Testimonials

I signed up for my first Bootcamp in October 2009 No 25, it was a milestone for Physical Revolution and I remember Chris saying how proud he was that they had  reached 25 Bootcamps and was glad I was part of it and felt it maybe an omen.  There were quite a lot of people there making 9 groups, I landed in group 7 and was very happy that I finished the trial under an hour.  My trainer was Selina, how fortunate for me as she was the inspiration I needed at the time to keep going.  I could barely bend my legs after the trial (that hill is not good) and by Tuesday I could manage to move after warming up.  Then I was introduced to not just your normal push-ups and situps but Burpees, v-ups, squats and all the things that hurt you most.  I could hardly do any of them and was always out of breath and ready to collapse in a heap but I was addicted straight away.  I noticed others in higher groups and thought ‘I hope one day I will be there’, just finished my 5^th Bootcamp and was in Group 2.  It is an odd feeling to be around people that you used to strive to be as fit as and actually be training with them.

I have always been overweight and struggled to lose and/or keep it off, always kidding myself that I may have been big but if I could still play tennis then it was ok.  I became a little too lax there for a while and paid the price by getting type 2 diabetes.  My doctor discussed the options and I decided that I needed to see if I could control it with diet and exercise, hence the Bootcamp,  that was June 2009, August 2010 I am proud to say that my results showed I was no longer at diabetic levels.

I also have become a huge fan of Crossfit.  I love the group atmosphere and the encouragement it gives.  The variety keeps your whole body working, I have never been as fit as I am now but still have a way to go.  I will not be happy until I can do pull-ups without those bands.

I have never felt inferior at Physical Revolution, everyone is friendly and welcoming.  It stems from the top, (as Chris often lets us know) Chris and Corrine lead by example and I am extremely grateful they live in Geelong.  I have a huge thankyou to Selina, my Bootcamp trainer for the first two I did.  You encouraged me endlessly and I will always be grateful, you are a huge part of where I am today, Thanks.  Cam always pushes when I want to stop or reduce weights, I am grateful, even if I keep complaining.

This leads me to something that I still am having trouble believing.  I was overwhelmed at the breakup when I was given the honour of the Billy Jo award.  I go to classes and only give back what I have received from this great bunch of people.  I did not have the opportunity to meet Billy Jo but from the passionate way her friends talk about her, words cannot describe the feelings I get when I think of where it comes from.  I remember listening to Shane when he received it and thought what an inspiration.  Thank you very much and I can only hope I can continue to encourage those around me.

Susan Bissett

Ever since I can remember I have been fairly active through sports yet constantly battling my weight. I considered myself ‘fit but fat’ and every Monday morning I would start my new ‘diet’ and exercise regime. By the end of the week I was over it and found myself falling back into old habits ready to start the ‘new diet’ the very next Monday. This is the trend which I found myself following every week and is probably familiar to many people the world over. It got to the point where I just gave in to being the big fella, the fat kid, who could do nothing to change it. I assumed it was my genetics and my destiny to be fat. This helpless feeling , my poor diet and my lack of motivation caused me to balloon out to 112kg in 2008. In October 2008 something happened though… I developed a headache, which turned into a severe throbbing pain in my head so bad that my head would hurt on my pillow at night and I couldn’t see properly. I was sent for a cat scan of my brain and they found I had had a severe haemorrhage (bleed) in my brain which should have killed me instantly. They were amazed I had made it that far! A few minutes later I was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for emergency brain surgery later that day. The follow up test showed I would have been dead in less than 48 hrs. I went from being a ‘fit but fat’ 25 year old to knocking on deaths door in a heartbeat. Recovering from the major surgery I had, I was unable to exercise for at least 2 months. During this 2 months I found myself no longer ‘fairly fit’ and I was now just ‘fat’. The same food habits I developed over the years got worse. I was feeling down and turned to food. I met a new friend on TV in Huey’s Cooking Adventures and with all the time in the world found myself now weighing in at 118.5kg! 3 months later my wife and I moved to Geelong in early 2009 and was finally given the all clear to exercise again in March. My life was about to change, again! I heard about a ‘bootcamp’ coming up in April through a friend at work and decided that it was time to change my physical state. I went in to Physical Revolution and signed up for their camp in April 2009 and have never looked back. Chris’ team are fantastic! They provided me with some nutritional info and an itinerary for the next 5 weeks. I was excited yet nervous at the same time… My very first session was a large scale time trial. I was at the stage where I couldn’t run more than a few hundred metres without stopping to walk. But I finished. My time in which I finished meant that I found myself in a group of about 15 people who were of similar fitness to myself and it really made me feel comfortable. There were a total of 6 groups that camp, I was in group 5. My trainer made it fun and interesting and by the end of the 5 week camp I had dropped 7kg and could now run 6km whilst being a lot stronger too! I wasn’t hungry or crash dieting and exercise became fun. Its been just over a year since my first camp and I haven’t missed one since. I’ve recently completed the Great Ocean Road 23km Half Marathon in under 2hrs and my weight is now at 89.0kg. I’m fitter, stronger and healthier than I’ve ever been. In fact I’ve gone from approx 80th place in my first time trial a year ago to 1st in our last camp this year! I’ve found a new love, Crossfit and am constantly challenging myself to reach new heights and achieving ‘true fitness’. Over the past year I’ve come to expect nothing but the best in training and support from Chris and his team at Physical Revolution/Crossfit Geelong and am forever amazed at the results they are achieving through their passion and commitment to their clients fitness goals. This past year and a half has has given me plenty of time to reflect. I’ve started to understand that maybe we aren’t as indestructible as I once thought. If there is a lesson that I have learnt through my journey so far, it’s that life is precious, it can be over tomorrow or even in a millisecond. Look after yourself, give yourself every chance you can at living a long and happy life. Don’t wait ‘til Monday or it might never come! Thank you so much Chris. To you and your whole team. You’ve given me a new passion and inspire me every day to better myself. For that I’ll be forever grateful. Lee Wisniewski

Date of Posting: 07 October 2010
Posted By: Lee Wisniewski

I payed out on CrossFit at the start. I mean, when you walk into the gym and there is a whole bunch of names on the board and yours isn’t up there you instantly think ‘what sort of elitist club is this’. 
So I carried on going to the gym in the morning lifting the same boring weights, doing a set and then fluffing about while the CrossFit group ran outside, swung kettlebells, motivated each other and generally looked excited about completing the task. When they’d finished their workout, I still had heaps to do, but without any real motivation. I ended my workouts when I wanted – complete or not.

After the November bootcamp last year, I made a pact with someone else (Tom Smith) in my group that we were going to give this CrossFit class a go. I soon found out that the names on the board were the workouts (WOD’s) – not the people involved and that each WOD was completed either in a timeframe or amount of rounds. 
After a month of classes three days a week and better diet (I cut bread back by about 80%), I’d lost 5kg’s! I couldn’t lose weight when I was doing my own thing, so I was stoked! In 45 minutes I’m getting a cardio/strength/stretching/high intensity workout with a clear goal of ‘getting it done and getting on with your life’ rather than the drudgery of lone gym work without ‘explosive’ results.

I was also excited about getting up and going to the class – for the first time, I couldn’t wait for Moday/Wednesday/Friday mornings in the gym rather than rolling over and hitting the snooze button until my window of gym time had expired. Fun at the gym? Yes, with CrossFit and like minded people, it is!

Now, 5 months on, I’m 2kg’s away from my goal weight (10kg’s lost so far!) and my body is leaner, faster and stronger than it has ever been!
The best thing is that anything I attempt now, be it other sports, work challenges and/or life challenges, has become easier. Strong healthy body = Strong healthy mind.

CrossFit for life! 
Cheers,
Yonny.

Date of Posting: 29 June 2010
Posted By: Yonni M

At almost 50 years old I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be writing a testimonial. But someone once told me that sometimes in life, if we are open to change there is a thing called a ‘light bulb moment’ and it can instantly change your life forever. Well on the weekend of 13th-14th February, 2010 I had a light bulb moment. What am i talking about? I am talkiing about ‘CROSSFIT’ ! It just clicked! It just made sense and it has changed my life for the better! I can honestly say I walked in Crossfit Brisbane one person and definitely walked away a different person. Professionally trained and instructed by Matt Shift and his team of amazing Trainers, in Crossfit Certificate 1, I am someone who now has Crossfit in her soul and is screaming inside wanting to tell everyone, “there is a better way to gain ultimate health and fitness and it is ‘Crossfit’! They say, “when we know better, we do better” and this is certainly true of Crossfit. Crossfit is ‘Constantly varied, Functional movement at High intensity! It is a health & fitness regime that will help you live a happy and long life. Open to any age Crossfit can be scales to suit everyone. If you are reading this testimonial then you are obviously looking for something. Crossfit will change your life for the better. But don’t just listen to me. Try it for yourself! You won’t regret it! Selina Mitchell Crossfit Trainer

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: selina mitchell

Crossfit = results!! Whatever your fitness goals are…. it gets you there. Ever since I can remember I have been involved in sport and very interested in my own personal health & fitness. I would set goals, just to watch them float on by. Then I started to do crossfit. The results came in hard and fast. Yes, I had to push myself outside my comfort zone but the satisfaction of completing a session you didnt think you could, is priceless. I could have continued to waste my time running on a treadmill and doing the odd weights session, sure… but I wanted results….. Crossfit = results…. whatever yours are….stop wasting your time and get into crossfit where every second counts. Leah Burrows

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: leah burrows

Hi Chris.. I just completed by 1st ever 1/2 Marathon.. and I didn’t even train for it.. Well not quite.. I just did my normal training.. CrossFit and bootcamp.. and that was all I needed..If people go to your gym and just do a couple of CrossFit classes a week they can do this too. I didn’t run any distance’s or did anything special..and I crossed over the finish line feeling really good. No issue Cardio wise.. just legs were feeling a bit tired.. but hey… it was 23.5 kms from Kennett River to Apollo Bay , up and down those hills.. I couldn;t be happier.. Regards Tamara Rus

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: tamara rus

Hi Guys, CrossFit has been a fantastic edition to the training offered at Physical Revolution and has made an amazing difference to myself personally. Having been involved at Physical Revolution for over 4 years, prior to CrossFit being introduced I had taken part mainly in the outdoor classes and the occasional Bootcamp with very little strength work. Although I had lost 30kg and I thought my fitness level was pretty good I was still restricted by almost constant back pain. When CrossFit was introduced I gave it a go with concerns as to how my back would hold up. The passion, knowledge and commitment of the trainers in teaching correct techniques and the scaling of exercises to suit everybody enabled me to build confidence in my ability to actually do this type of training before taking on heavier weights. Now, I’m doing things I never thought were possible. The variety of the workouts ensures that it never becomes boring or repetitive and you are challenged every time you walk through the front door. The result has been a significant increase in overall strength and fitness and much improved posture. I am also no longer troubled or restricted by back pain and therefore, able to take part in activities I couldn’t in the past and, with a young family that is very important to me. I feel very fortunate to be part of such a terrific environment and grateful to Chris, Corinne and all the other trainers for what they have done for me. Chris Crabbe

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: chris Crabbe

I definitely consider myself a CrossFit convert. It took off very quickly and I remember being a bit annoyed that my regular morning boxing class was to be replaced with a CrossFit one. Before long I decided to see what all the fuss was about and joined in on a few sessions. Very quickly, I noticed some remarkable changes in my performance. My fitness improved at levels well beyond anything I had achieved previously. I found myself moving far more freely and being a lot less fatigued after a days work than I ever have before. Better still, the people are great and the sessions are challenging but not repetitive. If you’re reading this you are already curious about CrossFit. From my experience, don’t read about it, come and do it, you will be truly amazed. Tom Smith

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: tom smith

As a 49 year old male who has always kept himself fit by being involved in various sports, I was intrigued by an articleabout CrossFit in a magazine. I read about the intensity and got the feeling that you almost had to be crazy to take it on. I thought that this was for me and I would love to give it a crack. I got onto the Internet and found that a place calledPhysical Revolution in Geelong had CrossFit classes. After the initial enquiries and the offer of a 2 week trial I attendedmy first class. Well I was sore for a week….but I wasn’t going to let it beat me…and I was hooked. Now as a 50 year old I am the fittest and strongest I have ever been. Yes it is intense, yes you almost have to be crazy(you would fit in very well if you are), but it is the the best fitness regime I have ever done. The trainers are fantastic…notsuper serious but boy, they know how to push you. You never get bored, as you never know what you are going to do onany given workout. Chris, Corrine & the trainers are extremely proud of the CrossFit product…and so they should be. You almost have to crazy to take it on….You WOULD be crazy not to !!!! The results will speak for themselves. Kym Andrew

Date of Posting: 19 May 2010
Posted By: kym andrew