CrossFit Pen Y Bont
It's that time again - time to reveal this month's Box of the Month! This month, we're heading to Bridgend's CrossFit Pen Y Point, to chat to their head coach Alex Evans.
KB: Can you give us a brief history of CrossFit Pen Y Bont to start with?
Alex: We started up in 2013 with 4,500 square ft unit and almost no idea of where it was going to go!
What made you decide to open the box?
The cliche story of trying it once, and becoming hooked!
I think it was due to rugby being canclled one night and someone mentioned a new training ‘thing’ down the road. My first workout was 5 rounds of 10 BW back squats and max effort pull ups. 10 dodgy squats and a few strict pull ups later - I was iching for more!
What makes Pen Y Bont so special?
As always, the community. If anyone knows me or my box, they know the guys that come here are a special breed! They're always up for a tough workout, max out session, road trip, piss up, box holiday or just good old social (with or without booze).
It's always a great time - becoming friends with people and getting to know them inside and outside the box!
What have been the highlights since opening the box?
To be fair, I can’t really pinpoint anything. There are just so many awesome things that have happened as a result of opening the gym.
Waking up every day, absolutely loving what I do is epic and i wouldn’t change it for the world. I also love being able to work so close with my family.
What's your coaching philosophy?
As long as you want to be here, then I'm your guy. I love people who are positive and hungry to improve, I feed off the energy they bring into the session. Nothing beats a good atmosphere!
My mum and sister also have their coaching certificates and take classes with our teens, and kids. They always go the extra mile with coaching and it really reflects on our younger members!
What are your members like?
Pretty f**king awesome. We have a mixture of the average Joe, to the super competitive - and all that fits in between.
What happens in a typical class?
I like to keep things simple and effective. We usually start off with the typical layout of a group warm up, then strength/intervals and finish off with a metcon.
I try to programme in as much mobility as possible, but sometimes it’s hard to fit it all in the hour sessions.
What does the future hold for CrossFit Pen Y Bont?
I would like to have the box twice the size, twice the equipment, more epic members, more epic coaches and an on-site starbucks!
