You may know him as Chris, Tom, Dave, Jasper or perhaps (rather worryingly) Britney. Whatever name you know him by you are sure to know his face, Chris has been with Thames Crossfit for nearly 6 months and rarely a evening goes by that he does not grace the gym with his presence. Chris has taken to Crossfit with real enthusiasm and determination and the results he is getting show just how what a little dedication and effort can achieve. Not only that but his bright coloured vests are sure to liven you up during any wod! Lets me todays athlete…..
Age: 29
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 77kg
What do you do all day?
I write code to calculate how much trader’s lending positions are making, and then get to hear why I must be wrong.
Can you give us some of your benchmark stats?
70kg front squat, 132kg deadlift, 65kg bench press, 8kg weighted pull ups
What is your athletic history?
Triathlon, running, cycling, 10 years of snowboarding and related pain.
Biggest Strength in the gym?
I turn up a lot.
Biggest Weakness?
Anything involving a front-rack position.
What’s your drink?
A (paleo) Guinness or a martini
What is your biggest fitness goal?
Complete an Ironman before im 35 and then make it to 36.
What do you enjoy most about Thames Crossfit?
The enthusiasm shown by everyone that pushes you to smash that killer WOD when all you want to do is bail. And listening to Wolfmother.
What are some improvements you have made since joining Thames CrossFit?
Before quitting London and going traveling, I subscribed to a special training regime I like to call “Chrisfit”. However, with limited advertising and no actual gym space I was the only member, and so being very boring it tended to have its peaks and troughs of effectiveness.
After 12 months of travel I had successfully cultivated a 37” waist and a 95kg temple based on pizza and beer, thus succeeding in creating the perfect “before” photo for my future Men’s Health cover shoot (pencilled in for September 2015 edition). But despite the obvious potential in a new “ChrisFit” poster campaign, I couldn’t be bothered to dust off the old membership card and instead looked at alternative ways of again glimpsing my toes. Crossfit was the obvious choice at the time as it shared a lot of the same letters as the old place, but given how much my attitude to training and nutrition have changed in the last 6 months I recommend CrossFit to everyone I meet. I now weigh a lot less (and not in a malnourished kind of way), and have leaned out to an Adonis like 32” waist, but it’s the new love of weights, stretching, and eating chickens that has really shocked me. I have a completely changed outlook on what fitness is and how it fits into my life, and that’s kind of more important than the cover shoot.
Any advice for those new to Crossfit?
Turn up and get involved as much as you can… its only going to help.
Most importantly, what is the greatest sport movie of all time?
Tough, but either “Thats it, Thats all” or “The Art of Flight” for inspiration or “Raging Bull”.
Workout of the day
5 Rounds for time:
10 Burpees over a KB
10 KB swing 32/24kg
10 C2B pull ups
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Additional advice, based on Chris’ facebook page: post pictures of NOTHING but roasted chicken daily.
My motivational chicken posts are key to winning the crossfit games Charlie.
Chris…lookin ripped in that photo man! You got a licence for those guns?!…On a more serious and sentimental note, its great to have you as part of our community! Just like the post says your results have been brilliant, it reflects the hard work you put in each day and it is something any new members we have should aspire too.
Cheers dude! You guys are stuck with me for a lot longer!
It’s a pleasure working out with you Chris, great guy
Always fun to work out with you, Chris. Love how your sense of humour comes out in this post! You bring a fantastic spirit to the gym.
Tom (I still have no idea who that Tom was),
Always a pleasure to have you around (luckily as you’re always around until chased out ). Great dedication and the results are definitely showing that you’re on the right path.
Charlie – Chris’s FB does tell a very different story then yours. Although based on you making good progress at the gym too, wearing crazy hats might just be the highway to performance after all…
Chris its always a pleasure to train with such a elite athlete. I hope one day i will to have the physique and fitness to grace those amazing vests.
the vests come first, then the elite athletic ability.
Nice one chicken man!! Don’t give up on the cover shoot dream!
Always a pleasure to have you around Chris!
Awesome choice of movie btw, that video looks pretty awesome.