They Believed in Me – Michelle

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I’ve been a member of CFI for just over a year and the only thing I regret is that I didn’t start sooner..not CrossFit but being a part of CFI. You see I’d been bitten by the CrossFit bug about 2 years previous to walking in and seeing those awesome weightlifting platforms on the floor and the (epically organised) shiny new barbells and plates but I was getting frustrated. 2 years of CrossFit and I didn’t have my pull-up yet, I’d never climbed a rope, I was terrified of trying to do a handstand and my Olympic Lifts were ‘meh’ (that’s a technical term) sure RX’ing a workout was something I thought only the ‘Elite’ did!Now? I have bar muscle-ups, ring muscle-ups, handstand push-ups, I RX pretty much every workout, I compete regularly at competitions..oh and I won the 2016 National Championship’s Weightlifting Comp for my age and weight category…….that’s pretty cool right??!! In case you forgot…I didn’t have a pull-up when I started…just over a year ago…
So, what was different about CrossFit Ireland?

In short, they believed in Me.

The second I walked into CFI I wasn’t just another membership, a faceless Wodify (that’s the app we use to track our progress) number, I was Michelle – Michelle who wanted to work on her weightlifting, Michelle who wanted to get her pull-ups, Michelle who was considering maybe..one day..if she had the courage.. that she would compete at a competition. You know what else was cool…Colm & Derek could tell you every single person who walked through that door’s max lifts, their goals, their strengths and their weaknesses – we were all important. You have no idea how impressive this is…try it..go to your gym right now and ask your Coach what Joe in the corner’s max backsquat is and what his 3-6 month goal is – if they can answer you congratulations you found a great Coach if not then call CrossFit Ireland.

I can’t write this without telling you about Sam too – he’s our newest Coach. Sam’s been part of the CFI furniture for years and is by far one the best male athletes I’ve had the pleasure of training with, but aside from his obvious athletic ability I now get to be coached by him – is he good? Well every session I’ve had with him has resulted in a new energy and a personal best – so yeah..he’s good! It’s very obvious that Derek & Colm picked wisely and carefully when deciding on our new Coach – CFI gets lots of Coaching applications but they stuck to what was best for the gym & the members – like they always do.


There’s the obvious athletic progress that initially kept me coming back for more but what I wasn’t expecting – or to be honest even thinking about when I joined – was what it feels like to be part of the CrossFit Ireland community. There is NOTHING like it, we are encouraged to stay before and after class, do bonus work together, drink coffee on the Couch, chat, hang out, talk, laugh and even cry if that’s what we need to do. The gym is ALWAYS open – even on Christmas Day!


I knew I was part of something special but when I unexpectedly found myself going through what was one of the hardest times in my life it really hit Me how amazing the people we have in CFI are. At a point in my life where I felt I had nowhere to run and everyone to hide from the CFI door was flung open, messages from so many people I trained with came in and that couch was my safe place while I digested what was happening. I’m not sure CFI or the many, many, amazing members realise just how much they helped Me but without them I’m pretty sure this testimonial wouldn’t be being written. I know that there are many other #oneteam members that have had the same support.

I could write for an eternity about the self-confidence, pride, positive body image etc etc etc that CrossFit Ireland has gifted me with but instead I’ll finish with this – “Behind every fearless player is a fearless Coach who refused to let them be anything but the best they could be” – if you want to be the best you can be I highly recommend a trip to CrossFit Ireland, if nothing else I can guarantee you coffee, a couch and endless possibilities.

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