One year ago last week I met Sam. Sam was sent to us by her friend who was and still is a member with us. When I first spoke with Sam over the phone to set up a No Sweat Intro, she was hard to get a read on. I had no idea what to expect, except she stated she was overweight and needed to make a change in her life. I set a date for our meeting. When Sam walked in and I saw her, I thought to myself.. .yup she is overweight and she needs me. she needs to make a change. She needs Bionic. I hope she gives this a chance.
I was excited because I knew if she gave this a try, her life would change. I didn’t say any of this at first. We introduced ourselves and we talked. We spoke for about 45 mins. None of that conversation will be spoken about on my end because I believe it was private. In short, Sam realized she was in dire straits and needed a change. She is one of the few people I’ve ever met that was able to be that honest with herself. The fact that she could do that, which most people can’t, I knew she had the work ethic to make this change. But with the confidence of knowing she needed to make change, she was also filled with uncertainty, self doubt and the feeling of not being sure she could do CrossFit. A common misconception. I’m not sure if my words stuck with her or if she simply trusted the advice from her friend. To be honest I don’t give a shit. She started and that’s all I cared about. When we started the Foundations program, I quickly realized the entire program had to be modified for her. We were no longer going to focus on the 9 Fundamental movements of CrossFit and variations of them, but we were going to focus on basic life skills. My goal was to help her build confidence, comfort and work on short term goals. If we had that in place, the healthier life and being more “fit” would naturally follow.
When Sam started she couldn't do burpees. I taught her how to get off the ground safely without the use of support. This alone was a real struggle for her. Sam just did over 60 burpees in 7 mins last month. When Sam started she couldn’t run. It hurt her body. We started with just walking 10 meters at a time and slowly increased the distance. Now Sam leads a running group after the 6pm class each night and challenges other classes to do the same. Sam couldn’t jump rope at all and teared up the first time trying. Now she jump ropes like watching a jazzercise video from the 80’s. We started with Sam stepping up on a 10 inch box, now she gets up and over a 20in box with ease. Sam couldn’t finish a workout with sitting and resting to catch her breath, she now workouts 5-6 days a week. Sam couldn’t do a handstand when she started and now she is doing handstands and practicing walking on her hands. Sam also has recently taken up rollerskating. Sam was an introvert (at least in Bionic) when she walked in, completely uncomfortable and nervous and now her and i have an epic handshake we do whenever we see each other and has a personality that radiates throughout the entire membership.
Sam hated the idea of physical exercise. It was never something she thought she would enjoy. When we were forced to shut down due to COVID, Sam teared up at the fact that her second home wasn’t going to be there for the unforeseeable future.
What we do at Bionic is special. We help humans be better. We wouldn’t be able to do this without the members like we have at Bionic.
We should all try to be a bit more like Sam.
Read her story below her see her some pics of her transformation
“I started CrossFit last year at 300lbs. Never did any sort of exercise before this. Overweight, unhealthy, unhappy, and terrified! I hated physical activity, I grew up with parents that worked then came home and did nothing. I never knew physical activity was something to do everyday just for fun. My favorite pastime was eating large amounts of crap and not doing anything all day.
I had a friend who started CrossFit and loved it, she would rave about the box she went to, how great she felt, how amazing the programming was so I signed up to talk to a coach. I went there not prepared to change my life at all, just wanted to hangout with my friend more and as I spoke to the owner I just realized how much better life could be. I signed up for foundations that day, finished in a week and did my first WOD. I thought I was going to die but in a good way. I had never felt so powerful and strong I wanted to do it again and again and get stronger and do more! So that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve missed maybe a handful of classes, I go 6x a week, I’ve made so many new friends who love to go out and do things instead of go out to eat and do nothing. It is truly my favorite time of the day now. My life has been 100% changed for the better!
I’m currently down 84 pounds, still have a lot to go but I’m just eating right and making sure to move everyday. I even lost a shoe size! I’m so much more confident and comfortable in my own body now. I feel like the me I should have been for my whole life. I don’t know if that makes sense.
Just wanted to share a big milestone in my life with you all! I’m so glad I found CrossFit!!”
Just wanted to share a big milestone in my life with you all! I’m so glad I found CrossFit!!”
