July Member of the Month // Jess Searle

How did you first get involved at Blitz?

Lockdown. That’s when me and my boyfriend chose to move in together. He was a member at Blitz and suggested I tuned in for some of the lockdown socials and lockdown Open. Kindly Blitz let me join and take part, although at that point I wasn’t a member. I think the first time Tim and Christina ever met me, would have been virtually watching me spend 15min trying to get one wall walk, falling over and over again in my living room 😂. But from then on in, I have never left and have fallen in love with the Blitz community.

What is your most memorable CrossFit moment so far?

There are so many. From being able to do RX box jumps (thank you coach Anna), stringing my first DUs together, getting the confidence to put myself upside down in a handstand and getting that number I had been chasing on my power clean. Winning the scaled Blitz Throwdown with my partner Simone (I very rarely win anything😂). But the memories that stand out the MOST are the Opens, as you will always come out surprised at what you managed to achieve for whatever reason. It’s not always about scores, this year I RX’d my first ever Open and, although my score was low, I was performing all movements RX which was big for me. This includes completing numerous wall walks which is very different from Day 1 Blitz in lockdown. The recent Summer Social was also very memorable, and it will stay with me. Not for what I managed to achieve, more for the way CrossFit, the members and my team made me feel. I’m never left feeling rubbish, slow or incapable which I know is a worry for most people coming into CrossFit, instead I left feeling supported, loved and as cheesy as it sounds, empowered. 

What is your favourite movement/workout?

 Alternating dumbbell snatch all day, every day. I even like a cheeky devils press. Machine (minus the ski erg), just close your eyes, put yourself in the black hole and try to hold on. Starting to develop a new love for the split jerk (thanks coach Graeme!) So let’s see how that goes… 

What is your least favourite movement/workout?

A hard tie between a barbell squat snatch and double dumbbell thrusters. Both can go in the bin. 

Name a CrossFit goal you hope to achieve by the end of this year?

Toes to bar and pull ups. They have been my goal for a while (as most will know 😂) I have a progressive disease which creates heaviness in my legs and tightening of my calves and hamstrings, so my progress is slow BUT I am getting there and it WILL happen. 

What do you do when you’re not training at Blitz?

Work 😂.  I’m often caught rushing from work to Blitz, but I love that in a way. There are a lot of times where my head is all over the place leaving the hospital, and mentally I think I can’t "let go" to train. But that’s even more of a reason to get myself to Blitz, as it helps me let go. After an hour with the people, I leave in such a better head space. I also have a big German Shepherd puppy that I love and adore so spend a lot of my time with. I also love to drink Prosecco, read books, go travelling to discover new places and, generally, just be outdoors!  

What is your favourite part of being a Blitz member?

 I think I have touched on this in most of my answers, but for me, the best part is that it ticks so many boxes. You are there to push yourself mentally and physically, to learn more about yourself and what you are capable of, slowly but surely picking up a new skill. But it is also playful, it isn’t scary or intimidating. People are friendly. The beauty of stepping in stressed and leave feeling happier and lighter is a wonderful thing! 

If you could give a new member one piece of advice what would it be?

 Keep at it. Try not to over think or over analyse (this includes comparing yourself to other people). Everyone in that room with you is different, and may be on a different journey with different goals. Once I got better at realising this, I enjoyed the process so much more and fell in love with CrossFit even more.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself….

 Young Jess was offered a contract to play football full time for West Ham WFC.