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Valesco News, May 2026

June 2026

VFC

Hey and welcome...

Welcome to the Valesco Fitness Collective Newsletter: May Edition

As we step into June, we’re celebrating the fresh start that May brought us! From May 1st onwards, we’ve introduced an exciting new perk: your membership now includes one Guest Pass per month. We have already emailed communications about this, and you can also find them on the first page of the WodBoard app. The take-up so far has been brilliant, and we’re excited to see even more of you bringing friends, family, and colleagues to share the Valesco love.

Alongside this, we also launched a brand new block of programming, designed to challenge, inspire, and guide you toward your goals, whilst as always keeping things fresh and interesting.

This month you can check out new features from Coach Maria in our Coaches Corner as well as an article on the importance of warming up from our onsite Sports Therapist Lucie Peters.

Just as this is published, we will have held the second ever Valesco Big Weekender and we can’t wait to see you all in action, from Friday Night Lights, The Backyard Ultra, and the Iron Action Dog walk. We'll share more about that in next month's newsletter.

The month of June has seen the start of our Summer Bingo challenge.. Keep reading for all the details, tips, and inspiration you need for a strong start to June!

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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 James, Kieron Rix gets a shout out from me this month. Aside from the fact that him and Emily are both super hard working, always fun to have in a class, and clearly enjoy the process (which is infectious for coaches and other members!), Kieron has spent the last couple of months navigating a nagging knee issue. Despite the frustration, it’s been the perfect example of someone trusting the process, doing the un-glamorous and boring stuff (often just on his own in open gym) and persevering through what I’m sure felt like slow progress, and I think that deserves a high five. It sucks in the moment, but he didn’t just power through, he paused, did the work, and now he’s getting the reward.

Coach Dec, Tom White V2 - a 6am regular who is a fantastic cheerleader for others, is a pleasure to have in class and is doing brilliantly at training around a few unlucky injuries. Good to have you at Werbs Tom!

Coach Will, My shoutout is Liz Allison - she’s newer to us and has just thrown herself in to FLEX and weightlifting classes and her technique is improving each week already! Loving the progress! 👏🏻

Coach Johnny, Shout out to V2 member Alfred Puerta Casadevall. Apart from his consistency in his training, his also gets in open gym sessions, is always humble and super friendly with other members in the class.

Coach Ryan, Shoutout Kevin Wichard. His weightlifting has improved massively, with some really nice technical lifts! His consistency in attendance to Wednesday night weightlifting is paying off 🤟

Coach Alex, I’d like to shout out James Basely from V2. I don’t know what’s better, getting married or conquering double unders. Either way, congratulations on both! 🥳

Coach Maria, I’d like to shout out everyone in my Friday v2 day time classes! Some amazing tempo DLs going on, some PRs being hit, and they always bring sunny vibes to my Fridays! Even when I make them run in the rain…

Coach Drew, Alun Garland, absolute legend, he found us not long ago and has fully embraced us and always gives it beans. I love his energy whenever he is around.

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All things training..

Focus This Month: SUMMER BINGO!

Have you heard about this years summer challenge?! We're playing Gym Bingo!

Rules of engagement...

Grab a bingo card from your gym or a coach when you are next at the gym (as of tomorrow - 27th May)
Complete as many of the challenges between 1st June and 5th July
For every complete line eg. horizontal, vertical or diagonal = 3 points
If you complete the whole card = 50 points (there is a typo on the pack of the cards that says 25 points...)
Points = Number of entries to the prize draw
Prize draw for each site - prizes announced soon!
You will need to stamp your bingo card when at the gym, any challenges that are completed outside of the gym will need to be verified with a coach when you are next in
Verification can be by showing a post of social media with a tag to the gym or by sharing a Strava / Garmin post
You have until 5th July to complete as many challenges as possible
You have until the end of day of Weds 8th for bingo cards to be returned to the gym
The prize draw for each site will be on Friday 10th July

You have to be in it to win it!!! Grab your card and let’s play BINGO!!

Class Highlight: Weightlifting! Our Weightlifting classes are great sessions to focus on developing strength and technique for specific Olympic lifts. During this block you can find Cleans on a Wednesday and Snatch complexes on Thursdays. You can jump into a class at:

St Philips: Wednesday @ 5:30pm & Thursdays @ 6am and 7:30pm

St Werburghs: Wednesday @ 5:30pm & Thursdays @ 4:30pm

Brislington: Wednesday @ 6:45pm & Thursdays @ 7:45pm

Next Month at a Glance:

JUNE

Saturday 20th June: Monthly Run Club

Sunday 28th June: HYROX SIM @ Valesco Brislington

JULY

Saturday 11th July: Valesco x Pride

Sunday 19th July: Monthly Run Club

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Coaches Corner

*Progress isn’t always a straight line*

One of the biggest misconceptions in the fitness industry is that success comes from stringing together weeks, months, or years of uninterrupted training. And I’m here to call BS!

The reality is that almost every athlete, whether they're chasing a podium finish, a first pull-up, or simply trying to stay active for life, will face setbacks along the way.

Injuries happen. Niggles appear. Life starts life-ing(!!) and ultimately, recovery takes longer than we'd like.

At VFC we often talk about training for longevity. Functional fitness isn't just about what you can do today, it's about building a body that keeps moving well for years to come. That means understanding that rehabilitation and recovery aren't distractions from training; they are part of training.

If you're returning from an injury, a surgery, or a period of not training for whatever reason, it can be tempting to jump straight back into the workouts you were doing before. Believe me, as coaches we've all been in this situation at one time or another (guilty as charged), and we know how frustrating it can feel.

We get it. Nobody enjoys scaling movements, reducing loads, or spending time on rehab exercises. But those small, (sometimes boring) steps are often the difference between a successful return and ending up back at square one.

The strongest athletes we know aren't the ones who never get injured. They're the ones who respect the recovery process, stay patient, and focus on what they can do rather than what they can't.

And that's where the power of our community comes in.

One of the things I love most about VFC is that everyone trains together, regardless of ability, experience, or current circumstances. Whether you're hitting a personal best, coming back after surgery, managing a long-term condition, or modifying movements around an injury, you belong in the class. No question.

As coaches our job is to help you find the right version of the workout for where you are TODAY. Some days that means pushing hard. Other days it means moving well, reducing intensity, and prioritising recovery.

Both are valuable and both move you forward.

So, if you're currently working through an injury, remember:
* Consistency beats heroics.
* Rehab exercises matter (so actually do them!)
* Recovery is productive.
* Scaling is smart, not a sign of weakness.
* Progress is still progress, even when it looks different than expected.

And if you're feeling healthy and strong right now, take that as a reminder to invest in recovery before you need it.

Sleep well. Eat well. Drink some god damn water(!). Move regularly. Warm up properly. Future you will thank you.

Fitness is a long game, and we're here to help you play it well. See you in the gym!

Coach Maria xx

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Rehab & Performance, Lucie at Flex

How do I warm up? Is is important?

The conversation I have with a lot of patients and athletes I work with is about having time to warm up, is it important and will it make a difference to performance?

You will always see professional teams warming up prior to games, competitions and training, they do this for a reason. The excuse I hear a lot is that "I don't have time" a warm up can be 5-10 minutes prior to exercise and only needs to be specific to the exercises you are doing, it is prepping your body to perform for your chosen sport. Warm up prior to activity is more beneficial as a set of dynamic movements or muscle activation. this will ensure the correct joints and muscles have been activated.

Be consistent- doing a one off warm up here and there is not going to prevent injury or improve performance. consistently prep your body for exercise, this will also make you more aware of any aches or pains that may be present early on so you can act on preventing them becoming a bigger issue.

Physical robustness- watch elite athletes and teams warm up, they do things specific to their sport alongside what is essentially taking joints through their range of movement. it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. There is some evidence that may suggest that injury prevention is reduced with correct warmups or activations, there are multiple injury prevention programmes across different sports that are specific to those sports but are all adaptable.

Treat your warm ups/ activations/ prep as seriously as your actual work out, and don't forget a cool down/ mobility/ stretch post training!

Lucie Peters MSc(BASRaT), PGCert, Ba(Hons) MISRM

Sports Rehabilitator

LJP Performance and Rehab / Flex Injury Rehabilitation

07850154219

www.ljpperformanceandrehab.co.uk

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

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Recover & Rebuild

⚡ Before/After Workout Tip

Quick Win: Start Hydrating Earlier

One of the easiest ways to improve your training performance is to begin hydrating before your workout starts.

Many people only think about drinking water during exercise, but showing up already hydrated can help maintain energy levels, improve performance, and make training in warmer weather feel more manageable.

Before your next session, aim to drink a glass of water 30-60 minutes beforehand. After training, continue sipping fluids to replace what you've lost through sweat and support recovery.

Small habits repeated consistently often have the biggest impact.

VFC

SAve the Dates!

📅 VALESCO SAVE THE DATES!

It’s going to be a great year with the Valesco community. Bookings available on Wodboard.

JUNE

Saturday 20th June: Monthly Run Club

Sunday 28th June: HYROX SIM @ Valesco Brislington

JULY

Saturday 11th July: Valesco x Pride

Sunday 19th July: Monthly Run Club

AUGUST

Saturday 1st August: Summer Party

SEPTEMBER

Friday 18th-Sunday 20th: Valesco Big Weekender

Friday 18th: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, at V3

Saturday 17th & Sunday 19th: RunClub and Dog walk

OCTOBER

Saturday 31st: Halloween WOD

DECEMBER

Saturday 19th: Christmas WOD

Friday 4th: Christmas party

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Run Club Corner:

Exciting updates for Run Club will be featured here each month including upcoming dates, collab events and not too miss events for your calendar!

Shoutout to Christa for running such a great event and to all the runners that took part in the Backyard Ultra over the weekend, raising awareness and £3000 for Andy's Man Club!

Monthly Run Club Dates: