Who introduced you to X Training?
I saw my friend Dan dashing about in the gym practicing for the Camberley Ice Breaker event. I asked what it was all about and before I knew it I was running through it with him! It was completely different to anything I had tried before, but I really enjoyed it. Kirk and Trudi who I do circuits classes with also compete and had told me how good the events were, so I carried on practicing and entered my first event in May - The Gorton Grueller.

What was it like competing for the first time?
I was incredibly nervous; I am at all of them! It's very different on the day competing in front of judges and spectators, rather than on your own in the gym. It's also very different competing against another person as well as just the clock! I think these factors actually make for a better performance though.

Would you like to see more fitness models compete?
Yes, that'd be fantastic! A lot of the other fitness models I know tend to train for aesthetics rather than performance, which is what I used to do. Yet since beginning X training my body now looks the best that it ever has! I think it's only right that the people who represent the fitness industry get stuck in and try and set the bar!

Would you go back to your old way of training?
Never. I'm loving X-training far too much! I'm the fittest and strongest I ever have been since I started training in this style. The events are great and it always gives me something new to aim towards so it keeps training fun.

Do you think others would do what you do - or do you find yourself alone in training?
I often train alone and just get people to help me out and spot me on the weights, but more recently people have been approaching me in the gym to ask what it's all about and I've been trying to get them involved too! A lot of people don't seem to realise the benefits of combining cardio exercises with strength ones

How has anybody else influenced you?
It's always fantastic to watch everybody else compete at the events; there are some incredibly fit athletes there and I hope to be just as fit one day with continued training.

Would you see this in schools?
Obviously you wouldn't be able to get school children pumping weights, but there are courses which could adapted so that this could be performed in schools. It's a good way of promoting healthy competition and an alternative from team sports or athletics.

Who is your favourite football team?
I don't actually follow football. I would much rather be out playing sports than watching it!

Do you see yourself still competing in ten years?
Yes, I'd like to think so. It's impossible to say what will happen in the future, but certainly for the moment my training is going well and I'm looking forward to all of the upcoming events!

It's great to see models and fitness professionals taking to the 'stage' and competing. It what sets out those who talk fitness and those that live it. Great to see Cat at any of the events .

World Gym Challenge.com

Alex Woods

How are you preparing for UGA?

I am doing 4 course specific training workouts per week. All of these are now high intensity intervals as we are getting closer to the competition. I am keeping the workouts under 30 minutes to keep the intensity and quality high.

The other 4 workouts I am doing per week are cardio workouts for a Sprint Triathlon I have on the 12th September. This is keeping my baseline/aerobic fitness high. After the sprint triathlon I will have 2 weeks of high intensity training before the UGA. I also do some injury prevention exercises every day for about 10 mins.

Tell me about the Scottish Gym Athlete?

I am the only person living in Scotland who competes regularly. Other guys such as Ross Benson do a few comps here and there. I reckon the long distance travelling keeps people away. I’m not Scottish so you might be better asking someone who is!

Are you finding it hard to motivate yourself being so isolated from the main stream?

I have never had a problem with motivating myself to train. I wouldn’t mind doing the odd training workout with someone else to push me harder in some of the hardest workouts. However,  I get in the zone during workouts and tend not to notice other people anyway.

Have you seen anybody in the Intermediates who shows promise?
You can’t tell until they move up to Advanced. The increase in weight of the bench press and shoulder press is normally the problem for those guys stepping up. With those weights getting heavier each year it will make the transition harder. It took me about a year or so of training to get 40 bench press at 40kg out.

Are you taking part in Maxifit?

The 23rd October is in my diary

How do you see your race with Richard?

With the bike, row and run being the main disciplines that will separate our times and Richard being faster than me at all 3 when we last raced I think I have my work cut out to win. Ultimately, I know how fast I can go on the day and as long as I achieve that I’ll be happy. If someone is faster than me fair play to them.

Who in modern sport would win outright the first X Training event without any training?

Probably someone from Cross FIT would have the best chance but I don’t think they would win an event with the best X Trainers competing when they haven’t trained specifically for the event at all.

How do you see comparisons between Cross FIT and X training?

Similar in terms of energy systems targeted but Cross FIT is targeted towards power/anaerobic tolerance exercise with functional movement components where as X Training has a much bigger cardiovascular/endurance requirement. I can see the health benefits of training for both.

Would you see a time when gyms compete against gyms?

Team Sports always get more attention than individual sports so it is probably the direction the sport should head in.

Tell me about Golf FIT?

We design exercise programmes for golfers of all levels. We are the main providers to European Tour Pro’s in the UK.

Were you sporty at school?

Yes. Played Rugby, Swam and did athletics.

Where would you most like to compete in the world?

Edinburgh

If you could incorporate this sport into gyms how would you do it?

You could set up a Group Fitness Class specifically for X Training. If there is a team feel to the class and one individual who has good organizational skills then gyms could then start competing against each other.

Could you see these types of events in schools?

If the weights exercises were bodyweight exercises and no kit was required for them then yes.

Could you see barriers from anyone?

At the moment gyms don’t see how they can get anything out of X Training so they will make it awkward to implement competitions. X Training needs to be economically viable for them to invest time in it.

There are thousands of reasons why the sport should grow - can you name one why it should not?

The thing that holds X Training back is that the different organizations involved are moving in different directions. This creates one problem - the competitors suffer as they can’t do all competitions.