TUESDAY
I usually do athlete profiles of individuals, but I’ve seen these three ladies form a great friendship here at Thor Fitness. They are in separable so I figured why not profile them all together. LOVE THESE GIRLS!!
Athlete profile of Meghan (Freddy), Alison, and Carissa
Where do you live?
MEGHAN: I live in Hauppauge.
ALISON: East Northport, NY
CARISSA: I live in Kings Park a nice small town; most people know it for the psychiatric center. I am really glad they let me out to come to CrossFit ha-ha!
What brought you to Thor Fitness?
MEGHAN: I am a very active person with an extremely competitive nature. I have been playing soccer competitively for 24 years, and still currently playing on three teams all year around. But playing soccer does not always fill the fitness level that I need and/or am seeking. I`ve always been thin (a bag of bones) but never really had any muscle definition (besides my legs and glutes). I`ve belonged to regular gyms before, but never got any satisfaction from working out by myself, since I am a team player. So when a girl on my soccer team asked me to join crossfit with her, I did!
ALISON: I have always been a competitive athlete and love team sports. My true love growing up has always been soccer; three ACL surgeries later, I had to give up my true passion and hang up my cleats. A friend of mine knew my competitive nature and knew the LA Fitness thing was just not making me happy. CrossFit came up in a discussion. I heard about it at the time, but didn’t know too much about it. That’s when I did a little online research and discovered Patty and Thor Fitness. Without hesitation, I made the call to Patty, which happened to be one of the best decisions I have made. The past two and a half years have been some of the best years of my life.
CARISSA: Jeez where do I begin, I was a dancer for 18 years of my life and danced competitively for 8 of those year and then stopped when I went to college. While in college I missed dance, but my college didn’t offer it so, I did the typical globo gym routine, some circuit classes and even tried being a “runner”. I hated it. I hated EVERY moment of it. I never felt excited to go work out, I was always bored, and didn’t have much motivation to go and I knew I needed to find something else. About 2 years ago, I gained some weight and I began to not be happy with myself, I felt like all I did was go to work and then back home, I knew I needed to find something that made me happy , something that made me look forward to working out. A high school friend of mine was going to Thor Fitness, and I saw her posts on Facebook frequently, but I never had the guts to try it. One day it just clicked, and I decided what the hell let me try it. I will never forget my first month of elements, and being so nervous just to walk into the gym, and then to hold a barbell jeez that even made me nervous, if I could have held Patty’s hand the whole time I would have, I was just that scared. But I got over my fears and as Patty says, I had to put on my “big girl panties” and take some risks. Now the rest is history.
What were your goals? Have you achieved them?
MEGHAN:My goal was to improve myself overall. I have increased my strength in areas I never knew possible. I am slowly accomplishing this goal but have not completely reached the level I hope to be at.
ALISON: When I first signed up for CrossFit, I’m not sure I really knew what my goals were as I really didn’t know what to expect. I was a little lost in life at the time. I knew I wanted and needed a change. I wanted to be stronger physically, and I knew this would help with my stress/anxiety. What I didn’t know or expect was how CrossFit would change my life. I have a completely different confidence about myself that I didn’t realize was even possible. My daily goal is to be a better me than I was yesterday!
CARISSA: When I first started my goal was simple, I wanted to lose weight. Now it’s so much more than that, yes I did lose weight, but I have no idea how much because I don’t weigh myself. I am not obsessed with that number and I encourage others not to be either. Now after about 1 year and half of doing CrossFit, my goals are so much different. I want to be strong, healthy & confident, and continue being part of such a great community. I want to continue to learn from everyone at the box, take the critiques and try my hardest to do better. I always joke that I have no athletic abilities, but CrossFit has helped bring the inner athlete out in me , I’ve realized I am capable of doing things I have never thought I could do.
What do you do when you are not at the gym?
MEGHAN: When I am not at the gym, I`m usually playing soccer or doing one of my many other jobs: coaching soccer, bartending, teaching, coaching middle sports. Occasionally on my down time, I try to catch up on sleep and enjoy hanging out with my family and friends.
ALISON: I currently work at CA Technologies as an Inside Sales Representative. I have been at CA for 16 years, which is also where I met my wonderful husband of 8 years. We currently do not have any children, but we do have a “Beuke” . Beuke is our 3 year old Pit Bull mix. He is the highlight of our lives at the moment. Beuke occupies most of my time. If we aren’t going for a run/walk, we are at the park or hanging out with friends/family.
CARISSA: I am playing with my crazy dog – Jax, baking or cooking, and just living life & having fun.
What CrossFit exercise or lifts are your favorite and least favorite?
MEGHAN: I like running and lunges in a WOD, being a soccer player these movement are easy for me. I have made such an improvement in many of my once hated exercises/lifts that they started to become some of my favorite; cleans, pull ups and HSPU`s. I would have to say my least favorite exercise would be rowing (damn butt cramps). My least favorite lifts would be snatches and over head squats. When I first started crossfit I would cherry pick when I saw these lifts posted, but since I am slowly improving on these lifts they`re not as bad.
ALISON: Anyone who knows me knows that rowing has a very strong love/hate relationship with me. Although, the more I improve on my row, the more I start to like it. Over-Head-Squats have become one of my favorite lifts. When I first started CrossFit, I could just about do 45# with terrible form and I was scared as anything. With a lot of hard work and dedication, I can proudly say my 1 rep max is now #110 and I can do it with a smile on my face instead of fear!
CARISSA: I love the overhead squat & snatch. I also like endurance WOD’S, they always test me mentally & physically and I love that. I hate hate hate , did I mention I hate thrusters . They always suck the life out of me.
Any other tid bit info…
MEGHAN: I`ve been a member at fusion for almost two years now, and in those two years I have not only seen huge improvement in myself and have had my fair share of frustrations/injuries. I`ve created friendships that I could have never imagined having at a gym before. The fusion family is beyond helpful with being a support system. But for me, two AMAZING ladies; Alison and Carissa have been my crossfit back bone. These ladies have been there to push me through my wods, competitions, frustrations, injuries and bad days (in and out of the gym). Without them we would not be the “Three Peas In A Wod.”
ALISON:
I have met some of the best friends a girl could ask for at Thor Fitness. Not only did I meet great friends, I have gained family. As every athlete at Thor Fitness has made some kind of positive impact on my life, Meghan & Carissa have made and impact on me that will last forever. These ladies have two of the most beautiful hearts/soles out there. I’m not sure they realize what they have both meant to me over the past year and how much I love and value our friendship. We push each other to our limits every day not only in the gym, in our daily lives as well. The trust and respect I have for both these beautiful ladies is beyond words. “Three Peas In A Wod” will last forever.
CARISSA: This may sound cheesy but I just wanted to thank my all of my buddies at CrossFit. Thank you for pushing me, cheering me on, and just being there for me. CrossFit really changed my life and I will be forever grateful.
STRENGTH:
push jerk
6 x 2
CrossFit WOD:
400 meter run buy in:
21-15-9
Front squats
kb swings
400 meter run cash out
RX 135#/85#; 53#/35#
RX+ 155#/115#; 70#/44#
L1 75#/45#; 26#/18#
EXTRA CREDIT:
5 min amrap:
10 squat cleans 95#/65#
20 situps