I find myself lying face down in a pool of my own sweat. I’m supposed to be doing handstand press-ups against a wall, but after a few reps my exhausted shoulders give way and I melt to the floor.
I started this workout with the lofty goal of keeping up with 27-year-old Grenade athlete Aimee Cringle – 15 minutes in and I’m simply trying to survive. Stationed a few feet to my left, Cringle cartwheels into a handstand position then cranks through eight easy handstand press-ups before jumping on an exercise bike. I might have bitten off more than I can chew here.
For context: I’m a fitness writer. Athletes including Alex Yee and Daniel Dubois have laid down gauntlets for me before, and each time I’ve emerged tired but unscathed. Cringle, however, is a CrossFit Games athlete. Such is her level of fitness that people pay to watch her lift heavy things, run fast and complete gravity-defying gymnastic feats.
I only have myself to blame for this situation – I asked to train with Cringle, perhaps spurred on by the same senseless curiosity that causes people to touch hot plates after a waiter’s warning. Now, I’m suffering the consequences of this curiosity, but I’m also learning some valuable lessons along the way.
What it’s like to train with one of the world’s fittest women
This sweaty sequence of events all started with a couple of emails with Cringle’s team and a drive to Worcester, where a surprising number of the UK’s top fitness athletes can be found.
“When we built the gym, we didn’t try to get all the top athletes to come,” Blueprint Training cofounder Will Kane tells me. “Everyone just migrated to us. We’ve got a good environment and everyone loves their training, but we haven’t done anything extra to attract them – we’re a member’s gym.”
This means members of all ages and fitness levels have the chance to train alongside some of the fittest athletes in the world – like having a kickabout at the park with Jude Bellingham.
I’ve been invited to the gym to copy Cringle for the day on one of her more chilled sessions. “This is just to keep things ticking over – I’ve got a World Fitness Project competition coming up and I had an event last week too, so I won’t be able to go very fast,” she tells me.
This humility and unconscious competence is a theme of our chats. But before we begin training, a friend of Cringle’s quickly leans in to warn me this is just an affable character trait, and I would do well to ignore it when she downplays her abilities.
“She’ll take you for a ride,” fellow CrossFit games athlete Harry Lightfoot adds with a grin. As it turns out, he’s spot on.
Read on: I tried five-time CrossFit Games champ Mat Fraser’s ‘secret workout’ – now it’s a staple in my training
How to do Aimee Cringle’s CrossFit workout
After a thorough warm-up, Cringle scribbles down the workout on a whiteboard – a ritual which helps her focus for the training ahead.
It’s a trio of three-move circuits blending cardio work with gymnastic movements. Each circuit is performed for 10 minutes with the aim of racking up as many reps as possible – otherwise known as an AMRAP format. Then, when the timer is up, you immediately start the next 10-minute block.
Read more: CrossFit Games champion reveals the training method he used to add 20kg to his squat
What happened when I trained with professional fitness athlete Aimee Cringle
Circuit one: 10-minute AMRAP (as many reps/rounds as possible)
- SkiErg x12 calories
- Sled push @80kg x50ft
- Bar muscle-up x8
Three shrill beeps erupt from a timer on the wall, then the workout begins. My aim is to not get lapped by Cringle, and I make a solid start.
We reach 12 calories on the SkiErg at a similar time, and there is a point where we’re pushing our sleds side by side. However, when I peer over at her, I can’t help but notice she looks remarkably relaxed. My chest, on the other hand, is already heaving.
“I like a sled push – you can’t fake it, you just have to move the weight,” Cringle tells me calmly as she sets to work. She makes it look easy, as if she were shoving an empty shopping trolley through Tesco.
Next, we make our way to a huge metal rig in the middle of the gym for eight muscle-ups – a movement where you start hanging from a pull-up bar then propel your torso over it.
I manage five then, quite proud of myself, lower myself to the ground for a brief breather. Cringle, on the other hand, does not stop. She powers through all eight then jogs back to the SkiErg and starts the circuit again.
I manage another two muscle-ups in my next set, but my fatigued shoulders cause my form to fall apart. The final rep comes a few seconds later, but by this time Cringle is well into her sled push. My goal of not being lapped is quickly fading away.
This is what I imagine being hunted by the Terminator feels like. She never slows, never tires, just keeps moving at a tireless pace.
To maintain the intensity of the workout around my aching muscles, I scale back and do two muscle-ups per round instead of eight, but Cringle still tracks me down. By the end of the 10 minutes, I am just into my fourth round, while she has completed at least five.
Circuit two: 10-minute AMRAP (as many reps/rounds as possible)
- BikeErg x15 calories
- Sled push @80kg x50ft
- Wall-facing handstand press-up x8
Overall, I’m not too disappointed with my first-round showing. Of course i didn’t keep up with Cringle, but I didn’t disgrace myself either. The second round is a different story.
As we start on the exercise bikes, I attempt an awkward joke to disguise my tiredness. But Cringle is locked in, and my words are lost to the A380-esque whirring of her bike’s fanwheel.
Like the first AMRAP, I manage to stick somewhere near her for the first two movements, then I’m stopped in my tracks by the gymnastic challenge: wall-facing handstand press-ups.
This exercise is exactly as it sounds – you manoeuvre yourself into a handstand position, facing the wall, then perform press-ups. Cringle does her eight then moves on, but my shoulders are knackered after the muscle-ups and I only manage a few.
After taking an age to finish my first set of eight, and finishing with an incredibly ungainly dismount from the wall, I again drop to two handstand press-ups per round. Cringle still smokes me.
Circuit three: 10-minute AMRAP (as many reps/rounds as possible)
- SkiErg x12 calories
- Toes-to-bar x25
- BikeErg x15 calories
By this point, Cringle has me on toast. It’s like watching a Ferrari race a push-bike – she continues to glide effortlessly between movements, then I follow a few minutes later in relative slow motion.
Still, I signed up for this, and I’m in it until the end. I manage 25 toes-to-bar, with several breaks built in, then reduce my target to 10 for subsequent rounds.
The exercise machines are more my speed – they respond well to mass and long levers, and I’m a fairly lanky person. So, despite my tiredness, I manage to keep things ticking over. I still finish second by a considerable margin, but not quite as considerable as during part two, which feels like a win in the circumstances.
Read more: ‘A whole lot of not normal’ – Danielle Brandon’s unconventional path to becoming one of the fittest women on earth
What have I learned?
When I was last watching the Olympics, a friend suggested lobbing a couple of “ordinary people” in with the athletes to provide a reference point as to just how good they are. This is essentially what happened here. While I floundered, Cringle cruised, and it was mightily impressive to witness.
My biggest takeaway was how well Cringle moved. Every exercise was performed with flawless efficiency, allowing her to ease through reps. This underlines the importance of prioritising movement quality, whether you’re looking to improve your strength training efforts or sporting performance. Pair this with Cringle’s inarguable strength and conditioning levels and you have a recipe for success.
My other learning centred around the power of your environment. Training side-by-side with Cringle persuaded me to push harder than I might have done otherwise. Despite my fitness shortcomings being laid bare for all to see, I finished the full 30 minutes and had a far better crack at it than if I had been training solo.
A rising tide lifts all ships, as the saying goes, and the very capable community at Blueprint Training is testament to that.
For those not within striking distance of Worcester, this could be your sign to try training with friends or give a group exercise class a go. It’s not for everyone, but I’ve found the accountability and camaraderie of training with others can be a catalyst for consistent exercise – the common denominator behind any successful exercise routine.
Just think twice before picking Cringle as your workout partner.
Read more: I tried ‘the best kettlebell workout’, and it was surprisingly simple yet effective in just 10 minutes
