Q1. What have been your greatest successes (physically, mentally or emotionally) since you began? How does your body feel now compared to when you started and WHY? 

I have NEVER been a gym person. I hated globo gyms and everything about them, especially the sense that you toiled endlessly, blindly, and anonymously for uncertain results. CrossFit is not like that at all. Everyone’s working together, suffering the same awesome misery all at once, cheering each other on, celebrating each other’s gains. You feel SEEN, you feel supported…and along the way you make great friends. And on top of it all, you’re being guided along your fitness journey by people who know what they’re talking about and are willing to teach you, and that’s incredibly empowering.

So I’d say my greatest success is becoming a person who feels she can BE on a fitness journey, and who ALSO has faith in the process, too. I went from hating the very concept of working out…to looking forward to the workout every day, even when it looks intimidating – ESPECIALLY when it looks intimidating, because I know that once it’s over, I’ll feel great about having showed up to face it anyway! It’s a total paradigm shift, and I LOVE it.

There is literally NEVER a day when I think to myself, “I just don’t feel like going to the box today.” Never.

(Oh, and…I keep finding hard, muscle-y places on my body that didn’t used to be hard. It’s kinda trippy.) 😉

Q2. How has your life changed since starting CrossFit training? Has CrossFit transferred over into any other areas of your life?

I swear, I’m just so much happier. I catch myself smiling or singing or walking with the swagger in my step I haven’t had in a long time, and I realize it’s a combination of newfound energy and re-booted confidence. And that itself is a combination of new friendships and just the pride I take in what I’m doing. I moved to Colorado three years ago with the hopes of living a healthier life, and now I’ve finally found a way to DO it, and it feels amazing. Even the people I work with are noticing a change in me – not only physically, but in my outlook and demeanor – and complimenting me on it, and of course THAT’S awesome. I just feel stronger…not just in body, but in who I am, too.

Q3. What are the advantages of CrossFit style training compared to your previous workout styles?

My previous workout styles were nonexistent! Okay, that’s not exactly true. I was running quite a bit there for a while. I trained for a marathon and did several 5Ks, 10Ks, and half-marathons along the way (all very slowly…I swear, I’m the slowest runner alive). That was when I first developed the ability to stick to a long-term fitness goal, but CrossFit is giving me so much more of a comprehensive workout than running ever could have. It just engages so much more of the body, and with such variety. I want to get back into running, but this time, I see it more as a supplement to what I’m doing at the box.

Q4. What advice can you give to others?

Find some motivational thought to pull out when you really feel like giving up. Mine is usually, “You don’t get a do-over for today’s WOD, so GET MOVING.” Another one is, “It’s not impossible, it’s just HARD.” You can do more than you think you can. And every time you show up, you prove it to yourself yet again. Over time, it adds up, and before you know it, you’ve reinvented yourself.

So, ultimately, the only advice is this: Show Up. Do The Thing. Rinse, Repeat.

Athlete Specific Q. Who would you rather have a dance off against: Kody, Kyle, or Greg?

GREG, for SURE!! Unless one of you Texas boys knows how to two-step! =)