// Coach & Coach Development Lead
Filip Zawadka
CrossFit Level 3 Trainer · CrossFit Level 4 in progress
I have been part of CrossFit Wilanów since 2018: first as a member, and as a coach since 2021. At the club they call me "Coach Pelipe". After moving to Warsaw, CrossFit helped me find my feet in a new city, and the community made me stay for good. The decision to coach came during the pandemic, when I rethought my life and career, and my gut told me this was what I wanted to do. I have recently taken charge of training quality at the club: coaching standards, coach education and development, scouting new people for the team, and the internship programme. I specialise in gymnastics, taking people from their first hang on the bar to ring muscle-ups, and it doesn't matter to me which end of that road you are on. I also coach CrossFit classes and personal training, in Polish and in English. I studied Italian philology, and I keep learning the craft: The Gymnastics Course, Burgener Strength, Power Monkey, EVOLVE Biomechanics and BirdBox Coaching. Whenever I can, I get away to explore the world (almost 40 countries and counting). I am dad to an 11-year-old ball of fur named after the singer Krzysztof Krawczyk. The one thing in the world I will not eat is horseradish.
Certifications and education
- CrossFit Level 3 Trainer
- in progress CrossFit Level 4 Coach
- The Gymnastics Course
- BirdBox Coaching
- Burgener Strength
My coaching philosophy
I bring out people’s inner fire for life. An hour in the box should be the best hour of their day and make the rest of their life better.
Values
- A bigger version of yourself: real, hard challenges. You meet them yourself, and I am right beside you.
- Longevity: no score is worth an injury.
- Partnership in knowledge: I build independence, not dependence.
- Constructive optimism: a mistake is information, not a verdict.
- Intrinsic motivation: you show up whatever your mood.
My standard
I don’t start working with someone until I know their “why”. Every exercise has a reason: not “do it because I said so”, but “we do this because…”. Quality of movement is not negotiable: your health for the next 30 years matters more than a moment of ego. When I reach the limits of what I know, I say so and refer you to a better specialist.
What I expect from the people I coach
Honesty about what is going on with your body and your life: pain, sleep, stress, missed sessions. Feedback after training: what you felt and what you noticed. And the question “why”, so you understand the purpose of every exercise.
How I teach
At first I lead: someone new doesn’t know anything yet, so I steer the conversation so they reach the conclusions themselves. After a failed attempt I ask: “What do you think of that attempt? What would you change?”. Then we work as partners. I build independence, not dependence.
If the first session scares you
If you can climb the stairs to our club, you have already done the hardest part of the workout. We’ll take care of the rest, so it becomes the best hour of your day.