- 1.) What got you started in CrossFit? How did you hear about it? I started in CrossFit in 2015, about a year after having my first kid. I was looking to get “back into shape” and my brother had been going to All Level for a bit at that time. I was intimidated about doing CrossFit at first because…well…it’s CrossFit, right? I left after about six months and found it again a couple years later. I became more involved in the gym this time around. I said “yes” to participating in my first Open (19.1 is still my favourite, even though Coach Zach no repped me!) and I started competing in competitions.
- What is your favourite part about coming to the gym? I love the community at All Level CrossFit. The community that John and the other coaches have built at ALCF is second to none. It starts with the coaching staff but the community is rounded out by the membership. Everyone is there to cheer each other on and compete to the best of their ability. I love seeing the hard work people are putting in and it pushes me to work hard too! Also the workouts are awesome!
- What is your favourite CrossFit movement? Least favourite?My favourite movement is a deadlift. I like cleans too. Ohh and alternating single dumbbell snatches. I would have said my least favourite are burpees but they’ve grown on me through the lock downs. I think my least favourite is anything on the bar (pull-ups…mostly because I can’t do them).
- What are your goals in CrossFit? My goal in CrossFit is to be fit. I want my kids to see that fitness is important for healthy living.
- How do you explain your newfound obsession with CrossFit? I used to say CrossFit was filling the basketball shaped hole in my heart. I like competing and being part of a team. This next part is going to be cheesy but it might explain why I like CrossFit so much. There is this quote and Google tells me the author is Elizabeth Barrett Browning: “I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” I warned you this is cheesy but this sums up how I generally feel about CrossFit.
- What advice do you have for someone who is thinking of trying CrossFit? CrossFit. Is. For. Everyone. No, seriously. It is. Well, it is at All Level CrossFit, anyways. I’ve heard John say many times “Don’t tell me what you can’t do. Tell me what you can do.” CrossFit is not a “one size fits all” prescription, like I thought when I first started. It can be tailored to fit YOU. And the coaches at All Level are expertly trained and experienced at doing just that.
- What does CrossFit mean to you? All Level CrossFit is more than a gym. At the moment, it’s where I go for physio, massage therapy, and nutrition coaching. It’s a place I go for me. I spend a lot of time taking care of people. All Level is a place I go to take care of me.
- How has CrossFit helped you improve your life outside of the gym? The coaches start the WOD’s off with a mindset. That is something that has carried over to my life outside of the gym. That “voice inside my head” is much kinder and I know that has to do with the work I do in the gym.
