What brought you to Ganbatte and what keeps you here?

I’ve always been athletic, hitting the gym regularly and playing sports growing up, but once I finished school, I started just working out/lifting at my local gym.  Working out by yourself, for lack of a better word…sucks!  It was tough to motivate myself continually to go to the gym, simply for what turned out to be maintenance and no real strength or flexibility gains.   I had heard about Crossfit from a few friends of mine that were also gym-goers, but it was always with this sense of awe.  I was honestly a little terrified of Crossfit.  I couldn’t fathom that someone like me, just an “amateur” athlete, could compete with these elite athletes, or even do a comparable workout.  A couple years go by, and I’m talking with my now roommate.  He mentions possibly getting into Crossfit and so I said why not.  I started looking around and found several gyms in the area, but for some reason I just didn’t like the look of them or didn’t feel right.  Then I found CFG online.  It was close to where I work, so I looked a little deeper and noticed intro classes were free, so I sent JP an email asking to come check it out.  The intro classes destroyed me.  I was not prepared, but I LOVED it!  It was the challenge I never knew I was looking for.  Better still, JP was fantastic, motivating and pushing but only as much as I could handle at that time (ok, maybe a little more).   I was hooked from day one and signed up after the second intro class, still not exactly sure what was to come, but excited about the challenge.

I love how we are always changing things up at CFG.  Just when you think you’ve nailed an exercise, we move on to something else.  Or the myriad of different lifting moves that we do on a weekly basis.  I especially love how the workouts are almost never the same.  There’s always something new to learn or to revisit and improve upon.  Probably the biggest thing that keeps me around is the people I’ve made friends with.  Looking back on my experience at CFG now, and my previous gym experiences, I can say with certainty that a community was what I was missing and I’ve found that here at CFG.  We have a great group of people who are there to work hard, but yet have a great time doing so with friends and that’s awesome.

If you could name a benchmark after yourself what would it be?

It would be called “End-game” (make sure to eat a big breakfast), and consist of the following:

40 min timecap

400m row

50 Deadlifts @ 135/95

50 Pushups

150m run

40 Weighted Situps @ 45/25

40 Box Jumps @ 24/20

150m run

30 Pullups

30 Wall Balls @ 20/16

150m run

20 Hanging Cleans @ 135/95

20 Toes 2 Bar

150 run

10 Clean & Jerks @ 135/95

10 Burpees over Bar

200 Double-Unders

Which skill would you most like to have mastered in time for a Zombie invasion?

Probably anything with body weight (pushups, pullups, muscle ups, running) cause during the invasion you’re going to have to carry yourself around!  If I had to pick one, it would be muscle-ups though.

What is your proudest Ganbatte memory?

I feel like there are a lot of potential proud memories.  Almost every time I do a WOD Rx I feel at least a little pride in beating the challenge.  Probably my proudest memory though was several months into my membership time.  I remember having a Friday with a double 15 min WOD, each tough, but I actually did Rx and beat a couple people I usually chased in the workouts.  I had a little sick satisfaction and definitely my competitive side was psyched that I’d beaten those other athletes.  No Anthony, it wasn’t you.   It was at that point I think I recognized I was officially a “crossfitter.”

What is my current goal and what is behind it?

My goal this year is be stronger and faster than before.  Period.  I’ve always been on the thinner side, and I want to pack on some lean muscle but still stay quick and fast both with explosive body movements (cleans) and running.  I’m already a lot stronger and faster than when I started doing Crossfit and I want to just keep getting better and making improvements.  A complementary goal would be to continue working on my flexibility.  It’s god-awful….haha

Ganbatte as a verb – How do you enact it?

 This is a tough one for me… I’m a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to myself and my performance.  I push myself pretty hard sometimes.   Externally, I try to be supportive of newer people at the gym and even the veterans that might need a word of encouragement here and there.  Internally, it’s something I wrestle with. (being to hard on myself and being a perfectionist)  We’re our own worst critics right?  It’s great to have people around that recognize the difficulties and remind me not to be too hard on myself though. All you really have to do is your best!

" Her Nom Nom days =) "

What brought you to Ganbatte and what keeps you here?

I got into distance running in 2009 and was constantly looking for ways to get an edge.  I always ignored the running experts’ advice to “cross-train” because I couldn’t fathom taking a day off running to waste time doing something I perceived as inferior exercise.  But CrossFit starting popping up more and more in trail running magazines and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I visited a few boxes in the area and didn’t like their vibes.  Then one day I found CFG on a Google search.  When I came by that night I felt like I had arrived on a different planet where everyone was bizarrely nice and smiled even though they were doing weird things with kettlebells.  I remember watching Susan Sanders do pull-ups and was convinced she must have been an Olympic athlete or something. Instead of pushing a membership on me, JP talked to me about running shoes and dogs for like 30 minutes (which is the way to my heart), so I signed up.

The genius of CFG is that there are a million things working together to keep you coming back without you even realizing they’re happening:

•  I get to meet and be around badass people who make me feel better about the world and whom I never would have met without CFG.  I also want to give a shout out to the 6am crew who may never get their pictures posted on the website but who inspire me and who start my day off with fun and positivity. . . and sometimes dancing.

• The more I learn the more things I realize I need to work on!  Getting a stronger squat means I need to work on better hip and ankle mobility, or improving dips or running form means I need more core strength, or nailing a snatch means practicing timing and foot position over and over. Your work is never done!

• Even though I will never run out of things to work on, experiencing constant, measurable results feels awesome (and is highly addictive).

• As a woman, CFG has changed how I view myself.  Society tells us ladies and that being strong is a weakness.  A month ago my dad came to visit and wouldn’t let me carry his freaking suitcase to the car even though his hands were full.  Besides being furious to the point of combustion (it weighed 50lbs.  think about all we can do with 50 freaking pounds), it made me appreciate that I have people encouraging me everyday to lift heavier things and cheering for me when I do.

If you could name a benchmark after yourself what would it be?

“Achy Breaky Heart”

For time: 1,137 DUs.  11 and 37 are my lucky numbers and I did a jump rope routine to that song when I was 9.

What skill would you like to have mastered in time for a Zombie invasion?

Any movement where I have to start lying on my back: V-ups, floor presses, heavy Turkish get-ups.  I sleep really deeply and don’t usually wake up for anything, so I’d like the ability to get up really quickly or push off something heavy, like a Zombie trying to eat my face.

What is your proudest Ganbatte memory?

Growing up I was always told girls couldn’t do pull-ups (especially tall ones like me) and in school I could never do one to get the President’s physical fitness award. My proudest moment was the first WOD I did without using a band for pull-ups.  Against my protests, Coach JT and Coach Jade made me ditch the band. I tore my hands up pretty bad that day, but haven’t turned back.

What is your current goal and what is behind it?

I’m giving myself until April 16th to really improve my gymnastics movements, especially HSPUs, ring dips, chest to bar, and maybe even a bar muscle up.  I had resigned myself to always be weak at those movements, but April 16th is the day I hurt my knee last year and I want to prove to myself that I can come back stronger and better than before.

I’m also trying to be more intentional in working with other people.  I have loner tendencies, so I’m looking forward to the Ragnar Relay in April and the 1st Annual Ganbatte Grand Canyon Rim to Rim crossing in October (talk to me if you want in on that one!).

Ganbatte as a verb-how do you enact it?

I’m a perfectionist, so the idea of Ganbatte (do your best) has been something I’ve struggled with.  There are definitely times in my life where I have avoided or put off doing things because I didn’t think they could be done perfectly or because I was afraid of being a failure.  CrossFit and the CFG culture have really challenged that mentality.

Ganbatte says to me that most of life is really “3-2-1-GO.”  That at any given moment we are just as we are, so there’s no point in wishing we were someone else or smarter or better looking or didn’t have that extra glass of wine the night before.   That getting in there and taking on hard things is where real satisfaction lies. And people around you should be embraced as allies and will help get to where you want to go.

She pushes and inspires!

You will be seeing her a lot in the floor interning with us

What brought you to Ganbatte and what keeps you here?

One of my best friends started doing Crossfit up in San Jose, and I saw he was getting really good results.  He showed me this video on Youtube explaining what Crossfit was, and wondered if it was something I could ever get close to doing.  I never considered myself an “athlete”, mostly because I never did any group type classes or workouts.  I spent a lot of time at the gym, but always found myself getting really bored and only seeing minimal results.  What interested me most about Crossfit was seeing that it was never the same workout, and the fact that we do “functional” movements that help us outside of the gym was also a plus.  After deciding to take the plunge and look at local CrossFit boxes, I found Ganbatte on Yelp.  Every review talked about how much more than a box Crossfit Ganbatte was – and that it was more like a family.  What keeps me at Ganbatte is more than just the workouts and results.  It’s the fact that when you come into the box it’s not even like training or working out.  It’s more like hanging out with your friends and family who always encourage you, cheer you on, and always try to help you be better.  And the fact that I’ve seen more results in 6 months than I ever saw in 3 years at a regular gym makes me realize I made the right choice.

If you can name a benchmark WOD after yourself, what would it be?

If I could name a benchmark WOD after myself, it would probably be something like this:

A 30minute  AMRAP of the following:

- 400M Run

- 20 Thrusters

- 20 Push Ups

- 20 Weighted Situps

- 20 Air Squats

In addition to being a physical workout, this is also a mental challenge.  There’s no better feeling than finishing a workout that challenges you so much physically and mentally.

Which skill would you most like to have mastered in time for a Zombie invasion?

I’d like to master the box jump.  Not because I think being able to jump on a box would save me, but the agility and explosive strength you get from box jumps are amazing.

What is your proudest Ganbatte memory?

It’s hard to choose my proudest Ganbatte memory.  I would have to say it’s the collective memory of my “firsts” – first pullup (I could never do pull ups before), first 1-mile run under 8 minutes, first time I actually finished the WoD, and the first time I finished the “Angie” workout – 100 Pull Ups, 100 Push Ups, 100 Sit Ups, and 100 Squats in 28:51.

What is my current goal and what is behind it?

I have a few goals, both short term and long term.  My current immediate goal is to complete a full Marathon.  I’m currently registered for the LA Marathon on March 17^th, 2013 and am training as hard as I can for it. After the marathon, I hope to do a triathlon. Long term, I want to continue living healthy, eating healthy, and Crossfitting.  Crossfit and especially Crossfit Ganbatte have given me a new lease on life.  I feel like a completely different person now, and know I can handle anything life throws at me.

Ganbatte as a verb – How do you enact it?

I try to live Ganbatte in everything I do.  The best part about Ganbatte is that we get pushed to do our best in the box, which translates into doing our best outside of the box.  All the functional movements we do that make us stronger for our workouts, make us stronger for life.  My mental attitude has changed from “can’t do” to “let’s do this”.  I didn’t believe I could do half the Crossfit moves when I first started. Now that I can, the confidence I have gained makes me wanted to “do my best” in everything I do – in my relationships, work, and in life.

John 1 month prior to ganbatte

John few years back

John now... LIKE A BOSS!!

What brought you to Ganbatte and what keeps you here?

To be honest I hated Crossfit.  I knew nothing about it but the people who were into it wouldn’t stop talking about it.  On my birthday my friends bought me a 1 month pass to Ganbatte.  I didn’t want to go at first but felt obligated to go.  One of my first WOD’s was Karen.  I almost died.  I think I was only about 50 wall balls in and thought about quitting.  That’s when JP and Jade both came over and helped me with my breathing.  I somehow managed to get through Karen.  Everyone cheered me on and congratulated me after the workout.  The coaches and the athletes completely changed my mind game during the WOD.  I went from wanting to quit to being determined to finish.  So from day 1 the coaches and athletes have continued to push me and motivate me.  That’s what keeps me here and the reason I continue to come back.  It doesn’t hurt that this really hot girl named Maggie goes to Ganbatte too.

If you can name a benchmark WOD after yourself, what would it be?

I would call it the Upper Body Test!  It would be an AMRAP consisting of 100 Push Press @135 lbs, 100 Bench Press @135 lbs, 100 Push Ups (Chest must touch the ground and full extension at the top). I’d probably throw in a run after each movement.  In the words of JP “the run is your rest”.  I’m not sure I could finish this WOD but I’d like to try.

Which skill would you most like to have mastered in time for a Zombie invasion?

I’d like to master the Muscle Up.  I think the Zombie would run away from me if he saw me doing a Muscle Up.

What is your proudest Ganbatte Memory?

Some of my proudest memories at Ganbatte are beating Game Day and Jade in the WOD.  Jk.  My proudest moment to date is completing the Half Marathon.  Ganbatte prepared me mentally for the 2:04:38 Mind Frug.

What is my current goal and what is behind it?

My current goal is to improve on the movements I hate.  I’m tired of coming into the box and seeing a WOD that has over head squats, box jumps, double unders, deadlifts or pull ups.  When I see those movements on the board I know it’s going to suck.  I want to be able to come into the gym and like every movement on the board.

Ganbatte as a verb - How do you enact it?

I try not to let 1 bad workout get to me.  Every day is a new workout.  I always try my best but it always helps to have coaches and athletes that genuinely want to see you succeed.

Chris finishing his first half marathon. - LA half marathon 2:04:38 his biggest accomplishment for 2012.

With his half marathon team.

It doesn’t hurt that this really hot girl named Maggie goes to Ganbatte too.