I was about 7 months pregnant when I joined CrossFit Central. My friend and personal trainer, at the time, tragically passed away due to a brain aneurysm.  I remember him telling me about the “good guys who had their s**t together” at Central and how much the free community WODS would challenge him.  Looking for another place to train, I turned to Central.

I had never heard of CrossFit and decided to go check out the box before I signed up.  The first person that I met was Kris Kepler, Carey Kepler’s husband.  He gave me a brief run down of what the box was all about and any concerns that I had about doing this kind of exercise while pregnant were squashed when he told me that Carey worked out her whole pregnancy, including the day she gave birth to her two kids.  I was sold!

I signed up for Coach Crystal McRyenold’s Tuesday and Thursday 5:45 AM class.  I remember sitting in my car and talking to my husband on the phone before my first class, telling him that I didn’t know if I could do this.  What if this sport was going to be intense for me?  The beauty of this sport is that every move is scalable and you only do what you can do.  I also had some of the nicest ( and strongest ) women in my class welcoming and encouraging me to workout every week.

Luckily enough, I had a husband and an OB-GYN that was supportive of me working out through my pregnancy.  If anything, it gave me more energy and the strength and endurance to make it through the day.  I firmly believe that CrossFitting helped make for a relatively easy delivery!  I took four weeks off after the delivery and then came back to class.

This was the hard part!!  Lack of regular sleep, coupled with being a first time mom seemed to zap all the energy out of me.  But miraculously enough, every time I stepped foot in class and saw my fellow athletes pushing themselves, it motivated me to just keep pushing through the tiredness.  A year after giving birth, I still had those last stubborn 5-10 pounds of baby weight that just refused to melt off me.  I decided to start personal training with Coach Karen Pierce, who had taken over my class when Crystal left, enlisted in David King’s 21 day rehab program and started taking some Advocare products.  Talk about the perfect trifecta!

I lost 3.4% body fat & 15 inches overall!

Coach Karen worked with me on strength and skill work – my weaknesses.  I may be biased, but she is truly the best coach somebody could have.  She knows how to motivate you and connect with you on a personal level.  I consider myself truly lucky to train under her.  David King set me straight on my food choices, which had fallen off the wagon the first year after giving birth.  Within a month, I saw HUGE gains.  I was back to fitting in my pre-pregnancy jeans and was making progressive gains –  I had a 35# deadlift PR.   I was – am – feeling strong and confident.

CrossFit gives me confidence and focus.  It gives me the confidence to know that I can achieve what I want to accomplish with enough hard work.  I also love the sense of community that Crossfit Central fosters.  The coaches genuinely want you to do better and achieve your maximum potential.  There is such a positive attitude in everything that takes place at this box, you can’t help but want to be a part of it.   I am truly fortunate to call myself a Central Athlete!