I started CrossFit at the age of 17 in the hopes of attaining a super lean body for aesthetic purposes only. A few months into my fitness journey, I realized that that was no longer my end goal. I wanted to be strong, physically and mentally. I wanted to push myself and test my limits to see just what my body was capable of.
CrossFit became an obsession. It was the only thing that I would talk about with my friends and family. When I first started, I was super shy and introverted and lacked any confidence. Day by day, I’d challenge myself to learn new movements that seemed impossible. I can still remember major firsts—like the first time I’d ever clean and jerked over 200 lb, my first Bar Muscle Up, or the first time I’d ever fully ascended the pegboard. Along with these major feats came the cultivation of my personal standard of beauty. I no longer wanted to be extremely lean. I wanted tree trunks for legs, boulders for shoulders, and huge pipes for arms. My love for the sport of bodybuilding began to grow.
Dana Linn Bailey was one of the first female competitors that I came across. As I venture off into bodybuilding, I still look up to her to this day. I loved her athletic, feminine, and strong shape. I loved that with her shape she was still capable of being fully functional and incorporated different training methods into her plan. I began to train separately from CrossFit, doing more traditional styles of training, and discovered that I may have the potential to compete. This summer 2021, I will be stepping on stage for the first time as a figure competitor that still trains and competes within the CrossFit community.
Both styles of training give me different feelings and forms of release. The CrossFit community is an extremely friendly atmosphere that incorporates a community like no other. Some of my favorite memories are hitting PRs in front of a crowd of people and the energy that surrounds it. On the flip side, while I’m training for my show, I have a completely different mindset. I’m a lot more concentrated and focused about the workout at hand. I’m very serious about my bodybuilding training. Although I have not stepped on stage yet, I have a hunger to be the best that I can be and I can’t wait to showcase my hard work.
I am also a CrossFit coach. Coaching others is a feeling that is somewhat indescribable. I love watching new members who live an almost sedentary life come in their first day full of excuses transform themselves within the span of a few months. Seeing members hit their first muscle-ups or clean up their form on compound and Olympic lifts or even shed 10 lb gives me a feeling of gratitude that God used me as a tool to better someone else’s life, even if it was for only an hour a day. The members are like my family and I care about them in and out of the gym. I love hearing about things that they’ve accomplished outside of the gym as well.
Aside from bodybuilding and CrossFit, I’m currently in school to become a dental hygienist. You can find me at your local live music bar with a crisp raspberry sour or a bold stout in hand, or hiking and venturing with my dog, Hendrix. I love books based on historical fiction of the WWII period.
I look forward to you all following my journey as I step on stage this summer and as I compete within the CrossFit community in my off-season. Thanks for welcoming me into Animal.
