An enduring match, Crixus was a gladiator and military leader who fell in love with Naevia, a fierce warrior, according to the Spartacus TV series. In Fermoy, a similar tale can be found at the aptly named Crixus gym, owned by former body-building couple, Patrick Walsh and Nicola Mannix.
Beginning with an uphill battle, the gym located just off Pearse Square first opened in 2020, just six weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic forced closures across the country, however now in 2024, it proves to be one of Fermoy’s favourite spots for fitness.
For Patrick, his journey with fitness goes back to around the age of 13 when he got his first set of weights as a gift from his father.
“I was obsessed with Arnold Schwarzenegger when I was younger and it just grew from there. I did 23 years with the army so I got more into fitness when I was in the army because it was part of the regime and the routine at the time. I progressed then to do some strongman competitions and some powerlifting competitions,” he said.
Now a fireman and personal trainer, the profession and obsession with fitness and health remain key values for Patrick and is something he tries to encourage in clients.
Nicola comes from a background in nutrition, having studied for three and a half years to become a nutritional therapist and having always been interested in fitness, she began her journey with her own personal trainer before becoming interested in bodybuilding.
“The idea of a gym came up. It’s a mad process of how it all actually unfolded. It was an idea we never thought would actually come true and when we started working on it, things started falling into place. It was a lot of hours spent putting a business plan together,” Nicola said.
Upstairs, just off Pearse Square, Crixus welcomes clients from 6am until 9.30pm most days offering a conventional gym and 1-on-1 personal training.
A second Crixus location is on the Dublin Road (at the Blackwater Shopping Centre near Aldi) and provides a space for group personal training and a variety of classes, where Nicola meets with small groups and helps to focus and tailor their training and exercise to clients’ needs.
GROUP PERSONAL TRAINING
Speaking with The Avondhu, Nicola advised that group personal training is a great way for new-comers or first-timers to get a taste of the fitness world, meaning that they can get a taste of what’s on offer with Crixus, while it also gives the personal trainer an idea of the individual’s ability so that sessions can be personalised and suitable classes, such as WOW, SweatFest or FFS (Fitter, Faster, Stronger) can be recommended.
“For someone who has never trained before, we would set aside time for them to book in with one of us for a personal training session where we would give them a programme, go through all the machines with them, figure out what their abilities are. For someone who has knowledge and wants to do their own thing can just buy the membership and work away themselves. It just depends on the person.
“For new people especially, it’s great to try out group training and then it’s easier for me to judge what their abilities are. The WOW class on a Thursday night is more intense than some of the other classes, so it’s better to have an idea of their ability first before throwing them into the deep end,” Nicola said.
Group Personal Training sees generally 6 people per class and can be an existing mix of friends, or complete strangers who can get together at Crixus for a mix of resistance training and cardio, catered to different fitness levels.
DIET & NUTRITION
Those hoping to hone in on their diet and nutrition can also do this through Crixus, as Nicola notes that detailed, tailored diet plans can be put together where clients can be provided with recipes and a balanced plan to suit their lifestyle.
“I look at the food that they are already eating and their lifestyle and try and work with that. It will depend on lifestyle, whether they like cooking, whether they have places to heat up their food at work, how often they cook, what they like or don’t like, I get all that information before I put any kind of plan together.
“It’s a plan that gives them enough nutrients to support the body, their health and muscle growth. I don’t give people diet plans for weight loss, it’s moreso for health and functional nutrition,”
An equal-opportunity and welcoming gym, clients at Crixus range from teenagers to seniors, across different backgrounds all working towards a common goal, that being self-improvement.
“You’d be very surprised how many people actually use the gym and classes for their mental health. They come in and they’re using it for the social side and to mingle with people. A lot of people make friends here and it’s their outlet for their mental health
“We’ve a lot of students coming here after school, Our oldest client is about 76. There’s a massive range of people coming in here, everything from 17 to 76. Everyone comes in and does their own thing,” Patrick said.
Visit Crixus Gym at Pearse House located on Pearse Square, Fermoy, or the Studio at Dublin Road, Fermoy.
Phone 083-4477901 or email crixusfitnessgym@gmail.com
