THE first CrossFit gym has opened in Leigh with a mission to get people of all ages involved in the American fitness phenomenon.

Sierra Lima CrossFit on Leigh Commerce Park has been launched in the town by coaches Luke Fidler and Simon Foley, who believe its variety of exercises will prove to be a hit with residents young and old.

CrossFit is a high-intensity fitness programme which was founded in America in 2000 and uses aspects from several sports including weightlifting and gymnastics.

Simon said: "I started doing CrossFit two years ago when I was overweight and managed to lose four stone.

"It was actually Luke that trained me.

"I fell in love with it and decided I wanted to help others to get involved so I did my coaching qualifications.

"A big part of what we want to achieve is to help tackle child obesity which, as most people realise, has increased in recent years.

"We will be running CrossFit Kids and CrossFit Teens sessions on Saturdays which will be lighter workouts than the usual but are still healthy- it is like "fitness by stealth".

"We are also inviting nurseries to come to the gym so the children can try out the classes and allow them to have a nice day trip which will include games to make it fun."

Sierra Lima CrossFit also has a weightlifting club with members not required to be a member of the CrossFit gym.

Simon added: "Hopefully this type of fitness can take off in the area and it will open the door for other CrossFit gyms to set up which would be great."

For more information about the gym visit sierralimacrossfit.com.