CrossFit tends to attract athletes who were competitive in high school or college not only for that friendly competition amongst your peers, but also for the camaraderie that being part of a team brings. Being a competitive swimmer during her college years, Emily has mentioned she needed a break from competitive sports for awhile, but was dragged in to try a class by her brother Will and she was off and running from there! Emily joined our community in the summer of 2016, and amazingly kept coming back … with how “warm” it can get on the 3rd floor during those mid-summer classes and all.
It has been incredible to watch Emily’s progression in just about every aspect of her fitness, from her pacing and endurance during workouts to her gymnastics skill work and the weight on her barbell lifts. As part of Team Ashton, Emily regularly has the pleasure of competing against her brother’s, father’s and mother’s time during our daily workouts … an updated version of “Family Game Night”. She will be leaving us for fairer lands south (aka Philadelphia) in a month’s time, but we wish her all the best and hope to see her stopping in soon!
- Member since: August 2016
- What is the biggest change you have seen in yourself since you started CrossFit? My ability to challenge myself to do things I’ve never tried or can’t even come close to doing when I start. I’ve always been goal oriented, but getting to focus on specific movements or skills has been a fun challenge for me. I also just feel physically healthier and more fit.
- What is your favorite lift? Back squats! I like that the bar stays in one place throughout the lift and you have to move your body, versus other lifts where you’re moving the bar itself.
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being livid, how upset were you that it took time for folks to figure out your Halloween costume? Let’s set the record straight… Brian was the only one that didn’t understand the costume. But yes, I’d still say in the moment it was a 10. Not sorry about it.
- Why do you CrossFit? Two reasons: 1) I love the workout style. I get bored easily, so getting to mix up movements constantly during a workout is perfect for me. 2) The community. We have a great mix of ages, ability levels, and reasons for being here — but everyone is friendly and encouraging, and it’s just a great atmosphere. I especially like Saturday mornings for that reason — you get to cross paths with the most people!
- The improvement that you are most proud of, since joining CF13S, is… my double unders! They’ve somehow just started clicking lately and it feels so great to start stringing them together after so much practice (and a few instances of catching the rope wrong and whipping myself…) — they’ve been a goal of mine for awhile. Next up, pull ups…
- Do you have a favorite CF13S memory/moment? Weirdly it might have to be Murph last year. It started pouring during my class’s first mile run and we were all drenched by the time we got back into the gym… which actually kind of made the workout more fun. A close second is Right Left Center at the Halloween party.
- What is your favorite movie? No specific favorite, though I like thrillers and anything that makes you think (Inception, The Prestige), but I’m also a shameless sucker for any rom-com/Nicholas Sparks-type movie. Also, non-movie, but I recently got on the Game of Thrones bandwagon and have been flying through that.
- What is something most of our members do not know about you? My high school swimming 200 freestyle relay placed in the top 6 teams in the nation my senior year… but my first time at Nationals, I disqualified in my only event!
- Any advice for people just getting started? 1) Keep an open mind and positive attitude towards this!! I’ll be the first to admit I was anti-CrossFit before I joined. I swam competitively throughout college and heard all of of the rumors about CrossFit, but after I graduated my brother finally convinced me to come to a Saturday morning (shoutout to Dan for being my first coach) and it was, to my pleasant surprise, very similar to the cross-training workouts I’d done at school. Our parents are now members too — on rare occasions we’re even all there at the same time. 2) Start somewhere. Every person in here has his/her strengths and areas for improvement – but everyone is working towards being better, and this is a great community. I love that it’s a truly no-judgment zone and it doesn’t matter what your ability level is. The important thing is to first step in the door!
