I just had my two year anniversary earlier this month!  I had close friends that were into Crossfit and I was very concerned about having to wear terrible socks and my hands bleeding, but I’ve since done both of those things multiple times so I was quick to get over that hump!  On my first day, I remember seeing girls lifting huge weights above their head and thinking there is no way in hell l’m going to be able to do this, but once I realized bumper plates come in ten pounds increments, it wasn’t so bad. I was really excited and addicted right away, both to the workouts and to the community.  We even convinced my mom to sign up right away and Miss Carol works out with the Masters in the evenings.

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2. What class time do you attend the most, are there any regular members you work out with at that time?

I couldn’t ask for a better group than my 6:30 pm peeps!  We have a really strong class and are pretty much all on the same level. There is not a single person that doesn’t give their all every single class and I absolutely love that. My husband, Erik, is always with me and I have a blast with Mikey P., Trevor, John Vegas, Sabrina, Angela, Tina and Ryan, Amber, Shannon, Jon, Dave, Faye and Baby Faye!  RJ is an awesome mentor and coach for me personally and I’ve come so far since she joined EDCF so thank you Coach RJ!

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3. Tell us a little about yourself, What is your life like outside the gym? Where do you work, do you have kids/pets/spouse/partner? What is your favorite hobby outside the gym?

Erik and I have three little four legged girls, Abby, Famous, and Sophie. I’m an interior designer and Erik and I also run a branch of PrimeLending which is a mortgage company. Outside of the gym, we basically work our asses off non-stop but that’s also our hobby, so it doesn’t feel like work 24-7.  We love to remodel homes, so we are generally busy with that, cooking and drinking a lot of wine.

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4. What do you like about CrossFit or EDCF that keeps you coming back?

This might sound weird but CrossFit is kind of my relaxation time of the day where I can check out and not think about anything other than the WOD.  We are non-stop on the go seven days a week so I really look forward to the hour at the end of the day where I can be hyper focused and destress. Crossfit is a big part of our life and I’m very grateful for that. Our community is awesome, of course, that’s a given. Everyone really cares about one another and is willing to help, no matter what circumstances are. I know if I needed anything at all, outside of the gym, I could call anyone in my class and they would drop what they were doing. That’s pretty phenomenal.

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5. What is your favorite lift or exercise or type of workout? What is one of your short term and long term goals?

There isn’t much I don’t like, other than T2B. I’m like a giraffe trying to swing from a tree, except I’m not tall or skinny. Just awkward. I like movements more and more as I see progression and development in myself. I LOVE box jumps and burpees or any combo of the two. My favorite lifts are power cleans and deadlifts. My short term goals are to get better at pacing myself, to continue to improve on snatches and double unders, and string together more reps on bar work. Long term goals are to do a muscle up because it looks like so much fun, and to just continue on the path I’ve been on for the past two years. My struggles have been the side effects of crossfit – I’ve gained 25 pounds since I started, none of my clothes fit, and it’s been hard to dial in my diet because I eat like a 900 pound man. Dealing with pain and injuries and facing the fact that I can’t bounce back like I did when I was 22 was hard to handle at first. It’s taken a long time to be ok with all those things and to accept them as part of the process, but I know I have the support of my gym and my family and that’s what’s made the past two years great.