LET’S GO TEAM JANUARY IN THE BAG AND WHAT A MONTH
Hey Team and welcome to January’s newsletter and the 1st of 2023.
So it only seems right to start the year off with lots of positives and with the writing of this month’s newsletter that hasn’t been hard at all.
Let’s start the team that competed and did is proud at Strength in Depth this year. I’m not going to do any spoilers so check out the write up from Coach Ellie in this month’s newsletter. It was such a wonderful weekend and of course thank you to all of you who came along and cheered and supported, you have no idea what it means to the team so thank you.
The CrossFit / Valesco Open starts this month (February) and we would love as many of you to get involved as possible (again more on this below) it really is for everyone, no matter what level or experience and if you can do a class you can take part in the Open. All our coaches are heavily involved again this year so any questions feel free to reach out to any of us.
All this talk of competition we have this now released our first home competition of the year – Scale It Up Triple Threat 2023. This is an entry-level competition made up of same sex teams of three hosted at your very own VFC St Philips and is open to EVERYONE. We would love to have as many home teams as possible taking part so check it out here on FB or here to get signed up…again if you can do a class you can do this competition. It’s a lot of fun and a great all round experience. Sunday 23rd April, get it in your diaries and get signed up ASAP (team spaces are limited).
Final thing to mention is our first social of the year WALKIES! And whether you have a dog or not and if you enjoy meeting new people, a walk in the countryside and a pub lunch this is the social for you. Drop us an email at hi@valesco.fitness or stwerbs@valesco.fitness if you would like to come and of course partners, kids and friends, and most importantly dogs, are all welcome.
Right think that’s it’s from us, so grab a cuppa and settle in for another bumper read.
Lots of love and New Year vibes,
Amy, Ellie and Leila xx
MEMBER SHOUT OUTS
Welcome to the monthly Member Shout out section where we like to celebrate some of the good things we see in the gym day in and day out.
Shout out from Coach Sarya – Tom Marsh. ‘Can I get my member shout out in early this month? Tom at V2 is now doing HSPUs when about 3 weeks ago he struggled kicking up to the wall! Great consistency and such awesome progress’
Shout out from Coach Stew – ‘Tony Bhajam for committing to the process and achieving outstanding results in a short space of time. He will know what I mean. Training round an injury and setting big summer goals too. Well-done mate. Keep it up’
Shout out from Coach Will – Sam Yeoman – ‘Has built a lot more stability in his core, meaning his lifting has come on sooo much, especially overhead movements like push press’
Shout out from Coach Ella – Kurtis Fleming is my member shout out this month – super consistent, always rocks up with a smile on his face and has been smashing his HSPU on Thursday mornings
Shout out from Coach Amy to Tash Wells – ‘Tash is such a joy to have in class and is a gymnastics and an 8am regular. Ash works really hard and always does it with a smile on her face. Her efforts in gymnastic are really paying off too’
Also a shout out to V2 member Chris Potts from Coach Amy as well. ‘Chris has really thrown himself in to everything we have to offer and even taken one or two classes on solo. He is a great all round guy and wonderful to have in classes. He is making great progress in both his lifts and fitness and its wonderful to see’.
Shout out from Coach Leila – ‘Can I shout out Bec Fairweather for juggling family life and always turning up with a smile on her face and getting the job done. She’s made huge progress since starting at werbs’
AND FINALLY THE BIGGEST SHOUTOUT TO….JAMES ILES
Member, coach, team mate and good friend to many, James Iles is the man behind getting Valesco Black to SID ’23! Through qualifiers, training for the event and the final weekend, James was instrumental in the planning, organising and execution of the weekend which was a huge success for individuals and the team as a whole.
Taking 30+ athletes through qualifiers and a final team of 12 is no mean feat and James did it with his inevitable calmness whilst still being everyone’s personal hype squad.
A heartfelt thanks from the team for everything he did to support the team. S.O.V for the 3rd year running….??
VFC SMASHES SID 2023...WHAT A WEEKEND
A huge shout out to our Strength In Depth team ‘Valesco Black’ for their epic efforts this weekend! Strength in Depth is a 2 day competition for teams of 12 athletes! There are 9 workouts across the weekend including running, swimming, high level gymnastics, heavy barbells and ‘the worm’ (a 140kg sandbag!). After 3 qualifiers and earning a place in the finals last weekend, they entered the competition in 48th and finished 24th! Everyone did themselves and Valesco SO proud!
The team…
The girls: Emma Clapp, Ella Rothwell, Kat Ogden, Gemma Rowland & Ellie Buck
The guys: James Iles, James Mooney, Stewart Jeenes, Jonny Crease, Jack Forrester, Mitch Salisbury & Harry-Joe Gallimore
The team had some amazing event finishes with the swim and both running events being our highest placing events. There were PB’s a plenty with some seriously heavy Thrusters in the mix…110 -120kg for the boys and 65-70kg for the girls! And, the firm favorite event was the final one of the weekend – it was a tough workout with heavy barbells, tough gymnastics and an aggressive timecap but the team ‘played to win’ and completed the whole workout with time still on the clock!
Special thanks to Coach Amy for managing the team and giving up her whole weekend to ensure the completion went smoothly for the team – she does it every year and the team wouldn’t want to do it without her!. And to Lucie ‘magic hands’ Peters (Sports rehabilitation specialist who you can also go see if you need her!) who was with the team all weekend long treating and taping them to keep them in peak condition!
And last but by no means least, a massive thank you to everyone who came along and supported the athletes and Valesco as a community.
It never fails to make us beam with pride at the sight of you all! We really are very lucky to have each & every one of our members.
BARB GOES POWERLIFTING AT BASE
We want to give a massive VFC newsletter shout out to V1 member Barb for taking part in her very first Powerlifting Competition which took place at Base Gym in Bristol at the weekend. We think she really smashed it and proof that age is just a number. A quote from her “It’s over, it’s done. Would I do it again? I dunno. But I did it”
We love you Barb and we think you will be tempted to dip the toe again!!
COMPETITION CORNER WITH COACH SARYA
Team Valesco has started the year off competing with a bang. Four teams went down to the Goat Shed in Bridgewater to compete in their RX winter throwdown. They all absolutely smashed it.
This past weekend we saw Valesco Black make us all and themselves beyond proud competing at Strength in Depth, one of the biggest team comps of the year.
Coming up next from mid February through to beginning of March we have the Open which we’ll be hosting every Friday at V1. If you’re unsure what this is but are keen to know more, let me know!
What a start to the year it’s been already, we have so much more to come and so much more to give!
Remember, if you want to get into competing but are unsure where to start, I’m here for any questions and all support (including being your personal cheerleader and hype squad!)
PUP CORNER
Hey Pup Fans,
This month’s newsletter Harley, Finn and Leo would like to ask for your help!
We have heard on the street that the Bristol Animal Rescue centre (just next door to V1) is in need of help with the influx of pets they have received recently and some really bad weather damage to their supply storage area.
The items they REALLY need help with are listed below and there is also an Amazon wishlist here if that’s something that is easier for you to do.
If your pups, like ours, have outgrown, coats, jumpers, collars, leads, harnesses, beds and blankets or have a million and one toys and could do with one less then they would be gratefully received also.
If anyone would like to donate please drop any donations outside the office at either Valesco sites and we will make sure it finds its way to these in need pups.
Lots of licks from Harley, Finn and Leo xx
COACHES CORNER
The VALESCO OPEN… What is it? Where is it? How do I sign up by Coach Maddie
What is it??
Over three Friday evenings, February 17th, February 24th and 3rd March we will be hosting Friday Night Lights from 4pm until 7pm at VFC St Philips. The workouts will be released the night before from Crossfit and we will run bookable heats from 4-5:30pm and 5:30-7pm.
It’s always great fun, full of high energy and an amazing place to test all the hard work you have been putting in recently!
Where??
We are opening up Valesco St. Philips to all, St. Werbs and St. Philips members, to come down, get involved and cheer each other on.
How to sign up??
Crossfit have changed how they submit scores and you will need to submit a video for your score to officially be counted on their leaderboard, if you want to do this we will hold a session during comp training at 8am on Sunday mornings for you to do this.
We know not everyone will want to film their submission so this year we are creating an online Valesco only leaderboard for everyone that signs up.
With both RX, Scaled and Foundations options available, there will be a level for everyone to jump in and get involved!
Please email hi@valesco.fitness with ‘I’m in for the Valesco Open’ with your chosen option of Foundation, Scaled or RX to sign up.
For those who do not want to get involved, classes will run as normal at VFC St Werburghs and all VFC members are welcome to train there but we really do hope we get lots of people involved.
MOROCCAN ROAST LAMB WITH ROASTED ROOTS
So it’s still that time of year for us that we just want to hibernate and eat allll the food and if you are the same we think this healthy Easter roast idea might go down a treat.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/moroccan-roast-lamb-roasted-roots-coriander
Until Next Time, Big Love Team Valesco xxx
Save The Date
Spring Social Dog Walk with Pub Lunch – Sunday 26th March
Scale It Up Triple Threat – Sunday 23rd April
Mental Health Awareness Week – Monday 15th to Friday 19th May
Scale It Up Teams of 4 – Sunday 25th June
PRIDE WOD – Saturday 8th July
Valesco Fitness Collective 8th Birthday – Saturday 16th September
Christmas at VFC – Saturday 9th December
Who Wore It Best
Check out this month ‘Who Wore It Best’ from V2 members Dan and Rod– from head to toe these guys rocked the matchy matchy look. We think they must have cashed in on the GymShark Black Friday sales…..
Have you turned up looking the same as another Valesco member? Then we want to see. Send your snaps to hi@valesco.fitness to be in the next newsletter. We love seeing them!