Why I CrossFit:For the last 5 years I have been a Competitive Power Lifter. Power lifting consists of maxing out on a back squat, bench press, and dead lift. As far as strength was concerned I was doing very well and considered myself pretty fit, but I was not CrossFit! My first real WOD was when I went to my Level 1 Certification. We ended the day with a workout named “FRAN”. I remember being cocky at doing the WOD RX’D because how hard could 21-15-9 of pull ups and 95 lb thrusters be? After all, I was squatting in the 300’s and Dead lifting in the 400’s. They went over the rules, blared Metallica, gave us a 10 minute cut off and 3…2…1…GO! I have never witness a workout like that in my life! I was hooked! My time for FRAN was 10:01 with my last pull up going over the bar after the buzzer. After the WOD I couldn’t quit shaking, couldn’t breathe, and quite honestly I felt like I was going to die! For some unknown reason, I loved this feeling. It reminded me of the Marine Corps. You see, in the Corps everyday is hard and everyone suffers together. This shared suffering builds camaraderie or as we call it “esprit de corps”!
CrossFit is evidence based fitness. This means that it is measurable. It also means that if it works, then you should get better. I have witnessed this with my FRAN times. Since doing FRAN a little over a year and a half ago I have done this program once every 6 months (roughly). My times have been 10:01, 8:35, 5:25, 3:59, and 3:49. Proving CrossFit has made me better! I CrossFit because it is the hardest and best workout I have ever done in my life! Every single WOD I have ever done has been a complete ass kicker! I love being tested every day, I love the results, but most of all I love the struggle and the fight! I love CrossFit!
Lexi is currently studying psychology at Colorado State University in Pueblo. She hopes to integrate positive psychology and yoga into a career someday. But until then she finds her bliss in teaching yoga and writing. She has contributed stories to online yoga publications such as YogiApproved and Bad Yogi as well as the local alternative newsmagazine, The Pueblo PULP. In her free time Lexi likes to spend as much time outdoors as possible, especially at the family ranch just outside of Beulah. Here she practices "dirt road yoga" and helps with the family business by branding and vaccinating cattle. Although Lexi was never athletic growing up, teaching yoga has opened countless doors for her. Nowadays she couldn't imagine her life without CrossFit and is looking forward to her next Spartan Race. Through these new experiences, Lexi has discovered that she loves working with anyone who doesn't fit the stereotypical "yogi" mold. She has found a special passion for working with veterans, who can use yoga to battle PTSD and cultivate mindfulness. As someone who loves green juice as much as she loves a good steak and has gone from barely passing gym class to being an instructor in the fitness industry she likes to think that she can relate to everyone. Lexi strives to teach a class in which people can come to feel safe and accepted and where they can cultivate a healthy practice and a happy heart. :)
I would say my journey with fitness started in high school. It was a bumpy journey. I was NOT athletic. I had no “skills” to take part in any ball sports. I was not a gymnast nor a cheerleader. So, I joined the track team. Anybody could run. I was recruited to the cross country team my sophomore year. I was then classified a runner, but as a teenager I did not know how to really push outside my comfort zone. In the Army, I became significantly stronger and really became aware of the “heart” involved in running with your troops and being a motivator. Comradery was brought to a level I never felt before. This was something I never felt anywhere else, until CrossFit came into my life on August 24th 2015. My life would never be the same. While on deployment in the Army, I learned how to work out in the gym with weights and machines. This became the basis for my workouts up until CrossFit. 3 separate days dedicated separately to back and bi’s, chest and tri’s and legs and shoulders. Abs and cardio every day. I tried P90X, Insanity, and numerous videos and streaming workouts to mix it up. Yet, I was never happy with my results and could never stick to a routine to maintain any results. I was also alone in my endeavors to be fit and healthy. So, when I finally decided to push my fear aside and follow my 15 year old daughter into DDC, which she raved about, my life changed. Of course at the time I did not realize it. After that first WOD I was addicted. I just wanted to go back to see what challenges lay ahead. I did have butterflies on my drive to the box for the first year, but I think that is what kept it intriguing. I saw improvements from week to week. I was getting stronger, faster and happier. I found this place that I could forget all my outside problems and just focus on the lifts and movements written on the white board. Get through it and feel amazingly accomplished afterward. So, with that being said, I know I am not an elite CrossFit athlete by any means. I still have to tell myself to push my knees out with my squats and use my hips more with my power jerks and the list goes on. I do know I love to motivate and be supportive to people who are on the same journey as I am. I knew I wanted to coach eventually, and the opportunity came up to earn my CFL1 training certificate, so I again pushed any apprehension aside and Voila! Here I am. Living the dream. Someone pinch me. No, but really, I can only strive to be great coach with encouragement, support, laughter, understanding and of course a little pain, sweat, blood and tears. Maybe even some vomit. Get some!
During middle school, I started my first few crossfit classes at my old Gym, MBS Sports Performance, where my cousin Bobby Salano would train my brother and I every other day. This was where I first learned how to do cleans, burpees, and even wall balls. At the time it seemed like any other training that I used to supplement the sports that I had be playing. When I got into high school, I really began to hit the weights hard for basketball. That’s when I first truly fell in love with lifting, and later during my sophomore year I came to Devil Dogg Crossfit in search of an offseason training supplement. It was my Junior year that I realized that I wanted to commit myself to lifting weights and becoming a better athlete, and after my first filthy fifty at the gym, I was hooked. Starting with just a training bar for thrusters, and working all the way up to a 350 pound back squat, I began to results, and I wanted more. I had delayed full time training at the gym because of basketball, but after I decided to step away from it, I began to make crossfit my top priority. I loved the hard work, and I loved committing myself everyday to getting better, because fitness is for life! In all honesty I would have never loved crossfit as much as I do now if it weren’t for the people who were with me along the way. People such as Chris, Paige, Karen, Julie, and Lexi, just to name a few all became family to me. The highlight of my day is always going to the gym and seeing people that I care about, and knowing they also care about me. Everyday they push me, and everyday I love being there. I am more than privileged to be among some of the brave men and women who have served this country, and they inspire me to achieve greatness. Hero WOD’s are always more difficult to do, and that’s what I love about them. To honor these amazing individuals by putting yourself through some pain is what its all about. The impact our VO2 group does to support veterans and families are phenomenal, and I am so grateful to be apart of that. Some of my greatest memories of training come from that little crossfit gym. No matter where I go, or what I do in the time to come, I will always be a Devil Dogg. GET SOME!
All of my life I have
struggled with my weight. Even playing sports in high school, I was always the
heaviest girl on the team. I had no
self-confidence, no self-esteem, and became extremely shy and withdrawn. I tried everything to lose the weight
even succumbing to anorexia and bulimia for 8 years in order to be thin. Yes, I
got thin but I was extremely unhealthy, my hair started falling out, my teeth
started rotting, my gall bladder and appendix were affected, and my cholesterol
was through the roof. I recovered from those dreadful days but not without side
effects. Because I was not starving myself anymore, my weight began to climb. I
would go through periods of gaining then losing, gaining then losing, it was a
vicious cycle. I finally got to a point where I accepted the fact that I was
meant to be fat, and gave up. No dieting, no exercising, nothing. I knew I was
getting heavy but kept telling myself, I’m not that bad yet.
On August 8, 2010 I had a reality check when I
couldn’t finish a family hike in the mountains because I was too out of shape
and heavy to continue more than a quarter mile. I felt bad because my husband
really wanted to hike and ended up staying back with me. Later that day, we
were looking at pictures from the trip. One in particular caught my attention.
It was a picture of my husband and this woman. Then it dawned on me, the woman
in the picture was me!!! I didn’t recognize myself and I was horrified by what
I saw. This was my turning point. I had to do something about my weight. The
next day I started my gym membership. This worked fine for a month or so and I
lost a few pounds. I did the Zumba, kickboxing, and body toning classes, the
treadmill, the weights, but it just wasn’t giving me the results I wanted and
desperately needed. While walking on the treadmill I could watch a class below
that my son was taking with Chris Carter. It was very interesting and intense looking. I
figured I could never handle such a class, but I knew I had to do something, so
I signed up.
The day I started Crossfit,
I weighed in at 285 pounds, couldn’t run 20 yards, jump on a 3” platform, do
situps, pushups, or any of the things the others were doing. I was so
humiliated and frustrated with myself but the others in the class and the coach
were so supportive, encouraging, and motivating. This was so different than any other “gym”
atmosphere I had ever experienced and I kept going back. My body started changing, my weight started
dropping, I was getting stronger and faster, and I was hooked! I lost 140
pounds and 8 sizes in a 12 month period, and started doing things I never
thought possible. At 53 years old, I have been able to maintain my weight within
25 pounds for seven years, I run, jump, and lift heavy weight including a 300
pound deadlift! I no longer take any
medication for depression and anxiety, and I finally have control over food and
nutrition.
Crossfit has not only
changed me physically…..the mental, emotional, psychological, and social
changes that have taken place in me are indescribable. For the first time in my
life I am self-confident, self-reliant, strong minded, outgoing, outspoken, and
unafraid to step outside of my comfort zone. The people at my Crossfit “box”
are irreplaceable and make me want to be better. As one of the “older” athletes
at Devil Dogg Crossfit, I hope to inspire and help others, especially in my age
group, to get active, get healthy, and live life to the fullest! I can honestly say that Crossfit has complete
changed and saved my life!
Keri is a goal oriented individual who has learned that perfection is not something that is attainable, but rather, that the pursuit of excellence is much more satisfying, healthy and individual to each person. Having battled with weight her entire life, Keri was once satisfied with being the overweight person, having once weighed 266 pounds. Somewhere along the way something changed and she submerged herself into a lifestyle that not only changed her on the outside but more importantly has given her the opportunity to change on the inside.
Keri works hard each day by raising her two sons and working as both a paralegal and business manager of a small law firm. Keri strives to one day send herself to law school.
Keri began CrossFit in 2012 after a life changing event. With CrossFit, she discovered the strength she was capable of and fell in love with the always changing environment and stimulus that CrossFit provides. She now considers herself an athlete, as does everyone that knows her. Keri not only participates in running events like half marathons, marathons and relay races, she also participates in obstacle course races and CrossFit competitions. By becoming a Level One Trainer, Keri can share her love of fitness and a healthy lifestyle with others and help them reach their goals, whatever they may be.
Devil Dogg CrossFit has been her home from the beginning. Sharing accomplishments with a group of individuals from all walks of life is what makes CrossFit so amazing and the people at DDC are beyond exceptional.
My name is Cora Hofmann, I have a BA in Psychology
with a minor in Sociology/Women’s Studies and a MA in Clinical Mental
Health Counseling. My first semester of college I took an introduction
to psychology class and I knew I wanted to study humans as individuals.
After moving to Colorado I started running and again much like yoga
running opened up so much more for me. I started to fall in love with
the mountains and when I met my husband I not only fell in love with him
but rock climbing, snowboarding and backpacking. I found psychotherapy,
meditation and yoga before I found CrossFit. Discovering each has
changed my life in different ways. When I needed yet another change of
routine in my life I went looking for something that would challenge me
physically. I started hearing about CrossFit, so when I looked up
affiliates in Pueblo and I discovered Devil Dogg CrossFit. After the
excitement of doing something new wore off, I still find myself focused
on CrossFit. One reason being DDC is an encouraging family of great
athletes. The second reason seems to be due to the part of the CrossFit
definition that states “constantly varied.”
Amber grew up playing softball, basketball, and volleyball.
She earned a scholarship to play softball for Regis University in Denver. After
graduating in 2011, she struggled to find something to fill the void of sports.
It wasn’t until three years later that she began lifting weights and fell in
love with the lifestyle.
For years, her friends and mom encouraged her to try yoga.
However, it wasn’t until after she moved back to Pueblo in June 2015 that she
finally gave in and joined her friend/co-worker, Brittany, for yoga at the
Riverwalk. Brittany unexpectedly died the following week but Amber continued to
attend the classes for the weeks to follow. She felt an unexplainable connection
to Brittany through her practice.
Amber enjoyed yoga the more she practiced and eventually
fell completely in love after attending Lexi Mayber’s classes at a gym. In
these classes, Lexi helped Amber to stop doubting herself. She encouraged Amber
to mentally and physically challenge herself in poses and to trust her true
strength, something Amber has only seen through yoga. It has truly changed her
life beyond the physical aspect.
Her goal is to bring yoga to those who don’t fit the
stereotypical “yogi mold” and may not yet feel comfortable attending classes at
a studio with experienced yogis. She also wants to bring yoga to athletes. As a
non-stereotypical yogi and athlete, she believes that yoga is for EVERYONE and
wants all of her students to feel empowered!
Empowering others is a big part of who Amber is and what she
does. She completed her 200 hour Teacher Training through Studio Share in
November 2016. She was also accepted into Teach for America and will begin as a
Pueblo elementary school teacher Fall 2017. She believes that children deserve
equal opportunity to education and a healthy lifestyle and plans to bring yoga
into her classroom.
I grew up
playing soccer, often played goaltender. I also played golf and softball until
I was about 14. Skateboarding took over my life at age 15, but that hobby was
cut short the summer before my sophomore year of high school by a bad crash,
resulting in a serious head injury. Due to the head trauma, and other
interests, I didn’t participate in sports or fitness to any degree until I was
24.
My lifting
career started in 1998, shortly after I began playing ice hockey, again as a
goalie. I took on the Bill Phillips “Body for Life” challenge, and got my
bodyfat percentage down to 20% while maintaining a 148-150 lb bodyweight.
I was
working as a detention deputy for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Boise, ID,
and my husband Karl and I had our son Karl Jr in 2007. I realized I needed to
be in better shape to defend myself, so I began powerlifting solo using the
Westside Barbell periodization model. I also began strongman training with
Elite FTS athlete Amy Wattles and her husband Matt, owner of Competitive Edge
Training in Meridian, ID. I retired from strongwoman competition in 2012, after
I competed in the World’s Most Powerful Woman contest in Stevenson, Scotland.
My present
athletic pursuits include jiu jitsu, boxing, muay thai, wrestling, running,
obstacle course racing, and powerlifting. Exercise, competition, and most
significantly – lifting weights, have given me mental toughness, discipline,
persistence, resilience, a positive outlook, and camaraderie that has been
helpful in all areas of my life. I also will have three years of sobriety on
August 14 of this year. Drinking wasn’t working for me, and a regular training
regimen has given me a positive outlet for negative energy, anxiety, and
restlessness. Support from Chris Carter and other athletes at DDC has been key
in helping me progress as an athlete and a person in active recovery.
