Spotlight on our Local Health Community - The Health and Fitness Shed

We have a whole heap of amazing referral partners who we trust to help you get fitter, healthier and stronger. We sat down with Ally from The Health and Fitness Shed on Balaclava St in Woolloongabba to talk all things about her business and cross fit!

I loved hearing Ally's answers to these questions! It's worth a read and definitely give these guys a go if you are looking for a new, fun way to get fit!

Ally you’ve been in the fitness world for a 10 years. What made you shift your focus towards CrossFit?

I’ve been working as a qualified Personal Trainer since 2009.  For many years I was a critic of CrossFit and thought there was nothing to it but injury and bad technique.  In saying this, I have always been a huge advocate of functional movement.  In 2013 I was looking for a new challenge and left the commercial gym I was running my business from and sort of fell into the world of CrossFit accidentally.  
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After a lot of education on the sport, my life went from endurance sport to one of very high intensity and short workouts.  It was a huge change but one that has taught me more about coaching and really challenged me to continue learning how to be better.

What is the most common myth you have to debunk for people around CrossFit?

​That they are not fit enough.  It took me a good 7 years for my mum (now 60) to start training with me.  Mum has always been fit and healthy but when she saw the things I was doing, and as someone who has suffered with chronic back pain, she didn’t think she would be able to.
With a small frame and only 45kg, we still managed to get her started on lighter weights, lower reps and we just slowed the movements down to ensure she wasn’t overdoing it.  

CrossFit really can be adapted to any and everyone.  It is a matter of whether you want to do it. 

What is the Health and Fitness Shed?

The Health and Fitness Shed is a facility that hosts a number of Health Professionals who are all able to work together in order to achieve the perfect balance for people in our ever busy world. 
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We offer CrossFit and Boxing Classes and Personal Training for hard, physical training but balance that out with Yoga and Meditation and well as our newest service, Aromatherapy.  For those needing a little extra guidance, we have an onsite Sports Dietitian to help with weight loss/gain and performance, as well as a Musculoskeletal Therapist to fix any niggles or just body maintenance.

What is your training philosophy behind the Health and Fitness Shed? 

I want anyone and everyone to come in and feel not only welcome, but included and feel comfortable at whatever their ability.  To us, someones effort is more important than what they can lift or how fit they are. It is always going to make us appreciate someones increased skill level if they’re showing up 5 days per week, instead of once a fortnight - you’ve worked hard for your achievements and that’s where the magic is.

What’s your favourite crossfit related exercise to teach and why?! 

The Power Snatch.  This is a movement with a barbell that starts on the floor and you move it overhead in one swift pull. 
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While heavily technical, this movement is easy to break down into simple progressions.  The reason I love teaching it is that when a client gets it right for the first time, you can see everything just click.  

For people that are just starting out in the Cross fit world, what’s your number one tip?

Go slow and embrace the process.  There are 2 dominant populations that start CrossFit
1/ People who have not done a whole lot of training before
2/ High level athletes who have finished their chosen sport and are looking for something to fill the void. 

The previous athletes are usually the most impatient there is.  CrossFit is technical, and it is very rare that you pick everything up first go.  Embracing the process provides a great learning curve for those who need the patience the most.

Those who have not done much training before, may feel like they aren’t getting a good enough workout some days because they’re still perfecting a movement and have been told to keep the weight light, or they haven’t found that intensity yet to make a 7 minute workout effective.  
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For both parties, the day will come, but patience and persistence is definitely required.

Why we really like what the Health and Fitness Shed is trying to achieve 

​You’ll find no friendlier group of people.  Arrogance and unfriendly competition is weeded out quickly.  We all have fun and hang out on the weekends.  There is definitely friendly competition and banter but we will never tolerate heavy and unfriendly competition or ‘boys clubs’.  Everyone is equal. 

We joke around but train hard and encourage each other to get better every single day. 

The Health and Fitness Shed is that one stop shop with professionals who can pick up where the others finish their expertise and this is really important to us, as we know you’re being looked after and supported by everyone who believes in what we do.

Want to know more? 

We really love what Ally and her team are trying to achieve. If you are over in Woolloongabba and looking for a new way to get fit and healthy, we highly recommend them!
 
For more information head over to their website: www.thfshed.com.au
or call - 0428 603 519