FitBrit Finals 2015

World Gym Challenge went along to Fitness First Cottons in Tooley Street London on 5th Dec 2015 to witness the FitBrit Final and then talk to the winners and others who took part about their experience. We asked them a series of questions and here are the answers.

Charles Green - Male Winner 2015

What did you think of the event and Venue?

(Fitness First Cottons - London Bridge)

The venue was great, and the event well planned. No hiccups during the day and the judging strict. A good event all round and superb gym.

How was your preparation in the last week?

In the last week I kept to my usual high intensity circuits with lots of rowing. Three days before I cut back on training and just went for gentle steady runs to ensure my body was fully recovered on the day of the event

What was your toughest part of the course ?

The toughest part of the course for me was getting a no rep on goblets squats its slows you down massively and messes with you mentally. In these kind of events in the future i will make sure every reps counts to prevent this happening again

How many people at your gym trained for this?

At my gym about twenty people participated in the event and Doug Harrison was entered from my gym, who also reached the final.
When you want to quit .. what keeps You going?

When I wanted to quit the adrenaline kept me going in a competitive environment it is hard to stop with so many people watching cheering.

The course is standard set meaning anyone can do it .. is this a good or bad thing ?

All the movements in the course are non-complex and relatively basic so anyone with reasonable fitness could do the course mainly tests your engine (aerobic capacity).

Was it taken seriously by your friends?

I had a lot of friends cheering me on to win. However I don't think many of them took it too seriously.

Would you like to see inter rivalry between gyms ?

Yes rivalry is a good things as it increases competition and pushes peoples to improve on their fitness levels.

How do you warm down after the event ?

I have admit after the event I could not feel my legs for at least ten minutes, so after I regained feeling I went on the cross trainer for five minutes whilst the final heat took place.

Will you take part next year ?

I will definitely go again next year and hopefully defend the title to win the 2016 FitBrit finals, the event is great and pushes you to your limits.

What do you prefer .. high intensity events as opposed to adventure running events?

I have never competed in an adventure running events yet so I could not tell you for sure. However I thoroughly enjoy the high intensity events as they are similar to Crossfit type training.

Do you see the dynamics in gym training changing?

I have recently seen a lot more people in the gym trying to get fit now rather than just trying to get big and muscular which is what the gym vibe seemed to be like going back ten years ago, functional training has become a lot more popular which has a better cross over to a healthier lifestyle and a better transition of fitness into sports.

Is high intensity training compatible to the way people train in gyms?

Things like Tabata and other high intensity intervals methods have become a lot more popular recently, it is scientifically proven by professor Tabata that this type of training increases your fitness a lot more efficiently compared to steady state cardio. Therefore to improve your fitness levels it makes sense to use HIIT as a main method of training.

What's next ?

Next, I'm going to enter as many competitions in 2016 as possible to get used to a competitive environment. For example I am already registered for the battle of Britain throwdown and am going compete in a team event called the Battle of the Boxes. Also I am going to enter a few indoor rowing competitions with fitness matters. The main thing I am going to focus on is staying consistent with my training throughout the year with Crossfit Havering and then hopefully in 2017 I hope to be experienced enough to qualify for the Crossfit regionals. Moreover I will be following the World Gym Challenge community and participating in those events to compare my fitness levels to other athletes around the country.