Member Of The Month – May 2025
Our May MOTM award goes to the lovely Annie Hird!
Annie has been an MSQD member for a couple of years after having her second baby and since getting back into it has gone from strength to strength and is always such a grafter. She never sandbags or gives up, she always shows true grit. An example of this is in our annual legendary new years eve workout that starts with 365 burpees, she went unbroken on the burpees. Incredible. But not only is she a tough athlete mentally, she’s also super strong and is increasing her PBs on all her lifts, she has been working on her gymnastic skills around classes and has recently added butterfly pull ups to her repertoire, and it won’t be long until bar muscle ups are in there too! In addition to all her hard work (whilst working full time as an anaesthetist and being mum to two little ones), she is also a big supporter of other people in the gym, often found cheering and encouraging other people to achieve things. We love you Annie (despite the fact that you don’t care about the music and have trouble booking onto classes… š ) Have a read on to find out more about her CrossFit journey so far…!
MĀ – How long have you been doing CrossFit?
AH – A really long time! I started CrossFit about 10 years ago, when a gym opened around the corner from my house. I came to M squared for MumWOD with the lovely Rachel in 2018, and the amazing Emma Hill in 2022 then never left! So Iāve been an M Squared member for around 2 and a half years now!
M– What class time do you usually attend and why does that work for you?
AH – I never train in the evenings, except the time Tim suggested we go to team training to test out the comp workouts, a mistake I will not be making again #deathbythrusters.
M– What is your why? Why do you put yourself through it each day? Do you have goals you want to achieve?
AH – I guess my āwhyā is because I genuinely enjoy it (apart from the really short fast workouts and the ones where the rest is as long as the work but I enjoy most of the other workouts, as long as thereās no thrusters). Getting fitter and stronger is great but I canāt imagine putting myself through it if I didnāt enjoy it š¤£.
M– What advice would you give anyone wanting to start CrossFit but is either unsure or nervous? We get people all the time saying they need to get fit first or they could never do what we do? Any advice for those people?
AH – Just do it! (Which is similar- although less aggressive- to the pep talk I give myself every time I look at a moderately heavy barbell).
M What is your biggest achievement so far in CrossFit and what are you most proud of?
AH – I donāt know!!! Thatās a really tough question! I think my biggest achievement is doing anything CrossFit with 2 young kids at 38, that 28 year old me would never have dreamed off! I can do a few TTB and DUs now and pretty much every PB these days is a lifetime PB, not a āpost-natal PBā which is pretty cool. (Although Iām still a big fan of a postnatal PB!)
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M – That is too cute. Your kids are lucky to have such an inspiring Mum! Well done Annie, very well deserved.
