Why Lisa:
Lisa exudes what it means to be a Crossfitter. She understands and preaches how it’s a journey and longevity of lifestyle. She knows that it’s not a quick fix.
Lisa always focuses on her quality of movement before focusing on load or intensity. This is how she’s been able to do CrossFit for the last 19 years without significant ailments. Lisa is the first person to check her ego at the door. She encourages everyone and genuinely just wants them to get better!
I could go on but I’ll let Lisa tell the rest of the story.
Your CrossFit Story:
My senior year of college I started doing a Bally Total Fitness Bootcamp class with Doug Chapman in Ann Arbor. He found CrossFit in 2004, moved gyms, and became one of the first affiliates and I went along for the ride. When I moved back home to Plymouth to do my student teaching after college, I made the drive to HyperFit USA in Ann Arbor until we moved to California in 2009 and I joined Valley Crossfit. This is when I started competing and ending up accomplishing things I never imagined were possible. I grew so much not only physically but mentally as well. I experienced watching my coaches, who became my friends, compete at the Games every year. And, the rest of the year I got to train alongside them. I competed at Regionals for 3 years as an individual and 1 year on a team. I also competed in Sectionals in 2010 at UCLA, which was how you used to qualify for Regionals before we had the Open! I guess they are calling it “Semifinals” these days but it will always be Regionals to me 😉
When we moved back to Michigan after having my first son, I had a few troubles. First, we had a hard time finding a gym as we had pretty high standards with coaches and culture after being at 2 of the best CrossFit gyms around.
I eventually accepted the fact (after being at 3 different gyms) I was going to have to drive a bit farther to 8 Mile and I’m so glad I did. Fun Fact: I coached at 8 Mile while I was pregnant with my second son and a little while after he was born, too!
Second, I had a lot of postpartum body struggles. I tried to figure out how to heal myself but the information 9 years ago was a mess. So, once I found quality help and found my way back, I took my own troubled journey and started a business helping pregnant and postpartum athletes. I became who I needed years ago. I have my CF-L2 and I am also a Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach. If I had more time, I would love to coach CrossFit classes again but, for now, I am busy with my clients & work projects and spend the rest of my time driving my boys to a million sports:)
Why you continue to do CrossFit:
It’s been almost 20 years of doing CrossFit and I love it more than ever, even compared to my glory days of competition. Grows fonder with age and motherhood 😉
I had lots of ups and downs, setbacks, and uncertainty about my body for almost 7 years with 2 c sections and a full abdominoplasty to fix my severe diastasis. I went from a competitive athlete to someone that didn’t understand her own body, so my workouts looked a bit different throughout this time.
So now, in this current season, I am so incredibly grateful anytime I can walk in the gym and feel free. I would have never believed back then that I could be this happy, feel this good, and be able to set some lifetime PRs at 41 with just training 4 hours a week.
I believe that challenging yourself each week and doing things that scare you, makes you stronger for all of life’s challenges.
And, last but not least, health is wealth. We have nothing without our health, and while we cannot control everything, I want to control what I can. Keeping up my strength and keeping my heart healthy is going to help as I age, especially with perimenopause and menopause. Everything out there says how important it is for women to lift heavy, do plyometrics, and get in short and intense workouts. Feels good to have one box checked, so I can focus on the other challenges that come with aging.
Favorite Movements: Lunges, Toes to bar, Bench press, Cleans, and Ring Muscle Ups
Least Favorite Movements: Air Dyne, Rope Climbs, Back Squats
Goals:
A goal for my goals is not to rush them – enjoy the process and have FUN!
Move with intention & integrity – always strive to move better when training
One day, I want to look like a gymnast when I do muscle ups
Figure out wall facing HSPUs
Fix my snatch so it looks pretty pretty & I can start adding weight again
Add 10 pounds to my clean and jerk
Add a little weight to my bench, back, and front squat & keep up my overall strength as I age.