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Why Functional Fitness Builds Confidence in Kids
How games-based functional fitness builds movement skills, resilience and confidence in kids: in the gym, the playground and beyond.
Why CrossFit Is Fitness for Longevity
Strength, capacity and mobility for the second half of life: why CrossFit's mix of functional training is built for ageing well.
Training for HYROX? Why CrossFit Prepares You Better Than You Think
Why CrossFit training transfers so well to HYROX racing: the engine, strength and station skills you're already building in class.
The Shapesmiths Guide to Training While Travelling
How to keep training on the road: hotel workouts, drop-ins at other boxes, and what to let go of so a trip never derails your progress.
The Power of Showing Up: How Consistency Beats Motivation
Motivation fades, consistency compounds. Why simply showing up is the most underrated training skill, and how to make it automatic.
How to Recover From Hard Training and Spot Overtraining
How to recover properly from hard training and recognise the warning signs of overtraining: sleep, fuel, deloads and when to back off.
THE LAST WORD ON PROGRAMMING
Why chasing the perfect programme is the wrong question, and what actually drives results in CrossFit training at Shapesmiths.
How it all works: Shapesmiths Coaching & Programming Part III
The final part of how coaching and programming work at Shapesmiths: how it all comes together across classes, cycles and your training year.
How it all works: Shapesmiths Coaching & Programming Part II
Part two of how coaching and programming work at Shapesmiths: going deeper on the structure behind the daily WOD and your long-term progress.
How it all works: Shapesmiths Coaching & Programming Part I
Part one of how coaching and programming actually work at Shapesmiths: the thinking behind every class you take and how the pieces fit together.
If you want to get a pull up…do these things…
A coach's step-by-step progression to your first strict pull-up: the exact drills and strength work we use with members at Shapesmiths.
How to Secure your Bike when you come to the gym
Practical advice on locking your bike properly when you ride to the gym: the locks, techniques and habits that actually deter thieves.
SO YOU WANT TO TRAIN DOUBLE-DAYS & DOUBLE SESSIONS? HOW TO OPTIMISE YOUR PROGRESS
Getting fitter faster isn't about training more, it's about training smarter. How to get the most out of every class at Shapesmiths.
Your CrossFit Kitbag Essentials
The kit that's genuinely worth carrying to CrossFit, and the gear you can leave at home. A coach's honest packing list.
Why should you sign up for the CrossFit Open?
What the CrossFit Open actually is, why it's for every level, not just competitors, and what taking part does for your training year.
The terminology you need to decode CrossFit
Every CrossFit term you'll hear on the gym floor, decoded: WOD, AMRAP, EMOM, RX, scaled and more, explained simply before your first class.
Beginners at Shapesmiths
How to start CrossFit as a complete beginner at Shapesmiths: what your first classes look like, how scaling works, and why you don't need to get fit first.
Welcome to your first CrossFit class!
Exactly what happens in your first CrossFit class at Shapesmiths in Clapham: the warm-up, the coaching, the scaling, and what to bring.
Understanding Functional Bodybuilding at Shapesmiths
What Functional Bodybuilding is, how it differs from classic CrossFit, and why controlled-tempo training helps you move well, look good and feel better.
Welcome
home
Tour, warm-up, your first WOD. Coached the whole way. Meet a director and the community in your first hour.