I started in our garage back in TX. It was a group of me and about 8 of my girlfriends. Poor Andrew, we complained the whole time haha! I really started CrossFitting in January 2012 when we had agreed to purchase Red Stick CrossFit though. It is really hard to get the full CrossFit experience without going to an affiliate. It is more then just a workout, it is an entire community and I don't know where I would be today without it.
Favorite WOD: Angie
Least Favorite WOD: Hope
Describe your sports and fitness background:
I began dancing at the age of 2 and danced competitively from the age of 9-17. My dad made me do Karate from about 4th-6th grade...I was so against it, girls were suppose to be pretty and karate was for boys haha! I was actually good at it and won many meets. I started diving once I quit karate in 6th grade and continued through my sophomore year of high school. In 7th grade I did synchronized swimming for a year as physical therapy because I broke my leg. I also played water polo in high school. Once high school was over I always worked out but was that girl who wore make up to the gym and walked around confused about how the machines worked. I'm sure I looked stupid
MANY times haha!
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit?:
One of our good friends began CrossFitting about 5 years ago. I didn't understand what it was, all I saw was pictures of her lifting weights and thought she was crazy haha! She decided to go and get her level 1 cert and asked Andrew to go with her. He came back so motivated and said that the cert was the best cert seminar he had ever experienced and was totally sold on CrossFit (he was a skeptic as many people are before they start...especially with his personal training background). He held many different personal training certs at the time, and had even gone to Vegas for a week for one. To hear him say things were broken down into more detail than he had ever experienced and to see how inspired it made him was impressive. It took a while for me to embrace it...I was that girl, the one who thought weights would make me bulky...but now I can never walk into a normal gym again. I spent too many years of my life in a "globo gym" and I never want to go back!
What was your first WOD like?:
It was a tabata WOD and I couldn't walk for over a week afterwards haha! The next morning was ROUGH! It hurt to roll out of bed. Now I love tabata WODs.
What sort of changes have you seen in your body since starting CrossFit (before and after):
I was once pushing 170 pounds at 5 foot 6 inches. I didn't realize how heavy I let myself get until I was in a bikini around my mom and she said, "Oh Missy, you have lost your six pack. Your belly is chubby." (I was always a thin fit girl with great abs so that was a total wake up call) It took me over a year and a half of calorie counting and 3 hours a day for 7 days a week on the treadmill to lose 30 pounds. If I had found CrossFit back then, it would have taken me maybe 6 months tops to shed that weight, and no endless boring hours on the treadmill. Since CrossFitting I have lost another pant size and continue to lose inches but gain muscle and strength. Lifting weights has not made me bulky at all, in fact I am smaller now than I was when we got married almost 10 years ago! I recently pulled out my spring clothes from last year and NOTHING fits...it's all too big! At the age of 31 I can say that I am in the best shape of my life and feel like I still have so much more progress to make. My thoughts of beauty have changed from the frail Victoria's Secret model body to the strong female physique who can do anything the boys can do. I just had my body fat percentage measured today and for the first time in over 10 years I can say that I am happy with it! I am almost in the "athlete" category and that was something I thought I would never reach!
What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like Crossfit? Expected or unexpected?
When you finish a WOD or hit a PR you feel a sense of accomplishment. I feel that CrossFit has given me even more confidence in life to do things I never thought I could. I have always been a confident person but was shy about taking things on that I thought I would fail at or that would be to hard. I never let myself reach my full potential. Purchasing RSCF was a leap of faith but I would not trade my life now for anything. CrossFit has molded me to be a better person all around. I am more positive then ever, I push myself daily to be a better person, and I take on challenges with a sense of being able to succeed.
What's your favorite lift and why?:
SQUATS!!! Because I don't ever want a saggy butt haha!
Name one goal you have achieved since starting CrossFit and one goal you want to achieve:
I can finally do double unders! Yay! My number 1 goal is to get a pull up without assistance. I am close...another month or so and I will get it!
Any advice for people just getting started with CrossFit? Don't be intimidated!!! We yell, we sweat A LOT, we curse, we push ourselves to the point of total exhaustion, we lift heavy weights, and do crazy things but you can do it too! Start slow, leave your ego at the door, listen to your coaches, and have fun. Completely embrace CrossFit and you will see results in your body and your life that you never thought were possible.
What do you tell yourself to keep motivated?
Honestly, my members at Red Stick CrossFit keep me motivated. Everyone walks in the door so happy, the moral in the box is AMAZING! Whenever I am feeling sorry for myself because I work 60 hour weeks and am exhausted or stressed, all I need to do is walk out of my office and my day gets better just by seeing everyone's face. Watching everyone from the day they walk in the door and see them progress and motivated keeps me wanting to be better.
