Introduce yourself – your fitness background, family, age – lifestyle
I’m 44 years old and started HB Crossfit 4 days before my 44th a gift to myself. I’ve always struggled with my weight from as far back as I can remember. I’ve been married 21 years with 4 kids. Austin 19, Ethan 15, Kenedi 10 and Owen 7. I’m the girl who can gain and drop 10 lbs very easily but keeping it off is another story. My weight before starting HB was 206 lbs. I was stressed over my oldest finding the perfect college and leaving home. Eating crap became the norm and I knew I was destroying my life and teaching my kids lessons that I’ve always struggled with. It needed to stop.
I’ve never exercised regularly other than walking with friends and that was inconsistent as well. I’ve probably done every diet that has existed. I had success with Atkins just to gain it all back. I’ve eaten Clean just to gain it all back again because we didn’t incorporate the lifestyle of food and exercise.
While in high school, I played basketball and in middle school I played softball. I was an Army brat, so traveling high school to high school made it difficult to stick with sports since I had to make all new friends again. That said, I attended 3 High Schools in 4 years. That sucked.
As a family, our lifestyle is active as possible and I am the bus driver. I work full-time as a Montessori Teacher and then I coordinate all the kids activities, sports practices, games, girl scouts, coaching girls softball, etc.… It’s never a dull moment in this house and often the answer was driving through a fast food drive-thru to get food , rather than making food to eat.
How did you find out about Highbar Crossfit?
My friend, Nicole Hipp had posted something on her Facebook about Highbar. I was interested in Crossfit because I had “wished” for a body like that. A co- worker of mine had started Crossfit a year ago in Reston and spoke highly about the concept. I was scared but could see her results even though she was already in great shape to begin with. Both ladies explained that someone like myself who was extremely overweight and out of shape could do it. I trusted them and part of me believed them but needed to see it for myself.
What were your goals when you started training at Highbar?
My goals were very simple. Try to be better than the day before. My free intro class was a reality check. I could not walk for 5 days and although I had my husband and girlfriend their as moral support, it was a slap of reality that I needed. My self-esteem has always been high, so no matter how large or small I was, I still loved myself and had many friends. I’ve never beaten myself up mentally but I was frustrated.
Highbar was hope for me. I had mentally told myself I was going to join the gym, it was just a matter of when and committing to the time. I had a hope to become stronger, more fit and more confident in athletics for myself. I’d always felt confident providing athletic advice in sports, but not for myself.
I started telling my friends I was joining so I couldn’t back out. They looked at me surprised but supported my efforts to get healthy. When I came in to sign-up….the greatest feeling was having Coach Bobby recognize me and say, “Wow, you can back!” He knew I was hurting that first day and didn’t know if he’d ever see me again.
I was just happy he remembered me as an opportunity and not a drag to the gym and their possible “image” they may be trying to create. A vision of where all the pretty Crossfit people go, rang through my head but didn’t stop me since. Nicole said Highbar wasn’t are like that.
How has HB differed from your former training routine?
What training routine? I belonged to LA Fitness for a year but had no idea what I was doing, nor did I trust their personal trainers. I did not feel welcome and eventually I stopped wasting the money. I’ve mainly walked my entire life for exercise because my allergies and asthma couldn’t tolerate running. When my allergist told me I was breathing at 60% last year, I knew I needed to have a serious conversation with myself.
I told Coach Dan during foundations to treat me like I’m 5 since this was all new to me and we were starting from the bottom.
What type of results have you seen with Highbar?
I’ve seen results since day 1. When I started, I was jumping off a small plate as my box and I couldn’t even squat down properly. Dan who taught my foundations class, took me through things slowly and modified when necessary. I was confident enough to walk through the doors and speak up if I didn’t think I could do something but I couldn’t say “I can’t” without trying first. Otherwise I knew I was giving up mentally without letting my body decide.
Every time I went, the workout got better and better. Not saying it was easy, just saying I was starting to like it and didn’t feel like I was going to pass out. I started with 3 x a week and eventually moved to 5 x a week.
At one point in the beginning, I asked Dan if they had a defibrillator and told him to invest in one just in case somebody like me keels over. LOL!
Coaches Randy and Dan would always follow-up and ask, how was your workout, you want to go higher or try this instead, etc.. It was refreshing to see they actually cared which made me want to work even harder.
To date I’ve lost 52 lbs., can breath, can run better, can almost do a real push-up, can do a burpee better than before and can jump on a box – I thought I’d never be able to do that. I’m still working on pull-ups but can feel a difference and don’t despise them as much. I want to workout now. I crave it!
How would you describe your experience at Highbar?
A WELCOMING family….a community that looks out for one another. I’ll never forget early on having people who didn’t know me, cheer me on even though I was in last place while running or doing the WOD. It didn’t matter to me. I could tell nobody was judging me. I’d ask people how long it took them to learn how to do pull-ups or push-ups, etc.…and everyone was honest and forthcoming with their information.
I could tell it was me against myself and nobody else. I love it. The coaches all care. They provided techniques to make sure I was safe. That was important to me. I had so many friends who experienced injuries by having people push them to lift heavy or do a workout just to do it but never focused on their well-being or safety.
What benefits have you seen since starting at Highbar?
As described above….I can breath. No more inhaler. No more sinus issues. I’m stronger, lighter and I have arms that have never looked like this…EVER.
What would you tell someone who is hesitant about trying Highbar?
Don’t be. Anything can be modified. I started at the bottom and could still see results. The biggest issue is if you want it or not. Walking in there is half the battle. Everyone is there to support and help you.
And I love that the coaches always say, “ Don’t worry about what the scale says!” We are trained as women from a very early age to watch the scale. The coaches are right. It doesn’t speak to who we are, how strong we are or how hard we work everyday.
Has there been anything that surprised you about yourself or Highbar now that you have been doing it for awhile?
YES! I can’t believe I love working out. I’ve never had a feeling of wanting to get my butt kicked day in and day out but the feeling I get afterward is worth more than words can describe. My attitude toward myself is better.
I’m happier and even though I would have classified myself as confident and happy before, I REALLY feel like I could take on the world now. My result and new body structure also surprise me. I expected to lose weight but didn’t expect to start sculpting my arms, hip, butt and abs so quickly. I’ve always had decent legs, so I expected them to snap back into place first when
I started to lose weight. To actually see a waist? What? That’s unheard of.
I also didn’t expect the many new friendships. It’s been such a wonderful experience to see everyone daily, support them and learn about their journey.
The food challenge has taught me to cook, read ingredients, plan and enjoy food. It’s mentally given me clarity with food which has been much needed for 40+ years.
What would you like to accomplish in the next year in your own fitness?
- I’ve done half marathons with my friends but walked more than run. I’d like to decrease my time and run more than 50% of it on the next one. Then just get better from there.
- I’d like to be able to do 5 real push-ups without modifying.
- I’d like to do 1 pull-up without modifying.
- I’d like to lose another 10-20 lbs to tone and trim around the ab/mid section.
