WOD'S

Before I came to TNT, I was riding my bike and lifting some weights. However, when I started at TNT, I found that I definitely needed work on some of the movements. Most particularly my front squat and snatch. Over the years, I've finally improved both of these and much more. I still like biking and anyone at TNT is always welcome to join me on a ride! Thank you to all the coaches and nice, friendly people at TNT! A special thank you to all the coaches for selecting me as Athlete of the Month and coaching me throughout the years.

I first showed up at CrossFit TNT in June 2017 hoping to improve my conditioning for a backpacking trip in the Rockies later that summer.

The initial baseline (that I've since used as a light warm-up workout) was *brutal*. Here’s exactly what Siri heard me say afterward:

I did my first CrossFit workout today and holy sh*t I feel like I'm going to die. I am going to throw up for sure I can't lift my arms killing my legs wow this was a bad f*cking decision. Return return enter enter

I didn't throw up and, spoiler, it wasn’t a bad decision. But it did convince me to stick with it because my goal was simply "improve conditioning," and I could feel that there was a lot of catching up to do.

Since then the coaches have been so supportive, and the community so kind and welcoming that it was hard not to become a convert. It really helped me to have positive peer pressure to make the (in my case necessary) lifestyle change to be healthier, and now I can't imagine living any other way. Thanks everyone!

I’d like to start by saying thank you!! I started at TNT in October 2017 and it’s definitely been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my health and peace of mind.

I had worked out for years at my local gym but was starting to get very bored with my workouts. I wasn’t pushing myself and I know I could do better. I had heard a lot of talk about CrossFit but thought to myself, “ I’d probably die”. I had found a six week intro program at a box (not TNT) and was starting to really like the results I was seeing! After a gentle nudge from Laura Grieb, I decided to try out TNT. After my very first foundations class I knew that TNT was the right fit. I love starting my morning with a killer WOD!!!

I am a stronger better version of myself because of TNT. I have really made some amazing friends here and I have to say our coaches are the best.

I started CrossFit in September of 2018 because I was heavier than ever and wanted to be a better example for our 3 kids. My wife, Alice, started at TNT months before me and was making great strides with her fitness and it was inspiring to me. With working out twice a week for about 6 months, I had lost 50 pounds. When I saw such great results, I started going 3-4 times a week and have made great strength and conditioning gains.

I grew up riding BMX bikes and snowboarding so weight training and fitness wasn’t something I did much of. With CrossFit, I learned a whole new way of working out. At this point I have gone from scaled on nearly all workouts to being mostly intermediate or RX. My favorite part of CrossFit, obviously besides barbell stuff, is when the WOD is over and you just have to collapse because there is nothing left and you know you gave everything you had.

The TNT community is such a one of a kind place where you feel like part of a family and the staff is second to none. Special thanks to dawn patrol for making those early morning workouts more fun. As far as goals, I want to reach a point where I can be a consistent RX athlete. When I retire I don’t want to be someone in and out of hospitals dealing with weight/poor diet related health issues. I want to keep on with CrossFit and move into my 40’s in the best shape ever. Thanks to the coaching staff for all of your support and encouragement. Couldn’t have made it this far without you.

Three years ago a girlfriend of mine asked if I would go with her to try out Crossfit at CrossFit TNT. I had always been physically active. I played football and ran track in high school and I never stopped going to the gym 3 times a week, but CrossFit was unlike anything I had done before. I remember when I told my husband and he was like “YOU? YOU wanna doCrossFitt?” (Jokes on him, because now he does it too..haha). It was a whole new health/fitness adventure for me and I was HOOKED from day one. 3 years later and I'm still here 5 to 6 days a week. It is the best workout I've ever done with the best community. It has helped me get stronger than any other physical activity i've participated in and on top of that it has helped me recover postpartum not once, but twice. Oh, and also ITS SOOOOO FUN. I LOVE working out now. It's my favorite thing to do, which is something I never thought I'd say.

But why Crossfit TNT?

Everyday I drive 45 minutes to class and 45 minutes home, there are several crossfit places in between here and there but there is no community like I have at TNT. Everyone is so nice, helpful and kind. So cliché but so true. As a stay at home mom, it is not only my fitness hour, but my social hour. (haha, sorry coaches.) I have made friends that I will always have no matter where we move and people I trust with my health and diet. Another HUGE plus is TNT has amazing babysitters so I can workout whether or not my husband is out of town working, which is hard to come by.

For all of these reasons, Crossfit TNT has changed my life for the better. Helping me recover from life events and get back to being my healthy self and sustaining that healthy lifestyle with ease. Thank you for recognizing the hard work I've put in over this last year after baby #2...it's been no joke and way harder the second time, but definitely worth it. The coaches, athletes and community are the best in St. Louis. I am so thankful to everyone I have met and worked with here and I am going to miss everyone so much once we move. I will be dropping in lots when visiting so you guys haven't gotten rid of me yet :) I'm gonna leave you guys with this classy crossfit joke my husband likes to tell all the time.. “How can you tell if someone does crossfit? Because they'll tell you.” But remember, we only talk about it because it's so fucking awesome. :)

When I started CrossFit just over three years ago, little did I know how much I would enjoy going to “the gym.” I started CrossFit after my doctor told me I had elevated cholesterol. He said I could take medication or loose weight. At 38 years old, there was no way I was going to start taking medication when I was capable of losing weight. CrossFit re-introduced physical and mental workouts that I had not seen in years but also a focus on nutrition that you simply don’t find anywhere else.
Fast forward three years, I not only found a healthier lifestyle but also a community of support along the way. I appreciate the coaches and those of you that have become my friends over the past few years. Sometimes you all push me harder than I am willing to push myself and we all need that.
When people ask me why I “do” CrossFit, I tell them because there is no machine at a gym called “daddy, throw me in the air” or a machine called “carry me on your back.” Just a few weeks ago, when walking around Disney World, my 8 year old and even my 13 year old wanted to be carried, they said: “Come on dad, this is why you Crossfit!” So, they were carried!
This past year was a year of ups and downs with the cancer diagnosis and passing of my father. When I was a kid, he very rarely missed a game or track meet I was in. So, this past year, I spent time doing things “one last time” like playing catch in Busch Stadium. Along with that, one of the highlights of the year was when he came to watch a few workouts during the 2018 CrossFit open. Having him around to meet everyone and watch one last competition was very special to me.
I can’t say anything about CrossFit that everyone reading this doesn’t already know. So, I will just say thank you. Thank you to Rochelle and all the coaches for investing time in this business and in turn investing in all of us. And thank you to all the athletes at CrossFit TNT for pushing each other and being an active part of a fantastic community.

"I never thought I would say that I look forward to going to the gym, much less CrossFit, and I’ve never considered myself an athlete, much less a TNT Athlete of the Month! In fact, when I walked into TNT for my first Transformation Academy class in March of 2017, I saw people lifting barbells and thought, “nope!” I was looking for more energy to keep up with a set of twins and a four year old and stay reasonably sane at work – certainly muscles and callused hands were overkill! Fast-forward to today, and I’m high-fiving the 5 a.m. crew after busting out two dozen (albeit light) snatches, and then picking my calluses during meetings at the office (so gross, I know). "

I never thought I would say that I look forward to going to the gym, much less CrossFit, and I’ve never considered myself an athlete, much less a TNT Athlete of the Month! In fact, when I walked into TNT for my first Transformation Academy class in March of 2017, I saw people lifting barbells and thought, “nope!” I was looking for more energy to keep up with a set of twins and a four year old and stay reasonably sane at work – certainly muscles and callused hands were overkill! Fast-forward to today, and I’m high-fiving the 5 a.m. crew after busting out two dozen (albeit light) snatches, and then picking my calluses during meetings at the office (so gross, I know).

Now before I get carried away, I’ll admit that I don’t look forward to many-a-WOD, but TNT is so much more to me than just “going to the gym.” It’s the place I go to become stronger and push my limits, mentally and physically; the place I go to relieve stress; the place I go to spend time with some of my greatest friends and motivators; and the place I go to show my three daughters that health is a priority, and that strong women are fierce.

I’m so grateful to the coaches at TNT for the energy and passion they put into cultivating, motivating and growing such a diverse community of athletes and friends. I’m also grateful to my fellow TNT athletes – you all inspire and motivate me in different ways, and are nice enough to check on me when I smash my face with a wall ball multiple times in a single WOD!

Suffice to say, I got a lot more than I bargained for when I walked into TNT – callused hands and all! I’m honored to be a TNT Athlete of the Month, excited to see what I can push to accomplish next (a kipping pull-up, fingers crossed!) and blessed every day to sweat alongside TNT my friends!