July Athlete of the Month

Congratulations Jackie 

Hometown: Schnecksville, PA

Current Location: Collegeville, PA

Age: 30

Occupation: Stay at home mom for the moment, but I am a licensed psychologist

College: Alfred University for undergrad and La Salle University for grad school

How long have you been a CrossFitter? I started in September of 2010. I did the lite classes once a week for a few months, then did twice a week for a long time. After I had Wes, I started coming 3x per week and would love to come more often if I had the time!!

 Did you ever play sports? I played soccer most of my life and swam until 14.

Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share? I love to read, do crossword puzzles and play words with friends...so mostly uncool I guess! I also used to knit, but only squares or rectangles...so if you wanted a scarf or a blanket, I was a pro.

What is your biggest achievement at CrossFit? This is a toss up for me, I recently got my first kipping pull up (which was my first pull up in my life time) and deadlifted 300#. It's hard to choose because these were both such big things for me, and they happened on the same day so they will forever be lumped together in my mind. However, I really think my biggest accomplishment was crossfitting throughout my whole pregnancy and then getting back to it shortly after I had Wes. I am 10x stronger and faster now than I was before I became pregnant.

What do you feel that you still need to work on? Body weight movements like pull ups, push ups, toes to bar, ring dips, etc. They are not my strength at all! I also could use some work on my overhead squatting, as well. Oh and double unders...completely forgot about those. I am so uncoordinated!

Goals for the rest of this year? I'd love to be able to string some pull ups and get on the board for deadlifts. I'd also like to back squat over 200#.

What's your favorite WOD? Um, any one when it is over? But I guess if I had to choose, my new favorite would have to be Grace.

How about your favorite food/snacks? Ice cream and chocolate...there can never be enough of those. Also bacon.

What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done? I don't think I've done any crazy workouts outside of CF, really. I played rugby for a semester in college, and that was pretty crazy. I got a fairly severe concussion and that was the end of that!

What’s your least favorite WOD? Anything with a lot of running. I remember my first real CF class was Veteran's Day & the WOD was Michael...I think they were going to send out a search party to find me during that last 800 m run. Though I am better at running now, I still hate it!

Favorite lift/movement? I love to deadlift and clean.

What’s your least favorite lift/movement? Probably overhead squats. Burpees are a close second.

What skill do you want to work on in 2013 the most? I think I need to work on being able to get under the bar in movements like the clean and the snatch. I am sure I could move more weight if I actually felt comfortable squatting during those lifts. Also, double unders...it'd be great to not look like I stepped out of the pages of 50 shades of grey when I'm done doing those!

Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear"? I honestly don't have a whole lot of gear to choose from! So I guess I'll go with my lulu crops...super comfy to work out in.

What you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? I've made tons of gains in the amount of weight I can move, but I think the biggest improvement I've made would be the mental fortitude to sticking to the WOD and working hard until the finish. When I first started CF, I had a hard time thinking I could actually finish the whole WOD, even though I eventually did. I still struggle with my endurance, but I've noticed a huge change in the way I approach a WOD.

Who is your favorite coach? Well, I wouldn't be doing CF at all if it weren't for Aimee and Jason who kept telling Keith (Flounder to all of you) and I about it all the time. I spent a majority of my time in my first few years in Aimee's classes, and her attention to form and ability to know exactly what you can do (even when you don't know yourself) is amazing. She was integral in my training during my pregnancy and was always happy to help me modify a WOD, even when she wasn't coaching that day. I just completed Barbelles, and I can't not mention Plentus here. Without his knowledge and programming, I wouldn't have hit half of the PRs I did at the end of those 8 weeks. And lastly, Paul...he has been very helpful during Friday night strength classes correcting my form when it sucks!

PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights? Thanks to Barbelles, I've blown most of my old PRs out of the water...300# deadlift, 135# C & J, 195# back squat, 175# front squat, 135# bench, 95# shoulder press. I can now do a kipping pull up. I also did Grace Rx for the first time the other day in 5:17. Nutrition-wise, I'm excited to say I've lost 6% body fat from last June to this June!!

I am really honored to be chosen as the AOTM; it is a great way to cap off all the progress I feel like I've been making in the last few months. I really love coming to the box and the community we have there. I can't imagine what I'd be doing now without it! Also, thanks to the husband for being so supportive of me getting to the box more and more lately. I'm in the best shape of my life right now and am so excited to get back to the box to continue to make more progress...so one day I can beat Keith at something!  Thanks again, CFKoP!