FAQs

Do you need to know how to drive before you take driving lessons? Absolutely not and that is the same here. We are here to develop your fitness from the ground up. How do we do this? Simply, we ask you to be very honest with us each day you come in and train with us about how you are feeling. We will modify workouts just the right amount to achieve the desired effect. We introduce you to like-minded people within the community, most of who started in the exact same place as you.

Each class and its specific programming is written to complement one another. Fitness is our aim and coaching is our game, so it doesn’t matter which one you get into, either way, we will push your fitness and you will learn something new. 

What’s the difference between the types of classes on the schedule?

WOD: The “WOD” is the “workout of the day.” Each week the daily WODs are posted to our app (WODify), and it’s part of a complete program designed to improve strength and conditioning. The WOD can be scaled (adjusted) to provide a suitable challenge for athletes at any level.

You will be coached through a warm-up, skill preparation for all elements of the days WOD, then finally we will hit the workout.

Engine WOD: This is largely a barbell free class. In a very useful & easy format, you will develop three things. 1) you cardiovascular conditioning (Engine) 2) the ability to recover from high-intensity exercise 3) simple weighted and unweighted exercise technique that we use in CrossFit. This is accessible to all levels.

CrossFit Skills: Is a class that spends extra time developing some of the more complex exercises that we use in CrossFit. The better you become at skills the fitter you can become in the long run.

Olympic Weightlifting: A barbell based class that refines the technical aspects of Olympic-style weightlifting.  The class is again open to all levels. It is fronted by Evelyn Stevenson, who is 2x British Champion. As with all of the above, the Olympic Weightlifting program complements the main WOD programming.

Personal Training: Can be taken up with our coaches at any point at any level of fitness. Personal training is a great tool to increase the learning curve and gain more CrossFit experience, quickly. 

Additionally, you should check out the HOW TO START CROSSFIT resource. You may find some useful information there also.

Your first time in, we want you to feel comfortable. You will meet one of the owners Lee or Rich, or one of our wonderful coaches. Then we will do a quick tour of the facilities before your class. Pop you belongings in the changing room lockers (no padlock needed, they are coded) before heading to the cosy stretching area pre-workout! Post class, come and tell us what you thought of the class and let’s talk about membership and your next class!

The classic CrossFit prescription is once per training day ‘three days on, one day off, two days on, one day off’.  Some train two on, one off repeatedly and some every other day. Ultimately, it depends on how much time you have to commit and what your travel schedule is.

Typically we would have someone who has not done CrossFit before starting on a 13 session per month membership (that means at least 17-18 days of rest in there too). You can always adjust your membership as you see fit.

If you are highly driven, want to get better at CrossFit, but struggle for the time you’ll for sure need to employ some patience. Definitely don’t be too hard on yourself. Out of 168 hours in a week, if you come to Shapemsmiths for two of those hours progress will be very steady.

Ultimately, we believe strongly that CrossFit should be a lifestyle choice. Depending on proximity to the gym, it’s relatively easy to fit a 60min session into your day, high five a few folks, smile away and then crack back on with your day feeling like you are bad-ass.

Yes, indeed we do. There are male and female lockers and shower rooms with 5 showers in each space. Within each shower cubicle you get a real treat in the form of special probiotic shower gel and shampoo from the amazing Recovery Room Body Care team. We have a towel hire service (£1) and the changing area is equipped with salon grade hair dryers. Lockers are coded, so no need to bring a padlock or a coin. We also have a hireable locker service upstairs in our secondary locker room.

We have a very unique system for our programming that sees it go through multiple layers of checks and testing. Chief program writers submit to the head of programming for scrutiny, before presenting in front of the whole coaching team for further checks and balances. The basic overview and philosophy is explained over four key articles that we put together. You can find them below. 

1. Part One
2. Part Two 
3. Part Three
4. The Last Word on Programming

We are a community focused gym, first and foremost. So, classes & community events will always take priority over open gym. That said, as long as you have read our programming guidelines including The Last Word on Programming , and you attend our in house monthly workshop ‘Maximise your Membership’ you will have a better idea as to how self-guided training may be able to speed up the learning process and will be granted open gym access along side your membership.

For further information read this OPEN GYM ARTICLE too.

If you want to investigate spending more time on certain CrossFit skills, like toes to bar, muscle-ups, weightlifting etc email hello@crossfitshapesmiths.co.uk, speak to Lee or Rich in person or grab a coach when they are not busy.

Some of our coaches have PT slots available and are oh so happy to sit down for 10 mins to chat through your goals and see if they can help personalise your CrossFit coaching even further. There are regular, & semi-regular options available with everyone. Their time is very valuable, so do get in touch if you are interested to work with someone.

We love nothing more than having visitors from other boxes come “throw down” with us!
If you are just passing through, we charge a drop in fee of £26.25 per class. We promise its worth every penny!

You can book a drop in with us  Here.

You may find that we do things a little differently than your “box back home.” We hope that you enjoy the change in scenery, clientele, maybe even music. If anything makes you uncomfortable, however, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Most definitely. Sessions are bookable at shapesmiths.wodify.com and there is more information HERE.

Thanks, guys and girls. Looking forward to hearing any additions.

If you are experienced CrossFitter, Weightlifter, or Strongman, we will give you a complimentary class. If you feel Shapesmiths - London is the right gym for you, we’ll get you started straight away! Please contact us at hello@crossfitshapesmiths.co.uk.

Read this article here to learn the Shapesmiths lingo.