CrossFit may be the latest international fitness craze, but some of its members here in Bermuda are doing a lot more than just building bigger muscles. Patrons of LifeThyme CrossFit are working toward building a stronger community, physically and mentally.Owners Carola Cooper and Anne Marshall opened their new CrossFit business back in June. Since then, they’ve been working with people of all ages and fitness levels — building an inclusive, cohesive community of fitness fanatics dedicated to self-improvement and training hard.LifeThyme CrossFit is a unique fitness centre that offers group exercise sessions. It’s a strength and conditioning workout that involves constantly varied functional movements at high intensity levels. CrossFit die-hards say the proof of the programme’s effectiveness is in the bodies and minds of its dedicated participants.But Ms Cooper and Ms Marshall say that team-building isn’t just about sweating it out together day after day. They say that for them, it’s about pulling together, being a part of something bigger than yourself and giving back.“CrossFit is all about community,” Ms Marshall said. “It is about support, encouragement and change. When our members come to workout together, there is a bond that is created within the group. This bond is about making lives better and helping each other achieve their goals.”All those well-toned muscle groups aren’t just for show. Many of the hard-working members lend their bulging biceps to fundraising events where their motivation and sweat pay off — literally — for those less fortunate.Last month, Ms Cooper, Ms Marshall and their LifeThyme CrossFit members participated in “Changing Lives”, a fund-raising event for Raleigh Bermuda — a local non-profit whose mission is to help young Bermudians achieve their goals and realise their full potential.The event took place at LifeThyme CrossFit’s new facility on Dundonald Street, opposite Café Ten. It involved 40 people running, jumping, lifting, and pushing to complete the group challenge while friends, family and Raleigh Bermuda volunteers and alumni cheered them on.The hope was to put their dedication and motivation to work to raise money for an organisation that had a similar ethos to the gym — that of inspiring people to reach higher and train harder in order to do more than they’d previously thought possible.“We chose Raleigh because we aligned with their philosophy about helping at risk young adults learn new tools for life and success,” Ms Cooper said. “Their programme empowers young people to make positive changes, learn new skills and to look at the world in a more inclusive way. It changes their lives.”The goal was to create an opportunity to come together as a community and raise money for the charity. The gym’s members set a goal of raising $11,000 — enough to support just one young person in the programme for a year. At the end of the challenge, participants were sweaty, but smiling — raising $17,000.Raleigh Bermuda executive director Kristin White said she and the organisation were honoured that LifeThyme CrossFit’s members would work so hard to raise so much money for their organisation.“It was truly remarkable to see the gym members pushing themselves so hard,” Ms White said. “Some of them spoke about how, when they’d first started with CrossFit, they were unable to do some of the exercises. To see them now was really inspiring and for them to take on the fundraising portion of the challenge so wholeheartedly was incredible! I couldn’t believe they were able to raise so much money.”Ms Marshall and Ms Cooper say they’re proud of their members’ efforts and hope to organise more events like this in the future. They hope it’ll inspire others to see CrossFit as not a mere fitness programme — but as a phenomenon that has transformed lives in a way no one could have expected.“We want to reach out and help others achieve,” Ms Marshall said. “In a world where community has been lost, we feel it is our mission to revitalise it through our work. This is where helping other groups comes in to play.”More information about LifeThyme CrossFit is available at lifethymewellness.com/crossfit/. Information about Raleigh Bermuda can be found at raleigh.bm.