Meet Your Coaches: Say Hello to Lewis

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!