Member Highlight: Abby

At a recent Full Moon Workout Abby took center stage completing 101 Hang Clean and Jerks without dropping the bar. We were so impressed that we thought it was about time to do a Member Highlight Post. Below we asked Abby some questions about CrossFit, her life, and her goals and she gave us fabulous responses. Check it out and see if you aren't just a little bit inspired (or a lot!).

What was your motivation for starting CrossFit? And how did you get started?

I came to a class once with my boyfriend who had been trying to get me to go for months. I mostly did it to shut him up (I thought I would hate it), but I started reading about CrossFit and really became interested in it (and I wouldn't mid looking like Stacie Tovar). I was crazy intimidated when I showed up, but I had so much fun. I didn't want to admit that I loved it, but this was the first time I felt like I wanted to work out, so I knew that I had found something good. My main motivation for continuing CrossFit was that you really can't suck at it. You can do things not as Rx'd or modified, but you can still get your ass kicked. I like the fact that it is individual and not an organized team sport. I like that you compete against yourself. I like that you can see how you've progressed nearly each time you do a WOD. I like that, even though it's not a competition, noticing others around you and working out with other people motivates you to try harder. If this guy next to me is giving it his all for 12 minutes, why can't I?

How do you measure your gains in CrossFit, in life, and what would you say is the greatest thing you have taken away from CrossFit?

Measuring gains in CrossFit consists of taking pictures of the whiteboard after every WOD and writing down my max lifts and benchmark WODs. It's a little cluttered, but I'm getting better. I think taking note of my gains and how far I've progressed in CrossFit has helped so much with my perspective in life; I am very self-critical, and being able to see progress in my measurable gains really helps me realize that I am probably improving other areas of my life as well, where gains are not so easily measured. This helps me put things into perspective and allows me to focus on what I am doing right and if I am not doing so well in another area, what I can do to improve, rather than dwell on it.

The greatest thing I have taken away from CrossFit, though, is that pushing yourself to the limit and being outside your comfort zone are some of the best things you can do for yourself. You won't know what you're capable of if you don't even try.

Recently you did 101 hang clean and jerks at the Full Moon Workout. What was your strategy? What was going through head on #1 and on number #101?

I had zero expectations going into the workout, actually. Noah laughed and said if anyone got to 100 reps that they would just stop, and that he was expecting probably 50 reps or less from everyone.

The beginning part of the workout was awful, and when I started the hang cleans, I was going the slowest. I had pretty much accepted that I would get less than 20 or so lifts at the rate I was going, but since there was no time limit, I just kept going, breaking it down into reps of 2 or 3 and trying to get to 20, 30, 40, etc. I would occasionally promise my self once I got to some number of reps I would let myself stop.

Jen had a really good resting strategy so I tried to use that when I got tired. It was just Jen and me left at the end of it, and she was kicking ass. When she was done, she was being so encouraging and basically talking me through it just to see if I could pass the number of reps she got. I promised myself after than I could stop. Then Summer and Angela came by to hang out and watched me as well. Noah said if I got to 100 I could get a free T-shirt. And I really wanted a free T-shirt. When I passed Jen's number, Angela told me that I might as well get 100 reps in because I had already done so many, and I could get a shirt, so I told myself I was going to stop at 100. When I got there, she said I had to do one extra because that's what you do. So I did.

How did you feel after you finished those #101 hang clean and jerks? Thinking back on how you felt after your first WOD, what has changed?

It felt so awesome! The fact that some people stayed and watched and were so motivational was the best part. I don't know that I would have tried to do so many if they hadn't been so encouraging.

So much has changed since my first WOD. There is no way I would have imagined I would be lifting pretty heavy weights and doing pull-ups and everything I'm doing now. I have a lot more confidence and pride, I think. I've become better at every movement and I think I've gotten faster. It feels pretty badass to look at where I started compared to now. I have always felt happy with myself after finishing every WOD, though, from day 1, and I don't think that will change.

What is your next big goal?

Figuring out which career path I want to take. And dead hang pull-ups and handstand pushups :).

Memorial Day Schedule

Memorial Day, Monday May 27, we will have a shortened schedule at the gym: workouts will be at 6:30am, 8:30am, Noon, and 5:00pm (there will be no 7:00pm Strength class). Monday's workout will be "Murph" (see Daily WOD column to the right for details). The workout can be partitioned "Cindy"-style, or you can do a half-Murph or quarter-Murph...but you can also do it as it was originally intended: wearing a 20lb. vest and completing all of one exercise before moving on to the next. So get down to the gym, and get your Murph on.

Read Lieutenant Michael Murphy's story http://www.navy.mil/moh/mpmurphy/soa.html

Friday May 24th, 6:00pm: Superheroes by the light of the Full Moon!

Brace yourselves, Wildcat CrossFitters! This Friday, May 24th, is a very special Full Moon Super Heroes Team WOD-b-que!

Bring along your friends, family, children, and dogs as we crush the evil villianous W.O.D. together. Team workout begins at 6pm so be on time and definitely be in costume. Kudos and general praise go to those teams with matching costumes. Additionally, we ask that you please bring something to share: side dishes, alternative proteins, desserts, cash for the grill master, and drinks. We have plenty of fridge space and plenty of hungry superheroes, who will need a hearty meal and good friends to celebrate their victory, so do not be afraid to be generous or to try out those new recipes!

What should you expect?

* The fresh grillings of Chef Ruben (chicken and vegetables)

* Outrageous and wonderful costumes (including your own)

* A piñata that must be destroyed (so bring the kiddos)

* A team workout that will test the mettle of your rag tag team of caped crusaders, masked vigilantes, or costumed crime fighters.

* The light of the full moon to illuminate the way of jusice, glory, and peace.

A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917. A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine).

Thanks, Wikipedia!

Chuckling It Up...at Wildcat CrossFit

CrossFitters have developed their own vocabulary. If you don’t believe me, just ask one of your non-CrossFitting friends. They’ll tell you they have no idea what the <bleep> you're talking about half the time.

At Wildcat CrossFit, we have added an original phrase to the CrossFit lexicon...and it is catching on. Today, we introduce this phrase to the world. The phrase: “chuckle it up.”

Chuckle It Up chuc'kle [Eng.],phrase: to laugh softly in a low tone, in mild amusement as you goad another athlete into lifting heavier than the Rx’d weight during a CrossFit workout.

In other words, “the chuckle” is that snarky comment that comes from one of your "friends" intended to influence you to work harder, lift heavier, and generally do more than everybody else is doing. This form of peer pressure is particularly effective if you’re already kind of a bad-ass. In addition to getting “chuckled-up,” athletes can also “chuckle themselves up” by doing a heavier weight than prescribed on a WOD, just to show that they’re, you know, a bad-ass.

Chuckling, as a rule, goes only in one direction: UP. Sure, athletes do less than the Rx weight at times. This is CrossFit, everybody struggles with something. “No, you don't chuckle someone down, you idiot!”, said a prominent Wildcat Chuckler, “What would be the point of that?"

Do you think you might have been chuckled during a workout, but you’re just not sure? Here are some classic Chuckles gleaned from the Wildcat Chuckler Archives:

- "What's up bro? That's your warmup weight, right? Hehehe."

- “You don’t mind that this workout is a lot easier for you, cause you’re a lot stronger than me do you? Hehehe.”

- "You're not using 95 for Fran are you? Hahahahaha."

- “Is that weight gonna be heavy enough for you? Hahahahaha.”

Chuckling isn’t all fun and games. Using heavier weight means athletes finish workouts more slowly than they otherwise would with the lighter, Rx'd weights.

"I haven't been at the top of the whiteboard for months 'cause of this guy,” one bad-ass Wildcat CrossFitter said recently. “If the kettlebell weight is 35, he wants me to go at least 53. And why does every “Nancy” have to be a “Heavy Nancy”? Yeah, I'm getting stronger, but I want to win once in a while too."

Full Moon Workout!

Wildcat CrossFitters,

It is that time again: Full Moon fun this Thursday, April 25 at 9:00pm. Bring snacks, bring friends, and get ready to hit the gym hard under a big moon. Check the website night-of in case we put up the workout, but, it will most likely be a surprise.

Hope to see you there!

Join Wildcat CrossFit

Call Noah at 309-5293 or email Eric Mackey and get
started today.
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Thursday (Jun 20th)

workout of the day

(All day)

AMRAP in 8 minutes of:
10 Hang power snatch, 95#/65#
10 Toes to bar
3 minute recovery, then:
AMRAP in 6 minutes of:
10 Burpees
12 KB swings, 53#/36#