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
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.
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
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.
