WEDNESDAY

Here is another athlete profile on Megan Cosgrove.  She’s one of the most dedicated, hard working people in the gym and outside in her personal life.  Check it out…

Megan Cosgrove!

Where do you live?
Hauppauge! I live about 3 minutes from the gym.
 
What brought you to Thor Fitness?
A friend got me to sign up for a Spartan race in 2012. At the time, I just finished running my first half marathon and she convinced me I could handle the Spartan. I knew it was a very different kind of race, so I started asking around for advice on how to train. Someone from work told me I should do CrossFit and that it would be the best way to prepare for the unknown obstacles in a Spartan race. I had never heard of CrossFit before, so I started doing my research online and found Thor Fitness. I stalked the website for a few months before I worked up the courage to give it a try!

What were your goals? Have you achieved them?
Honestly, my original goal was to have a sexy beach bod. I was never an athlete, so I didn’t really understand goals beyond the mirror. When I was in kindergarten, my Mom signed me up for soccer and I was on the Starburst team. We had 1 game and 1 practice per week, but only got the starburst on game days. When my mom would tell me I had soccer, I would ask if we were getting candy that day and if we weren’t I didn’t want to go. The next team I was on was the Raisinets and I didn’t like raisinets so I really had no motivation to go. Needless to say, my soccer career ended at age 5. So when I started CrossFit, I actually had no idea what I was doing and had low expectations for myself in terms of actual strength. I would say that all changed within the first 3 months of coming to Thor Fitness. I was surprised at how quickly I actually picked up on the terms and basic skills and actually I think starting from the very bottom was really fun for me because I was PR’ing all the time. My goals changed without me even realizing, I just started aiming for heavier weight on certain lifts instead of worrying about my body weight. I like to think I achieved my goals in more ways than I planned – I live a much healthier lifestyle overall by training, eating right and getting enough sleep (most of the time). And I like to think I’ve earned my sexy beach bod ;).

What do you do when you are not at the gym?
I am a graduate student, currently in my third year working on my PhD in Pharmacology. Even though I am a student, I spend most of my time working in a lab doing research. I study myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which are a group of blood cancers. Patients with MPNs have high blood cell counts (red blood cells, platelets, and sometimes bone marrow failure) and many times they have bleeding or clotting complications. I study these complications in the context of MPN disease progression. It has definitely been a challenging experience so far and I believe that CrossFit has actually helped me through the process. Not only as an outlet for releasing stress, but as a constant reminder that “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

What crossfit exercise or lifts are your favorite and least favorite?
I LOVE overhead squats. Most people hate them which makes me love them even more. I don’t really like sumo deadlift high pulls. I always end up scraping my shins.
 
Any other tid bit info…
CrossFit has become such a big part of my life and so have the people I have met at Thor Fitness. There are times when I feel great and strong throughout a WOD and times when I struggle until the end and in both cases you all have been there to support me. Many of you have probably heard that I am moving to England in June and honestly having to leave Thor Fitness is going to be one of the hardest parts about moving. So until then… let’s train hard!

THIS SUNDAY IS “FRIENDS AND FAMILY DAY” AT FUSION.  FEEL FREE TO BRING A FAMILY MEMBER, BFF, CO-WORKER ECT TO EXPERIENCE A CrossFit WORKOUT AT THE 9 OR 10 AM CLASS!!!

STRENGTH:

Split jerk

5/3/1/1/1/1

CrossFit WOD:

3 rds:

21 box jumps 24″/20″ RX+ 30″/24″ L1 14″/11″

15 T2B L1 30 abmat situps

9 hspu