Had I known anything about CrossFit, I would never have walked through the door at CrossFit IF and met Sandra Large and that would have been a huge mistake!

In 2008, I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and dysautonomia.  Over the years, with changes in work, activities, and medications my health was up and down. In 2016, I was working full-time and barely making it through dinner. I was told to exercise as tolerated…..which meant not to expect much.  But my mirror told me my body was atrophying and I needed to do something!

Then I met with Sandra! She gave me hope. At that point, I couldn’t do a single sit-up or push-up and would show up at 5:00 after work feeling poorly.  Had Sandra not been so positive and encouraging, I would have given up! My initial goal was simple, do one more of anything than I did the last time. Sandra was always kind and supportive. She seemed to always know what I could handle and when I could handle more.   Orthostatic hypotension was one of my more problematic symptoms and I had trouble keeping my blood pressure up during workouts resulting in double vision, nausea, unsteadiness, inability to walk a straight line, and headaches.

Fast forward 8 years and nearly 71 years of age, my neurologist told me quite firmly not to stop doing what I am doing! I’ve dropped medication and support hose to keep my blood pressure up. I am now strong and managing my disorder rather than letting it manage my life! CrossFit workouts with Sandra allowed me to build vascular and cardio strength and manage my dysautonomia symptoms.  Stronger muscles support veins which increase blood flow as does a strong heart muscle. Challenging workouts sometimes cause my blood pressure to drop.  With CrossFit and Sandra’s help, I’ve learned strategies to bring my BP back up that are much more effective than anything doctors told me and serve me well in keeping me going whenever and wherever symptoms arise.

If I stopped here, it would be only half the story.  As an educator, I always promoted a community of learners in a classroom.  Anyone walking into a Cross Fit I.F. class would see a model community!  A group of people with a wide range of abilities working toward the same goal, doing exactly what each needs to grow and get stronger.  Everyone is accepted, respected, encouraged, and supported by the group ranging from young adults to seniors. Thank you, Sandra, for promoting and building such a community, and to everyone for all the incredible support and encouragement I’ve gotten on my journey.

As a result of CrossFit IF, I have a wonderful community that I am a part of; I am stronger than I ever hoped to be; and I am the healthiest I’ve been since 2008! My quality of life has improved dramatically thanks to Sandra, CrossFit I.F., and everyone in the community.

I am blessed!

I started my fitness journey one evening at a family dinner where I was talking to my oldest brother about wanting to get in shape. He said, if you're serious... contact Sandra Large. So I did, and I started working with her at Anytime Fitness. We would meet a few times a week and she would work individually with me using resistance bands. After a few months, the inches started to drop and I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon. Sandra coached me from start to finish and I met my goal of running the whole thing without stopping. I saw the confidence start to build in myself, and how making goals was important to healthy lifestyle changes. I vowed to stick with this new life and followed Sandra through all her endeavours from the small group training out of the fitness room at her home, to her outdoor boot camp facility, to the Crossfit shed, and finally to the new Crossfit box.

Recently, I added Always Forward Nutrition and have gained a whole new understanding of loving my body. You don't know what you don't know, and that is so true with nutrition. I have learned how my body reacts and what I need to be healthy. These are skills I can take with me as I navigate my 40's and beyond.

The absolute best part of my fitness journey is the family I have made through this community. Coaches who are responsive, smart and who want the very best for you. I have pushed myself outside my comfort zone and done things I never thought I could with their help. From 1/2 marathons, to sprint triathlons, to Crossfit competitions. My fitness family, and Sandra, have been supportive and there for me through it all. 

For me, the summer of 2022 was one of many hardships that were taking a toll on my life.  I knew a change needed to be made. My Crossfit experience started when I came to watch a class and knew I needed this whole community in my life. The Crossfit IF community and coaches are welcoming, supportive, and caring.  I have seen a multitude of positive changes happen, including increased strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and control.  With Jessica's help at Always Forward Nutrition,  I have become more aware of my nutrition, making healthier choices to fuel my body. Crossfit has made me a better person, a stronger woman, more patient mother, and a more determined individual.   I want to be able to watch my son grow into a beautiful human and see him succeed and change the world.  My improved health is allowing me to do this.  I am so grateful that Sandra and the whole Crossfit IF crew are in my life.  The love, support, laughs, connections, knowledge, and successes are truly life changing.  Thank you friends ❤️❤️

For me CrossFit started out as a way to stay in and get into better shape.  It has given me so much more than that!  I've not only improved my physical condition and appearance, I also became a member of a community that supports and cares for me and everyone in it.  I truly look forward to going there every day to workout and be with my CrossFit family!

Before becoming a wife and a mom, I led a very active lifestyle: I was a full-time student, an Army veteran, I played on multiple softball and volleyball teams, and I would go to the gym when I felt like it. Fast forward a couple years to the year 2020 and I had found myself just completely fed up with how things were going. I was a young mom of a 2-year-old and an infant, my husband was deployed, I worked full-time around Covid, multiple child care set-ups, and I felt like I just had no time to focus on myself anymore. I wasn't comfortable with what I saw in the mirror and my energy level was at an all time low. Something needed to change. 

A goal of mine has always been to be a surrogate mother for someone... so I applied. Only to be turned down right away because my BMI was too high. I needed to lose at least 15 pounds in order to be right at the edge of being eligible. At the time I thought "well, that's it. I guess it's just never going to happen."  But then I remembered how my friend from high school, Jessica, was always sharing things about CrossFit and how it changed her life for the better.  I had nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain.  So in the middle of Covid, child-care chaos, and "single-parenting" it, I joined. I wanted it and I was determined to find a way to make it work. And believe me when I say that it has been more rewarding than I could have ever dreamed of. 

In my first eight months of CrossFit, I not only lost the 15 pounds needed to move forward in my surrogacy journey, I lost an extra 40 pounds on top of it! With the help of Sandra with CFIF and Jess with Always Forward Nutrition, I lost enough weight to where I was so extremely proud of myself. I felt amazing, I fit into the same clothes I was wearing in my student/Army days, I performed at work better, I slept better, things just started to really fall into place. Best of all, my kids got to see all the healthy steps that I took/am still taking to this day in order to reach my goals. I gained muscle, an abundance of nutritional knowledge, a community of friends that quickly turned into family, and on November 17th, 2023, I delivered an 8 lb. 8oz baby boy for a family that was unable to have a baby on their own. 

CrossFit - Inspiring Fitness is unlike any gym I've stepped foot in before.  Everyone cheers you on, everyone is interested, no one is competing against ANYONE but themselves, and they notice when you don't show up or if something is weighing on you. Absolutely everyone there has a story or a goal they are working towards.  To be part of that is truly a blessing and I will call CFIF my "CrossFit home" for life.

After I had my second baby, I found myself feeling the lowest that I'd ever felt, emotionally, mentally and physically.  It was time to carve out some time for myself, find a healthy outlet for my stresses and figure out who the heck I was.  I had a few friends that were already a part of Sandra's gym and finally bit the bullet and reached out to her.  The first thing that I said to Sandra was, "I don't do this stuff" and I am pretty sure her response was, "Well, you will!"  Well, 9 years later, I am still here plugging away and I love it!  It isn't always easy.  I have days, weeks and months where I am struggling but there is always a team behind me cheering me on, encouraging me and believing in me.  I have three daughters that I work hard to show how important it is to take care of your mind and body.  That strong is beautiful.  That we can do hard things.  They have seen me struggle and fail.  But they have witnessed me picking myself back up and pushing forward.  I don't know that I would have found those tools and the strength to push on without Sandra and this community she had built.  It is one of the greatest groups of individuals that I have ever been around and am fortunate enough to consider them all my bonus family!  And, when my daughter looks at me with mischief in her eye and says "Race you to it!", I think "Girl, you'd better have your running shoes on because this Mama is not going down without a fight!"

Life is a journey with many twists and turns, and fitness is really no different. My one constant for at least the last 15 years has been this gym. Sure, like most, I joined for vanity reasons, but I knew deep down that I had to fight to stay strong and healthy if I was going to beat MS. This is truly functional fitness at its finest, which translates to strength, balance and coordination that I was told I only had a 50% chance of maintaining by the age of 50. There is no doubt in my mind that my gym has played a vital role in my outcome. My nutritional coaching has simply raised the bar in my overall health journey.

It would be remiss of me to not mention the friendships here. We have such a diverse group with so many different back stories, but we all have the same goal: to support each other to be the best we can be in all aspects of life. We are truly family.

Without this place, I don't know where I'd be; but with this place and this crew, I know I can handle whatever life throws my way.