VFC

July at Valesco!

August 2026

VFC

Hey and welcome...

What a month July has been!

We wrapped up another incredible 12-week training block, finishing with an epic Test Week. It was amazing to see so many of you step up, push your limits, and celebrate the progress you worked so hard for over the past three months. Whether you hit a new PB, mastered a new movement, or simply showed up and gave it your all, every win deserves to be celebrated. The energy across all of our sites was something special, and we're incredibly proud of what this community continues to achieve.

Our Summer Bingo Challenge also headed into its final few weeks, and it's been brilliant seeing members ticking off challenges, trying new classes, supporting one another, and having plenty of fun along the way. Massive congratulations to all our winners (and to everyone who took part); we hope you enjoy spending your vouchers on a little treat for you.

One of the absolute highlights of the month was Bristol Pride. Across every Valesco site, we celebrated with colourful Pride-themed workouts that brought the community together in true Valesco style. Thank you to everyone who dressed up, got involved, and helped create such an inclusive, welcoming, and vibrant atmosphere. Seeing our members and coaches celebrating together was a fantastic reminder of what our community is all about.

We also had the pleasure of hosting an incredible RAD Training throwdown at Valesco Brislington, welcoming coaches from across Bristol for an afternoon of training and connection. Not to mention free Trainers and Bagels! It was fantastic to open our doors, share some fun, and bring together so many passionate coaches committed to raising the standard of fitness and coaching across the city.

We're now excited to be well underway in a brand-new training block, packed with fresh workouts, new skills to learn, and plenty of opportunities to keep progressing. We hope you're all enjoying the challenge so far, and we can't wait to spend the rest of the summer training, celebrating, and making more memories with you all.

As always, thank you for making Valesco such a special place to train. Here's to an incredible August!

Big Love,

Team Valesco xx

VFC

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.

Coach Ryan, All my Wednesday Night Weightlifters at V3, some really consistent attendance and attention has been put into their lifting and it’s shown with PBs across the board during test week! Well done everyone

Coach Nic, Michael Ogbeta for his huge progress on double unders going from none to doing consistent big sets in WODs under fatigue

Coach Dec, James Baseley at V2 - A great presence in class and consistently making great progress, especially with gymnastics. On ya James!

Coach Alex, I’d like to shout out Hope Barraclough and Andy Loat at V2. They’re so lovely to have in classes and always a great laugh! Both have been really consistent throughout the last block and gained some massive PB’s on double unders and handstands! Well done both

Coach Simone, Big shoutout to Kya!

I remember Kya came for a taster session in December 2023 and since then her fitness improvement has been unbelievable. She keeps showin up, working hard, and never gives up.

She is always lovely to have in class, always with a great attitude and always gives it beans!

It is so nice to see her transformation and how much confidence she has built. So proud of you, Kya. Keep going, you are smashing it!

Coach James, A big Congratulations to Adam and Hannah on their wedding earlier this month!

Coach Amy, My shout out this month is for two people sadly leaving the community this month due to relocation.

The simply wonderful Kaja Lloyd. Kaya has been such a valued part of our 6:30 p.m. crew and Saturday Team WOD s, always bringing great energy and a smile. She’ll be hugely missed by members and coaches alike. While we’re sad to see her go, we’re really excited for all that’s ahead for her.

Secondly the extremely lovely Emma Kuwertz.

Emma has brought enthusiasm, positivity, and a fantastic work ethic to every session. Her consistency and willingness to challenge herself have led to some amazing progress, and it’s been brilliant to watch her confidence grow.

We’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved so far, Emma.!

We wish you both all the very best and never be strangers to Valesco

Coach Rox, Michela Turro for pushing herself with back squats and surprising herself with her strength

Emily Phillips. It was great to see her back training after having baby Ruben and trusting her body

Chloe Davis for absolutely bossing her training her entire pregnancy and still lifting more than me 2 weeks before her due date

Shernia Joseph. Her front squats are looking great and she has made so much progress since her first learn to lift

VFC

All things training..

Your new 12 week block has started!!

Monday: Power Cleans: Time to get explosive! We'll be building technique and power through the Power Clean, a great full-body movement that develops speed, strength and coordination all in one.

Tuesday: Strict Pull-ups and Rope Climbs: Old school strength for the win. Strict pull-ups build serious back and grip strength, and rope climbs will test that strength in a whole new (and sweaty) way! And don't worry if you can't do pull-ups or rope climbs - learning is half the fun!

Wednesday: Long WOD with 3 sections of intensity: High, low, high! A chance to push the pace, settle into some steady work, then finish strong. Great for building your engine and learning to manage effort across a workout.

Thursday: Press + Jerks: Overhead strength day! We'll work on pressing strength and then bring in the jerk to get that weight overhead faster and more efficiently. Shoulders, get ready!

Friday: Front Squats and Lunges: Quads and glutes, this one's for you. Front squats build strength through a more upright position, and lunges will help iron out any imbalances between legs.

Mixed in with all of this good stuff you'll find workouts with 'highest pulling / pressing' movements, percentage based barbell work, and workouts where you can choose your stimulus - light and high rep or heavy & low rep...you decide! Not forgetting 'partner WOD Friday' is here to stay!

Wednesday WL: Snatch - rotating complexes to keep things interesting while allowing enough consistency for you to see & track progress!

Thursday WL: Clean & Jerk - this block we're separating the Clean and the Jerk for the 1st 8 weeks to give you a chance to really refine each lift. 4 weeks of building the Clean, 4 weeks of building the Jerk and 4 weeks putting them together

Tuesday Gymnastics - Handstand Press Ups: A fantastic skill to build serious shoulder strength and stability. Whether you're working on your first strict handstand press up or refining your reps, this class will help you build the strength and confidence to get upside down with control.

Weekend Gymnastics - Ring Muscle Up Progressions: one of the most impressive skills in the gym, broken down step by step! Whether you're chasing your first ring muscle up or looking to clean up your technique, this class will build the strength and skill you need to get there.

In addition, this block will also include more CrossFit benchmark workouts, olympic lifting in classes, 'GTOH' so you can chose your lift, work on Overhead squats and more!

Get booked in and get ready to get STRONG!

VFC

Coaches Corner

If there’s no challenge, there’s no change…..but not how you think.

Coach Becca here

It’s a common thoughts that "No challenge, no change." Which has some truth to, whereby training is stress, and stress creates adaptation.

BUT somewhere along the line, a myth started that "challenge" means redlining at 100% max effort until you're flat on your back after every single workout.

That’s a fast track to burnout, not ready for anything, lifelong fitness.

Real progress does require stepping outside your comfort zone, but what that challenge looks like changes every single day. It’s not just about raw physical intensity:

So - over the next few sessions, check in with your senses and decide what challenge you’ll be tackling that day - so that every class is a success, yet it’s sustainable.

Here’s a few ways to challenge yourself, without flirting with burnout.

Raw Physicality is the most obvious. Yeeeesssss, sometimes it’s adding a couple more plates to the bar or holding a higher plate than you’d like mid-metcon. Fundamentally this is the most basic version of adaptation.

My personal favourite is the Technique Challenge, seeing whether you can maintain a position or cue while you move through the session. Meaning that sometimes you’ll need to sprip weight off the barbell to be able to master the movement pattern. It might feel physically “easy”, but mentally, the challenge is quite high.

And finally, one that I’m always reminding myself of, the Self-Talk challenge. Being able to catch that negative inner voice mid-workout or the ego overpowering the sensible choices. Finding those little nuggets and mantras that help you find some extra energy and extra confidence that remind you why you’re here and why you’re doing what you’re doing.

The nuts and bolts of my message is a challenge isn't just about how high your heart rate goes - it’s about what avenue you are (as a whole person) ready to take on and conquer that day.

You just need to find today's edge—physical, technical, or mental—and step across it.

Before you step into every single class, every single set and every single rep, what challenge are you chasing?

Catch yah in class team

VFC

Rehab & Performance, Lucie at Flex

An introduction to us at Flex Injury Rehabilitation

Lucie, I will be doing some regular content on the news letter so I thought I would start off with an introduction to myself and the team:

I’m a former pub manager turned Graduate Sports Rehabilitator with an MSc from Cardiff Met.
I specialise in Equine Performance and Rehab with a PG Cert from Hartpury.

Proud owner & lead therapist at LJP Performance and Rehab/Flex Injury Rehabilitation.

Associate lecturer at UWE and starting to research in endometriosis and sport

Therapist for England Rugby U18's Player Development Group & Somerset Senior Men’s County Team.

Worked with everyone from elite athletes & Paralympian’s to weekend warriors!

I have been based out of Valesco for 10+ years and am based out of V1.

The team

Connor- graduated from the University of the West of England in 2024 as a BASRaT accredited Graduate Sports Rehabilitator. Sport has always been a huge part of his life, from countless hours on the football pitch to the bouldering walls in rock climbing gyms, shaping the way he see the importance of exercise, movement and recovery. Connor is based at V1 and will be in V2 a couple of times a month.

Jess- Graduated from UWE as a BASRaT accredited Graduate Sports Rehabilitator in 2023. She is an experienced Sports Rehabilitator and prior to graduating had her own successful sports massage business. Jess has a range of experience working in private practice, elite sport (Ice Hockey and Rugby) and within the NHS. Jess has been with us for a couple of years and we love her and would not be without her!!!

We offer a range of services:

Injury assessment/ diagnosis
Rehab plans/ return to sport plans
Sports Massage
Medical Acupuncture
Pregnancy massage
Biomechanics assessments
Event planning/ training programme building
Equine therapy (if there are any horse owners here!)
Rider performance clinics

This month Lucie talks about Training with endometriosis

I was diagnosed with endometriosis 10 years ago after a 10 year wait for the diagnosis (so 20 years into this joyful journey!). Throughout this I have ridden, trained and been active with significant pain that follows no real pattern. I was diagnosed through surgery with no follow up apart from a 2 line letter from the hospital saying the outcome of the surgery was an endo diagnosis....not much help with how to manage it.....I don't think this is unusual

I started looking at my own ways of managing symptoms and how I could help myself through diet, exercise and hydration. I played around with food and cut things out, tried every type of diet under the sun to see if that would help. Nothing really did, I was constantly uncomfortable and my work patterns did not help with sporadic meal times and not drinking as much water as I should. I was substituting coffee to help with the fatigue caused by the endo, but funnily enough it was making things worse!

I have never been bed ridden with symptoms and always tried to be as active as possible and post surgery I found that strength training was far more beneficial than running. I have had to work hard with my own mental battles to come back into training, but I have found a trainer I like working with and a programme that fits in with my hectic work schedule (10-14 hour days), exercising the horse and general life! Since working with this trainer, I have become more consistent with food and hydration. I was not eating enough because I have always battled with my weight, I now eat more which is obviously fueling my body better and giving me more energy. Sadly, the fatigue is just a thing, but correct fuelling does help.

On the days I feel like I have been hit by a bus and want to just sit because it feels like I am carrying a heavy weight around my lower abdomen due to inflammation, I now go and do some sort of strength training, nothing heavy, explosive or particularly wild, but just moving under load is a help. The healthcare professional in me knows the benefit of this and loading muscle/ connective tissue correctly has a huge benefit to pain management so hopefully this is some encouragement for anyone going though the same.

The take homes from this

keep moving, but move how your body feels comfortable doing,
fuel well and hydrate.
Sleep. I cant harp on about sleep because I don't get enough myself....but try to get regular sleep patterns most days.

My journey is more than this few paragraphs, but its just a bit of an insite and I am always happy to chat about anyone else's journey with endo or other related conditions. I am looking to do more research over the next few years and hopefully get my PhD underway in this field of study so I will be looking for people to help with this too