Success Stories

After graduating college and moving 300 miles away from home, I found myself in a fitness rut. This was the first time in eighteen years that I was not a part of a team and felt lost without the support and bond of a team , which I had grown accustomed to while running cross country and track in college. I accepted the fact that my “glory days” of running were over and joined a run-of-the-mill gym.
Months of 5lb dumbbell curls in a smelly room of meatheads I finally attended a free class at Ballston CrossFit. The camaraderie and dedication was apparent from the moment I stepped through the doors. Several days of hobbling around and being sore told me that this was the place I needed to be to get in shape.
Within the first few weeks I had achieved several physical accomplishments and, more importantly, gained numerous friendships. Each day I look forward to going to the gym, seeing friends, and setting new personal bests. The BCF coaches and members motivate you to push yourself beyond limits, setting and accomplishing goals on a regular basis. In addition to setting goals in the gym, the BCF community supports and motivates you in all other aspects of life.
I have recently begun racing again, and, much to my surprise, begun setting personal bests that were unachievable while running in college. Having only ran 3 times in the month leading up to my first half marathon I maintained a 7:00 mile pace for a time of 1:31. Most recently I achieved a lifetime goal that a year ago I considered impossible, I ran my first ever sub 20 minute 5k (setting over a 30 second personal record) with only a handful of training runs to supplement my CrossFit training!! I attribute all my running success to Crossfit. It has strengthened my entire body from head to toe and taught me how to persevere through hard workouts by relying on mental strength.

I could not be happier or more excited with my transition 8 months ago starting with Ballston CrossFit and CrossFit as a workout overall. The Coaches at Ballston Crossfit have pushed me to truly make the most of the strength components each day and challenge my limits in every WOD. When I first started, I had no idea what an Clean and Jerk was, how to do a hand stand push up or work my way to completion with one, or how proper technique combined with mobility would help me with so many movements, even with everyday life! I can say that withhard work and 8 months Crossfitting and Coaching have truly paid off; I have increased my back squat and front squat 100 lbs, I can dead lift 300 lbs, double unders have become second nature (almost 100 unbroken), I can complete pull-ups and ring dips without bands, I can even do a hand stand pushup, and when I look at the WODs every day I say to myself “I can do that!” – all of these with even better accomplishments to come. Most of all, the community and Coaches at Ballston Crossfit have given me the confidence and competitive drive to take on the 2014 Open Workouts! Eight months ago I would not have imagined being here physically, mentally or competitively; now I look at each day thinking how am I going to get fitter, better and stronger every time I set foot in BCF! 3…2…1…GO!

It is not an exaggeration to say I’m not a gifted athlete. I was always the spaz that the other athletes would run right by. My solution was to give up and over the years I got fat. I spent many years struggling with my weight through exercise and diets. I trudged for hours on robotic machines, lifted weights with no plan, and watched the needle on the scale go up.
After all those years of work, at 42 years old, I was lying in bed one night and started feeling chest pains. I ended up in the hospital with a cadre of doctors and nurses trying to figure out the medical diagnosis. They settled on a “heart event”, but I knew it was a sign that something had to change. The next day I went to a stress-test and I remember stepping onto the scale and it reading a big fat 218 pounds. I was in a haze from my night in the hospital, but I knew with crystal clarity at that moment, I was a fat guy.
At some point I heard about Crossfit and found Ballston Crossfit in June 2012. I went for a free class and decided this was going to change my life. I went through Foundations and learned most of what I thought I knew was wrong. The coaches have worked with me to ensure I’m doing things correctly and safely while pushing me to achieve greater things. Even though Crossfit has not come to me easily, I’ve found a community of athletes and coaches who want me to accomplish my goals. They push me to I succeed, but support me when I struggle. In addition to amazing coaches, BCF offers yoga, mobility seminars and nutrition challenges, so you can fix all those achy spots and learn how to feed your body for optimal fitness.
The result? I’m down to 190 pounds and still going, but I’ve stopped the yo-yo diets, the fitness fads, and the decline in my health. Crossfit frees you from the Gazelle, the Thigh Master, the Butt Blaster or whatever weird machine you are tethered to. Plus, you can ditch all those crazy diets and begin eating delicious food.
I’ve been doing Crossfit for about 18 months and I’m in the best shape of my life. If I could take on my 20-year-old-self in a WOD today, this 44 year-old-man would win! Today, I’m not even close to the strongest or fastest athlete at BCF, but I’ve worked hard and feel incredible about myself. I constantly get comments from people in my life about how fit I look these days and my daughter noticed that I have become “really really strong”. Even a spaz like me can make it at BCF.

Like a lot if people, I was a slave to cardio and thought it was the end all, be all for weight loss. I would spend hours and hours on the treadmill, running outside and on the elliptical with little success. One marathon, 3 half marathons and several other road races down, I was bored, frustrated and anxious for a change to my fitness routine. I had heard of Crossfit and had friends who had done Crossfit and swore by it, but I was a little intimidated. I had seen the games on ESPN and didn’t think I was fit enough to even try! A friend encouraged me to try the free class with her and immediately after, I was hooked.
Tucker and his coaches are all professional, encouraging, knowledgeable and interested in your goals and success. The community at the box is incredibly supportive. In 16 months, I had seen such incredible gains in my fitness that I never saw while doing strictly cardio. I went from not lifting at all to having a 305# deadlift, 250# back squat, 175# split jerk and 155# clean (to just name a few). The idea of doing a pull-up seemed laughable when I first started, but now I can complete several in a row. I have had the pleasure of competing in some local competitions, both as part of a team as an individual. I have lost about 15 pound over the last 16 months, but lost several inches overall and dropped 2 clothing sizes.
Crossfit has allowed me to challenge myself physically and mentally and I have become a part of an amazing community that encourages, supports and constantly improves it’s members. If you are considering Crossfit, do not let your fears hold you back and give it a try; you will be so incredibly grateful that you did!

I’ve tried a lot of fitness regimens, and a couple of CrossFit gyms. But I really found a home at Ballston CrossFit. The coaching is tremendous and the community is really something special. When I think of my CrossFit “success story,” a big theme is the support I’ve found at BCF.
Let’s review just how much I needed that support! When I first showed up, I was the scrawniest thing in the gym. I honestly didn’t think I could hack it. I was so weak! The weight plates were so heavy! I couldn’t do a pull-up! I had to use the little baby box for box jumps! Handstand push-ups were for alien life forms—no way would I ever be able to do one! Surely I should retreat to some girly exercise place smelling of vanilla and lavender! I might not have come back to BCF, but I saw how the group encouraged everybody. I saw trainers devoting themselves to other people’s well-being. And I saw the difference in fitness between newbies and veterans. Clearly, if I kept coming back, this thing could work.
And it did. The support helped me stick with it long enough to begin surprising myself. When that starts to happen, your fixed ideas about your capabilities fall away. Then you go from surprising yourself to amazing yourself. It really is mind over matter, and the great thing about a strong CrossFit community is that you have more than one mind working on your matter! I’m a self-motivated person, but I seriously doubt that I’d be doing these:

So my story is really about transformation, which is more than just fitness. It’s about dismantling limitations and believing in your own potential. Sometimes I look around the gym and I think: all these people have gone beyond what they thought they could do. (And awhile back, on ’80s night, we wore more shiny spandex than we thought possible, too!) And I realize: my idea of what I’m capable of has changed. And thankfully, so have the workout clothes…
The most remarkable thing may be the sense of constant progress. How many areas in life offer that? There are goals I haven’t hit yet, a lot I’m still striving for, but with all the great people who have my back, I know I’ll get there. The group lifts you up. If you’re like me, standing on top of all that support will give you a whole new view of yourself. That’s what BCF gave me. And I’m incredibly grateful for it.

After years of strenuous and competitive athletics I took a much needed break. Still young, I could eat whatever I wanted and do random runs/workouts at local gyms and still remain fit. Time went on and those things didn’t become as easy to do. When I did go to the gym I would definitely go all out, but it became easier and easier to find excuses not to go. I slowly got more and more out of shape and local running events became a lot more difficult. As I was born with a competitive gene I was seeking something to get into that would be realistic and sustainable. I had a few friends that had been doing crossfit in the area and began having incredible results. After heavily researching all the pros and cons I went to my neighborhood box for their weekly free class. After one 60 minute free class I was hooked. I signed up for foundations classes at Ballston Crossfit in February 2013.
After two months of crossfit training I ran in the 2013 Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Although not a great time, I finished in 1:37:10 without having to stop and walk and felt relatively good afterwards, considering I had done zero running training prior to the event. After registering for the 2014 Cherry Blossom I vowed to add running into my training so that I could beat my 2013 time. Well….that didn’t happen. After 14 months of consistent and regular crossfit training (and dropping 25 lbs) I went into the event again with zero running training and stressing that I would again be average and either run the same time or at best a tad better than the previous year. 2-3 miles in I felt great, 6-7 miles in still great! I didn’t start to feel anything other than great until about 8.5 miles but knew that if I got this far I could still finish strong. I shocked myself and running companions by finishing in 1:25:09, a full 12 minutes faster than the previous year.
BCF reminded me that I can push myself and my body to do things that I would never imagine possible. I have gained more confidence, agility, and strength in the past year than I have had in years. The group dynamic and dedicated coaches were the elements that I had been missing since college. I have gained amazing friendships, pride in myself and in my fitness, and will continue to push myself to be better/faster/stronger.
Thank you Tucker and Team BCF!

From Couch Potato to Crossfitter!
On New Years Day 2013 I walked into Ballston Crossfit for my first Foundations class as a 56 year old, out of shape, overweight couch potato with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I was terrified, feeling like I had no business being in a place that had the words “elite fitness” in their mission statement. I was also VERY determined to find something that would work to help me gain a better level of fitness when nothing had done that for me in 56 years.
I can honestly say I found it!
14 months later, I am fitter, stronger, more mobile and 40 pounds lighter.
When I began, I could do very little and I made major adjustments to each and every workout. But, I showed up for 3 workouts every week, knowing that if I JUST SHOWED UP, I would improve my health and fitness levels.
It all came together when in July 2013 I took a 5 mile hike in Portofino, Italy, up and down the 550 ft. vertical cliffs, a physical task I would never have been fit enough to handle prior to Crossfitting.

In January 2013 when I began Crossfitting, I could not do one air squat.
I could not do one box jump.
I could not do one handstand.
I could perform none of the weight lifting movements.
Currently, My one rep max for dead lift is 145 lbs and just the other day I did 40 deadlifts at 80 lbs.
I can now do 80 air squats.
I can now do 50 box jumps.
And I can now do one handstand (with assistance getting up onto the wall, but hey, it still counts)
I am off all cholesterol meds and aiming to reduce the high blood pressure meds next. Other benefits include more stamina, better food choices, more alertness, and I am down three dress sizes.
With the help of the supportive coaching staff, especially the owner of BCF, Tucker Jones, I conquered my fears and have made remarkable progress! The incredible community of athletes at BCF has also cheered on my success every step of the way.
I also thank my son, Adam, who is a Crossfit coach. Without his encouragement I would have NEVER joined. I thought it was some extreme workout that only highly fit folks could do. I was wrong.
Can’t wait to update you on my progress at the end of year 2! Now I’m off to train towards my 200lb deadlift and handstand!