July member of the month goes to the lovely Clare Brivati. Clare joined TIO two years ago; initially with occasional classes to supplement her yoga practice, she quickly became a regular member of the 6am crew and has steadily progressed with quiet perseverance. During the third lockdown, Clare made a commitment to herself that she'd do the the early morning Zoom classes every weekday and she made amazing progress during this time. Since coming back to the gym in April she's seen steady strength gains, with PBs on her clean, squat and deadlift in recent weeks. Here’s what she had to say when I asked her about her TIO experience to date:
How did you first get involved with TIO? A group of friends joined the 9.15am class and were raving about it; initially I resisted temptation but FOMO got the better of me. I couldn’t make 9.15 so forced myself to get up and join the 6am, I haven’t looked back, now I love that early morning WOD and the 6am crew, such a fab bunch of people! What’s your most memorable CrossFit moment so far? Murph is up there, I seriously considered laying down mid way through that last run but most memorable has been the last few months, since the gym reopened. I’m getting stronger and slowly making my way towards RX’ing the WODs, my ultimate goal. What’s your favourite workout/movement? I love the heavy lifts and weirdly enjoy the hideously hard WODs, well the feeling after completing them anyway, those endorphins! ...and your least favourite? Thrusters and overhead squats, I blame my disproportionately long arms. What’s your number one fitness goal this year? To hit RX in the WODs, nail double unders and a pull up. Oh and holding a handstand for more than 1 sec would be a major bonus.
What do you do when you’re not at the gym? A fair bit of yoga, a lot of running around to fit everything in and on a nice sunny evening (or a rainy one at the moment) you’ll find me enjoying a glass or two of rose with the aforementioned original 9.15am crew. One thing people might not know about you is... Over the years I’ve tried so many types of training from spinning, bikram, street dance, climbing, kick boxing, pole dancing (it's seriously hard and the most bruised I have ever been, think numerous rope climbs) to joining a football team (with fellow TIO members Jo, Lucy and Susannah) having never kicked a ball, we were pretty successful considering!
If you could give a new member one piece of advice, what would it be? Listen to the coaches, take your time to learn the movements and nail technique before rushing to add weight or moving on. It’s tempting to look around at what others are doing but there is always the perfect scale for everyone. TIO is by far my favourite place to train, everyone is so welcoming, encouraging and inspiring, ultimately you will love it!
Thanks for always bringing a cheery can-do attitude Clare... you've spent time building strong foundations and now you're reaping the benefits, I can't wait to see what the coming months bring; pretty sure you held a freestanding handstand for a good few seconds yesterday too - smashing those goals!