Christine Naclerio!
Christine has been working her butt off to get better in the gym since day 1, just about a year ago. She’s a hard worker who decided not to settle for the success she had leading up to her honeymoon, but instead came back to the gym and continued working towards more. Her hard work has stood out to the coaching staff here and has proved itself on the platform as well. Super nice, hard working, consistent and supportive, Ladies and Germs, Christine Naclerio.
Fox – So, how and why did you start Crossfit?
CN – A facebook friend had been posting about Crossfit and about how it was harder than the marathon she’d run. I took a teaser here in April of 2011 and was in. “Normal” gym routines held no interest for me and I was looking for something different. I found it here! I was engaged to my now husband, Eric, and was eager to start a new life. I was overweight and wanted to do something about it.
Fox – What were your fitness experiences like pre-CF?
CN – I was a kid athlete and played high school soccer in Miami where I grew up. In high school I was also in the weightlifting club. The coach was told that if he wanted to start a club he’d have to have females in it so he grabbed some of the sports girls and made them part of the ‘team’. We never got too much coaching, he spent most of his time on the guys, but I loved it nonetheless. It’s one of the aspects of Crossfit I really enjoy. Prior to joining CFSBK I was trying a whole bunch of things: running, videos, spin classes, but I was really bored with it. I can’t imagine going back to that now.
Fox – That weightlifting coach sounds like a tool, but it’s great that you recognized an interest in the lifts early on. What made you stick with Crossfit, as opposed to everything else.
CN – The constantly varied part really helps. It’s not the same thing day in and day out and I don’t have to think about what I’m going to do in the gym that day. I have coaches who tell me! I’m trying to get better at lots of things but push ups and pull ups are what I’m working on now. I love how Crossfit, and CFSBK in particular, is inclusive to anyone. The non-intimidating vibe here is really unique. You can have someone beasting out on a lift or WOD one minute and a few minutes later they’re smiling and introducing themselves to someone. It makes for a great community. Fight Gone Bad is a really awesome expression of that and I can’t wait to try to beat my score this year!
Fox – That’s so great to hear and never gets old. We love getting people stronger and faster, but in the end we’re most proud of our community of plain old good people. Tell me about you outside the box.
CN – I moved to New York from Miami to go to school upstate at Colgate. I was looking for seasons. We only have summer in Miami, turns out Upstate NY only has winter!….After graduating I moved to Brooklyn in 2006 and have been here since. I work in television as a kind of technical advisor for HBO. I don’t do any writing for TV but am a huge nerd about shows. I love to watch stuff and try to figure out what’s going to last. And I can analyze pretty much anything, you know, the social implications of 90210 are a big deal! The hubby and I also like biking around NYC and exploring different neighborhoods. We’ve also recently got into skiing, and I’ve always been a big fan of rollerblading. Other than that, I’ll admit that I dabble in PC games. I play strategy games like Starcraft 2.
Fox – Everyone at this gym is a nerd about something. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from the PC gamers after this! You did the paleo challenge this year and had some good results. What positive changes did you make?
CN – I was very skeptical at first. My dad is a low-carb guy so the concepts were not foreign to me. I gave up grains which was actually not as hard as I thought. The cravings for sweets however were a very different story. I enjoyed the challenge, lost some belly fat, and am really happy about some good habits Eric, who was super supportive, and I developed. We cook most of our meals at home now and on Sunday prepare breakfasts and lunches for the week. I no longer am beholden to what’s available, I’m making decisions about what I’m eating. I do have to admit though that the post -challenge burger, fries and 3 beers was satisfying.
Fox – That’s always my post-challenge meal as well, maybe with an extra beer or so in there. Alright, last question. What should we look for in a future AOM?
CN – I’d thought about this since I knew you’d ask. I love hearing the stories about people who have really made dramatic changes in their life because of Crossfit. It’s always really inspiring. I’d love to hear more of those stories, have those people highlighted.
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CFSBK is lucky to have the likes of Christine inside our walls working hard each week. We look forward to her continued success and development of good habits.