An Inspiring Story from Heidi

I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into when I joined. I found CrossFit Coastal on the internet when I was searching for a new gym to join.  I didn’t want to have a lapse in my workouts and wanted to find a place to go before I moved to North Carolina from Missouri.  I showed up the day after I drove into town having no idea where I was at geographically and not really knowing anyone else in town.

Hard work fosters camaraderie.

I was scared out of my mind, but determined to at least finish the first workout. Not only did everyone make me feel welcome but no one made me feel embarrassed about what I was and was not able to do.  After a week of workouts that were all completely different I was hooked.

At my old gym, I participated in a boot camp and could go through the routine with my eyes closed and was bored with the repetition.  I will admit that one of my favorite exercises was using the sledge hammer on the tire. Didn’t know that I had so much pent up aggression; that was an incredibly exhilarating experience!

-What are you currently enjoying the most?

What started with a 1 lb wooden dowel has progressed to a 135 lb Overhead Squat.

This is a tough one and it’s hard to narrow it down. I really love the people who come to CFC.  There’s a real sense of camaraderie and I feel like we’re a family. We notice when someone is not around and get really excited when we see them again.

I do struggle when people decide to leave and it’s hard for me to understand why they don’t love it as much as I do. This is something that I continue to work on but it still makes me sad.

In terms of the exercises, I enjoy weight lifting the most which is quite funny because when I started the only thing that I felt somewhat capable at was being able to run.  I have come a long way from barely being able to shoulder press 45lbs and having absolutely no idea what the other weight lifting exercises were.

-What has surprised you the most about training here?

I am most surprised that I have made CrossFit an important part of my life.  Being a person with a life-threatening disease I have to think about my health more so than the average person and I’m finally doing this with passion.

CrossFit has made me stronger in all aspects of my life and helps me to control my disease versus my disease controlling me.

We think someone LOVES back squats...especially ones at 235 lbs.