The CrossFit Nurse

Many may recognise Aimee Cringle from representing the Isle of Man on numerous sporting occasions or as one of the faces of GymShark or met her while she’s been working as a nurse.

This wonder woman recently competed at a CrossFit elite-level competition in Miami and has made a name for herself in the CrossFit world. Ruth Nathan finds out more about the remarkable CrossFit nurse.

Finding Her Passion

Aimee has always been a naturally gifted sportswoman. However, she would never admit she is talented. The 22-year-old is known as incredibly modest and even if she was crowned the Fittest on Earth, she would still tell you she’s not the best. It’s very endearing and can be a shock to many that this stocky superwoman is so humble. Although Aimee is talented, she is an extremely hard worker and the results have come from her pure determination to win. 

Aimee revealed she found her love for CrossFit in 2014 when one of the owners of CrossFit IOM (Erin Bonett) came into QE2 to give a speech. After her first session, the rest was history and she began her monumental journey. 

Alongside CrossFit, Aimee has represented the island in many competitions. In 2019, She competed in the Island Games in Gibraltar. Here she won gold in the 4 x 400m women’s relay and 400m women’s hurdles. But for her, CrossFit was her true passion. She revealed, “I love CrossFit, it’s such a good sport as it tests everything.”

Her first competition was the Castle Games in 2018 where she placed on the podium. Three years on, Aimee was crowned European Champion last September. This title landed her an entry into the prestigious Miami Wodapalooza Competition.  

Miami Wodapalooza Competition

The Wodapalooza Competition is known as the world’s premier Functional Fitness Festival where huge names compete on the Miami Bayfront Park. The event is popular and those who place first can win $100,000. For Aimee, she was ecstatic to be there and to compete with such esteemed athletes. “I said to myself no pressure. I qualified in the elite division but quite low so I was happy just to go to Miami.” 

The competition began on Thursday 13th January. Aimee said: “I just thought – as if I’m here”. She explained walking out onto the big stage and your name being called was unbelievable. The nature of CrossFit competitions are unpredictable and anything can be thrown at the competitor. Some of the movements Aimee had to perform she had never done before. In the first event, she had to perform double-unders (two skips to one jump) but using a 5 kg weighted skipping rope. The event consisted of weighted double unders, weighted situps and flipping a 160kg sledge. She explained: “It was hard in the heat but I placed 11th so that went really well.”

The competition ran over 4 days where Aimee competed in eight events. The last gruelling event consisted of 55 toes to bar (hanging from a bar and lifting your legs till your toes touch the bar) into 55 devil press (a burpee with two 15kg dumbbells). She placed 10th which was her best position in the festival.

Overall Aimee placed an impressive 17th out of 39 elite women. “I was just so happy to be there.” Unboastful as ever, she noted the competition taught her some important lessons and revealed areas that she feels she could improve on. It did, however, really cement the thought that this is what she wants to be doing in life.

Nursing

Aimee graduated in October 2021 and is now a qualified nurse. She explained that training and completing the three-year nursing course on the island was extremely intense and was often difficult to juggle. Aimee recently took a step back from nursing to pursue her career in CrossFit. She revealed she is passionate about helping people and wants to stay on the ‘bank’ and aim to complete 240 hours to keep her qualification. But for now, she has a thirst to pursue her dream of competing in elite events.

In the gym

As an elite athlete, Aimee trains twice a day at the Braddan CrossFit IOM gym. She is trained by Dan Bonett, owner of CrossFit IOM. After the Miami competition, the pair have begun focussing on the weight lifting side of CrossFit. Aimee revealed: “I need to really add on another 5-7kg in the lifting. It’s actually hard to balance getting stronger and fitter, especially for the gymnastics side of CrossFit.” 

CrossFit IOM often holds their own competitions which Aimee explained are amazing for those who haven’t competed before. It’s also a chance to get PBs and challenge yourself while being encouraged by friends. Aimee revealed how making little goals and hitting those targets is what makes it special.

What’s next?

At the end of February, Aimee will enter the CrossFit Open where she will aim to qualify for the quarter-finals of the CrossFit Games. This competition is the most prestigious in the world of CrossFit (equivalent to the Olympics) where athletes battle it out to be championed as the “Fittest on Earth”. Aimee said anyone can enter in the Open and “It’s a great way of seeing where you’re ranked”. It is every CrossFit athlete’s greatest ambition to attend the games and Aimee has set her eyes on this. Later on in the year, Aimee’s looking to qualify for the French Throwdown in June and then defend her European Championship Title. “I can’t wait for the future.”

Aimee encourages anyone from any walk of life to start CrossFit. “People think you have to be fit to do CrossFit but you definitely don’t. You can change the movements to suit you. I’m sure no one would do a session and regret it”. For her, what makes it so special is the community feel at the gym. “They’re like my little family. That’s why it’s such a good sport.”