Introducing Chris...

...he's the one on the far right. And currently Chris is training me for my one-on-one Crossfit sessions. Christ Tefft is the owner of Crossfit Cult in Melbourne, and I have to tell you - I wish he was here permanently because he's brilliant!

He's not only very knowledgable, and a great communicator, he sums you up pretty quickly. It amazes me how well he formulates his sessions in a way that challenges me, yet maintains a fine balance in relation to my current injuries/restrictions, while teaching the core basics of CF, and tossing in plenty of variety to boot. And best of all, his enthusiasm is highly motivating and contagious!

Here's what is says on his background...

"I got my start in the health and fitness industry teaching rock climbing to adults at the age of 15. I went on to get my BSc.(Hons) in anatomy and exercise physiology. I spent a year doing medical research but realized my real passion is coaching. I’ve done my time lifting weights and getting “BIG” but I quickly lost interest. I needed to be challenged. I cycle, run, rock climb and play around with acrobatics but I’ve found my favorite sport now...CrossFit. People call me obsessed, CrossFiters call it dedication. When is the last time you weren’t sure that you were going to make it through you’re training session?

CrossFit saved me from the boredom of workouts and taught me what it is to truly push myself. It’s amazing what you can do when get outside of your comfort zone. Results for me honestly use to be how I looked, now all i can think about is doing Fran in under 2 minutes. Looks are just a nice consequence of increased performance now.

CrossFit has changed all of us as coaches in how we think about training. It’s has brought a challenge and a sporting atmosphere to training. CrossFit bonds training partners together and makes you want to train. We want to bring this to our clients.

The question is...

Are you ready to TRAIN?"

When I arrived for my session today my head space wasn't great. After last night's Army PT session (we did a circuit) and little sleep, I was feeling a little seedy, and wasn't looking forward to being punished today. Chris quickly took my focus off the negative and got me moving real quick. It's amazing when you shift your focus, how your energy quickly returns.

So afterwards, my motivation was back up. I felt fantastic again and it was the first time my body has glistened with sweat. And it was pouring off me so much, I had difficulty holding the bar and had to chalk up.

I'm on holiday next week, so I miss a session next week, but I'm hoping the week after Chris is still here in Brissy. He's not sure at this stage, so fingers crossed!

And lastly, on our first session we discussed my goals. Wow...what a difficult one. However, he pointed out some interesting things and quickly summarised what it is at this moment that I really want to achieve....getting back into group sessions (giving it my all) without injury. Nice and simple. That's step 1, and that's what we're concentrating on. But during our discussion about my goals for next year, he said something which really hit home and turned on a light inside my head.

He said something along these lines..."if you concentrate on Crossfit training, all the other goals and training (army and martial arts) will improve exponentially without you even realising. You'll get to a point where you'll be doing your army training/PT sessions, or your martial arts training and realise...'shit - this is just so easy, and I'm not even trying'!"

Now that excites me!