CrossFit Team Raised Over £4,850 for Hull and East Yorkshire Mind
There are physical challenges, and then
there’s a WODathon. Don’t know what that is? Read on to find out why it’s only
for the most committed gym bunnies!
Daisy Parker is a Project Manager at The
Maltings who loves fitness. She has spent over two years partaking in CrossFit and
more than a year competing: “I take my training very seriously,” she says. “I
start with 4am get-ups every morning to train before work, followed by a PM
training session until around 9pm. As you can imagine, it can take its toll but
I'd like to think it pays off – especially when I get to test my limits and
throw myself into an event such as our WODathon.”
Whilst CrossFit takes the form of
constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity (covering
gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more), a WODathon is a prolonged
Workout of the Day. In Daisy’s case, it lasted for 27 hours, with a WOD session
taking place on the hour every hour during that time.
The reason for it being 27 hours long
was simple: Daisy’s best friend and fellow competition team member, Bex, is due
to run the London Marathon later this month in aid of Hull and East Yorkshire Mind.
With marathons being 26.2 miles long, Daisy and her CrossFit friends decided
that they too would raise money for the local branch of the mental health
charity, exchanging miles for hour and rounding up.
Hull and East Yorkshire Mind is a
charity that’s very close to all of our hearts here at SGS Packaging Europe. As
well as the WODathon, our apprentices are raising funds for them throughout
2019, plus we’re working closely with the organisation to deliver exceptional
mental health awareness training across our offices. With approximately 1 in 4
people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year, it really is a
worthy cause that deserves as much support as possible.
Daisy adds: “Mind’s objective is to
ensure that no one has to face a mental health issue alone and gets the
support and respect they need. We believe that fitness unites us and that the
strength and support of a community can provide a light at the end of the
tunnel for those battling with mental health.”
We asked Daisy a bit more about how she
got into the sport and why she finds it so addictive: “I'd heard a lot about
CrossFit via a friend of mine. There was a trial offer over the Christmas
period – they put my name down and I was selected to try it out. I was very
sceptical about the sport as I'd heard such a variety of opinions (more bad
than good). I was a little fed up of my day-to-day gym routine, hence the
decision to bite the bullet and try something different.”
“I liked the idea of not being good at
something; I used to think I was pretty fit and healthy, due to playing netball
on a regular basis. When starting CrossFit I couldn't lift an empty barbell, do
a single pull up, run further than a mile or even dream of walking on my hands.
I can honestly say it was the best decision I've ever made... that and taking a
job at SGS, of course. It's just proved that practise makes BETTER –
not perfect. There is always room for improvement.”
Whilst training is of course excellent
for physical health, it can also play a large role in positive mental health
too, which makes Mind the perfect charity to raise funds for through a
WODathon. We asked Daisy for her thoughts in regards to this: “Training has
benefitted my health in numerous ways. I initially thought I was fit, oh how I
was wrong! Joining CrossFit Barbaric put me on the beginner's step; I started
from scratch with everything and wasn't allowed to progress into trying the
'exciting' movements until I proved I had both the natural body strength and
technique nailed. Over two years into the sport, I can confidently say I've
significantly improved.”
Daisy also says that she’s definitely
changed physically over the years, having built up her muscles: “I used to hate
the idea of becoming more muscular. It's been tough in some ways, as I can't buy
the style of clothes as before. I used to be very narrow, petite and shapeless,
so as people began to see me change shape many comments were made – not
necessarily bad, but the stereotypical 'muscles are for guys' card was thrown
about quite often.”
“This was tough to ignore at first. I'd
find myself training too much at times to keep my metabolism ticking over and
ensure that I stayed 'skinny', but this had a detrimental effect when competing
as I was so drained due to burning the candle at both ends. It was then
that something in my mind clicked and I decided to take my training far more
seriously, disregarding others’ opinions – I couldn't be happier now.”
Daisy and her CrossFit colleagues aimed
to raise £2,620 for Mind. In the end, they exceeded their target by 85% and achieved
a grand total of £4,853 through 209 donations, which is truly incredible. The
fundraiser is still live, so if you’d like to add a little to the pot you can
donate through their JustGiving page.
On behalf of everyone at SGS, we’d like
to congratulate Daisy and her CrossFit team members on a fantastic result!
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