1. Tell us about your personal journey with CrossFit Northland? How did you begin? How long have you been a member?
My journey with CFN first started when my dad and a couple of his buddies started CrossFit Northland at the old location. I helped paint and get things set up. Boy, looking back at it, that place was super tiny. I was never a member until this past December though. I have been around CrossFit since about 2012 but was really young and had prior soccer commitments.
2. What made you decide to want to try CrossFit for yourself and join as a member?
I have been a soccer player and athlete my whole life so I have always worked out and trained in some way. I recently graduated college in May, so soccer came to an end for me. I love working out so I finally gave CrossFit a try in December of this past year and absolutely love coming in! Joining as a member has been really great and helps me to keep living a healthy life. Since my dad is a coach, he really gave me the push I needed to give CrossFit a try.
3.Tell us about your fitness and health background? (Have you always been active? Did you play sports growing up? Tried other gym settings? Workout
at home?)
I have played soccer since I was 3. Soccer really consumed most of my life so I didn’t play other sports or really get into a gym setting much. I have tried Noreterre and YMCA, but didn’t really like that because you have to come up with your own workouts and nobody is doing the same thing with you to keep you motivated. I just think I am so used to working in a team setting so that type of gym just doesn’t really work well with me. However, CrossFit offers you to workout next to people doing the same workout so it almost feels like the team setting that I love.
4.Being a collegiate athlete, do you feel like CrossFit is a good type of training in preparing someone to get in shape for a specific sport?
Both yes and no. CrossFit helps get/keep me in shape and helps me to live a healthier lifestyle. I would say that CrossFit is helping me to get stronger, which would have been very useful in college soccer. However for soccer specifically, soccer has a ton of running so just doing CrossFit would not get me in the best soccer shape I could be in.
5. Thinking back to the beginning of your CrossFit days, what kinds of things can you do now that we were not able to do when you first started?
I could do a few kipping pull-ups before I became a member but now I can string a lot of them in a row. I have rope climbs down now, I remember being able to do them in elementary school but when I first tried at the gym, it was very difficult for me to get it. I have never been able to lift a ton but now that I have been doing CrossFit for 6 ish months, I can see that I am getting stronger in a lot of different weightlifting movements.
6. How has CrossFit training improved your life outside of the gym?
I just feel better about myself when I complete workouts throughout the week. I feel very strong and confident outside of the gym now that I am working out very consistently. I am starting to gain little muscles that I never knew I had, which is a plus.
7. What is your favorite memory of CFN?
I don’t have one specific memory but getting to be coached by my dad has been very fun! I also love going to the 4:30 class with him and me being overly competitive about my results for the day to him. Our car rides home from the gym always consist of talking about what we liked and what was hardest about the WOD. It’s great spending quality time with my dad and an added bonus is that we are bettering our bodies and lifestyles while doing it.
8. What is your favorite type of workout?
Fran is for sure my favorite workout! My dad always told me that people get “Fran lungs” and that it was pretty tough. I personally really enjoyed it the first time I gave it a try and I hope I can improve my time next time it comes around! There is just something about thrusters and pull ups that makes me happy 🙂
9. In your opinion, what is the most valuable aspect of Crossfit Northland?
I really love how much effort the coaches put in. I get to see behind the scenes of what my dad does to prepare for his classes and see how much he and the other coaches care for their athletes. From the athletes side, I love that no matter how I feel before coming in (stressed, have a headache, don’t really want to workout, etc.) when I come to the gym and get a workout in, I always feel inspired by every athlete working next to me and motivated by the coaches to do my best that day.
10. What advice would you give to someone that is considering joining a CrossFit gym?
Don’t be afraid of the image that CrossFit puts off. There are so many different people from different walks of life that can do CrossFit, everything can be scaled to what YOU can do. You don’t have to lift heavy or have all the movements to be able to do a workout. Personally I can’t lift a ton but love that I am getting into the gym with great people and moving my body for the day.