Welcome to a new series of in-depth member stories! We will be sharing some longer background stories about some of our members, to unpick the reasons for them joining Blitz and how it has changed their life (so far!)

First up, we’ve got Jon. Read on for the full inside story….

Tell us about yourself and life before being a member at Blitz?

Hi, I'm Jon - aged 52, married to Rebecca, with three children Matthew (17), Alexander (15) and Eleanor (12).

I've never been a great one for exercise. I hated most sport at school, although in my teens got reasonable at cricket and cross country running, and did a lot of cycling.

Gyms (until now) never appealed to me at all. For exercise I did a fair amount of cycling to work, a bit of cricket, annual hillwalking and skiing holidays, but not a lot else. As a career accountant / finance director I've spent a lot of time sitting down at a desk tutting and frowning at numbers, and not much time moving about. 

I also love my food and drink. Beer, wine, curry, steak, cooked breakfasts, anything with cheese anywhere near it - etc. When I was young I had the benefit of a metabolism that kept me skinny as a rake, but that doesn't last forever. In my late 20's there was a perfect point for about 6 months when I was happy with what I saw in the mirror - but then came my mother-in-law's ridiculously good cooking and that put paid to that.

Throughout my 30’s and 40’s I felt OK, and by the time I reached 52 last year, I didn't feel completely unfit. However I had a fully fledged Dad belly and my dear daughter described my face as "puffy" - alongside this I had a sore back, ridiculously tight hamstrings, and a dodgy knee.

My cholesterol test results were described in hushed tones by the doctor as "spectacular". My BMI had edged into the "overweight" zone (I'm 5' 8", and was around 76kg). I struggled at times to keep pace with my sons on walking or skiing trips; and my daughter persuaded me to come on a short run round the common and I came back looking like a ripe beetroot. I'd even started to make those involuntary puffing and groaning noises when getting up or sitting down (that Billy Connolly once described as a symptom of old age).

I began to think - “if I'm like this at 50, what on earth am I going to be like at 70?”

Before joining Blitz I started doing Yoga, which was really helpful (and I still do it, with a wonderful teacher) but it wasn't really enough.

What initially motivated you to start doing CrossFit at Blitz and how has that motivation evolved over time?

I had heard about CrossFit through a couple of work colleagues, one of whom was a Blitz member, and the other owned his own CrossFit box in Cambridge. I never in a million years thought it would be for me. (In fact one of my colleages looked at me as though I had completely lost my marbles. "CrossFit? Jon? You'll die!")

However I had a chance early this year when I took a 3-4 month sabbatical from work. I couldn't take off and travel the world due to my family, and there was only so much DIY that could be done - so what better to do than try to get "properly" fit?

Not having ever graced a gym before, I wanted somewhere where I didn't have to work out what to do by myself. I also knew that the real struggle would be not starting at a gym but maintaining it, so I wanted somewhere with a community I could become part of that would incentivise me to keep coming back. So I had a session with Tim, signed up for Blitz, and hit it hard…. and I found exactly what I was hoping for. I didn't have to worry about what to do; the members and the coaches made me feel welcome; and I didn't feel out of place. Yes, there were some scarily strong and fit people in class, but I took Graeme's advice ("don't worry about the crazy people") and at most classes there was plenty of diversity in terms of age and level of fitness. For those 3-4 months I averaged 4-5 times per week, including one week where I came in every day, and Tim at one point said it might be an idea to build in some rest!

I also didn't need to attend one of Becca's nutrition classes to know that covering every other meal with half a kilo of grated cheese was probably no longer a good idea. So I started to eat more slowly (taking my wife's advice finally after 20 years of marriage), watch what I ate, and get on the scales every day.

The first few weeks went by in a blur. I'd come home exhilarated but exhausted, and sleep on the couch.

The next few months got interesting - I'd learned to track my scores on the WodBoard app, and was hitting personal bests on a regular basis, even though I could still only do and lift a tiny fraction of what the "crazy people" were doing. The weight was going down, the ‘Dad belly’ was shrinking. I'd managed things I never thought I could do (such as rope climbs). I astonished my daughter by doing a handstand in the living room. My wife started to take notice of how I looked again, it felt brilliant.

Fast forward to now, and I'm excited about CrossFit as ever, but there are two big challenges. Firstly, new gains are harder than those initial gains - so I have to manage my expectations and realise that there will be bad days when I feel I have gone backwards, and days where I feel that some movements or exercises, or lifting "RX", will always be beyond me. I have to remember it is a long term goal and think about what I might be able to do in a few years, rather than next week.

I also have to remember that I still have a 52 year old body that has spent most of its life not going to the gym, so I need to listen carefully to my body to avoid going too far and ending up with an injury. The coaches are great at that and have always encouraged me to focus on getting the movement right before adding additional weight; there are always plenty of scaling options so that the crazy people and the normal people can do the same work-out together but at a level that is right for the individual.

And secondly I'm back at work, which means scheduling in time at the gym is significantly harder to do.

How does your gym routine fit into your overall daily schedule, and what adjustments have you made to prioritise it? 

It's a little bit random. I've been trying to hit 5 times per week, but in recent weeks it's fallen to 2-3. I try to get into some kind of routine - ideally Saturday and Sunday morning if I can, then I can take Monday off, then pick and choose what works during the rest of the week. Sometimes an 8am which means I can take my daughter to school, sometimes an evening after work or a lunchtime if I am working at home.

What physical or mental benefits have you noticed since you began consistently going to the gym?

Physically, I'm so much better. My weight has dropped from 76 to 66 kilos, so my BMI is well in the healthy zone. My waist has gone from 34-36 down to 30 - I've had to buy new belts and trousers. My cholesterol is still high (maybe I need to Becca's nutrition classes after all), but it's dropped significantly. I feel much happier in my body than I have for a while. 

There are still aches and pains (in fact there are probably more aches and pains than when I started) but they are mainly "good" aches and pains - that is, the ones that generally ease up when you start moving, not the ones that make you stop. 

What challenges do you face in maintaining a consistent gym routine, and how do you overcome them?

It's mainly work, and family commitments that get in the way; so it's really just a case of making sure I take the opportunity to book in for a session at any time I can. Early weekends is good - I can get back to the family after gym in time for breakfast - but at other times, taking 2 hours out of the day can be a struggle (Blitz is around 30 minutes away from home). There are also times when I just feel tired, and it helps to remind myself how energised I now feel after CrossFit, however knackered I might have felt before.

The booking system is helpful as it forces you to look ahead for the next few days and book in sessions - rather than just think you'll turn up anytime if you feel like it. I like that it shows you what the programming is so you can prepare (or for sneaky people avoid things they don't want to do). It's also helpful in the early weeks that it shows who is taking a class - so if you are worried about stepping up from CrossFit 101 to a proper CrossFit class, you can pick a coach who you know well for your first "grown up" session.

And of course there is the shame of turning up to a session with Graeme and realising you haven't seen him for a week, and getting that disappointed "where have you been?" look. There's only so much of that you can live with!

How has going to the gym impacted other areas of your life, such as work, relationships, or personal growth?

People at work and in my personal life have noticed the change, which is great. My knees still hurt after a day in the hills, but they take 24 hours rather than 7 days to recover. Lifting things - boxes, furniture, the kids - feels easier and I can't lift anything now without trying to guess how many kilos it is. Like everyone else who does CrossFit I can now bore anyone within a short radius by droning on about EMOMs, AMRAPs and power cleans at parties. It's given me new friends, and new challenges - I still hope that one day I can get to do at least some of what the crazy people can do;  in the meantime I'm getting fitter and stronger rather than older and stiffer. And my wife is very, very, happy. Happy wife, happy life!