I first dropped into a class at CrossFit Central in February 2019. The strength and conditioning coach from my previous gym made the move to CrossFit Central and with him went the programming that had been a very successful program for my fitness journey. I went from going to the gym four times a week to forcing myself to go twice. I had made such an effort to make my fitness health a priority and I was losing gains that had taken over two years to achieve. I made the difficult decision to move on.

This last year started as a gang buster year - work, my health, and family were in a very good place. I had made up the ground I had lost. I was back to the gym 4-5 days a week and happy with the new community I had become part of. I found a good balance of weight training, cardio, and strength building. Then the world came to a screeching halt. I was fortunate to work in an industry that was considered essential, but then devastated when I heard that gyms were going to have to close. Like most people I was panicked, in addition to the overwhelming stress of the situation the thought of facing the physical set backs of not being able to come to the gym we’re terrifying. And then there was Zoom. I was able to adjust my schedule to be home in time every day to make the 5:30 Zoom class. It not only allowed me to stay active, it provided a constant to a very unstable situation by being able to work out with the same great coaches and keep in contact with many of the same athletes I saw every day at the gym. When the gym reopened it was so satisfying to be able to be back live in person and discover that I had maintained my muscle that I had gained.

After turning 60 this summer I made a promise to myself to continue to make strides toward both my physical and dietary health, which leads to keeping one’s mental health in check too.

The community, coaches along with their programming and encouragement along with the communities dedication to supporting our local community keeps me happily engaged and coming back.