Why we do it

As the competition wraps up, I think back on the past 3 months and wonder  if we have really changed lives.  I think so.  I wish the winner of the competition wasn’t determined by weight loss, but by what the participants have learned, the medications they no longer have to take and the wonderful new things they are now capable of doing.

Why do we exercise?  Most people call it “working out” and do it strictly for aesthetic purposes.   At CrossFit Winnipeg, we call it training and the staff are called “coaches” and the customers are called “athletes”.   The slogan on my T-Shirt says it all – we train for life and Shirley, Jerri-Lynn, Marie and Trish are truly athletes.  We have a whiteboard in the gym to keep track of our athletes personal records, and also the top performances in the gym.  One of our Hot 103 Team Intern athletes has made the leader board.  Congrats Marie for the 245lbs Deadlift at 4 reps!  Won’t be long before you’re pulling 300lbs!

Here’s a collage of photos celebrating Team Intern’s accomplishments and some favourite moments.

Jerri-Lynn

And now, for Jerri-Lynn’s Story…

So, today was our team’s last day together. It was kind of sad to go to Crossfit Winnipeg today. To walk though those doors one last time as this competition was coming to a close. I remembered walking into Crossfit Winnipeg for the first time. It’s not your typical gym. I wondered where all the treadmills and elliptical trainers where. I wondered HOW I was going to get fit with no gym equipment. When I first looked around I saw 3 massive tractor tires, gymnastic rings, rowing machines, GHD’s, and chin up/monkey bars and a WHOLE lot of weights. Wow, I thought, this was going to be a challenge. Tania, our trainer, and owner of Crossfit, took us under her wing and showed us all a new way of exercising. It was awesome. I can flip over those massive tractor tires. I can deadlift 175 lbs. I am stronger because of Tania and her team. Being able to use your own body and what equipment Crossfit had, made for a really intense, but great workout. Workouts that are possible and doable at home too. The coaches who helped us along the way were also awesome, they all took time out to help teach us and care for us and this competition.

Because of the great generosity of my friends and trainers, I was able to do this. When this first started, I has just had a baby. She was almost four months old. I was kind of scared. I didn’t know how I would do this. But they helped me by holding her, by giving me some slack when I had to stop during a workout to nurse her. They made this experience possible for me, and to them I am thankful. Oh, and I totally cannot forget about LTI. He would come and workout with our team when he could, and he would also help with baby Monique. Just so you all know….YOU GUYS ROCK!!

What an experience! I learned so many great things that I will take with me in life! I will never EVER forget this wonderful journey! And all the awesome people I got to meet, and to make already great relationships, even better.

Thank you HOT 103/QX 104 for picking our team, you really don’t know how much you have helped make our lives better, great big virtual bear hugs!!! :0)

–Jerri-Lynn Chester

Trish

I haven’t posted in a while, but I thought it would be worth passing along Trish’s story:

Hey there, this is Trish from “Team Intern.” From the very moment I heard our team’s name announced on the radio three months ago, I knew our lives were about to change. I knew that I was part of something beyond my wildest imagination, and I knew the journey before us would be rewarding yet challenging. And challenging it was!

We started off by meeting at our assigned gym where we were warmly welcomed and encouraged by the staff and members. From that point, Tania, our personal trainer and compass, led us on a journey through health and fitness–a journey that encompassed better choices and self-worth– things I had long lost.

Things have certainly changed. Each time I enter the parking lot of the Crossfit Winnipeg gym, reality disappears and my game face is on. My soul becomes what has been described as a “Warrior.” The training we do continues to challenge me every time I workout, and I now know what “good pain” means. Sweating, hardened calluses and wanting more is how I leave the gym. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have lost 30 lbs. so far along with several inches, 5.10 off my thighs, 5.9 off my hips, 5.10 off my chest and 7 inches off my waist. I have a genuine smile on my face and both my confidence and energy levels radiate to reflect my self worth. I took full advantage of this opportunity and am so proud of what I have lost and what I have gained. I have made some lifelong friendships, discovered a new confidence, and found a place where I push myself to a level of athletic abilities that I had locked away since childhood.

The past 3 months have been an amazing stepping stone to the lifelong changes I have decided to make, and my journey won’t end on May 3rd. I want this lifestyle for myself because I am worth it, and for my children because I am their role model. My life has changed because of the Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser contest and I am so proud to have accomplished all I did in the given time with the support of my amazing coaches and fellow team members.

–Trish

So it’s official: Team Intern is already addicted to CrossFit.  I saw some other teams posting about competition, not just between teams, but amongst the team members.  This is part of the secret to CrossFit’s success as a fitness regime.  We all know that motivation is key, but what better motivation and knowing you can “beat” a teammate at a workout.  CrossFit is known as the “sport of fitness”, but it is also a community of coaches and athletes who share fitness ideals and benchmark workouts as a means to unify and motivate.  CrossFit incorporates traditional cardio, weightlifting, gymnastics and a bunch of other fun stuff, puts it all together in a workout and makes a game or competition out of it.  The results of phenomenal.  There are thousands of CrossFit gyms all over the world and each is different, but ask any CrossFitter from anywhere in the world: “What’s your Fran time?” or “What’s your Fight Gone Bad score?” and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.  These are named benchmark workouts we use to measure results in a concrete way.  In fact, Team Intern is now quite familiar with the post “Fight Gone Bad” burn, but they want more.  In Trish’s words: “That was an awesome workout!”.

If you’re having trouble maintaining intensity during your workouts try treating it like a sport and a science experiment all rolled into one.  Try this, we’ll call it “Mini-Cindy-0n-the-floor” (we like to give our workouts names).  Set a timer for 5 minutes.  Do 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups and 5 squats.  Once you’re done the squats, start the circuit all over again.  Keep doing this as many times as you can for 5 minutes.  Count the number of circuits you complete in the allotted time and write in in a workout log.  Every time you do the workout, try to beat your last score.  Once 5 minutes is easy, up it to 10 minutes…  See how that science experiment works for you.  Post scores to comments and check out the daily WOD (Workout of the Day) and the friendly competition at CrossFit Winnipeg.

Motivation for CrossFit workouts  is the easy part though.  Motivation for other lifestyle changes can be a bit trickier.  If you’re trying to make changes, know that this must be a lifelong commitment.  If you want to be healthier and feel better you will have to work your ass off.  It’s not easy.  No gimmicks, no cleanses, no magic pills, just had work and dedication.  And not just hard work at the gym.  Anyone can work their ass off while a trainer yells at them.  But what happens when it’s a co-worker’s birthday at the office and they start passing around the cake?  Who’s going to be there to yell at you?  You’re on your own, and if you really want this badly enough, you’ll say “no, thank you.”  Being part of a community that understands this is a huge advantage.  That’s why our members at CrossFit Winnipeg have had phenomenal results during our Real Food Challenge.  They share recipes and tips on our site every day.

“There is a difference between interest and commitment.

When you’re interested in doing something,
you do it only when it’s convenient.
Went you’re committed to something,
you accept no excuses, only results.”

-Ken Blanchard-

Most people have the basic information they need to successfully lose the weight.  First, as part of this contest, we have 15 trainers offering free advice to their teams and to the public.   Second, as part of a team and a community doing the contest together, you also have the support of a community.  You have everything you need, now it’s just a matter of doing it.   Yes, life is hard, yes, chocolate chip cookies are yummy and yes, burpees suck, but guess what, if any of these is your excuse, then maybe you just don’t want it badly enough.  Think about that for a second… What is more important, a piece of cake or your life?

Team Intern a.k.a. Team Energize Me

What if I told you that could wake up in the morning full of energy, hop out of bed and marvel at the beauty of life?  What if I told you you could go to sleep at night giddy with excitement about tomorrow’s 6AM workout?  What if I told you that you could walk with confidence and poise and smile and say “thank you for the compliment’ every time someone tells you how great you look? What if I told you that you have the ability to empower yourself to do things you never thought possible?

I’m quite sure that after over 30 years of searching I have discovered the key to happiness.  It has very little to do with how much money you have, what kind of job you have or whether or not you go to church.  The truth is, once your body works the way it was meant to work, everything else seems to fall into place.  Healthy people are happy people.  In fact, the description above is composed entirely of words I’ve heard coming directly from the mouths of our own members here at CrossFit Winnipeg; and over the next 3 months, we’re going to help Shirley, Marie, Jerri-Lynn and Trish find health and happiness.  Team Intern will win big!

I have a confession to make: I’m doing all of this just for me.   I’m a really selfish person.  I want to be happy and almost everything I do is working toward that goal.  As  it turns out, making other people happy makes me happy, so opening CrossFit Winnipeg and getting involved with the Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser is totally egotistical.  I’m sorry.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about Team Intern a.k.a. Team Energize Me.  I love that they chose that name because that’s exactly what we’re going to do…

You’ve read their stories and you’ll get to hear more about the cool stuff they get to do over the next few months.  We’ve got Trish, who makes me laugh every single time I talk to her or get an email from her.  But even better, she works her ass off.  She’s only done one workout in my presence so far, but I can tell she’s a beast (and I mean that in the best possible way).  Then we’ve got Jerri-Lynn, the sweetest, most dedicated mom I’ve ever met (except for maybe my sister in law Michelle, but I guess I’m biased).  Her kind demeanor will make it very difficult for me to yell at her during workouts, but I think I’ll manage.  Next up, we’ve got Marie.  I just want to hug her every time I see her.  So willing to listen to my rants and hopefully learn and thing or two, and dedicated to boot.   And I hear she’s got a decent squat and a beautiful singing voice.  Will confirm in future posts.  Last but not least is Team Leader Shirley, and she is a born leader.  A dedicated student, she has more positive energy than I know what to do with, no scratch that – I will definitely figure something out!  With her busy schedule, she still manages to take time to stalk Lloyd the Intern!

So now we know why; what about the “HOW?”.  I’ll save that for the next post, but I will give you a hint,  it involves:

- Eating real food

- Getting enough sleep

- Managing stress

- Getting your ass off the couch

More about that in our next post…

–Coach Turbo

Tricia Hokesma
A 36-year-old child care worker and mother of 2, Tricia has been dealing with some recent stress caused by changes at work and in her relationship. She wants to find “self-worth” in herself and for her children by teaming up with her friends to lose up to 65 pounds – an average weight for her 5′4″ height.

Marie Christian
Twenty-nine and 393 pounds, Marie finds it difficult to do the things she once enjoyed, like walking long-distances, playing with her nephews and standing for long periods of times. Now she goes for a seat after only a few minutes and walks by herself so that people don’t hear her breathing. She’d like to do more traveling, but will stay grounded until she can take a seat “sans seatbelt extension”. She wants to lose 240 pounds to shop at regular stores, take long and exotic vacations, go bowling, hike, and feel confident about herself and her abilities. She knows she’s creative, intelligent, smart and warm-hearted, but feels it’s often hidden “behind her size”. Similar to what she has to do at work, she wants to inspire people to not only survive, but thrive – living life to its fullest potential.

Jerri-Lynn Chester
A stay-at-home mom with 3 kids finishing an education degree, Jerri-Lynn has always sturuggled with her weight. Since having her baby, she’s put on extra weight. But she wants to learn now to exercise and eat right to look better, and wants to teach her children to make the right choices.