Ann-Marie is our Member of the Month! I know what you are thinking, “How has she not gotten his award already?”. Well, she kind of has before but it was a combined award with her awesome husband Kal. With that being said, we felt like she deserved it as a solo MOTM award as well. So congrats on basically your second time winning! haha
As many of you know AM is a very hard worker! She will come into a class and always give her 100% effort, no matter what issue she may be dealing with at that time. She never lets any excuse keep her out of the gym. She will always come in and have the coach help her make adjustments so that she still gets a great workout in! That is dedication and that is the reason that she is always making great progress in the gym. Whether that be hitting new weights on her lifts or getting Pull Ups, or Toes to Bar.
We love having AM at the gym and she shows us that she loves being there as well. Congrats again for being our Member of the Month!
When did you join Croga?
March 15, 2019 according to the email search I had to do to check!
What were you doing before for fitness?
Back in the day, I used to run mostly, with a little bit of light DB and core exercises. After we moved to California, Kal started getting me weight lifting, so I’d do a bit of weight lifting but mostly a lot of running.
What was your first workout? First reaction to your first workout?
It was a partner WOD with CJ on bring a friend day. I know there were pushups and maybe some DB weights. I definitely died a little but it was fun.
What improvements have you seen in the way you look, feel and perform?
Everything! Kal likes to say I look like I have Benjamin Button disease in photos because I look younger than I did 10 years ago! I’m so much stronger and tend to be the person being asked to help lift things around the office. It’s fun in the workouts now since the weights and movements I started with are now much easier and I’m challenging myself a lot more. I’ve noticed it never gets easier per se because you just make it harder for yourself.
What days and times do you come to Croga?
The latest class of the day during the week. Usually Monday to Wednesday and sometimes a day or two more. And Saturday 8am unless I’m out of town. And Sundays at 9am, when there were Sundays.
What’s your favorite WOD?
Barbell + burpee or running cardio is super fun. Also DB snatches, I really like those. I loved stuff on the rig, but I’m still recovering from a shoulder injury so I can’t really do much of it right now.
What’s your least favorite WOD?
Anything Wall balls. I’m very little so that’s a big height difference and the impact is super hard on my body.
“The Ann-Marie” WOD! What would it be?
“Just Go Faster”
15 AMRAP
100m run
20 alt. DB snatches (light)
10 sit-ups
5 devils press (light)
It’s light because you should be going as fast as humanly possible. That means don’t add more weight, CJ.
What’s your favorite post-workout routine?
My post workout routine always varies a bit based on the day but a lot of the time it’s walk the dog, feed the dog and sit on the floor drinking a FitAid zero sugar while he eats, and then finally get to shower and eat.
What’s been your favorite culinary discovery since joining Croga?
So many! Here’s a few:
Crio Bru: it’s a brewed cacao that is basically a low calorie hot chocolate! Great when you have next to no macros but want to feel like you’re having a little treat
Won ton wrappers: when you’re craving those beautiful fried bar food staples these little guys in an air fryer can make all your dreams come true with the littlest of macros.
Turkey pepperoni, sauce, low fat cheese = magic pizza rolls
Blueberry goat cheese = deep fried cheesecake bites
They’re also super quick to whip up!
What’s your biggest fitness goal for this year?
100# bench. Which I just got on April 18th so I guess I need a new one.
One of these days I’d love to get through Murph without scaling, but every year I injure myself and have to scale (maybe next time?)
What do you love about this type of fitness?
I am crazy competitive so this really motivates me. I also love that I’m not grinding away forever, just one hour and then back to everything else. Makes it easier to fit in. Also sometimes when I’m really not feeling it the motivator is that I’ll get to see my friends!
What words of advice do you have for new members or people considering joining Croga?
If you have an injury, come anyway. Come a bit early and talk to the coaches. Be clear about what you need to stay away from and they will help you come up with something you can do instead. It’s a good opportunity to get good at other things (I got weighted pull-ups while scaling a knee injury every week at powerlifting). It also makes coming back easier since you’ve still been going but doing different things.
Also just in general, don’t be intimidated and let that stop you from coming in. Everything can be scaled to something you can do. If it ends up being something that is a little easier than the workout intends to be, just go faster!!
Anything to add that we didn’t touch on yet?
One awesome thing about Croga that isn’t talked about much is how good the warmups are. Kal and I try to drop in on other gyms when we travel and I’m always amazed at how bad other gyms are at warming up. I’m expecting the next warm up and the countdown clock starts! It makes it way easier to really know what you’re doing and also not injure yourself.
