AUGUST ATHLETES OF THE MONTH

I haven’t worked with Andrea enough to write too much, but I have noticed an amazing transformation in her. She has become a serious competitor, even though she doesn’t realize it. I was watching her during “Lynne”, and she seemed frustrated with her Pull ups. What I saw was Andrea using a half kipping half butterfly technique. I asked her if she could come in to open gym to learn how to butterfly and within one session, she has an amazing comprehension of the technique. She has come a long way and I look forward to watching her progress. Andrea trains hard and is a joy to coach.

-Adrian

I have always been quite active. My childhood was spent running around with the neighborhood boys, cross country skiing, playing football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. Whatever sport the boys signed up for, so did I, well except for football. I’m glad my mom put her foot down and refused to sign me up for Pop Warner football. She did however let me play baseball with the agreement that I would switch to Fast pitch softball if the hobby stuck around. In high school, I played basketball and ran track. In college I cycled for the ASU cycling team and swam on the Sun devils master swim team. After college, I decided take a year off from sports which turned into a four year sabbatical. My friend, Brian Ross introduced me to Crossfit after a conversation I had with him about getting back in shape. My first Saturday class left me quite frustrated-and with wobbly legs and. I immediately signed up for classes. I have never really lifted weights and never imagined that lifting in the capacity and constraints that Crossfit presents would provide me with the same satisfaction and exhaustion that riding a 100 miles on a bike, or playing basketball for 5 hours does. The WODS are always challenging and I love trying to chase down the times and weights of the phenomenal athletes that call Core Crossfit home. I want to thank Tom for keeping in touch with me after my injury. Your text messages always kept me motivated to keep up with my rehab so I could come back and finish my days off with the 4pm classes at Core Crossfit.

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When Norm came to us he already was in great shape. He hit the workouts hard, but rarely made the Leader Board. In the past few months he has really dialed up the intensity. Now he not only makes the Leader Board daily, but he has become a leader in the classes. Many of our athletes look up to him and ask him for advice. I asked him what he changed in the past few months and he said the biggest thing was his diet. While this is true, there has been another change. Lately I’ve noticed that Norm will not sacrifice form and technique for a faster time. The one thing I am most proud of Norm was during the last “Fight Gone Bad”. After the first round (which he scored over 120 points) he stopped the WOD. Norm noticed that his body wasn’t in condition to continue after not enough sleep and not enough food in his system. This attitude is a true sign of a mature athlete.

-Adrian

First of all, I want to express my gratitude to the staff and athletes of Core CrossFit.  The experience of CrossFit would not be fulfilling if it weren’t for the great people.

Just for starters a little history about myself.   My name is Norm and I grew up in a small town located in south east Washington; for a little background I was active in sports and did lift a few weights during high school.  Albeit, I did graduate as a pip-squeak, I joined the USMCR, and finally grew into my shoes.  Once I completed my first year in the reserves in 1999, it was off to college at ASU and welcome to the valley of the sun.

Over the past 15 years I have been in and out of a gym doing the walkman, diskman, mp3, ipod, iphone, ipartner and whatever/whoever would join me at the gym thing.   Up until February I had no idea what CrossFit was all about or ever heard of it.   My best friend Charlie told me to youtube CrossFit and that we should join as it would cure our gym boredom.   He arranged our baseline with Tom, and Charlie told me to definitely check out what we were getting into.   Much to my chagrin I never checked it out to see what exactly what I was getting into…  MEA CULPLA!  That was some baseline and that did get the heart rate up.  At that moment I wasn’t sure if this was something I wanted to do on a daily basis.  To no avail, we did join that morning and the first few WODs were interesting and fun.  Alas, at the end of the first week I had the weekend gave to reflect and wonder what just happened.  After wondering what just happened, it was apparent that it was time to make things happen and not watch them.

Just after my first month, I was fully committed to this sport and enjoyed everyday of it.   There is nothing like the feeling of getting to the edge, jumping off - only to climb back up and do it again and again.    The sport helps bring life into a simple perspective; set a goal, endure the effort of the challenges of that goal, succeed and accomplish the goal to realize the opportunity - only to set a better goal next.   I totally enjoy the mental aspect of this sport.  Set little goals and eventually they will help you realize that you can fulfill big dreams.    The sport is physical as the WODs are demanding and the sport is fun because it gives one the ability to compete with others and oneself.    Today I would say I am probably in the best physical and mental shape of my life, with more goals yet to be accomplish.  Most importantly about this experience so far, Core Crossfit has allowed me to meet great positive dynamic people.  This has been a heck of  ride thus far with more journey to go.  It is an honor to get to know, train and learn from all of those at the box.

Semper Fi.

JULY ATHLETES OF THE MONTH

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June Athletes of the Month

I always look forward to joking and talking trash with Angie.  I feel that I can get a pretty good read on people the first time I get to see them workout.  Angie came in and did her “Baseline Workout” with me.  Right away I could tell that she was a hard worker, she wasn’t afraid to push herself, and she was going to be fun.  I’m so glad you’re a part of our family!

 

Angie

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came to x-fit to meet new people and fit into skinny jeans. Lol. Ok, not skinny jeans but definitely into my clothes again. I have always been active and more importantly my jobs have been active: Home Depot, Coaching B-ball camps, Wild Land Firefighting and P.E. Teacher.

I traded all that in for a desk job and more money always thinking I’d still find time to stay in shape. I continued to work out but the sedentary desk life caught up to me. I have seen improvements since joining x-fit physically, emotionally and socially. I call x-fit my “Happy Place” because no matter what the day brings, I am always happy when I walk through the door. From the people I am surrounded by, the relationships I have built to knowing that each day I am bettering myself. I knew I was on to something when I ran the PF Chang’s ½ marathon in January fifteen-minutes faster than last year without running nearly as much and being at X-fit for a month. My goal is to continue to lose weight, get stronger and eventually running a full-marathon and getting my first strict pull-up!

I try and tell my friends and co-workers about x-fit in hopes they will join but so far no success. They all know how important it is to me and are always curious but too afraid to try it out. X-fit is one of those things that you can’t explain but wish you could make those around you realize just how life-changing it is. It is my new love!

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Andrew was already strong and fit when he came to us.  I knew that once he adapted to higher intensity workouts he would see amazing results.  He’s made impressive progress physically one of his characteristics I liked most  the sense of comraderie he brought to our crew.

A few weeks ago he had finished his workout and was watching the next class.  It was a partner workout.  Drew’s partner was a newbie and couldn’t finish the workout.  Drew started knocking out all the reps and then Andrew jumped in and finished the workout with Drew.  I can’t tell you guys how happy stuff like that makes me feel.

 

 

 

Andrew

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew

Born and raised in Manchester England, I first moved to Phoenix in 1999. My ‘life changing event’ occurred when I was approached to participate in a project based in Mesa, AZ with Rolls-Royce and Boeing. Arizona turned out to be an Englishman’s dream – sunshine, palm trees, and swimming pools – a vast change from the fog and rain! The experience was phenomenal and after returning to England to finish my engineering degree I decided to pursue a career in Phoenix. I was fortunate to find Goodrich, an aerospace company, who sponsored my work visa and green card, and put me through grad school. I’ve been in Phoenix for 9 years now and friends in England are making fun of my ‘Yank’ accent! In two years I can apply for citizenship and achieve my life long dream of emulating James Bond and have multiple passports!

 

I’ve always been extremely active and enjoyed all sports. Cricket and football (I refuse to call it soccer) were my favorite sports and I played College football in England before hanging up my boots a few of years ago. After football I turned to the gym, jogging, and hiking for fitness. The gym quickly became mundane and I found it too easy to work long hours and skip the gym. Thankfully friends pointed me in the direction of Core CrossFit and I haven’t looked back. I struggled with the WODs and weight initially but with the help of the excellent coaches and fellow CrossFitters I’ve improved drastically in the 8 months I’ve been a member. I was always the skinny kid growing up – now I’m in the best shape of my life.

 

I cannot speak highly enough of the Core CrossFit team. They create a welcoming environment in what could easily be an intimidating place. They are professional, encouraging, and clearly understand the fundamentals. The best part is that they always make each and everyday FUN. Core CrossFit isn’t a gym, it’s a place I go and meet incredible people who challenge, encourage, and inspire each other to excel in all areas of life. My only regret is that I didn’t find Core CrossFit earlier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2010 Athletes of The Month

Jade doesn’t talk a whole lot, she’s one of the quietest girls we have at the gym.   That quiet facade is misleading; she’s a very competitive person underneath her shy unassuming smile.  It took just a short time for the competitive side of her came out. Like most people when she started she seemed content with just cruising through the workouts. She’s far from that person now.

This last week we did the benchmark “Grace” (30 clean and jerks for time).  She was trying to figure out what weight to use.  The RX weight is 95lbs, she said she hadn’t clean and jerked that weight for a few months.  When she did do that a few months ago, it was for a rep or two.  She told me she was going to do the 95lbs even if it took all class.  She blew through it in 3:58! Not bad!

I’ve had the opportunity to see her hit PR’s benchmark after benchmark.  I’m so happy for you Jade and all the progress you’ve made!  This is just the beginning of what you’re going to achieve!

-Tom

I started at Core Crossfit at the end of July of last year. I came to the free Saturday class and all I remember was that the WOD consisted of a couple different things including  100 air squats. The next morning I attempted to hike North Mountain and somewhere around the half way point tears were streaming down my face from how sore my legs were! I knew right then that even though I was terrified to go back to crossfit, I wanted to be one of the people who could complete that workout and still manage to be able to walk the next day.

I was pretty active in high school. I was on the swim team and I worked out pretty often. After that I completely fell out of the routine. I tried different things, classes at my campus gym, crew, running on the treadmill. In the gym I’d use the same couple of machines avoiding anything foreign to me. Nothing would last very long, the monotony would get to me and I’d just stop going without ever getting any real results.

My first deadlift at Core was at 65lbs and now I can deadlift 245. I can’t believe how much stronger I’ve gotten! I love that we are always doing something different and I get to challenge myself in new ways every day. In a few short months it will be my one year anniversary at Core. I’ve never stuck with any gym this long! I love doing things that I once would have thought impossible, I love my trainers, and I love the members who are always encouraging and inspiring. Crossfit has made such an impact on my life. You’ll never find me on a stationary machine again. barbells are where it’s at!

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Dave is another quiet one. One of the first memories I have of him was when we were performing handstand push-ups in a workout. He would get himself inverted, hold for a second, and then fall on his head. He was so pissed off. He’s usually pretty quiet but I could hear him cussing quit a bit.

He’s changed so much since then. Physically his body has changed. He’s gotten faster, stronger, and more agile. He says he feels better than he has in years. He’s able to knock out handstand push-ups and already set his next lofty goal of, “Taking over the world!” Let us know how that goes for ya.

Dave is a stand up guy that’s really funny once you get him to talk. I’m glad you’re part of our family!

-Tom

I’m not big on talking about myself but here it goes…. I grew up in Minnesota playing football and pond hockey.  I joined the Army right out of high school. I spent 13 yrs in the Army in places Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In Afghanistan 2005, a group of us learned about crossfit on the computer and started trying it with ammo cans and any other equipment we could find to simulate the workouts. I started Core CrossFit after coming home from Iraq last September and its made a huge impact on my life both physically and mentally. Its kept me sane through hard times and being a Phx Firefighter also keeps me in shape for my career.

I spend a lot of time hunting and fishing in San Diego.  This year I’ll be hunting elk, wild boar, rattle snakes this summer, white tail deer back home, and gearin up for brown bear in Russia next April. I also spend a lot of my free time hiking around the valley and Sedona.

Since joining the gym I have lost thirty pounds and have had huge gains strength wise. I’m pretty quiet in the gym but if you see me come up and say hi, always happy to meet new faces and friends.

April 2010 Athletes of The Month

The first day I met Carrie, she wanted to kick my ass because I didn’t let her jump into the group classes. At least that’s how I remember it. She rode her bike down to the gym and wanted to work out. Summer wasn’t quite over.Her cheeks were all red from the heat, and sweat covered her face. I tried to explain to her that this wasn’t a traditional gym and you couldn’t just jump into the classes. I offered her some water and told her she would have to come back tomorrow during on ramp classes. She didn’t take the water and shot me an irritated scowl as she left. I didn’t think she would show up.

But she did! And she’s steadily made progress in everything. She’s fast and strong. She’s the first girl in the gym I’ve seen make a rope ascent. She can do more strict pull ups than kipping. That’s real strength and far more impressive than kipping. I think she’ll be the first female client to knock out muscle ups.

-Tom

Carrie Marill

I decided to join Core Cross Fit back in September 2009 because I was sick of holding my stomach in (seriously)!  I am a full time visual artist with a wacky traveling schedule and lot’s of time spent sitting in my studio or on an airplane not moving my butt. http://carriemarill.com/ I grew up in the Bay Area playing various sports (gymnastics, swimming, soccer & cross country) so my metabolism had been pretty active until I hit my 30’s. With a combined love of “orange foods” i.e. Queso, Cheezy Poofs and Doughnuts, and a lack of motivation to exercise without a team I noticed different shapes beginning to form around my middle and thigh areas.  Realizing my metabolism was NOT what it used to be I decided to try and do something about it. I had tried working one on one with a trainer but found it pretty boring without that “team” mentality. So when I found a flyer for CCF I liked that it had a combination of group classes and a crew of trainers.

When Josh first showed up to do his first workout with me he didn’t seem all that interested in joining.  He did very well on his first workout, far better than most.  Afterwards we talked about a few of his goals that he wanted to accomplish. He seemed unsure of himself and really shy. He left that first day without signing up.

Fortunately I gave him one of my cards before he left and he called me back 2 days later. He said he wanted to sign up for a month to see how it goes.

It’s gone really well for Josh. Everyone who’s had an opportunity to workout with Josh or read Chayet’s posts about him know that Josh is a monster when it comes to working out.  The numbers he puts on the board speak for themselves.  I don’t have to say much about those.  What I’m most proud of, is how he carries himself.  He’s much more confident.  That’s so much more impressive than lifting heavy weight!  I’m happy that he found us and is part of our family!

-Tom

Josh

February 2010 Athletes of The Month

Iris has changed so much since she joined the crew.  One of the first conversations I had with her she told me how horrible she was at anything physically demanding.  When she described herself she used the word weak.  When she came to class she just kinda floated through the workout not really putting in a lot of effort.

A lot has changed since those first few weeks.  Iris got her first pull-up and ran her first half marathon.  She’s constantly putting bigger numbers on the whiteboard and now competing instead of coasting.  Amy and I were talking after last weeks push press workout. Amy said she couldn’t believe how strong Iris had become.  That’s something I’ve heard lately from lots of people.

-Tom

Iris Working On Ring Dips

My name is Iris. I have been working out at Core since last August and it has changed my life. I have always known the value of health and worked out fairly consistently my whole adult life, but I have never loved it or been excited about it. Finding myself intimidated by most of the equipment in a traditional gym, I would just stick to the basic cardio machines so I had no muscles or strength. I was talking to my brother one day and telling him about my physical and mental plateau- the monotony was putting me in a dark place and I desperately needed something new. He insisted that I find out where my nearest Crossfit gym was and go there immediately. I didn’t really get what it was but told him I would check it out so he would stop nagging me. I met Tom that afternoon.

When I started working out at Crossfit I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew I liked it. I was willing to dedicate the time to come, but I had a very casual attitude. I guess I had a slow start. And then somewhere around month three something happened, something changed, something slowly clicked into place. . . And I was falling in love. My body was changing and getting strong! I have never been strong in my whole entire life. I was starting to put numbers on the whiteboard that were in the ballpark of some of the other women’s numbers. Then I started to feel competitive and that was like discovering a whole new emotion (a good one)! Since the people I have met at Crossfit are very inspirational, it creates a self imposed sense of accountability. Tom, Kim, Adrian, Erica, and Jen make it so that I do not want to let them down, and the people I am working next to everyday are constantly encouraging me to reach further and further for personal records and goals. The competitive spirit and our coaches made me begin to challenge myself more each time and discover what I can do. The surprising thing is that feeling good about working hard does not just last for the hour or so I am at the gym. It carries over into the rest of my life, the other 23 hours of my day. My family, friends and co-workers have noticed a visible difference in how I present myself to the world. Also, I no longer see working out as a tedious chore of maintenance. Instead I look forward to an opportunity to grow and learn in an environment of support and encouragement. I am so grateful for Core Crossfit for two reasons: It has shown me things about myself that I did not know were under the surface, and through it I have formed friendships with people that I feel truly blessed to have in my life.

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Juan came to us in great shape, he was already strong and fast.  From the beginning I thought it was awesome the way he took care of his fellow CrossFitters.  He’s always cheering and encouraging those around him to not give up and keep pushing through the self doubt.  I like to joke and give him a hard time, it’s all in fun.  I can’t imagine our crew without him!

-Tom

Juan Leading The Pack To The Pull-Up Station

Hi my name is Juan Sabastian Najera and I became a cross-fitter 5 months ago. I was originally born and raised in Arizona (one of the few natives). I grew up in Phoenix and moved to a small town called Camp Verde , where I finished high school. Growing up sports was a big part of my life and I thrived on the competition and being part of a team. I was one of the few kids that actually enjoyed practice.

After a short stint in junior college, that didn’t work out quite as I anticipated, I joined the U.S. Army, which was the best decision of my life up to that point (I needed the discipline). In the military I was on the All-Army soccer team for a year and was boxing for the last 2 years. In 2003, I moved back home to Phoenix and pursued a career in the medical field.

Shortly before I moved back to Arizona , I started lifting weights for the first time, vowing never to run again after the military. So like most people, I bought an I-pod, and joined the rat race of going the gym, sometimes finding the motivation to get into the workout. About a year and a half ago, one of my best friends asked me to workout with him, he had something new for me to try, it was called Crossfit. I showed up and he had all these crazy stations set up for us. He walked me through the “filthy 50” and then we did the “fran”. Despite my exhaustion I thought it was one of the best workouts I had ever done. After that day I looked up the workouts on the Crossfit website and started doing two a week (with really bad form).

A little over 5 months ago I walked into the Core Crossfit gym, it was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself, physically and mentally. I finally found the team aspect as well as the competition that I had been looking for in a very long time. I am now doing things I never thought I could do physically (like running a half marathon after vowing I would never run again) and am in better shape than I was in high school. I don’t just mindlessly walk into a gym and workout anymore. I go to Core Crossfit and workout with a family. Not only seeing myself improve, but seeing others improve has been incredibly gratifying. For the last month, due to different circumstances, I have not been in the gym as much as I would have liked and have seen a noticeable decline in my overall fitness. I have made a promise to myself to come back and do so with the same intensity and dedication I had in the past. I just want to thank you for giving me the chance to tell my story and express how much Crossfit has done for me, and I will be a Cross-fitter for life! A shout out to all the coaches…you have been wonderful and motivating.

January 2010 Athletes of The Month

Shawna started with us back in May.  My first memory of her was during a strength day that included presses.  I remember she was maxing out with the 25lb bar.  I could tell she was nervous and really unsure of herself.  She kept asking questions that I had just given her the answers to 3 minutes prior.  She would do her set of presses then get away from the rack as fast as she could.

She’s no longer that shy person.  She’s confident and competitive.  The days of maxing out with the 25lb bar are far behind her.  She pushes herself hard each and everyday she comes in.  Most of the time she’s racing against all guys at the 6:30pm class.  For most girls that would be intimidating, she enjoys the challenge and takes pride in it.  She feels she has to work harder in order to keep up with them.  I can’t believe how much she’s changed in such a short time.

-Tom

Here’s a little about Shawna.

I was born in Alaska and grew up in Phoenix, AZ.  I was always an active child but got really competitive as a cross-country and track runner in high school.  I was offered a running scholarship to a Junior college, but opted to go to ASU instead on an academic scholarship, where I studied Tourism Management.  I hardly ran once I started college, and then once I got a sedentary desk job after graduation, my mildly active lifestyle came to a screeching halt!  I had nothing to keep my interest or motivate me to go to the gym, so I simply didn’t go and I didn’t see any big impact physically.  About a year and a half ago, it all caught up to me!  I started training for the PF Changs half marathon, and I could barely get through a couple miles.  I knew I needed to change something, but nothing piqued my interest.  I would do the occasional yoga class, but was bored out of my mind.  I found CrossFit about 6 months ago, and absolutely love it!  My first day was deadlifts and burpees; I could barely deadlift 70 lbs and had never even heard of a burpee.  I didn’t go back for 5 days because it was beyond painful to move; I was so sore!  But I did go back, and have enjoyed every minute of it!  Okay, well maybe not the 2 times we did Fran.  I have made a ton of progress since that first day and have gotten a lot stronger both physically and mentally.  CrossFit is so challenging but fun at the same time, and the variety is what I love most.  I love the competitive yet supportive environment.  I haven’t had anything to be competitive about since high school, and it’s really fun.  I’ve yet to meet Jade, but always chase her time and weight on the board!!

The coaches and other crossfitters are so positive and encouraging.  It’s a great community and have made some good friends.  I look forward to going to get a beat down at CrossFit everyday and, mark my words, I will never go to a regular gym again!

-Shawna

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Felipe came to the Saturday classes for a little while before he signed up.  The first time I saw him workout I kept thinking, “This dude is going down!”  He put everything he had into whatever we were doing.  He made me nervous.  Haha.  I kept telling him he didn’t have to push that hard and to stop and take a breath.

When we got the new Flip camcorder, Kim was showing me some of the video she took.  During one of the workouts with Adrian, there was footage of Felipe knocking out kipping pull-ups.  I’m not sure why but it just really struck me.  It made me think back to the first couple of Saturday’s I saw him and how far he’s come.  I watched it a couple of times and just smiled.

-Tom

Here’s more about Felipe.

My name is Felipe Grau and I’ll start with a little background about myself.  As South American as I look, my dad is actually from Lima, Peru.  I lived there for a short time as a young child, after which my parents came back to the States.  We moved around a bit, but ended up in Phoenix around age 13 and I’ve lived here ever since.  After graduating high school, I went on to get a degree in electrical engineering at Arizona State.  I currently work as a failure analysis engineer for Microchip Technology, a pretty geeky position for a pretty geeky guy.  My main hobby is definitely beer.  I know a lot of people may claim that because they like to sit down, watch a game on TV and crack open a Bud or Coors.  I mean it in the sense that I have a library of books about beer, I brew dozens of styles of beer at my house, and I make a point of trying to get my hands on the rarest beers in the world.  I’ve already had the privilege of drinking a beer that one can only get at the front doors of a Trappist abbey near Bruges in Belgium, thanks to an enterprising friend.

I’m 28 years old and I’ve struggled with my weight from middle school on.  I was the quintessential nerd all through middle and high school.  I loathed gym class, and I sat on my ass playing video games while drinking amazing amounts of soda.  I never played any sports after elementary school, and my diet was anything but healthy.  I made a few attempts in college to get my weight under control, but my motivation usually fizzled out in short order.  After college, I got married and almost two and half years ago, my wife gave birth to our son, Joaquin.  Around the time he was old enough to run around with seemingly boundless energy, my doctor informed me that my blood pressure and cholesterol were creeping up and now were borderline high.  All of these factors finally convinced me to do something about my weight.  I improved my diet and started working out at my gym at work following a very traditional fitness routine.  I had some success, losing about 15 pounds over three months.  It was around that time in May that my friend Derek mentioned Crossfit.  I checked out the main website and I was blown away by the stuff that these people were doing in the exercise demos.  Derek, a few of our other friends and I decided to check out Core Crossfit.  I was struck by a number of things when I went, including the quality of instructors, the level of intensity and fun of the workouts, and how damn nice everyone was!  I also have to mention that the Crossfit system appealed to the nerdy engineer in me, since every workout has built in metrics to prove you’re progressing and to inspire competition.  I started going regularly on Saturdays, and never looked back.  I proceeded to drop another 50 pounds over the rest of year.  When I started in May, I failed to push press 45lbs, and I was unable to even get close to doing a pull up.  Now, I have more than doubled that push press weight, and I can knock out a few pull ups to boot.

Everyone at Core Crossfit has been a huge inspiration, both staff and clients.  I’m constantly amazed at everyone’s ability to juggle the seemingly paradoxical ideas of keeping the intensity high and making you push yourself while simultaneously being incredibly positive and encouraging the entire time.  In every way, I’m in the best shape of my life as a result.  I admit I’m a sucker for a challenge, and the bigger the challenge, the more inspired I am to beat it.  The beauty of Crossfit is that there is a mountain of challenges that I have yet to overcome to help keep me inspired.

-Felipe

December 2009 Athlete Of The Month

Dunn is one of the hardest workers we have.  He doesn’t say a whole lot, but his actions speak volumes.  And everyone who’s worked out with him knows what I’m talking about.  He hits the evening classes so unfortunately the morning crews haven’t met him yet.  Last month he hit a huge milestone, he’s lost a total of 50lbs!  Take a second and think about that.  50lbs!  One of his best qualities is that he doesn’t make excuses.  I’ve never heard him say , “I can’t.”  He just comes in smiles, laughs a little, and then gets after it.  With each accomplishment and goal you surpass, we all celebrate with you.  You inspire more people than you realize.  This is just the beginning of what your going to achieve!

-Tom

Here’s a little about Dunn.

Dunn

My name is Jason Dunn, most people call me Dunn. I was born in a small town in central Louisiana called Natchitoches.I played football from the time I was 9 until I was 17. My Mom remarried in 94 and we moved to Atlanta for a few years before we found ourselves in Columbia, South Carolina. I graduated from Dutch Fork High School in 2000. I went to the University of South Carolina and studied Criminology. All through college and many years after I worked as a Radio Personality on the rock radio station(Rock 93.5) in town. As you can imagine, being young and living the rock & roll lifestyle included copious amounts of alcohol along with many other bad habits. After 7 years I quit the radio business because I wanted to live a healthier life and I wasn’t going to achieve it in that environment. I moved to New Orleans in 2008 to answer the call of the New Orleans Police Department. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, they were desperately looking for good people to move to the area after Katrina, and I’m a native Cajun boy. Perfect opportunity! I unfortunately ran smack into the most corrupt group of people I have ever met(NOPD). Needless to say, things didn’t work out. My living situation wasn’t good and I found myself in a tight spot. Then I got a call from my best friend who owns a fulfillment and online retail company here in Phoenix. He needed help and I needed a change of scenery. I started working here in April of this year and stayed with my buddy for a couple months before I made the move across the country in July. I’ve always been a heavy guy and I’ve always battled with my size. I have a great group of close friends who care about me and want to see me succeed. My friend Mike lives in South Carolina. He’s been doing CrossFit for about a year. He was coming to Phoenix on business and wanted me to check out CF with him. My first day at Core CrossFit was very intimidating to say the least! Tom was very easy going and was super helpfull every step of the way. I’ve been asked why I chose Core CrossFit instead of another CF gym closer to where I live in Ahwatukee. My answer is simple, the people! The staff and all of my fellow CrossFitters have been a huge help and motivation to me. I couldn’t have gotten the kind of progress I have achieved without their encouragement along the way.