The 2019 Croga Member of the Year was an absolute no brainer, it HAD to be Meghan Pierce. Her decision to take a leap of faith and trust the process, her commitment to going all in, her enthusiasm along the way and the progress she’s made not only physically, but mentally, are nothing short of incredible and have inspired not only other members to follow in her footsteps, but even the coaching staff to break down barriers and do things we all never thought possible.
As you read through Meghan’s answers to our year-end questions below you’ll get some pretty good insight into how awesome her journey has been to be a participant in, but some of the things she doesn’t mention that made choosing her such an easy decision are below:
She lost over 40 lbs in 7 months and when you see her now she looks strong, confident, and happy – ALL THE TIME.
She reached countless physical milestones including getting her first pull-up, toes-to-bar, pistols, handstand push-ups and made it through The Open with multiple workouts completed RX’d, all things that weren’t even on her radar at The Open in February/March.
She raised $1,060 for Barbells for Boobs in the month of November and did 1,060 burpees along the way as a thank you for every dollar donated. All because Cody and I peer pressured her to set up a page on our weekly Fast Times at Croga CrossFit podcast.
With all that said, thank you, Meghan, for such an amazing year. It has been a ton of fun being your coach, cheerleader and mentor and we’re all looking forward to watching all that you’re able to accomplish in 2020.
What are some new things that you have learned about yourself since starting CrossFit?
There are two things that immediately come to mind – that might seem contradictory, but I think actually make sense together.
- I’m capable of more than I ever thought – Even though I played some sports growing up, I was never very good. So while I secretly harbored dreams of being super fit, I had convinced myself I just wasn’t very athletic and couldn’t do certain things. CrossFit has decimated those mental limitations for me. I’ve done things that I never thought I could and I’ve become so much less fearful of trying (even if it means risking failing)!
- I can’t do it all on my own – To be honest, I dragged my feet on really going all in on the gym and joining a nutrition program because I just kept telling myself I should be able to do it on my own. I kept saying “you know what you should eat” or “you know what to do at the Big Box gym down the street” – and kept trying to white-knuckle through it with sheer willpower. It wasn’t until I admitted to myself, “You need others to help you do this – both for the accountability factor, but also for their experience,” that I finally was able to get things to click.
So in short – I can do hard things, but not without others! 🙂
You made an enormous amount of progress in 2019, what fueled you to keep going when the going got tough?
There’ve been two phases that have been the toughest.
The first was the first three months when I really committed to the gym and started nutrition-coaching – Aprilish to June. During that beginning time, I think it helped a ton that I only focused on process goals. I didn’t set any expectations for myself regarding outcomes (times or weights to hit, numbers to see on the scale, etc); I just said “Show up to class at least 5 times a week, work hard, eat to your numbers and trust Cody & Dave. Keep your head down, do what you’re told, trust the process, and it will work.” That was hard because I am a big numbers person, but it kept me going because it guaranteed I could see “wins” no matter what the short-term outcomes were.
Lately, the last two months of this year, post-open, when, from my perspective at least, it’s starting to feel like visible wins and growth are coming much more slowly (probably because from July to October, basically everything I did was a PR lol). So in addition to reminding myself to continue to trust the process, I’ve been reminding myself to enjoy the process. A quote I saw recently said “Before you dream about the view from the summit, ask yourself if you’re willing to keep your head down and spend your life walking up a very big hill. It can take years of walking to earn a minute at the top.” I figure I’ve got a lot of walking ahead of me, so I better enjoy it.
You signed up for Croga Nutrition in May and lost 40 lbs by December. With your travel for work, this took a lot of discipline. Did you have a mantra you used to keep you on course throughout this journey?
Yes! “We fail to the level of our systems.” (from the book Atomic Habits which I highly recommend!) For a long time with my eating, I convinced myself it was all about willpower and discipline. However, my discipline never lasted and I’d fall off the wagon – hard! This time, I really, really worked to put myself in a position where I didn’t need to exercise as much discipline at first. Catered work event – I’m bringing my own lunch! Work travel – I’m purposefully booking a hotel next to a Whole Foods and going shopping for meals the first night. For the first three months, I rarely put myself in a position where there were any surprises eating-wise. My colleagues started joking that they never saw me eating something I didn’t pull out of my ubiquitous “food bag” I’d bring every day. I knew it wasn’t long term sustainable, but it was what I needed to get started. Then I started adding in more opportunities to estimate, make decisions on-the-fly, etc, but the systems and habits I built are still there as a foundation.
Who was your biggest cheerleader this past year? Care to give them a shoutout?
I’m deeply aware that I never could have done anything I did this year without the epic Croga community there to support me! I feel eternally grateful! As for shoutouts:
- At the top of the list has got to be Cody. A couple of months ago, when I started doing RX workouts more regularly I was feeling really discouraged because I felt so slow (again!). When I was complaining to Cody about it, he shared with me about that time in his CF journey and how he would be the last person finishing in the class for months. He told me I needed to just keep doing what I was doing and also helped me remember how far I had come. From post-open “proud of you” texts, “F-yea!” notes after hitting big weight loss goals, or filming my first pull-ups – it’s been his support, encouragement and coaching that have helped me get here, and I can’t thank him enough!
- I can’t get enough of Dave’s wisdom and enthusiasm. One day I showed up to Oly class and I was the only one – I basically got an hour individual coaching from Dave on my snatch and it was the best!! Also, his occasional enthusiastic “Atta Girl” from across the gym when he noticed me doing something hard always kept me pushing myself for more!
- All the members of the gym, and specifically the regular 3:30 weekday and 8 AM Sunday crews: y’all gave me a safe space to try, fail and grow!
- Outside the gym, my family, and specifically my sister & brother-in-law, continually inspired and encouraged me throughout this whole year!
What’s your biggest fitness goal for this upcoming year?
I have so many – a whole Google Doc’s worth in fact 🙂 I feel like I want to get better at everything! Really, it’s what at the top of the doc: “Get Stronger, Faster & More Agile: Get More Fit!!” Specifically though, I’m focusing on improving technique and increasing strength on my Oly lifts – I’m coming for you snatches! – and continuing to string together bigger and bigger sets of various gymnastic movements. You’ll likely see me being best friends with bars on the rig after class. Also Double Unders because #fudoubleunders. And last, but definitely not least, is beat Steven in a WOD! That is definitely happening and I will engrave it on the PR board permanently when it finally does 🙂
What’s your favorite way to “use your fitness” outside the gym?
Going on hikes throughout the Bay Area and exploring new cities and places on foot!
If you could have one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
Well if I could have one meal forever without any nutritional considerations, it would probably be my family’s homemade Christmas Eve dinner – green chile pork, posole, fresh tortillas, guacamole, tamales, homemade tiramisu for dessert. However, if I actually had to only eat one meal for the rest of my life it would probably be what I eat 90% of the time anyway – a veggie/meat/grain bowl. Throw some roasted veggies, grains and meat in a bowl, mix it up with a greek yogurt-based sauce. Boom!
If you could have a conversation with anyone that ever existed, dead or alive, who would it be?
Hmmm…. well I think a good option could be Amelia Earhart. Not only would I bet she’d have some great thoughts on perseverance, dedication, and how to be a trailblazer – but she could also tell me definitively where she disappeared to! 🙂
If you could give your former self any piece of advice about your current journey, what would it be?
The beginning is the hardest part! There’s a reason they say “objects in motion stay in motion” – overcoming the inertia to start is often much harder than sustaining it! Keep going!
Anything else you would like to add?
Just once again THANK YOU to the amazing community that is Croga! So excited for 2020!
