Cancer Survivor Opens CrossFit Zenith in Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, Conn. - Nov. 19, 2013 - PRLog -- CrossFit Zenith, Wallingford’s newest CrossFit gym is now open!.

CrossFit Zenith recently opened at 2 Toelles Road, Unit 14 with easy access from Route 91 at exit 13.  The gym occupies 8500 square feet of warehouse space filled with old school strength and conditioning equipment.  You won’t find any machines here though.  A common refrain heard from a CrossFitter is “We don’t use machines, we are the machines.”

CrossFit Zenith is owned by Brian and Barbara (Trickett) Watts.  Barbara is a former resident of Wallingford and a graduate of Lyman Hall High School.  Brian Watts (affectionately known as “SqWatts” to his athletes) came to CrossFit after wearing many hats in his life. Motocrosser, X-Ray technologist, technical support guru, photographer, hockey player, blogger, QA engineer, web developer and cancer survivor. It was a long road that brought him here, but every detour has given Brian something he can apply in his current role as coach/owner of CrossFit Zenith.

Brian discovered CrossFit several years ago and saw it as a means to get back in shape after a long struggle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  “My body was decimated by the disease and I was looking for something to do to kickstart me back to health,” says Brian. “Early on, I thought of it as just another workout for me, but as I started to see the changes in my body,  I quickly realized how amazing CrossFit could be and how effective it can be for other cancer survivors."

“At the time, I was in an unhappy career, looking for a way to help make a difference in people’s lives.” says Brian.  Between that desire to help others and the knowledge of what CrossFit had done for him in eliminating most of his lingering post-cancer side effects, the choice was pretty clear – it was time to turn to CrossFit full-time.  “Shortly after that, we jettisoned a lot of our possessions, sold our house, I quit my job and I began the path to coaching.”

After two years of coaching at another CrossFit facility, fate lined up just right to allow Brian and Barbara to open their own CrossFit affiliate and help bring the joy of CrossFit and functional fitness to a new group of people.  “We are thrilled to be a part of the CrossFit community in Wallingford.”  CrossFit Zenith offers classes Monday through Friday at 6am, 9am, noon, 5:30pm and 6:30pm as well as personal training sessions throughout the day.  Every Saturday at 9am is a free trial workout for anyone who would like to try CrossFit.  The gym is equipped with two bathrooms, two showers, a kitchen and a comfortable lounge space where athletes like to hang out before and after workouts.

About CrossFit:  CrossFit is a training method used frequently by the military, firefighters, and law enforcement, but can be adapted to any fitness level. The CrossFit method uses constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements.  This means the workouts are different every day and use exercises that work your entire body in ways that are similar to things you do in real life. Everyone from an absolute beginner to a professional athlete is challenged…. you will NEVER be bored.

CrossFit training is done as a group where camaraderie and a sense of humor are encouraged.  Athletes attend hour-long sessions during which every athlete is coached by a CrossFit-certified trainer to complete the workout of the day, or “WOD.”  The goal of CrossFit is to build physical skills in endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, balance, agility, and accuracy. You attain these goals using a wide variety of exercises, including running, rowing, basic gymnastics, weight training and Olympic weightlifting techniques.  These skills transfer into an ability to succeed at nearly any physical challenge that an athlete may encounter.  At the end of each session, the athletes' times are recorded on the white board to allow them to gauge their own progress week to week.

To learn more about CrossFit Zenith visit www.crossfitzenith.com.