Your Member of the Year for 2022 is Annie! Annie joined our gym about 3 1/2 years ago right before we had to start hosting Zoom and Outdoor classes. She stuck with us through the pandemic and she was a regular in our virtual and outdoor workouts. She didn’t let the time trapped at home derail her health and fitness but instead used it as an opportunity to become the fittest version of herself.
She then brought that fitness back into the gym when the time came. Annie has become a regular at our 6 am class and an integral part of our community. This last year, Annie has come to 251 classes and has become part of our prestigious 250 Class Club. Annie shows up to every class early, stretches or rolls out beforehand, and always gives her best effort in each and every workout. Annie has fully engrained herself into our programs and we have seen her work very hard to achieve a higher level of fitness.
Annie is a current client of our nutrition program and she has used our Rx+ program to crush her fitness goals and become one of the athletes our members look up to the most. People admire how hard she works inside and outside of class and that hard work motivates people to want to push harder in class and be healthier outside of the gym. She is the type of member that every gym wants inside their walls but not every gym is lucky enough to have.
We cannot thank Annie enough for choosing Croga to be the place where she comes to at least 5 days a week to crush a workout. She has truly been a blessing and we look forward to having her at Croga for many more years.
You’ve made a ton of progress over the past several years, what’s your driving factor?
My relationship with fitness is constantly evolving. During the COVID shutdowns, it was something that gave me purpose and excitement at a time when so many things felt helpless. There have been times when it’s been about specific goals and even batting around the idea of entering the competition world. And right now, it’s all about showing up and doing the things that make my body (and my mind) feel good. But I think the consistent driving force has been the community of people at Croga. It’s a special crew, and there’s a lot of power in surrounding yourself with people committed to challenging themselves. Pass the kool-aid, best cult ever đ
What fitness goal are you most proud of accomplishing this past year?
I’m proud of the progress in my mental game. I think it’s really easy to be excited and want to push harder and harder when you’re experiencing rapid improvement. That definitely happened for me in 2020-2021. I put in the work and my body changed dramatically. All of the gainz, and PR’s left and right. Lifting, cardio, gymnastics, you name it..crushing all of the things. But then that curve naturally flattens a bit and it becomes less excitement and more grind. 2022 was less thinking about winning workouts, and more thinking about small victories and working with what my body has to give on any given day. That’s tough, I’m a lifelong athlete who is, without a doubt, hyper-competitive. I set a very high expectations for myself. Slowing down, listening to my body, and accepting that not every day is going to be (or should be) an all-in kind of day is something I’ve worked at, and I’m proud of that progress.
What are some of your biggest fitness goals for this upcoming year?
To be honest that’s something I’m still thinking about. There’s an ongoing battle to improve my gymnastics skills (nailing down those chest-to-bars would be cool…and getting better at linking my pull-ups/toes-to-bar) But I don’t have any big specific goals I’m working towards of yet.
What’s your favorite way to “use your fitness” outside the gym?
I coach kids swimming for a living. Being able to consistently demo movement (particularly land-work…squats, push-ups, hollow holds, etc.) with great form is huge. It also gives me a little street cred…”Coach Annie can do it way better than me, and she’s so old she has a Facebook…”
What’s your favorite gym pump-up song?
Totally depends on the workout. I tend to black out when we get going, and really don’t notice much of what’s playing, it’s just noise. But I can get into most anything loud and high energy. Definitely needs some energy though. I don’t have any complaints with most of the coach’s playlists (even Ari’s totally bizarre Disney Metal Covers LOL…except that one time we were listening to the Lumineers on a lifting day…what WAS that?!
What food could you never give up?
Definitely Tacos. No notes. They’re perfect.
What are your favorite pizza toppings?
Pepperoni, Olives, Artichokes, and Bell Peppers.
What’s your favorite adult beverage?
Things we learned during Shelter-In-Place: turns out, I’m a bourbon girl. Gimme a quality Old Fashioned all day.
If you could have a conversation with anyone that ever existed (dead or alive) who would it be?
That’s a tough one. Keith Richards? That sounds like fun.
What Hogwarts House are you in?
So I’ve never gotten into Harry Potter at all. But I’ve been told, without question, Slytherin.
Who’s your favorite superhero?
Cale Makar. He can’t actually be human.
Any shoutouts or things you’d like to add?
Special shoutout to the morning crew (ESPECIALLY 6am) that I see doing the damn thing before most people are even awake. Ya’ll rock and inspire me every day. This place has without a doubt changed my life, thanks to everyone that works so hard every day to make it such a special spot for all of us.
