What made you choose CrossFit True?

I was really drawn to CF True’s community, where people challenge themselves regularly without being overly competitive. I loved that this gym is very explicitly and intentionally inclusive, from warmly welcoming new members to publicly stating that everyone is welcome, particularly those who have not been welcomed in other gyms or fitness spaces. 

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How long have you been training with us?

I started in June 2024!

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What has been your proudest moment in the past 90 days?

I hit a goal of cleaning and jerking 225 pounds, which had felt really out of reach when I started at the gym. There’s also something doubly rewarding about PRing while friends around you also hit goal weights or are excited about managing something they didn’t think possible.

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When your not at the gym, what do you do for work? What do you do for fun?

I work in the international humanitarian sector, but have been lucky enough to work fully remote this past year and get to be a part of the gym community! Outside of work and the gym, I am a big Yale women’s basketball fan as my wife is an assistant coach, and I spend nearly every Wednesday stressed out at our weekly CF True trivia outing. 

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How is your nutrition? How has it changed since joining CrossFit True?

I’ve been more conscious of my protein intake, making sure to get at least some kind of recovery snack or meal in soon after working out so that my body is ready the next day and I can maintain the strength that I worked hard for during the WOD.

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What are your 3 favorite movements/exercises? 

My unpopular pick is the rower, but I also look forward to heavy power cleans and bench press/floor press in workouts.

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What is your favorite style workout? (AMRAP, EMOM, Rounds for Time, etc)

I like doing workouts that are rounds for time because then if I work harder at least it will be over faster 🙁

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What about your favorite workout?

Last year, we did a workout that was 3 rounds of a 400 meter run and 10 clean and jerks, and I loved that combination of cardio and strength. I also loved the marathon row experience with my fellow sailors Linda and Amanda!

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Any favorite workout songs? 

Pure silence and the heavy breathing of the 5:45 class.

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Have you changed physically or mentally since you’ve been working out with us?

I’ve been able to maintain my cardio fitness while adding strength over the past year-plus, which is a result of great programming and coaching I think! A goal of mine was to be able to continue running and feeling good moving while playing sports even as I was trying to add muscle mass and get stronger.

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What are your current goals?

This is kind of ambitious, but in the next year or so I’d love to have a combined 1000 pound total (across squat, bench, deadlift). I think I’m at 960 or thereabouts, so if you see me sandbagging a squat or deadlift workout please feel free to yell at me.

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How have your goals changed since you joined? 

I think I used to consider workouts across a success/failure lens—like if I hit a certain time or weight or number of rounds or even just gave 100 percent it was “good,” and if not it was a waste. But I’ve learned so much from coaches and friends with much more experience here and feel like I now can appreciate days where I feel off and just respect how my body feels, or even if I’m surprised by how hard a movement or workout is and adjust my expectations on the fly.  

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What has been the biggest surprise since joining CF True?

I’ve been so pleasantly surprised to meet some of my best friends in a relatively short time here. While I show up in part to work out, a much bigger part of my motivation and excitement to be here is to connect, catch up, laugh together, and cheer each other on. Or get in trouble for getting chalk everywhere. 

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What can you do now that you couldn’t do before joining?

I could not do any double unders when I joined, and now I’m able to string together quite a few! There has not been any practical application in my life to be honest, but accomplishing a new skill and succeeding at something I never thought I could do was very rewarding.

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Say something else, Anything! 

PLEASE (in a very welcoming and not desperate tone) consider coming to Wednesday trivia! We often win! We talk about non-gym things sometimes!