The Ultimate Gym Athlete 2011 - Getting the message out there !
Given the opportunity over the next three years to expose the sport of Gym X Training at the IFBB Grand Prix and Fitness Expo at the London ExCel Exhibition centre is for WGC and the sport of GymXTC™ the best opportunity to expose the gym athletes in the UK. It is a massive task, and the way ahead will mean even more work over the next two years to increase awareness of Gym X Training. We are fixed for the next two years to appear at this show and increase awareness
, it really does have the potential to grow because so much was learned about what was needed and what will make the show better for next year. What was so important was getting the TV on board and filming the sport to which so few know about or can find information on and on this degree, it was a huge success - mission accomplished!
Stars of the show
Without doubt, the star of the show was the strongman events and bodybuilding shows. With TV exposure and huge crowds surrounding the arena watched short sharp explosive feats of massively well built hulks of very strongmen, performing lifts and movements that to anybody who has seen strongman events, knows how exciting this is to see. Strength, Power and Physique combined. Then on the saturday MMA with Knuckleup, again huge crowds and the fastest growing sport in the US (UFC) is finding a growing audience of very talented MMA fighters in the UK. We had the BMX, Skateboard, and roller blade crew flying all over the place, whirling, spinning, jumping ' grabbing air' making you go dizzy just keeping up with it all, and we had guys on stands, that were as big as the stands themselves. Behind WGC was Bodybuilding.com and to the right, was a giant tank , from Grenade. All in all it was a real blast and experience. Talking with Dane Bowers about Knuckle Up, talking with 'Andy' who turns out had taken part in the World Gym Challenge in a gym in Afghanistan, talking to Dave from Dagenham Fire Station about setting up a unique Fire Fighting Challenge, talking to a visitor from France , whose daughter (Taylor) was a under 14's middle distance runner and completed the 1000m @ 5% Challenge in under 4.40 !And talking to and meeting Darran Winfield - Stanesby, who is now in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but just listening to him, you cannot be but moved and inspired by his sheer grit and determination to pursue as many sporting challenges as possible. It was about talking and exposing fitness and 'real' people who do it and the sport of GymXTC ™ the sport of gyms , because we represented the gym fitness side of the show and by Richard achieving the world record, we nailed it too!
It has never been more important now than to increase exposure of the sport of Gym X Training Championships (GymXTC™) and the gym athlete. The record has been broken by Richard and it means its maximum time and effort to increase awareness of just what an incredible performance it was to achieve it. But first we must ask ourselves, what is a gym athlete?
A gym athlete, is somebody who goes to the gym and gets results based on a time format of a single or multiple gym challenge. All exercises are conducted within the gym and all results are published on to result tables, which are available to view after a race or time time trial. This is in effect what makes the challenge into a sport, the publication of results. A gym athlete tests himself/herself only on apparatus set up in the gym, predominately a Treadmill, Upright Bike and Rower and also on muscular endurance events and plyometric exercises. All of which are exercises that in theory anybody would train with daily who goes to a gym. What Gym X Training does, is put them (the jigsaw) into a completed picture, so you train for a reason, with fixed goals, motivation and at the end of it you have achieved something very special - a improvement in your all over fitness, which for many is why you joined the gym in the first place.
A gym athlete, is either gender, of any age and can be physically impaired, any colour, creed, sexual orientation, religion - pretty much everybody, there are no restrictions, no age limits, no barriers and the rules are quite clear - Any gym in the world that has any element of training in a gym is eligible. You do not need a particular skill set or be talented with hand eye coordination, hit a ball, kick a ball, throw anything, catch anything, be bit by anything !There are no boundaries or limitations in terms of where the challenges can be conducted. And the only restrictions are that the exercise is safe and that the challenges are monitored and judged for verification and results are published.
The last five years.
For over five years WGC has spent endless hours promoting to the best of its ability and limited resources the results of Gym X Training Challenges. Such events as Dragons Gauntlet, The Canterbury Tales, Fitness Extreme, Hampshire Fire and Fire XT event, Gorton Grueller, Gym Ironman, Calso, Brighton Nut Cracker, The Royal Marines Commando X Training Challenge, The Dale Destroyer, The Camberley Ice Breaker, Best of the Best (DB Max) and now finally The Ultimate Gym Athlete, what is has done in terms of 365 days a year workload is publish results for these events. It has learned that if the events do not have results published it is very difficult for the sport to grow, be acknowledged or allowed to grow. There is no governing body in place, no sponsorship, no investment and not one gym in the UK, that says we have a gym fitness champion and we recognise that.
Classification.
What was needed was classification, something WGC learned at a meeting with Sport England. A criteria which distinguishes a growing path for nurturing and development. And so WGC created levels of fitness. It simply isn't good enough entering a Gym X Training Challenge, if the category of the person who is racing is not physically prepared for the intensity of the challenge, or he is racing somebody who is in a class that is very obviously wrong, so on both fronts, the sport has to be classified into events:
Equal Fitness Racing (EFR) (two or more lanes racing)
Time Trials (single lane racing)
In the latter anybody may attempt a challenge of any nature, but the former, you must be classified into a standard category or class, this is how most sports operate.
The future?
Events can continue to grow, the sport of GymXTC™ can grow, investment can be achieved, sponsorship can develop, new records can be set, new venues can be discovered, gym athletes can grow into an official sport and do you know why ?
To anybody in the fitness industry who considers themselves to be a 'fitness expert', runs a gym, is a personal trainer, is part of REPs, FitPro , the FIA studies at University, or is thinking about how to get fit, stay motivated and achieve levels of fitness please send me the 'Why Not Factor' to:
info@worldgymchallenge.com
and I will publish your answers.
Conclusion
Whilst at the IFBB Grand Prix and Fitness Weekend, it became very apparent that the Industry is very much split into three different categories.
Strength and Power (Strongman)
Image and Physique (Bodybuilding)
Fitness (Gym Fitness)
Only in gym fitness can you gain hard evidence of actual results in combining all of your training into a sport. All three are phenomenal athletes in their own right - but gym fitness captures all three elements and this is the big difference. The major impact on this is that the above two sell like hotcake's and gym fitness, trails behind as almost the lame duck.
What I have learned about the industry in the years I have studied it, is that so called experts in marketing promise you much, but deliver very little. What may cost you dearly in gym membership or fancy gadgets into a glittery fancy promise of how much your life can change means absolutely nothing if you the person are not prepared to work at it. There is no magic pill, no magic formula and absolutely no sure fire way to the road to success in gym fitness, without you first putting the effort in and recording your results. It is the only way you will achieve anything in gym fitness.
And if you train hard enough and long enough, you may be the next Ultimate Gym Athlete
Richard Vint - Winner 2011
Next ... those who took part ... on Sunday!
