March 2014 Athlete of the Month – Adam Weber

February 2014 Athlete of the Month – John Chisolm

Congratulations to John Chisolm for being selected as our February 2014 Athlete of the Month!  John has showed incredible dedication over the past few months and has really come a long ways since his first day in the gym. His lifts have gone up significantly and endurance is much improved since starting at the gym.  Here’s a little bit about John along with his story:

Name: John Chisholm

Started CrossFit: April 2012

Favorite WOD: I like the ones with a lot of varied movements

Least Favorite WOD: Any with wall ball shots (they’re just evil)

Favorite Lift: Snatch

Least Favorite Lift: Overhead Squat

Story:   Things had gotten completely out of control!

Somehow I found myself weighing more than I ever had in my life.  I crossed a line I never thought I would see, much less blow through. My health was noticeably deteriorating and I was struggling to actively play with my kids.  I had tried to be a runner but just could not get hooked. I had to find a way to take back my life. I saw y’all working out at the first location by Lincoln Heights and was intrigued. Talked to a few folks and read a lot about Crossfit. I wanted to try it. My wife insisted I get a physical and permission from my doctor first. I told my doctor what I wanted to do and he said Crossfit has going to “kick my butt”. Little did I know how right he was. Participated in the first class and just felt this was for me. It was challenging, intense and a little bit fun. The coaches and people where so helpful, I was hooked. The first year I lost a substantial amount of weight, improved my diet and increase my ability to move.  I could actively participate in sports with my kids like never before. They are proud of my accomplishments.  Working out here at Mission Crossfit SA has been a huge improvement in my life. The atmosphere and support from all is tremendous.

Athlete of the Month – January 2014 – Sergio Fernandez

Those of you who train in the evening have more than likely seen Coach Junior train his Whataburger group.  This month’s Athlete of the Month got his start in that class and has gone on to training alongside some of our best athletes in the gym.  He’s certainly been a great athlete from the day he walked in the door, but his work ethic since that day his been unwavering.  His numbers continue to get better and better and he is always pushing himself and other around him to improve.  Congrats Sergio!  Keep on hitting those PR’s!

Favorite WOD: Ladder WOD’s or anything heavy.

Least Favorite WOD: Karen

Favorite Lift: Snatch

Least Favorite Lift: Jerk

DECEMBER ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: KATIE HERRERA

This month’s athlete of the month is KATIE HERRERA.  She usually comes in to the early morning classes (5/5:30AM) but also visits the occasional evening class.  Katie is one of those athletes who has made huge gains in a very short period of time.  Most recently, she completed the Whole Life Challenge and saw some great results both in body changes and in her WODs and lifts.  She’s one of the most motivated athletes we have a the gym with a hunger to continue to improve in all areas of CrossFit.  Great job Katie!!!  Keep up the good work!

Athlete of The Month – December 2013

Name: Katie Hererra

Started CrossFit: July 2013

Favorite WOD: Snatch and clean ladder, death by clean and jerk, anything with squatting, kettle bells, or box jumps

Least Favorite WOD: Any WOD involving burpees…

Favorite Lift: Snatch and any kind of squat cleans

Least Favorite Lift: Push Press

Story: I never thought I would join CrossFit. I only joined because my husband promised he would get up and workout with me every morning at 5:30am. I fully anticipated him giving up in a month and going back to my usual routine of running and going to the gym. From the first elements class with Beth, however, I started to realize I could really love CrossFit. I’m competitive by nature but not the top athlete. In class, everyone was really encouraging even when I was consistently finishing at the end of every time limit! I must have watched Rudy too much as a kid because I believe that wanting to be better and pushing yourself everyday can make you better. I’ve applied that principle to CrossFit and am slowly seeing some improvement. I love that all the coaches will constantly push me beyond what I thought was capable of and will always give me ways to keep improving.

Beth encouraged me to try Barbell Prep with Nick and I’m so glad she did. It was awesome to get more coaching around lifts I’m still struggling to perfect. I also am really glad Beth mentioned the Whole Life Challenge because it made a huge difference for me. I finally lost weight I’d been holding onto for a year and am excited to keep making gains and hopefully some more losses on the scale.

I have a ton of CrossFit goals set for myself and am motivated to come in every morning to keep pushing myself (and to make sure I can beat my husband in most WODs). I’m so grateful to all the coaches (especially Beth) for not letting me get away with giving anything less than 100% and to my husband for convincing me that I should give CrossFit a try.

WARM UP

Line Jumps

:30 Drills

Barbell Warmup

SKILL

10 min to Work Up to Max in the Following Complex:

Hip Clean + Hang Clean + Hang Clean 2” Off Ground

then…

2×1 @ 80% of that complex

WOD

“JT”

21-15-9

HSPU

Ring Dips

Pushups

Rest 2 minutes then immediately perform 50 Situps for Time