All-time PRs include Deadlift- 455
Snatch- 200
Clean and Jerk- 265
Fran time- 3:23
Grace- 2:10
CrossFit Level 1 Certification
I played high school baseball. I found out that I was better at the strength and conditioning program than baseball by my junior year funny enough. I carried over that love of the weight room and fitness into college. I ran a lot which included the Mercedes Half-marathon in 2009. I mostly did somewhat functional bodybuilding in the gym until 2010. My then-girlfriend now wife and I tried P90X and loved it, but I was wanting to work on strength a little more. I started hitting the weights again with a desire to put in some more mass. At this time I was also working at World Gym in Auburn so it was easy to train. It's worth mentioning I also had a love of obstacle course racing too. I've run many Warrior Dashes, Spartan races, and mud runs 5ks. It wasn't until 2011 that I got a personal training certification and started at a small one-on-one studio. In my effort to provide fresh and exciting workouts for my clients, I discovered CrossFit. I was quickly hooked on the workouts myself and by 2012 was doing the CF WOD almost exclusively. I added my own accessory work, but it was all about the CF at that point. In 2014 I joined the U.S. Army Reserve. My fitness going in proved to be an asset in my career. I was sent to a command level Best Warrior and took 2nd as a junior enlisted soldier. I was given Army Achievement medals for fitness-related events. I won a Battalion Best Warrior as an NCO in 2019. I've competed and won in many small, local comps as well as abroad.
For all my accomplishments big and small, I am always doubting myself. I am always aware of my shortcomings. Comparison is the thief of joy someone once said. It's very true and it can manifest itself acutely in CrossFit. But you have to stay in your own lane and keep that ego in check. Because someone also once said, "Somewhere some little girl is warming up with your 1RM." Fitness is a personal journey and hopefully, you learn what works for you along the way. It should be fun, challenging, and produce the results you're looking for. Don't settle anything less.
I love seeing determination and effort in the gym. Try hard! That's why we're here. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But you can't get around that CF is HARD. If you aren't strong enough, you can't lift it. If you aren't fast enough, you won't finish. There is always something that can be improved; a needle that can be moved. I want people to hit that PR, learn that new skill, or even just find a community. I hope with my near-decade of doing this I can help people learn how to excel in CrossFit.
