Push Press
3 x 6
Heavier than last week.
Post loads to comments.
Exposure 7 of 8
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Every 4 minutes for 5 rounds:
250m Row
Take the first row at about 85%, then all out efforts on each. Score best time to comments.
Post best time to comments.
Lesley O. is CFSBK’s June Athlete of the Month! | Photo by Joel Z.
Athlete of the Month: Lesley O.
By Chris Fox
I first met the Lesley O. and her husband Nate in early 2011… and they pretty quickly let me know they were “non-joiners” and thus would likely not be taking classes or taking part in the larger CFSBK community beyond our private sessions. Lesley has now been around for longer than I’d realized before we sat down for this interview, and she and Nate and the kids have been a staple in the gym for almost all of that time. Lesley, based solely on doing CrossFit as a mother of 4, is a true TFBA and a well-deserving AOM. I hope you enjoy learning a bit more about her below!
Fox: Congrats! I’m so happy to be able to interview you for AOM.
LO: Thanks! Are you sure?
Fox: Yep… let’s start! When and why did you first start CrossFit?
LO: It was February 2011. Nate and his friend Rich were doing privates with you for a while, so I kept hearing about this “CrossFit” thing. I wasn’t (at the time) into the group class idea, so I started with private training. After Rich eventually fell off, Nate and I did semi-privates together for a while until I was about 7 months pregnant with Genevieve. I took a break, did a few more private sessions after Genevieve was born, and have been doing classes ever since.
Fox: What were you doing fitness-wise prior to CrossFit?
LO: I’d been working with a personal trainer at a local gym. It was fine. We did some similar things that we do here, but it just wasn’t adding up to anything. When I went on my own, I’d pretty much just “do the elliptical” for a while.
Fox: What were your initial impression of CFSBK? Why did you stay?
LO: It was a big, intimidating space with lots of very fit people! Nate and I initially came together. I don’t think I would have come on my own. Honestly the fact that we lived so close at the time also helped. I soon became less intimidated by the experience and began to appreciate and enjoy aspects of CFSBK. I didn’t have to think about what I was going to do. It was laid out for me in a sensible way, and the progress was quantifiable. I could actually “see” how I was improving, and the programming was varied so I wasn’t doing the same thing each day or week. Honestly, for the first 2 years coming to the gym I didn’t even remember the names of the things we do… now it’s mostly there. 😉
Fox: So you were like, “Is that the one where you do uh and then do eh?”
LO: Yep… It took a while but here I am!
Fox: I’m pretty certain that many folks around here follow the same trajectory. Were you an athletic kid? Where’d you grow up?
LO: I grew up just outside of Boston where one of my sisters still lives (the other is in Austin). I was… sort of an athlete? I played basketball and field hockey as a youth. I wasn’t an all-star athlete, but I did enjoy being on a team.
Fox: I know that family is a large part of your life. Let’s hear about how you met Nate, and about all your kids!
LO: I met Nate right after I moved to New York in 2001, and we had what I consider to be an extended flirtation at a big law firm we both worked at. Long story made short, we eventually started dating, married in 2006, and had our first child, Vivian, in 2008,. After that came Whit, Genevieve, and Arthur, who’s now 2.
Fox: I know (actually I don’t) that with 4 kids there’s not much time, but what do you do outside of CrossFit and being an awesome mom?
LO: Honestly, getting to CFSBK is my time away from home, especially now that we don’t live as close. I’ve also been working with a friend on a not-for-profit called the Childhood Rescue Project. It’s been great to work on a project that I believe in, and for a woman I strongly believe in as well. Other than that I really enjoy cooking and baking at home, especially when I get to be alone while doing it! Mexican food is always on the menu… and ask me about my awesome and easy Key Lime Pound Cake. Although Nate and I have pretty different parenting tactics, it balances out well. He’ll take the kids on the weekend for a few hour trek through the park, and they’ll come back filthy after doing things I likely would not have done with them. But, during that time, they’ll have thoroughly enjoyed their romp, be exhausted afterwards, and I’ll have had some time alone to do what I enjoy.
Fox: I’ve always appreciated how you guys work as a family unit and have a ton of admiration for it. Plus, the kids are a hoot! I hope we get a picture of them playing in “Lake Degraw” a few years ago during “Murph.” Back to fitness for a quick bit: What were things that you struggled with early on, and what are you working on now?
LO: The Olympic lifts for sure. I used to think I would never get them at all. Now I even have good days! I’m still looking for Pull-Ups, and to that end, I’m really enjoying AG Strength. It’s all the stuff I know I should do but don’t make time for. I have to say though, that Squatting is still so hard and doesn’t seem to get any easier.
Fox: I have to say that your Squat has come so far since your first private session where I thought you might fall over and wondered how you were able to walk! Just kidding, sorta… last question: What should we look for in a future AOM?
LO: Someone who has improved, and someone who has improved in the face of some adversity in particular. Also, someone who’s a welcoming presence in the gym. It can be an intimidating space to walk into at first!
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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Snatch | Kettlebell Swings, C2B Pull-Ups, Run
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