Shari

 

When I started cross fitting December 2009, the most important thing to me was to lose weight. I wanted desperately to be less than 140 pounds, obsessed you might say. I probably weighed 147 at that time. I weighed myself daily, sometimes more than once a day. “ARRRGGG why can’t I weigh under 140?”  Like that was some magic number that would make me happy, make me feel better, look better. I can’t believe that I gave the scale that much importance, so much; that the number it gave me each day was reflected in my mood.  That is crazy! But I also know I am not the only one who has ever felt that way.

And so, the more I did CrossFit, the more I read about CrossFit and Paleo. I would read blogs, articles, and forums, whatever I could find. I found a theme between the women that regardless of age everyone had the same thought- THROW OUT THE SCALE! WHAT? How will I know if I should be happy today if I don’t weigh myself to see that I have lost .5 pounds?

It didn’t happen overnight and probably took about 6 months. But, I am and have been scale free for over 6 months now! It is so freeing! During the last Paleo Challenge, I took before and after photos and measurements, but did not weigh myself. I lost inches everywhere! So for shits and giggles the last day of the challenge I weighed myself. 147. Exactly the same weight as when I started CrossFit over a year ago. That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? I now have no clue what I weigh now, but I can sure tell you how much weight I can pick up and put over my head! 

I feel better, look better, and am happier than ever. CrossFit is an amazing workout where you are surrounded and supported by a great group of individuals. And now I don’t care what I weigh, only how much weight I can lift.



Andrea

 

I started CrossFit in April 2010 after a friend in grad school suggested it would be a good fit for me.  I few weeks before this, I had gone through Peace Corps medical clearance, where my doctor told me that I needed to lose weight to come down from 200lbs. This terrified me! Even though I am tall, no one wants to hear anything like this from their doctor!

 The minute I picked up my first barbell, I was sold! I used to play rugby in undergrad, so the similar intensity and team work like environment really appealed to me. Work Outs of the Day were so challenging (they still are!) but it felt good to be getting a real workout and have people around that supported me, as opposed to going to the gym and sitting on an elliptical.

I am hopeful that while serving for the Peace Corps in Ukraine, I will be able to stick to a fairly similar CrossFit lifestyle, even if it means doing walking lunges with a sack of potatoes! CrossFit has improved my health both mentally and physically, not to mention giving me friends I will have for life, and I don’t intend to give it up, no matter what country I’m in!



Brittany

I joined Crossfit , shortly after graduating the Fire Academy. The academy was the most psychically demanding thing I had gone through, I can tell you the intensity of the workouts at Crossfit were comparable to my fire school training. Recently, I have completed many physical Firefighter agility tests with some of the top times. I attribute my results to Crossfit! Matt has always been ready to answer any question I had and helped me push myself more then I normally would. I would highly recommend Crossfit Sarasota to anyone looking to get results and be pushed! -

Brittany G. Firefighter/EMT 

Megan L

CrossFit is the best thing that has ever happened to my work out regimen. Not only was I bored with my old routine, I also did not know what  I was doing. I have never been so excited to work out in my life. There is something new everyday and you can track your improvements.

You are also never left to work out alone. With coaches there to guide you and other members around to compete with, it is guaranteed to push you further then you could ever push yourself. I recommend CrossFit to anyone who is disciplined and wants to work hard.

Sean S

Crossfit Sarasota was definitely the source of a huge change in my life. Everything about my life, not just the way I work out has been affected by the lifestyle that Crossfit has shown me. The way I eat, the way I think, how I feel, and how I look. All of these things are completely different than before being introduced to the Crossfit method.  Crossfit has enabled me to reach my immediate goals, and is propelling me towards my long term fitness goals! I feel like Crossfit is a program that, due to it's incredible scalability, can have this same dramatic effect in anyone's life. From a semi-pro footbal player, to a police officer, to a grandma that wants to get in better shape to keep up with her grandkids. They can all benefit from crossfit.

  Prior to finding Crossfit Sarasota I was heading down the same path that many young Americans are on. I was working out in an underequipped gym full of exercise machines, treadmills, and stairmasters without a barbell in sight. I was eating lots of garbage food, drinking plenty of beer, and supplmenting this diet of champions with over processed and poor quality whey protein and creatine powders. I saw  very few results, besides a lighter wallet after purchasing my beloved "supplements". After many months of essentially going in circles with my ineffective workout routine I was beginning to get quite frustrated. I had gained very little weight, and put on very little muscle, and although I had gotten stronger the visual results weren't what I was looking for. So as any typical human being would do, my determination and consistency began to slide. Week by week I just returned to my normal routines.

 Things stayed that way until I found Crossfit through a friend. I went to see just what this crazy fitness program was all about, thinking to myself that it was just going to be another gym. My very first workout included a fair quantity of power cleans and I can't remember what else, but by the end of that fateful first hour of crossfit exposure, I was sold. I completely exhausted and I loved it. My body was so much more effected by one half hour of solid work than countless hours in the gym could have done. I signed up right away for more classes. Over the course of the next few months the gym owner/coach Matt  showed me the ways of the Crossfit mentality, and taught me a ton about nutrition and how I should be eating, how to recover, how to, well.. live the lifestyle of a Crossfitter! He is an excellent trainer, and a particularly good olympic and powerlifting coach, as well as a great source of nutritional info. By following his advise and maintaining a consistent (minus a few relapses) paleo/primal diet and even only attending classes 3 days a week the way I feel, look and perform has changed dramatically.