A little over 18 months ago, we received an email from a guy called James with a surname we couldn’t pronounce.

He was enquiring about ‘warehouse space’ at the Village. It’s not something we have a lot of at FarGo and, historically, when people have enquired about this type of space it’s been for storage purposes or something equally uninspiring, so when I opened the email to read the word (words? Is it even in the dictionary??) CrossFit I was more than a little excited.

In fact, in checking back through my emails today, I saw that I had immediately forwarded James’ message on to my husband with the words “LOL! YAY!” (He had been going to Unit C: CrossFit Solihull for a while and was enjoying it. I had been struggling to get back to Solihull from work in time to join him, was attending sporadically and, if I’m honest, was struggling to get to know anyone there. So, this email was great news for me).

After a lot of to-ing and fro-over over how much space was too much space, would repeatedly chucking 9kg balls at the wall damage the structural integrity of the building, would it be a problem that the brewery was moving in next door and that when they’re brewing, you can sometimes smell the hops (all very important life questions of course) James and the Wildcard Team were signed up.

Waiting for them to open was like waiting for Christmas. And that’s an odd thing for me to say. I have never been into sport. Never really been that into exercise to be honest. Having hip dysplasia as a child had given me some problems with my knees and feet, which I then hid behind because I dreaded Games and P.E. lessons at school, and the thought of taking part in any form of competitive activity scared me. A lot.

But. Having seen how much my husband was enjoying Unit C, and having felt like I was struggling to integrate myself with a pre-formed community there, all of whom were significantly stronger, faster, fitter than me (they called themselves athletes… eek!), I had already decided that I would be the first person to join Wildcard. My thinking being that we would all be learning and getting to know each other at the same time. (P.S. I needn’t have worried about this…)

I’d been talking about this for WEEKS so by the time James was about ready to go, I’d rounded up (worn down?) all my Far Gosford Street friends and booked us onto a free taster class…

Loved it. Signed up. The end.

No but seriously. I loved it. And have continued to love it for the last 9 months. So, back to the point of this piece. Why am I so happy to have CrossFit at FarGo?

– I’ve met a whole load of new people who genuinely like each other. And we all have something in common. In fact, we have many things in common because basically, if you like training here, you also LOVE eating and drinking (my fave pastime… CrossFit has not overtaken that just yet) and you LOVE buying new gym garms. This is great news for other on-site businesses like Positive Outlook who have worked with Wildcard to design and produce their branded apparel, and Twisted Barrel (the wonderful next door, sometimes hops smelling, onsite brewery and tap house)…

– …and great news for our events, because we have a ready-made group of people who all want to do a halloweeny-Dia-de-los-Muertos-style workout and then fill their bellies with Tacos and Tequila!

– I don’t think it’s like any other form of training. The community you get with CrossFit is what makes it. It’s that community that makes it the perfect fit for a place like FarGo Village. And the team spirit at Wildcard is always on point. As I said earlier, I needn’t have worried about being the first to join, because I would challenge anyone to walk in there now for the first time, as a seasoned pro or a complete novice, and not find a friendly face. And if you’re keen to try it but don’t believe me, let me know, I will come with you and we can be friends (that was meant to be sweet, not creepy…)

– It’s pushed me to try new things. Back in April I took part in my first ever competitive sporting activity: a ‘Quad Squad’ team comp. Again, I can’t stress enough how fun it is training as a group; as a community; as part of a team. We came last (sorry team…) but I loved it. Look at this cute pic.

– It’s meant my friends can now do pull-ups for the first time ever (I can’t yet… but it’s cool, I’m not jealous, I’ll get there… eventually…)

– Anyone can do it. I PROMISE. Everyone is good at something. You won’t be the best at everything, but that’s ok because I 100% guarantee you’ll have at least one thing that you can do that will surprise you. And other people will be genuinely pleased for you and fist bump you for it (yeah get ready for lots of fist bumps).

– It’s got my Mum (yep I’ve even roped my Mum in, like I said everyone can do it!) training legs again for the first time after a knee injury and op.

– It’s made my bum look better in my jeans.

– And finally. This video. I love this video for two reasons. Firstly, because it’s my first three figure lift, and I was (and still am) absolutely buzzing to be able to lift 100kg. But more importantly, I love it because to begin with, it looks like it’s just me, training on my own, chilling with the barbell. But as soon as I’ve hit that lift, you see the others – the team, the community – who were cheering me on. Those three strong, fit, women who wanted me to succeed and were excited for me when I did. We all absolutely need more of this in life.

So, that’s it. Those are all the reasons why I’m so happy to have CrossFit at FarGo. You must try it. You will love it. You will love the way it makes you feel. And you will love us (that part isn’t strictly mandatory).

Come to a class. Your first one is free. Get in touch with the Wildcard Team and, seriously, if you want a friend, you know where to find me.