We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of a member of our community, Melissa Arnold. Melissa suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm during class Wednesday evening. She was rushed to the hospital and kept on life support until her family could arrive from Virginia yesterday to say their goodbyes. We are gutted at the loss of this wonderful human being who had just recently moved to NYC to start a new job as the Choral Director at Packer Collegiate Institute. While she had only transferred to CFSBK about a month ago, Melissa was already a fixture of group classes and well known for her very outgoing and friendly personality as well as her sense of humor. Melissa was a lover of animals, especially her two pups Franz and Nadia. She was an avid CrossFitter who had transferred to us from Full House Fitness in Indiana. We reached out to her former gym to let them know the news and they sent us this note:
Melissa was with Full House for two years. Everyone remembers her for her beautiful smile and twisted humor. She loved the dogs of the gym more than anyone we’ve ever met. We are are going to hold our pets a little tighter and closer this evening. She was a hard worker and a great listener. She was a bright light who would help anyone. One member holds the memory of how compassionate she was prior to her dad’s passing. We all loved her very much.
Professionally, Melissa was a music educator, conductor and composer with a strong passion for teaching children the love of music. You can hear three of her beautiful compositions here.
Melissa was 39 years old at the time of her passing. She will be deeply missed but her legacy as a passionate teacher of music, artist, lover of all dogs and a friendly smile to all will live on. We will miss you dearly, Melissa.
Our “Strong Sets” Comedy show planned for this evening has been rescheduled to 10/8 out of respect.
Today's Programming
STRENGTH
A1: Low Incline DB Bench Press
4×10-12
A2: Inverted Rows
4×10-12
Notes
Work up to challenging loads on each movement. Your range of motion on the Rows might slightly diminish through your sets where you become unable to touch your chest to the bar. As long as you’re within 1-2″ it’s still ok.
ASSISTANCE
A1: Bodyweight Triceps Extensions
3x10e
A2: Modified Concentration Curls
3x10e
METCON
In 10 Minutes:
Run 1 Mile
AMRAP in remaining time:
5 CTB Kipping Pull-Ups
30 Double Unders
Notes
For some, this may end up basically just being a mile time trial, which is fine!
CTB: (+) 3 Bar Muscle-Ups / 5 CTB / 5 Kipping / 3-5 Strict / 3-5 Banded / 5 Ring Rows
DU: 30 DU / 20 DU / 10 DU / 5 DU / 10 DU Attempts (NO SINGLES OR ALT 2)
This is hard to understand and feels so unfair. I just met Melissa a couple of weeks ago, but could immediately sense how much of an angel she was. Warm, kind, fully present — like an old friend I was just now getting to meet. I’m deeply saddened by her passing and my heart goes out to all of those in her life who knew her well.
I only had a few classes with Melissa but boy was she a bright light in them! I was looking forward to having her around. She seemed to connect with so many of us in so little time. I’m grateful to have had that, and echo what Matt said.
Rest In Peace Melissa. My condolences to her loved ones and the whole CFSBK community.
Melissa took the time and effort to get to know my name while I was working and chatted with me a few times. Every time she came to class she always had a warm smile and was in such great spirits. Grateful to know her as brief as it was, and sending all the love and light to her family.
this feels awful. melissa was magnetic, charismatic, and curious about her new surroundings; it’s a testament to her gorgeous force of personality that she made such an impact on this community in such a short time.
as a fellow musician, i was very excited to get to know and develop a relationship with melissa – we had a lot in common. after one long, sweaty, post-workout chat, i found myself thinking of whether or not i would see her in class, looking forward to inviting her to my performances, and hearing more about her doctoral research in bringing disparate groups of people together through music.
i didn’t know her well, but from her time at cfsbk she gave me the impression that she delighted in all things. in her honor i will make an effort to laugh more, i will endeavor to look at brooklyn through fresh eyes, and i will embrace my little doggo.
I had a class with her as well and was delighted by her spirit and sass.
My condolences to her friends and family.
This is just so awful.
I had only met Melissa in that Wed class and had a small conversation about her answer to the QOD. she had forgot to mention her name so I asked her, and we had a brief friendly chat.
My condolences to the whole community and Melissa’s family.
-Richard g.
thinking of you, Melissa and your family. when someone passes away, i always think about the fact that energy never dies, it just gets redistributed. while your family and friends can no longer have you here with them, may your amazing spirit and energy be redistributed to all the places in the universe that need it the most.