Thomi aka "the evil pixie" (thanks Chris)
-Credentials: CrossFit level 2 trainer
Trainer and demo girl for CrossFit Headquarters level 1 certs
Barbell certification with Mark Rippetoe
Olympic lifting certification with Mike Burgener
I have been into fitness in one form or another for most of my life. When I was younger I was into dancing and horseback riding for years. Through my teens and early twenties I was a runner. My dad and I would run 3 to 5 miles almost every night. I then got into the whole Gold’s Gym scene. I lived in the gym, 5 or 6 days a week. I was in there for about 90 minutes for a workout. I would plant myself on a piece of cardio equipment for about an hour, and then do some abs or other misc body part.
Pat and his friends did CrossFit in the garage. I would walk through their workouts to get into my car and go to Gold’s Gym. It looked different, intense, and most of all,..not boring. They were constantly doing something different. It looked fun so I started doing 1 CrossFit workout a week along with my Gold’s gym routine on the other days. Then I did 2 CrossFit workouts each week, then 3, then 4, and so it went until I canceled my Gold’s Gym membership. It was the best thing I have ever done for my fitness.
I made more gains and improvements in my level of fitness in my first year of CrossFit than I have in the last 10 years of working out. I never really lifted weights before I started CrossFit. I believed the myth that all women are led to believe.lifting weights makes you bulky. You’ve heard that one, right? It could not be further from the truth. Lifting weights (along with many other CrossFit exercises) will NOT make you bulky. As a matter of fact, it will finally give women the results they have been after all their lives! lol
I am now in my 30’s and can happily say I am in the best shape of my entire life. I owe it all to 2 things, CrossFit & nutrition. They go hand in hand. A healthy, well balanced diet that provides adequate sources of good protein, low glycemic carbs & the proper fat will dramatically change your overall well being & improve your workouts tremendously. I was a vegan for 11 years. People will tell you that you cannot get fitter, faster & stronger without eating meat. I am living proof that is simply not the case. It is more challenging for vegans & vegetarians to get the proper amounts of protein required by demanding exercise, but it is not impossible by any means. I am currently mostly a veggie still but I have incorporated fish into my diet, I am a strict zoner and with my past experience can pretty much help anyone with their diet since I have run the gamut J
Rob
Credentials: Crossfit Level 1 Trainer ACSM Certified Personal Trainer Certified Massage Therapist Fitness has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. I’ve been lucky that my parents were always pushing me to get off the couch and stay active. Martial arts, surfing, kayaking, bodysurfing, weightlifting, yoga, anything that involves movement I’ll pretty much try it. Probably the largest influence was my time spent in the gym with my Mom. When I was really young she was big time into running and then when I was about 10 or 11 she started to train for bodybuilding competitions at Flex Gym in Virginia Beach. I was in the gym with her all the time, and as soon as I was old enough I started to lift weights myself. It was an awesome experience to be there so much, the gym was always filled with amateur and professional athletes of all sorts. Being naturally curious, I relentlessly pursued the poor trainers there with barrages of questions constantly picking their brains. I trained on and off in the old school body building style throughout my late teens and early twenties. Despite gaining muscle size pretty easily, I would get really bored with the training. I needed something more. In massage school I got exposed to a whole new gamut of movement styles like I had never seen. A lot more functional, multi joint movements. I dabbled in yoga, Feldenkrais method, and even the Core Essentials stuff by Mark Verstegen for awhile. All fun stuff, but something was still missing. I couldn’t really put my finger on it though. Until the day I found CrossFit. I saw the web address in an article in Real Fighter Magazine. My first minute on the website I was hooked. I finally found the two things I had been missing all this time, variety and intensity! I immediately started trying to integrate some of the movements into my workouts. Wake up call big time! I followed the site and played with the movements for about a year when CrossFit VB opened. After one workout I knew I would never go back to my old way of doing things. CrossFit has helped me to become the healthiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I still have lots of room to grow. Gerry
Credentials: Crossfit Level 1 Trainer
I had always been active growing up and into my 20's then, I joined the Navy in Jan of '99. After a couple of years and a few obstacles found myself in the worst shape of my life. After working past the denial I decided that it was time to make some changes and commenced to cleaning up my diet and working out more consistently albeit in the more traditional weight training/ bodybuilding style. I had decent results but I was bored out of my mind! It was a struggle to make it to the gym 3 to 4 times a week. Crossfit has solved all of that. I came across Crossfit almost by accident one day in July of '07, my wife mentioned that someone had told her about it so I decided to check it out. I now have a hard time taking a day off of training. I follow the Zone pretty rigorously in a paleoish way. At almost 34 I am by far in the best shape of my life and it just keeps getting better. I am looking forward to continuing learning and improving through training and certifications