What is your most memorable CrossFit moment so far?

There's quite a lot that's memorable...

My first Open - that was terrifying - no scaling then! I remember desperately trying to get double unders in my back garden minutes before. And doing the Chapel first and only time. Maybe all topped by coming in on my 50th birthday and doing a workout with the whole family. That was a pretty special class.

Doing the Open this year felt quite a significant comeback moment too: I’d been a member for six years when I was diagnosed with a heart condition and had an acute stroke in 2020, so I was unwell for quite some time and couldn’t come to Blitz for three years. I made a near-full recovery from the stroke and my heart - while not perfect - now does its job pretty well and gets me nicely through a class. So it’s a massive understatement to say that I am extremely happy and grateful to be back.

I was very nervous starting again, I needed to take it super slowly, didn’t know what I’d be able to do, and in some ways felt pretty frustrated with adjusting to the new me. But I quickly remembered how a class distracts you from your worries, how good it is for the soul, and how adaptable and scalable it is. I’ve been back for a year now, and with the help of the coaches (who have been sooo supportive and helpful), I’ve figured out my approach to classes and I’m very much back in the swing of it all. 

What is your favourite movement/workout?

Favourite lift: hang power clean. Favourite WOD: I like a chipper and was quite partial to a Filthy Fifty back in the day though that would have to be somewhat scaled for me now! I’d still give it a pretty good go.

What is your least favourite movement/workout?

That would be my lifelong battle with double-unders. I do NOT like whipping my legs and arms with that rope and start preparing my excuses the minute I see DUs on the board!

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

I’m going to work on my strength this year. As a woman in her late fifties it’s all about muscle mass, is it not?! So I’ll be asking one of the coaches to help me benchmark where I’m at and set me some strategies and targets.

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

When we’re not at home in Teddington, we spend quite a bit of time in Devon, where I’m one of the owners of a womenswear business called Busby & Fox. I’m also on the board of trustees for the heart charity Cardiomyopathy UK. And I spend as much time as I can with my family: My husband Simon and our children Ollie, 27 and Honor, 25, plus our many siblings, nieces and nephews. All four of us Cornishes have been members of Blitz over the years.

What is your favourite part of being a Blitz Member?

Impossible to single one out as there are so many positives: the people, the coaching, the constant variation. What Tim and the team have achieved in building Blitz is just fantastic. For me, I think the 9.30 classes might be the most fun part. And if there’s time for coffee after, so much the better.

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

Never worry about what’s on the board. You can always, always find a scale or a variation that you can do. I should know: I’ve become the master of adaptation this year. 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself…

I was the queen of handstands in the school playground! I could do it all: one-handed, walkovers, a looong handstand hold, you name it. A little bit of me still thinks I can do that stuff any time I like so maybe I’ll surprise myself one day in class.