Athena Lee Shooting

1. I can now pull myself up in case I ever get in a situation where I am hanging on to something for dear life. I won’t be that person in the movie that loses her grip and plunges to her death.

2. I can now load cases and cases of Montana Gold Bullets into my vehicle…provided that there are no men around to boss, er, nicely ask help from.

115# Clean and Jerk on July 2010

3. I can now lift my father from ground to overhead if he: a) says that I am fat;  and b) tells me to quit lifting heavy weights because I will get “ugly”, “big” muscles;

4. My glorious quads are getting the attention that they deserve;

5. I can almost back squat my boyfriend…

But seriously, though, this is the only workout that I’ve stuck with for more than 4 months and I have been doing it in the last two years! I am so thankful to have found Darin Deaton and his CrossFit Fort Worth back in 2009. I wish I could’ve started earlier but if I did, I would never have found this community that I have been in since they opened in 2009. I do have to say not all CF boxes (aka CrossFit gyms) are created equal. The very first box I enrolled in made me want to quit after two weeks. I just didn’t seem to see a method to their madness (borderline hero WODs everyday) and after almost throwing in the towel, I saw that Darin’s opened his 5 minutes away from my office! I went there the first day and the rest was history!

Since then, I’ve attended and attained a Level 1 Certification allowing me to teach. I am currently one of the interning coaches at his gym. I still have so many things to learn but I am learning each time I go teach.

CrossFit has become my other passion aside from shooting. I enjoy going to the box and working out with the other members. We’ve encouraged, supported and watched each other grow as an athlete and get stronger with every class that we attend. I liken the workouts to IPSC-style exercises. You either have a time limit or your workout is timed. Just like shooting! And I also like that I don’t have to spend hours and hours at the gym. Instead, the workouts range from 5 to sometimes 20 minutes. The longest I’ve ever done was 50 something minutes but that was just insanity!

But the reason I keep coming back for more aside from the community, is the fact that it has complemented my shooting. It has strengthened my back (which is my weakest part, second only to my then-upper body strength) and now I don’t have to worry about pulling my back (which I did TWICE back in 2008), I can do unassisted pull-ups both dead hang and kipping. And my PR (personal record) for shoulder press is 85#. Not bad for someone who could not even bench a 45# bar!

Affiliate boxes are EVERYWHERE. Check out one out near you and I guarantee it will change your life!