Athlete Profile: Helen White

Here's a quick profile on Helen White.  Helen joined CFDV in December and has seen some big gains since she started (she's modest, trust me!).  Enjoy!

I joined CrossFit in early December 2008. My connection is Mary Martin. I saw Mary in November and commented on how great she looked. I asked what she was doing and she told me a little about CrossFit.

I've been an active member of the Community YMCA for years and routinely worked out 5-6 days a week. Most of the work was cardio though I'd make lame attempts at strength training now and again. I've always struggled with my weight and have gained and lost, lost and gained the same 15-20 pounds over and over again. Essentially, I was working out to maintain my 15 pounds overweight!

This last summer was bad - I put on about 10 pounds. I was uncomfortable, my clothes didn't fit right and I just felt fat. As a woman in my 40's (OK, late 40's), it's more difficult to take weight off, especially in the stomach area. Though I continued with my routine at the Y, I was getting nowhere. Enter CrossFit.

I contacted Mary for more information about what she was doing and she put me in touch with Rob. We arranged an initial visit to CFDV where I thought I'd stop in, take a look around and maybe get a brochure or something. Next thing I know, Rob has me doing squats, pull ups, push ups and rowing. I wasn't sure who was more nuts - him or me!  But, there was something about CFDV that intrigued me. I signed up for a 10 pack session to get a better feel for what it was all about.

I'm a casual athlete at best (bar league softball, bowling) and have really never had any intense type of training. The WOD's are challenging and, well, downright scary. I never thought I'd have the capacity to participate much less complete the work outs. The encouragement and competitive spirit of the CFDV community is awesome. I've not experienced anything like that before.

I came into CFDV with some specific weight loss goals and, in the short time I've been there, have started to see results. I've even seen some improvement in my abilities. One of the things I like about CFDV is the willingness to scale WOD's to an individuals ability. There's so much more satisfaction in completing a work out at a level you can, than being frustrated trying to do something you can't. The attention provided by the trainers at CFDV make the experience even better.

So far, the overall experience at CFDV has been fabulous. I look forward to learning more, increasing my abilities and achieving the weight loss I have in mind.

Comments

[Tom C.]

Awesome Profile Helen. It was a pleasure to be your partner for last Saturday's Tabata Fight Gone Bad. Your desire and committment were contagious and helped motivate me for my rounds. Keep up the good work.

[Lizann]

Helen -- you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for and your committment to fitness is an inspiration to me. I truly enjoy working out with you and the rest of our gang. Keep up the good work -- you look great,

[Owen]

Helen,

you've really been killing it with these workouts, and your attendance has been uninterrupted!

way to come out strong and stay with it!

[Ally]

Helen, you rock!! Kepp up the good work! See ya at the gym! :)

[Mary]

Way to go Helen. I was initially focused on weight loss but eventually just focused on getting stronger and I began losing inches. Clothes got lighter and then all of the sudden the weight was gone as well.

Keep pushing yourself and do not be afraid to take it to the next level (i.e. blue band). You can always adjust when it gets too hard BUT if you do not try you will never know.

[Helen]

Thanks for the support everyone - I really appreciate it!!!

[Colleen]

Congrats on your accomplishments so far. No one can deny your dedication Helen. Keep up the hard work because it certainly is paying off!

[Matt Smith]

Way to go Helen! Progress is what its all about! With effort comes results. Keep up the good work!

[Danielle]

Great job Helen!! I hope I can do as well as you some day.