, I know. 'So why did you enter a competition then…?'

Good question. Well, I had done a couple of in-house comps at Connect and loved them, so when the chance came along to enter a different one it all seemed like a good idea. That was until it came around!

Everything I had ever done before: half marathon, triathlon etc, nobody takes any notice of you (unless you’re finishing last and they are waiting to pick the cones up behind you!) so you can still blend in to the crowd. But CrossFit's different. People are watching you, cheering you, looking at your technique and checking out your form.

The Farley family and a few other familiar faces from Connect
watch the opening rounds of the competition.

For me, this adds more pressure as I am not only representing myself but Connect too.

I was scared stiff. It was one thing to compete in front of the people I train with but the thought of competing against people from other CrossFit boxes was truly daunting. However, the coaches at Connect give you a greater sense of belief in your own abilities and you feel that you want to push your own boundaries further and further, hence why I entered.

The competition was broken down into three WOD's (workout of the day) and you were scored on the amount of reps you did or the weight that you lifted. There was a cut after the third WOD to keep the top places and then a final fourth WOD. I'll give you an example of a WOD. The first one was a seven minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 4 x 10m sprints and 5 burpees.

Once I started the adrenalin took over and I managed to finish in second place overall in the scaled category and I also managed a PB (Personal Best) in one of the lifts during the third WOD. Not bad for 41yr old! It was a fantastic experience and without the backing of the coaches at Connect I would never have done as well as I did.

Neil hitting a clean & jerk.

I wasn't the only one competing from Connect. Joey came third in the scaled division and the other competitors taking part on the day were Sean (13th), Dean (9th), Imi, Barney, and Emma (2nd) who all took part in the RX category and did amazingly well.

On the wider front I’m not the only one entering things from the Farley family. Madi has signed up for the 'Teen Challenge'. This is not run by Connect but is an online challenge. Every month I have to submit a video of Madi completing that month’s challenge. This month it is a maximum height box jump. So from a standing start Madi ‘Zebedee’ Farley has to jump as high as she can onto a box. (Update – Madi managed to score a 35” box jump on this!)

One of the many classes that Connect offers is an Olympic lifting class and my wife Sarah has recently committed to this class. It covers the two lifts lifts that you may have seen on TV at the Olympic Games: the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. These are run by Connect Olympic lifting guru Holly. She is one of the owners of Connect and also an Olympic weightlifting champion in her own right.

Both Joey (right) and Neil in action from Connect at the East Kent Throwdown

Although Sarah has only been going for a few weeks the progress she has made is amazing, getting PB after PB. She has also now got her first strict unassisted pull-up which just shows how much stronger she has become over the past six months. I know she sometimes doesn't feel like she is progressing but it’s milestones like this that show she is. I’m very proud of her.

Sarah has gone from CrossFit widow to the one who probably trains the most in a week (and is the grumpiest when she can’t!).  And I’m not even going to mention that she now wants a pair of weightlifting shoes! Although I will just point out that  when I got mine she said they were, and I quote, ‘A complete waste of money!’

There are a few more things I wanted to tell you all about but I'll leave those for the next installment.

Thanks for reading!

*All photos courtesy of RX Photography

Family Fun at Connect - Neils Blog - Part 2

Hello again,

I guess if you are reading this then my first attempt at a blog was not too bad after all so let me fill you in on the last few weeks.

I finished my last blog post with an amazing PB (Personal Best) and having smashed ‘heavy week’ which always leaves people with huge smiles on their faces.

After ‘heavy week’ comes … ‘light week’. This format of programming at Connect by the excellent coaches is done so it allows your body to recover and train in sensible cycles. Now light week may sound like a nice easy week, gentle workouts with no weight on the bar etc but how wrong you are!

Light weeks involve new skill challenges and a massive emphasis on technique during the focus sessions where we don’t often lift over 50% of our 1 rep maxes. This allows us to really dial in the movement without worrying about the weights. The WODs (workout of the day) during light week are just as demanding with new skills thrown in but maybe a little more cardio focussed (which we all love, obviously!). These light weeks are superb for trying out new skills or “training your weakness”.

Unfortunately Sarah missed out on light week as she was unable to train. I can hear you all crying out ...WHY? 

Well, she had just made it through heavy week with a massive haul of 5 PB's but on the Sunday she managed to put her back out due to a rather strong … sneeze! It took a visit to Connects resident sports therapist, Paul Keenan, to put it right and get her back training and I can tell you first hand she is a nightmare when she doesn't train! After the light week came ‘medium week’ and Sarah got back on it. Phew!

I mentioned in the previous post that the coaches always give three different levels of scaling, allowing everyone to participate at their own level and I have to admit that I am guilty of playing it safe on a number of occasions and scaling it where I probably didn't need to. I decided that that needed to change. I needed to push myself. So during these last few weeks I have been trying to do as many RX'd WODs as I possibly could. Although these were tough, the feeling after was amazing knowing the hard work is paying off. RX by the way means performing the workout as the coach designed and not having to scale weight or movement at all.

As it was the Easter holidays my daughter Madi was able to train more than she would normally and the progress she is making is amazing. She is no longer using a training bar (lighter than a normal bar) for some lifts and as always shows me up in the WOD's. She even has her own nickname now Mad Dog!  Thanks Barney!

On Easter Sunday there was a special class. It was open to everyone with no class size limits and really made use of Connects 5500sq ft facility. It was 2 x WODs: the 1^st was a partner WOD and the 2^nd was a team one. I won't go into details about them but if anyone knows what a burpee is I will say there were 200 of them in the 2^nd WOD. All those who don't know go and Google it!

Over 30 people turned up and it was fantastic. I may not have said that straight afterwards as I was feeling a little unwell! It was just another example of the variety of classes you get at Connect.

Another aspect of Connect is the personal training they offer and I was lucky enough to win a session with Connect owner David Draper. PT sessions can be tailored to individual needs and I wanted to work on technique in the Olympic lifts. It was great. There is so much to learn with each lift it was like being back at school, but I would highly recommend it.

I shall leave you this time with a quote from one of the members who is unable to train at Connect at the moment due to working in Ecuador. I think this sums up what Connect is all about:

“Connect is a special place … I thought I loved CrossFit but CrossFit only works when you feel happy, confident and strong in the place you train. I miss Connect a lot. Do you lot have any idea how lucky you are?!"

Connect - THE place to train.