Q:How did you find out about Ballston CrossFit and what about it convinced you to join?

I’m probably one of the only people that studied themselves into CrossFit. I’ve been pretty athletic my whole life – growing up, played sports every season in high school, and football in college. Tried running some longer distances – did the Beachbody programs (P90X, Insanity), but struggled to find something that was holistic. I stumbled across Glassman’s What Is Fitness article and was sold when I realized he was the founder of CrossFit.  When I finally moved close enough to a box to make it worth it I joined right away. 

Q:How did you find out about Ballston CrossFit and what about it convinced you to join? 

When my husband was told in February 2022 that he was selected by the Brazilian Army to represent the Institution at the Inter-American Defense Board, in Washington DC, we were very happy and excited with the opportunity to live in a foreign country. This is something that we had always dreamt of. I remember one of the first things that concerned us was where we would workout. CrossFit is more than a sport for us. It is a lifestyle. While in Brazil, we started researching CrossFit gyms around some areas where we thought we might live. We Googled  and found many gyms in Maryland, DC,  and Virginia. We went to trial classes at seven different CrossFit gyms, checking the community, programming and the facility itself. I remember that Ballston CrossFit was left last because when we saw pictures on the internet and had the feeling that Ballston CrossFit was the best. We signed up for a free trial class on Saturday. When we got to the gym and entered we felt surprised because it was better than we imagined. We met Tucker, the owner, and he was so gentle and welcoming that we just fell in love. When the class started, we were introduced to the community. It was an awesome reception, everybody was so friendly that my husband and I looked at each other and said: We found it!

Q:When did you start at BCF and what were your goals going into it?

I started at BCF in July 2022 and my goals were to increase my performance because my prior experience at a gym in Brazil was not so good. We actually lost a lot of performance because the workout program was not very challenging for us. So at BCF we set some goals for ourselves: handstand walking, RMU, heavier olympic lifts, butterfly pull-ups, and for all the PRs. 

Q: What has helped you achieve success at BCF? 

Three things helped me achieve success at BCF: Programming, coaches, and community. The workout program is hard, tough and very well designed for all levels of members. We really feel challenged every workout and it definitely increased our performance in CrossFit. We have set many PRs in our lifts and our gymnastics skills! Coaches are one of the best parts. They are very attentive and professional, always correcting our positions and demanding the best from us. This is really important to help push us to another level. The community of BCF is also amazing. Friendly, nice, and gentle people that really made us feel like home since the very first moment we walked into BCF. We’ve made really good friends at BCF and we love them.

Q:What advice can you give to others that are new to CrossFit? 

Take your time, listen to the coaches and pay close attention to them. CrossFit is a very good sport to practice: It really works the whole body, but it demands patience, dedication and caution. Set some goals and work to achieve them, step by step, brick by brick. Never skip stages! Aside from building a strong body, also build a strong mind!

Q: Besides working out, what other lifestyle changes did you make outside of the gym to achieve your goals?

In order to achieve our goals, we made some changes to our lifestyle that really helped us. First of all, we changed our nutrition. We looked for a nutritionist and started following a nutrition plan to lose weight and we learned how to eat healthier. This change was key in our lives and helped us gain more performance and improve our body composition!

Q: What has been your favorite thing about Ballston CrossFit? 

Our favorite thing about BCF is the experience of making real friends and having the opportunity to share our culture, lifestyle and also to learn much more about the USA. At BCF we feel at home, we feel that we are surrounded by family. Of course the workouts are awesome, challenging, and the coaches are very professional/reliable too! The community for us is the best part. It is not easy to name one favorite thing about BCF because we just LOVE everything.

How did you find out about Ballston CrossFit and what about it convinced you to join? 

I discovered BCF via Google search. Ballston CrossFit was voted as best CF locally and its proximity to my apartment was what initially made me reach out. I reached out to Tucker and after a 1:1 session we would gauge how much of the CF standards I was able to complete successfully.  He was patient, and was as excited that I was able to pick it right up.  He gave great direction and at one point said I was “very coachable”, which meant a lot. Meeting the coaches at my first few classes and the friendliness of the members was really the key to my desire to fully commit to BCF.

When did you start at BCF and what were your goals going into it? 

I started July 2022.  My initial goals were to lose weight, decrease body fat (BMI) and increase muscle mass, and to seriously improve my health overall.  I have a family history of diabetes and it is important to me to be as healthy as I can possibly be. 

What has helped you achieve success at BCF?  

The coaches are great, so helpful and knowledgeable, fun, and caring.  They notice your progress and improvements, even when you think no one does.  After one class recently, a coach said to me “Hey Steph” and made an hourglass motion with her hands and said “looking good”.  I almost cried, as I have lost 20 lbs and was so happy someone noticed.  It was a great feeling. Getting “fist bumps” on SugarWOD is pretty awesome too.

What advice can you give to others that are new to CrossFit?  

KEEP AT IT!! DO NOT QUIT!!  Scaling part of the workout is never, ever a bad thing or something to be embarrassed about.  

Besides working out, what other lifestyle changes did you make outside of the gym to achieve your goals?

Changing my eating habits, tracking macros, drinking enough water, rest days, and getting enough sleep. 

What has been your favorite thing about Ballston CrossFit? 

Where do I start??  Tucker is great, his initial meeting with me was instrumental in my decision.  The coaches are wonderful, funny, engaging and do not let me “sandbag” the weights LOL!!  Knowing there are members I connect with who help keep me accountable, we share and celebrate our progress, and give encouragement to one another. 

I have been active all my life.  I was an accomplished wrestler in grade school and high school.  Then I turned to running mid- to long-distances after college.  I have run in approximately 50 competitive races, with about a dozen of 10 miles or more (3 half marathons).  I turned to long-distance biking about 15 years ago and have competed in a few Gran Fondo races, the longest being a 75-mile climb from Vancouver to Whistler.  Recently, I have completed a few sprint triathlons, which has been a nice challenge.

But as I was approaching 60, I felt like I needed to shake things up and shock my body into being more fit.  I have never really done high-intensity training, nor extensive weightlifting, but thought that the CrossFit path would be a good change to my exercise regime. The sign on Glebe Road advertising the free Saturday WOD caught my attention, and I showed up for a session.

Before joining BCF a little more than a year ago, I did not know a burpee from a box jump from a double under.  Now that I do, it doesn’t mean I have to like them, but I am getting better at each.  My technique in weight training is also better and each month I feel my endurance and mobility are improving.  I am also going beyond just trying to complete the WODs and challenging myself to reach PRs and attempt Rx level routines.

My motivation comes from the encouragement of the coaches, as well as the enthusiasm shown by my fellow BCF members. I have some challenging goals for 2023, including completing a new weight training PR each month, attempting at least one Rx WOD every other month, and finding the technique to string together 30 double-unders uninterrupted.

It’s always nice when our athletes make their fitness functional. Faith used CrossFit to help train for her marathon. Not only did she PR her marathon time by 39 minutes, she also maintained consistency in coming to CrossFit. Here’s what she had to say about the experience:

When I ran my first marathon in April of 2022, I just wanted to finish. I ended up running a 4:14 in Nashville, and though I had completed my goal of finishing, I was completely humbled by the experience. I hit the notorious “wall” at mile 20, decided to walk a quarter mile (worst mistake), and then really had to dig deep to get myself to run at all in the final few miles. After the race, I felt fueled by the breakdown. I knew I wanted to come back stronger and faster, and truly “race” the distance instead of just trying to make it to the finish line. BCF was a huge part in making that happen! 

Unlike my first marathon, I embraced CrossFit as part of my training as opposed to shying away from it. In fact, I even competed in my first competition, the Scaled Comp at CrossFit Route 7, throughout my training cycle! Continuing to train at BCF helped me build strength, speed, but also the community I needed to stay engaged and motivated. I’d constantly be asked how my training was going by coaches and my other BCF pals, and many of them offered to run with me throughout my training. Huge shoutout to Paul F. for running with me after work in D.C. and for Swoo for waking up for those early Saturday runs. In helping me training, Swoo even accomplished a neat feat of his own – running the longest distance he’s ever ran at 8 miles! It’s amazing to have a community that really wants to help you succeed in the gym and beyond.

I felt stronger and faster in every sense during my second marathon this past October in Atlantic City, racing it in 3:36. THANK YOU to everyone at BCF who supported me along the way. It truly means a lot!