Brief personal history and journey towards beginning your CrossFit journey:
Athletics and sports have been a part of my life from the time that I could walk. I grew up in a sports family where athletics were a way to spend time together and I had a father who coached me in every sport possible. I played volleyball for a number of years as well as basketball and soccer all the way through high school. Rather than playing basketball in college, I gave it up to focus on my education and dec
ided to pursue coaching instead. I took up running and going to the gym to fill the void of not playing sports any more. Eventually the routine of the gym and running got old and I found myself looking for more.
What brought you to CrossFit Oshkosh?
I hit a wall with the gym and with running; I found myself going through the motions and working out because I felt I had to, not because I wanted to. I didn’t enjoy it anymore. I knew I needed a chance. I also was getting married and wanted to find something that was going to push me to be in better shape for my wedding. My husband had heard about CrossFit and told me about it. I then started looking into it and I knew I had to try it, which lead me to CrossFit Oshkosh.
Your first impression of CrossFit Oshkosh?
I was terrified before going for the first time. I actually was so nervous I talked my brother into joining CrossFit with me so that I didn’t have to go alone. I started with On Ramp Classes in August of 2013 so the experience of starting the process with a group of about 8 people helped relieve a lot of my anxiety. After finishing my first work out, I was hooked! I am pretty sure it was like a 10 minute AMRAP and I was completely dead after it. That 10 minutes was the hardest I had worked out in a long time and even though I left exhausted I found that I couldn’t wait to come back for the next class. The coaches were so patient and took the time to really explain lifts and positioning; they were so positive and made class enjoyable. I knew I was done with the regular gym after that and cancelled my gym membership the next day to continue with CrossFit.
What has been your biggest hurdle since starting?
The Mental Aspect of CrossFit and the work outs. There are days when I get there and I am tired I or I pick up a bar for a lift and the weight feels so heavy that I start questioning if I can hit it. In those moments, while it can be a challenge, I have to remember that I am capable of lifting more or pushing harder than I think. Beyond that, mobility is definitely an area that I struggle in and continue to work at. The snatch was definitely not my favorite lift when I started either, but the more I work at it, I am learning to like it more. I am hoping one day I may actually look forward to seeing Snatch Day on the Calendar.
What is your favorite aspect of CrossFit?
My favorite aspect of CrossFit is the community of people that I get to work out with all the time. I have made some great friends over the years and love the social aspect of CrossFit that goes beyond just working out with others. Besides the sense of community, I have to say there are so many other aspects that I love about CrossFit. I have learned that I am stronger and capable of pushing myself harder than I ever thought possible because of CrossFit. CrossFit has completely changed my ideas of what the female body should look like. I no longer feel the need to starve myself “just to be thin”. Now I am focused on being healthy, eating clean, and building muscle. I eat to work out rather than work out to eat and have begun to feel more comfortable in my own skin which is something I struggled with for a long time.
One last piece that I love about CrossFit is that it is scalable for everyone. When I first started and didn’t have a movement yet like pull-ups, the coaches could scale it. When I broke my ankle (outside of CrossFit) and was in a boot for over 2 months, everything could be scaled so I could keep working out and most recently during my pregnancy, they were also able to scale everything so that I could continue until about the 39 week mark. No matter what is going on in my life, CrossFit is able to be scaled so that I can continue to work out and be a part of the CrossFit community.
What are your current goals in CrossFit?
There are so many goals I have. First of all finding my groove again and really getting back to my pre-pregnancy weights and numbers seeing that it has been a while since I have gotten to hit a max or lift really heavy.
After that:
String together 100 Double Unders
Strict Pull-Ups
Unassisted Ring Dips
RX Hand Stand Push Ups
Snatch 100 Pounds
Back Squat over 200
Learn to Love Rowing
What is something we don’t know about you?
Most people that attend CrossFit Oshkosh know that I recently gave birth to a baby girl in June. Labor did not go anything like I expected and I was in early labor for hours longer than I hoped to be. The doctors and nurses encouraged me to walk. After an hour of walking, there was no progress made. I said forget it, threw in the towel with walking since it did nothing and resorted to CrossFit. I pulled up the good ole Wodify and looked back for any WODS that I could do at home. At 2:30 in the morning before Hallie was born, I was doing AMRAPS of Air Squats, burpees, Push Ups, you name it, around my house trying to get that baby out. It was quite a sight to see between contractions but Hallie was born that same day, so it worked J. Morale of the story, finding some good CrossFit workouts when trying to give birth does the trick!
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