Deadlift
Back Squat
Front Squat
Overhead Squat
Strict Press
Push Press
Push Jerk
Snatch
Clean and Split Jerk
Hang Power Snatch
Leah Huddleston is a shining example of a hard worker, committed athlete and awesome friend. In this episode we discuss:
You can tell a lot about your friends by what they decide to post on Facebook. For instance, I know my friend Leah Huddleston loves her friends and family:
And health & fitness, aka CrossFit:If you have not had the opportunity to befriend Leah, IRL or on Facebook, I highly recommend it. Her story is truly inspirational and her heart, warmth and spirit are contagious and one of a kind.
Leah is a member of our Iron Hill, women’s only weightlifting club, where she has seen huge gains in confidence, strength and consistency. You’ll see her in the occasional CrossFit class this summer, but she is also training for a half marathon coming up in the fall.
Leah has lost about 100 pounds since beginning her health and fitness journey. She says that making high quality decisions like exercising regularly, eating well and de-stressing helps her stay centered and perform well at her high pressure job as an attorney.
We all need more friends like Leah. She’s fun, trustworthy and driven, and we could not be more honored to have her be a part of our family here at the Hill.
Cheers,
The Hill Coaches
Elise Hubbard is 8 months pregnant and she is our Featured Athlete for the month of July. During her pregnancy, Elise has done CrossFit workouts about 3 times per week. This was the same routine she had for the 2 ½ years prior to becoming pregnant.
Why did she decide to continue doing CrossFit during her pregnancy? “To stay healthy, and to have a healthy baby.” Elise has taken a very measured approach to working out while pregnant, she approaches every workout by feel and has set aside her athletic goals, instead focusing on moving well and having a good time.
Here are some of the scaling options that Elise has utilized during her pregnancy:
Run… Row
Burpees… Box push up and jump
Sit ups… Russian Twists
Barbell snatch… dumbbell snatch
Power clean… deadlift
Pull up… ring row
Elise works as a landscape architect. She spends much of her day sitting and has found working out to be the highlight of her day. It helps to get up and move.
Elise is one of four pregnant women at The Hill right now and there seems to be a common theme: do exactly what you’re comfortable with and no more. Each of these women have a history with CrossFit and look forward to jumping right back into the swing of things after the baby is born.
Congratulations to Elise and her husband John. We can’t wait to meet your healthy, happy baby and we wish your wonderful little family all the best.
Each morning as she leaves the box, Megan Sheeley catches my eye and says, “Kyle, have a great day. I know you will.”
I smile and reply, “Thanks Megan.”
This small gesture always means a lot to me, and truly does set me down the path to a great day.
These unexpected acts of kindness and generosity seem to be Megan’s M.O. She is always dressed in bright colors that bring a smile to your face and will go out of her way to make anyone’s day better.
Megan has been a part of The Hill family since October, 2014. In that short amount of time she has made huge gains as an athlete but has made an even bigger impact as a vital part of our community.
Megan was all-in for the recent Hill Games as a member of the champion team, Kippersnatch. And it’s her goal to come to the box 5 times a week, and she says she loves it!
She has become a CrossFit fanatic and is slowly but surely convincing her friends and family to give it a shot. In fact, that’s her simple piece of advice for folks who may be nervous about CrossFit, “You gotta try it!” That’s exactly what she did, and for that, we thank her.
Cheers,
kjs… Kyle J Smith
Hello,
Coach Kyle here. I’d like to tell you a little about my good friend, Christina Crumpecker.
Christi’s intro to CrossFit was unique. For all the details you’ll have to ask her, but the gist of it is: she was taking fundamentals, and on her way out of class one day her knee gave out. She fell to the floor, hobbled away a bit embarrassed, and ended up getting surgery.
Most of the time, when an athlete gets hurt and “CrossFit” is even somewhat involved, they immediately write off the endeavor as stupid and tell their friends for the rest of their lives that, “CrossFit is dangerous.”
Not Christi.
During recovery, the first thing she told her physical therapist was, “I want to go back to CrossFit.” I imagine the rest of the conversation went some thing like this…
PT: You’re crazy.
Christi: Sure. Better crazy than dead.
PT: Dead? You’re being ridiculous.
Christi: The path I’m on is fatal. CrossFit is my way out.
PT: All right. It’s your life.
Christi: You better believe it is.
What was it about Christi’s brief taste of CrossFit that left her hungry for more? Is there a way for you to tap into this same intensity to make a positive change in your own life? I think the answer has been written on the wall the entire time:
If you’re a part of The Hill Family, you’ve seen this sign a million times: Community. Commitment. Results. Simple enough. And exactly what Christi needed to take huge strides towards health and fitness.
First, Christi fell in love with the community at The Hill. She still shows off her fundamentals graduation picture with Mark Nuss and Coach Josh, and she is without a doubt The Hill’s biggest evangelist on Facebook. Then Christi made a commitment to herself to give this CrossFit thing a try, trusting The Hill’s commitment to her: we will guide you one WOD at a time towards a better version of yourself. And now, Christi is seeing her hard earned results. She competed in The Hill Games, has hit a bodyweight deadlift and surprises herself every week with new achievements and PRs.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise though. Trust me, she deserves every ounce of this glory.
Christi is hard-working, curious, compassionate, giving and genuine. I am proud to call her my friend and know The Hill is a better place to be because of her. Welcome to the family.
Cheers,
kjs
Danya and Kali are shining examples of awesome CrossFitters:
If they haven’t already introduced themselves to you, be sure you shake their hands next time you see them at The Hill. Danya & Kali, thank you for being vibrant, welcoming and essential in our community.
Cheers,
The Hill Coaches
