Coach Amy – Please can I shout out Steph Barnes from V1 8am crew. Steph joined us back in October last year and since then she has made a massive commitment to her training. Steph is a pleasure to coach, asks for feedback and is super focussed on moving well. Steph speaks to everyone and goes out of her way to make friends and it’s been lovely to see her bed so well into the Valesco community.

Coach Tash – My shout out is to Emily and Kyle Reeves at v3. I have so much admiration for these two. They always give their all in every single class and show commitment and consistency week on week, which pays off through numerous pb’s. They attack every workout and they do it all with great attitudes. They are always a delight to coach and really I enjoy having them in my classes. They also have the most gorgeous four legged friends that they need to keep bringing to the gym 🤗. Keep being amazing you two 🤘🏽

Coach Bella – David Greenwood V1 – Shout out to David Greenwood who is a Sunday – and daily- sweat regular at V1 & always gives it his all (or as much as anyone can on a Sunday morning!). Always great to have you in class!

Coach Claudia – a big shoutout to my 6am peeps on Wednesday at V3, the Hyrox class is becoming one of my fav of the week. Such great vibes, everyone cheering on and supporting each other through some of the toughest wods. You know who you are! Keep coming back! Lara loves your snuggles too.

Coach Raf – shoutout to Vicky at V1, just came back from a big trip and already into the new routine! It’s always great having you in class.

🏋️‍♂️ Help Us Keep the Gyms Clean & Fresh! ✨

Our gyms are big, characterful spaces, and keeping them clean is a daily mission!
Please help us by treating them as indoor training spaces and keeping them looking their best for everyone.

Muddy Shoes

Let’s keep the mud outside where it belongs!
Please don’t wear shoes that have:
❌ Been on a muddy trail run 
❌ Gone hiking with the dog 
❌ Splash-landed in puddles

If you’re walking in, consider bringing a clean pair to change into. Forgot? No stress—just do your best to wipe them down before class and clean up any muddy marks left behind.

Bikes

Bikes = 🚫 inside. Muddy tyres and clean floors don’t mix!
If you’ve forgotten your lock, see if someone in your class is happy to share.
We’re a community—someone’s always got your back. 🤝

Dogs

We love dogs at Valesco! 🐾
Well-behaved pups are always welcome, and we know our coaches and members love a good fuss.

Just a couple of favours:
✔️ Bring something for your pooch to sit on 
✔️ Ask for a hoover afterwards if there’s any hair left behind

Let’s keep the dog hair to a minimum—burpees are hard enough as it is. 🙃

Sweat

With the weather heating up (finally! ☀️), we’re all bound to sweat a bit more. Let’s stay on top of it:

🟢 Green cloths & spray are available around the gym – spray the cloth, not the equipment.
🧽 Mops & water are at the front – feel free to use them after class.

Can’t find what you need? Ask the coach on duty — we’re here to help.

We work hard to keep our spaces clean, but it’s a team effort. Thanks for doing your part and helping us keep the gyms awesome for everyone! 💚

🏋️‍♂️ Gym Grips ✨

Team, a reminder about your chance to make your accessory dreams a whole lot more affordable thanks to an ongoing partnership with Velites.

That means you, our fantastic Valesco members, can snag a discount on their entire range of high-quality fitness gear. Velites grips are a firm favourite around here – you’ll see many of your fellow members and even the coaches rocking both the No Chalk and All Terrain versions.

Want to see what else they offer? Check out the full collection here: https://eu.velitessport.com/collections/all-products

For the popular grips, you can get them delivered straight to your chosen gym for just £38!

Ready to order your grips? Simply fill out this form: https://forms.gle/wfthirzc9vkGy3to8

Interested in something else from the Velites range (maybe a heavy rope, speed rope or wrist wraps)? No problem! Just submit your request via this form: https://forms.gle/LqzcYxTmCifmi7yUA. I’ll personally get back to you with the discounted price, and you can then decide if you want to go ahead.

Got any questions? Don’t hesitate to drop me an email at dan@formulahealthfitness.com.

Happy shopping!

Scaling: It’s Not Just for Beginners

FIRST OF ALL, well done everyone for showing up week after week; we’re already in the midst of our block! So this month I decided to expand on something important to keep making progress.

Let’s talk about scaling—because it’s IMPORTANT. And no, it’s not just for people who “can’t” do something yet. In fact, we use scaling all the time, and for all kinds of reasons. But before we dive into the when and why, let’s take a moment to talk about what we actually mean when we say “scaling.”

So, what is scaling, really?
Scaling is a way to adjust the load, intensity, or complexity of a movement (or an entire workout) to suit you—your ability, your energy, and your goals on that particular day. It’s how we take one group workout and make it individualised. With smart scaling, we can still hit the right muscle groups, get the intended stimulus, break a sweat, and leave feeling just as accomplished as everyone else in the room.

Your coach will always guide you on how to scale a workout—but knowing when to scale is just as important. Here are a few key moments when scaling is not just useful—it’s smart.

When Should You Scale?

1. When you’re not quite there yet.
If you’re still building up to a movement as it’s written on the board, scaling helps you develop the same strength, skill, and stamina. Take jumping pull-ups as an example. They’re a brilliant sub for kipping pull-ups—not only do they train similar muscles, but they also teach the movement pattern and raise your heart rate just like kipping pull-ups do. Win-win.

2. When your body says “meh” but your mind says “go”.
Sometimes your body’s running on half a tank, but your mental health needs the gym. We get it. On those days, scaling can be the difference between burnout and a feel-good session. Maybe you lift lighter, move slower, or drop the intensity. That’s not a step back—it’s smart training. Come in, move, feel better.

3. When scaling gives you more bang for your buck.
Believe it or not, scaling even when you don’t have to can be a power move. It’s about prioritising. Maybe you want to save energy for a heavy lift later in the week. Maybe you’re focusing on improving your gymnastics skills. Scaling selectively allows you to put more effort where it matters most. One step back here might mean two steps forward later.

Scaling isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what’s right for you. It’s how we train smarter, stay consistent, and keep progressing—not just in our performance, but in how we feel, move, and show up.

Got questions about how or when to scale? Your coach is always here to help.

Training for a Half Marathon: The Struggle was definitely Real

Those of you that know me well, will know that running is my nemesis. So the decision to run a half marathon certainly raised a few eyebrows. 

Training for a half marathon while balancing work commitments, coaching, and suppressing my general dislike for running, certainly came with its challenges. I recall some 10 years ago finishing my last half marathon and swearing to the powers that be that I would never do anything so ridiculous again. Even before I started training, the thought of running for over an hour sounded like my personal version of torture. Yet, there I was, signing up and ignoring the little voice in my head questioning my life choices. But I had a goal. I wanted to be able to run more than 5k without my lungs feeling like they wanted to explode! I knew training for this type of race was going to get me to that goal.  So the training began.

One of the biggest hurdles I faced was having to adjust my training. For someone who loves throwing heavy weights around, handstand walking and a tasty WOD, the idea of stepping away from those familiar routines was really hard. Suddenly, I had to prioritize running over lifting — something that I knew wasn’t my strength and made me feel pretty vulnerable, especially in the knowledge that I might actually fail. But setting a goal and sticking to it meant recognizing when it was time to adapt. The aim was to build my fitness to improve my training overall, so the decision to dial back on weight training and focus on endurance felt like a necessary shift, even if it meant temporarily stepping away from what I loved in the gym. This was challenging, but I kept in mind the bigger picture and kept reminding myself what all this was for.

Juggling my work and coaching commitments only made the transition more difficult. Between early morning meetings, late-night leg training, and coaching you wonderful people, finding time to run was burdensome. But the goal was clear: If I wanted to complete this half marathon, I had to stay consistent and I had to find ways to keep myself accountable, so I came up with strategies that worked for me, like dragging friends on runs so I couldn’t back out. I made it a priority to get in my miles, knowing that every run, no matter how short or difficult, was one step closer to the finish line and to achieving my goal. Little by little, I began improving and the idea of running 21k started to feel almost achievable.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The physical strain of adjusting to long-distance running meant I had to listen to my body. There were days when my legs were sore, my energy was low, and I just didn’t want to face another cold winter run. I realised this was a difficult task and it was okay to step away and rest. Pushing through every single run wasn’t always the best approach. Sometimes, the best decision was to slow down, recover, and return stronger.

The takeaway from this experience? Sometimes you have to prioritize things you dislike to help improve what you love. Spending more time running, despite my aversion to it, has ultimately made me a stronger athlete overall. It’s helped with my endurance, conditioning, and even my weight training performance. But mainly, I’ve learnt not to shy away from things that challenge me because overcoming them only makes me stronger. So, if you’re setting yourself a difficult goal, embrace the discomfort and the grind, but also remember that it’s okay to rest and recalibrate along the way. You’re not just building a skill — you’re building a well-rounded, more resilient you. Embrace things that scare you and soak in that euphoria when you eventually achieve your goal.

Coach Tash x

It’s here, the first Scale It Up of the year has been launched and it’s on Saturday the 14th June and the Brislington gym. This year we will see the return of the intermediate and beginner categories. If you’re not sure which is right for you all athlete division information will be on our SM pages shortly.

It’s a really good fun day out and if you can do a class you can do SIU. TripleThreat os Teams of three same gender (MINT/FINT) and the cost is £30 each to take part.

There are 4 workouts on the day (much shorter than a class workout, generally) and all team members take part in all workouts.

Our judges are gym members and will be there to help and guide you through the workouts. We have a live DJ spinning the tunes all day, food trucks and a few vendors so it’s a great day out for friends and family to come and watch too.

It’s open to anyone who wants to compete so if you have friends at other gyms make sure they know about it too or drag them into a team with you.

If you want to take part but don’t have a team, do not worry. Just email me and ask to be put in a team and we will do the rest for you. Any specific questions email me (amy@valesco.fitness) or grab me in the gym.

Come on team, let’s do this for Valesco!!

• injury assessment
• rehabilitation programmes
• return to sport programmes
• sports massage