 Say Hello to Coach Rico! Rico is Head Coach and Co-Owner of CrossFit Tay Ho, he recently earned his L2 Credentials, and has been a qualified Nutrition Coach since 2019 with his Nutrition Coaching platform “Mission Nutrition”. Rico arrived in Hanoi in 2017, with a plan of sticking around for six months…six years later, and he’s still here! Rico began his CrossFit journey in the UK back in 2015. After looking for something to replace rugby after years of loving the physicality and the comradery of team sports, he found it in CrossFit. Once in Hanoi, Rico immediately joined CFTH, and overtime grew from a respected member turned coach turned co-owner. He was encouraged by members, and made the decision, to take-over CFTH in 2019. And after a short hiatus, he came back to Hanoi to build out the new facility and to help CFTH really fulfill its potential. In his own words: “The Team and I wanted to build a space that enabled people to become the best version of themselves possible. A home from home. A judgment-free zone where people can come and shake off the stresses and worries of life and cheer on a few mates who are doing the same thing.” Since then the gym and its members have gone strength to strength and he’s really enjoyed all of the moments of hard earned success shared with our members. Too many to count. And just to add the cherry on top of the proverbial CrossFit cake, the team of Coaches rounds things out for Rico. He says, “I’ve really enjoyed being able to find and build a team of coaches who are truly committed to the community and enjoy having a laugh alongside it.” Read on to find out more about Rico including his very solid advice on getting started (including proper gym etiquette!), how he compares CrossFit to cooking, and his inability to share fun facts about himself.  Certifications: CFL2, PN1 Hometown: Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK #represent How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it? 2015. Joined my local CF box in Nottingham England after watching Dan Bailey and Jason Khalipa’s “Iron Triathlon” (great video). Met some amazing friends and was guided by some of the best Coaches in the UK. It’s been 8 years and I haven’t looked back. Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? No. But I remember getting into my car afterwards, hands were shaking - thinking “Yeah, that’s it!” I’d been looking for something to replace rugby after years of loving the physicality and the comradery of team sports. When and why did you decide to become a Coach? I decided to become a Coach to pay forward all the inspiration, motivation and support that I’d received from my Coaches. I also quite quickly noticed that everyday I would wake up and be thinking about intervals at 6am with my mates. After intervals, I’d get to work in the morning and all I’d really care about was the WOD at 5pm with my mates again. I knew at that point that the clock was ticking on office life and my future was going to be in the business of fitness. What do you like about coaching? Seeing and helping people to achieve things they didn’t believe they were capable of. High fives, tears of joy and watching the evolution of our members from day one to day 501. I honestly love sitting down to program and test workouts and then watching people do them. It’s similar to cooking dinner for someone you love… Creating a recipe, carefully considering the ingredients, the seasoning. Choosing the amount of time in the oven and at what temperature. Then serving it up and just watching them tuck in… To carry on the analogy, I love BIG portions, filled with ingredients I know you don’t like… served extra spicy. What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit? First and foremost… Arrive early. Chalk stays in the buckets. Don’t drop empty barbells and Clean up after yourself. Secondly, enjoy the process of being new - we were all new once. Remember in moments of self-doubt that even the fire-breathers you see in the gym were once struggling just as you are now. Enjoy the learning process, don’t rush your progressions and celebrate your successes and the successes of those around you. At times it’s going to be hard - it’s meant to be. Lean into that. That's where you’ll craft the mental toughness and resilience you need to face the difficulties you’re going to find in life outside the gym. That’s where you’ll find your true potential and you’ll begin to love the person you’re becoming. What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment? I couldn’t pick one specific memory, there are too many. I get goosebumps everytime we take the really BIG group photos. It always reminds me of how far we’ve all come from those early days on Xuan Dieu to becoming the Best Gym and the fittest community in Vietnam. Maybe I’m biased - maybe. A weekly highlight is… Saturday morning TeamWOD followed by a solid brunch and a good coffee with the squad. The good life, man. What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you? Fitter, Better, Stronger - forever.  Rico's Official BioRico started Crossfit in 2015 after looking for an alternative to playing competitive Rugby and becoming uninspired by years of Chest and Triceps, Back and Biceps training in globo-gyms. After seeing Jason Khalipa and Dan Bailey doing the Iron Triathlon on Youtube, he signed up for a trial at CrossFit Nottingham, UK. Within 4 months, he found himself fully immersed in the sport, the lifestyle and the community - making friends for life. After a number of years competing around the UK, Rico earned his CrossFit L1 certification with the ambition to help spread the word and educate people on the physical and mental benefits of the methodology. In 2019 Rico became Co-owner/Head Coach at CrossFit Tay Ho and has since dedicated his time towards growing and developing a supportive and motivational place for members to train and overcome their moments of self-doubt by achieving things they never thought possible. Rico also programs and coaches our sessions tailored towards competitive athletes - preparing them for the specific demands and challenges involved in competitive CrossFit. 
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 Say Hello to Coach Cormac - Our Sports Mad Irishman Coach! Cormac has been living in Hanoi for the last four years, and part of the CFTH Coaching Team for the last two. Cormac describes himself as a sports enthusiast - and he practices what he preaches! Not only does he train to compete in CrossFit, but he is a committee member in charge of hurling/camogie for the Viet Celts, and he regularly partakes in triathlons! It’s a good thing that he spends his days teaching Physical Education to the youth of Hanoi - he is literally surrounded by sports all of the time! Cormac brings a calming presence to our CFTH Community. He is always willing to help and jump in on any events and extracurriculars we have going on. He has also probably recruited more new members than anyone else! Read on to find out more about Cormac, including how the people of CFTH have shaped his time, his advice for anyone starting out, and even more sports that he loves!  Certifications: Masters in Performance Sport Science, CrossFit Level 1, CrossFit Kids Hometown: Wexford, Ireland How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it? I watched the Rich Froning Documentary on Netflix and thought it looked cool, never looked back. Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? It was in an essentials class, Some variation of wall balls, kb swings and sit ups. What were your thoughts after? My thoughts were more focused on the weights and movements that the current gym members were doing, thinking I’d never get to that level. When and why did you decide to become a coach? Through GAA, I have always been interested in coaching, be it on the field training, or strength and conditioning in the gym. Then after a year or so of training CrossFit, I felt coaching CrossFit specifically would be something I would enjoy doing. What do you like about coaching? I love helping people reach their full potential. It's amazing when your coaching and someone does something they never thought they could do. Seeing smiles on faces after PB’s and workouts is great as a coach.  What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit? Turn up and be patient! It will be frustrating at the start, you might feel like you're making no progress but it will come, give it time. Also make friends, chat to people. CrossFit is such a great way to meet new people. What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment? Hard to pinpoint one moment, but my favorite thing about CrossFit Tay Ho is the people. I have made so many friends since I arrived 4 years ago. It's such a welcoming environment and that’s what makes it great. What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you? Outside of CrossFit and GAA, I also love following other sports such as Snooker, darts, golf and Tennis. I have been to numerous events over the years including Wimbledon, Darts/Snooker World championships and the Open in Golf.  Cormac's Official BioCormac is a sports enthusiast, active traveler and lover of all things fitness. He is an international teacher by day and Crossfit Coach by night. He hails from Wexford, Ireland but had been living abroad in Hanoi for the last 4 years. His two main loves in Hanoi are GAA and crossfit and he plays an active role in both communties. When he isn’t at school or the gym, you can find him at the driving range, trying new coffee shops, or planning his next holiday.
 Say Hello to Coach Bérenger! The newest addition to our coaching team, and our token Frenchman. Bérenger, also known as B, has been an incredible asset to our CFTH Community. His knowledge around sports science, ability to see and correct barbell movements, and dedication to our community is evident. He is shy at first, but over the last year we have seen him come out of his shell, and has become quite the talker! Bérenger is dedicated to his own training, as well as the progress and improvement of all of the members of the CFTH Community. He is flexible and open minded, and is always coming up with new ways to improve things or make them run more efficiently. We are very fortunate to have him on our team! He often looks scary, especially with headphones in while training, but it’s only for focus and time management, he is actually quite nice for a French guy. Bérenger describes himself in a few ways:
Read on to find out more about Bérenger including his solid advice for anyone starting out, what he loved about the Invitational (hint, it involves beating Rico), and the interesting art he studied at University.  Certifications:
Hometown: Sens, in the south of Paris, in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of France. How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it? Been training since I was in high school, different types including bodyweight, weight training, weightlifting. After coming to Vietnam and in the middle of covid, I contacted Rico to start training at the box, and maybe eventually finished by finding the missing piece to my training that was CrossFit. It’s now more than a year and a half properly in the CrossFit world! Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? What were your thoughts after? Yeah in part, how can you forget a first session with Katie as a coach?! But not entirely though, was something with running and HSPU. Remember struggling with my kipping on HSPU and being quite frustrated, but that was a first for me as I was used to do it strict. I understood how much new stuff I’ll had to learn as well. When and why did you decide to become a coach? Loved sport since a very young age, and studied it eventually leading to Strength and Conditioning coaching work. After that, it was all natural to start in CrossFit coaching as it’s very similar to what I learned and had been trained for. One of the main reasons is probably to help people progress, solving problems and show them that they are capable of much more than they think. What do you like about coaching? Said it before, but it’s all about sharing experience and knowledge so that people can progress towards their goals. And also inspiring people like many people inspired me all the time.  What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit? Don’t rush, step by step, it’s not about mastering every skill and workout tomorrow, it’s a long journey of training. Whatever your goals are, it’s always about being able to keep training, improve your health (if you’re not in a professional competition aspect) and staying injury free. So don’t skip a step, and even move back if necessary, you’ll always go further after if you’re patient. What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment? Hard to choose, so many great memories here!! I would say the invitational of 2022 last year, first CrossFit competition with great teammates, incredible atmosphere and in bonus beating Rico’s team to finish on the first step of the podium! What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you? Don’t know why, had a passion for Diabolo (the circus art) when I was younger and end up being quite good at it. Turned out during one semester in university, I studied Circus art and I was more skillful at it than the teacher so I taught him some tricks.  The Official BioBérenger is a food lover, training addict and has a passion for simple things. He is a Strength and Conditioning coach doing multiple tasks such as CrossFit, personal training, and golf fitness. A pure look alike french product, he has discovered living abroad almost 4 years ago and decided that he would probably never go back to work in France. He’s sharing his passion for sport and movement, helping others through his experience and knowledge, both as a coach and an athlete. In the box most of the time, he can also be found on his bike riding around the city or working somewhere in a coffee shop. Even though he’s quite busy, he will always be up for a talk. As a good french, he enjoys cooking and his skills are pretty good according to his friends.
 Say Hello to Coach Lewis! He is CrossFit Tay Ho’s Build and Sweat Coach, and has been doing CrossFit for the last four years. Lewis joined CFTH in February 2019 and came out guns firing! After just a couple of weeks getting in the groove of things, he jumped right into the Crossfit Open. He continued pursuing his love of sports and fitness, and quickly got involved on the Coaching Team. Lewis loves that the CFTH community is so diverse and inclusive. In his own words, “Everyone supports everyone, with no exceptions, and that means everyone feels welcome.” Lewis is the perfect example of someone who perseveres no matter what life throws at him. After having surgery, Lewis was right back at the gym - working on what he still could despite a knee injury. While others may have used the situation as an excuse to not continue fitness, not Lewis. Read on to find out more about Lewis, including how he thought he was fit until he joined CrossFit, his thoughts on the population of CFTH, and how coaching at CFTH fits into his life timeline!  Certifications: Bachelors in Exercise and Sport Science; Experience coaching various sports and people of all ages. Hometown: Reigate, UK How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it? I worked with an OG member (James) back in 2019 and he suggested I try it. It’s been just over four years now. Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? What were your thoughts after? I don’t remember my very first workout but I did The Open a couple of weeks after starting CF and I do remember 19.1. I also distinctly remember thinking that I did pre-season rugby training for almost 20 years and never felt like my lungs were going to explode like I felt at CrossFit. When and why did you decide to become a coach? I’ve coached in some way or another for a long time, so coaching CF seemed like a natural progression. I spoke with Katie, Rico and Ashish about creating a new class (Build 60) and it seems to be going well. I’ve also always been part of some kind of sporting community, be it university teams or my rugby club back in the UK, and having a coaching role at CFTH felt like a good way to be more involved. What do you like about coaching? Obviously I enjoy seeing people improve and get “fitter, better, stronger” but most of all, I genuinely love it when I see people surprise themselves. I try to program Build 60 so that there’s almost always a movement that most have not tried before and this makes for some really nice ‘ah-ha’ moments!  What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit? There are some stereotypes associated with CF that are often accurate and these can be barriers stopping people from trying CF. However, CFTH is genuinely very different to most boxes. The diversity of our members is amazing and the fact that the majority of our members are female means we’re not all about the ‘bro’ culture and more about individual success and community. Basically, if you’re going to try CF at all, Tay Ho is the place. What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment? Definitely seeing CFTH upgrade its location to where we are now. It may not seem like the most immaculate box in the world, but it’s perfect for us and the difference compared to the previous one is huge! Who needs AC anyway?? What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you? Lewis has been in his coaching role at CFTH longer than any other job he’s had… ever!  This is a real photo of Lewis jumping into 19.1 just a few weeks after joining CFTH!  Say Hello to Katie, the sole female Coach and Co-Owner of CrossFit Tay Ho. Katie has been part of the CrossFit World for the last 10 years (!!), and a member of the Tay Ho Army for the last six. When Katie discovered CrossFit in 2013, her life was forever changed. It started out as a means to stay fit and ready for other athletic endeavors like soccer, skiing and running. But it soon turned into her passion. In August 2017, she moved to Hanoi, making sure to live near the only CrossFit Box in the city, CrossFit Tay Ho. She was sure that this box was where she would spend the majority of her time. She wasn’t wrong. Through CrossFit Tay Ho, she grew even more passionate about health and fitness. Traveling around Asia for competitions and getting to know the Asian CrossFit community fueled her to pursue CrossFit as more than just a passion project. In April 2019, she received her Level 1 Coaching Certificate and began coaching part time at CrossFit Tay Ho. Katie loves seeing how CrossFit changes lives - physically, mentally, and emotionally. When she isn’t at the box, she is either at school, on her couch, or traveling somewhere in world (and dropping into other CrossFit boxes!). Read on to find out more about Katie, including how she was “tricked” into starting CrossFit, the time she beat Mat Fraser in a workout, and what she does for fun on vacation.  Certifications: CF-L1, CF-Kids Hometown: West Windsor, New Jersey, USA How did you get into CrossFit and how long have you been doing it? I was tricked into doing CrossFit way back in 2013! I was a long time member of a Boot Camp club - you know, your typical group class, usually outside, doing a variety of games and exercise in circuits. The most weight I had ever lifted were small dumbbells and kettlebells, and never really thought about heavy lifting. Then slowly, the coach of the Boot Camp Class started changing up the workouts. I specifically remember the first time we did a variation of ‘Cindy’. The coach said we were changing up the workout for the day and we would be doing only three movements for 20 minutes and we had to count all of our rounds. I remember thinking it was absurd…5 burpees + 10 pushups + 15 squats…for 20 minutes straight?! From there the classes started becoming more and more CrossFit-esque. The boot camp moved from outdoors to inside a brand new facility. Suddenly we were doing pull ups and lifting barbells. Once it was official, he told us that we were no longer Shark Bite Boot Camp Members, but 802 CrossFit Members! I was hesitant at first - CrossFit was not what I wanted to do! I wanted to keep doing Boot Camp! But I quickly realized how much fun CrossFit was. The workouts changed daily, I was learning new things, and I was improving quickly. Do you remember your first ever CrossFit workout? What were your thoughts after? My first ever ‘Official” CrossFit Workout was during the grand Opening of 802 CrossFit. I knew that I had been “doing CrossFit” for a few weeks at that point, but the very first workout was: Buy In: 1 Mile Run For Time: 21-15-9 Burpees + Overhead Lunges + (something else) Two things I remember about that workout:
When and why did you decide to become a coach? After that grand opening of 802 CrossFit in 2013, I was immediately hooked. I started seeing results so fast - not just in how I looked, but how I performed, and how I viewed myself. Almost immediately I knew that I wanted to be a CrossFit Coach, in particular I wanted to become a CrossFit Kids Coach! It wasn’t until I moved to Hanoi in 2017, and I really started getting serious about CrossFit that I got my level 1 and joined the coaching team at CFTH. What do you like about coaching? My number one favorite thing about coaching is seeing movements click for people. Perhaps it stems from my teaching background - I love watching the progression from not knowing how to do something - to doing it! Honestly, when I coach, it gives me an energy and an excitement that I don’t get from anything else. Even after a long day of teaching, coaching will almost always reinvigorate me. What advice do you have for people just getting started with CrossFit? Don’t let the ‘CrossFit’ Reputation intimidate you! CrossFit is NOT all clang and bang and men with giant muscles. CrossFit is quite literally for everyone. There is ALWAYS a way to scale a workout to make it accessible for you. I have been doing CrossFit for 10 years and have done it through every season of my life - from fit to unfit, healthy and even continued CrossFit while recovering from surgery. I would tell people to have an open mind, take things slow, listen to your coaches, and enjoy the ride! What is your favorite CrossFit Tay Ho moment? Oh this is hard, I have been around for a long time. I would say our Grand Opening Day 2.0 back in February 2020. The whole day was just a massive high. From our base of about 50 current members (at the time) coming in and cutting ribbons and celebrating with us. To the whole Hanoi Community (over 100 people) coming through for free classes. To the end of evening festivities - best party in Hanoi right in our box. A day I will never forget, for sure! What is a fun fact that would surprise us about you? Well, I already shared my fun fact about cycling across the USA. I would say another fun fact is that I love CrossFit Travel - meaning anywhere I go in the world I make sure I drop into a CrossFit box. As of April 2023 I have dropped into 39 boxes in 20 different countries! Katie's Official BioKatie is a food enthusiast, active traveler, and lover of all things fitness. She is an International School Teacher by day, CrossFit Coach and Social Media Connoisseur by night, and travels at every chance she gets. She hails from the East Coast of The USA, but has been living abroad for the last nine years. Katie brings a passion for fitness to the CrossFit Tay Ho community through her coaching and excitement for the sport. When she isn’t at school or at the gym, you can find her eating her way through Hanoi, researching where she is going to travel next, or making random lists on any paper she finds.
 Over the past few months we have looked to focus on various max lifts. In this time, as a box, we have seen vast improvements across our Squats, Deadlifts and in our Olympic lifting 1 rep maxes.
Expect an increase in volume over the next cycle. Instead of focusing on individual movements, we are now focusing on our work capacity and our ability to move medium/heavy weight during workouts. We will be training various styles and durations and sessions will be challenging but a lot of fun. There is a lot of action packed into some of these sessions so please arrive on time or early to classes. Some days will be heavy loading to ensure we are hitting enough KG’s each week to maintain/improve strength. Scaling sensibly is key during these sessions and scaling weight to ensure you complete a workout is always preferred. We will also be working on our aerobic capacity by including some longer workouts and plenty of rowing and running. The aim here is to become more aware of our individual ability to hold a sustainable pace. This should help when it comes to The Open in October. In order to get the rowing machines into our programming we will sometimes be splitting classes into groups working on different things, so please stay focussed and listen to the coaching brief properly. Inclusive of a de-load week, we have de-load sessions built into our training week to ensure we are not overloading. These sessions should be scaled back proportionate to normal classes. If you are not usually scaling workouts to 50% of RX, during de-load sessions you will scale back 50% also. Otherwise you risk over-training which leads to exhaustion, soreness and increases risk of injury. Across the week, we will cover most if not all of the movements, met-cons and weightlifting required. There may sometimes be certain movements missing in a particular week, but we have included similar or transferable skills and across the cycle we have accounted for this. |
