Congratulations to Mary and Kevin Hain!
Mary
Hometown: Gladwyne PA
Current Location: King of Prussia PA
Age: 44 Occupation: “retired" College: University of Delaware go blue hens!
How long have you been a CrossFitter? 1 year and 5 months
Did you ever play sports? Yes many. Growing up as the youngest of five, I was very competitive. It started in the swimming pool when my brothers would use me as the ball to throw back and forth. From there it progressed to swimming, gymnastics, field hockey and lacrosse.
Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share? My (uncool) hobbies include watching (too much) tv and driving my kids to school and their activities. My best hobby is finding recipes online to make and never making them.
What is your biggest achievement at CrossFit in the 2016 year? My biggest achievement this past year was finishing the Gwen WOD. Being so new to Crossfit I am so naive when it comes to how hard a WOD will be. When Gwen was scheduled I thought this won’t be that bad ( I am learning that whenever I think that, it will be the hardest WOD ever!). I even upped my weight 10 pounds from my “safe” weight. I got through the first 2 rounds then got to the last 9 reps and dropped the bar on rep #7! I curled into a ball and said I can’t do it. Well, as you know our box, the second you say that everybody rallies around you and gets you to do it with those positive words of encouragement and support. Coach Manisha and the rest of the class circled around me and cheered me on to finish those last 9 reps! That’s when the tears came from such a mental workout and how happy I was to finish it with everyones support. That is one workout I will never forget for pushing my limits and achieving them.
What do you feel that you still need to work on? So many things…Recently, I have been working on stringing my pull ups together and double under too. I am very close to getting handstand push ups without an ab mat.
Goals for the rest of this year? I want to climb the rope for the first time to the top! Chest to bar pull ups and walking handstands for longer than a mat. Also string toes to bars. I also would like to take some endurance classes this summer.
What's your favorite WOD? Any WOD with handstand push ups and handstand walks.
How about your favorite food/snacks? Don’t judge but baked lays sour cream and cheddar potato chips and Real Deal veggie chips. I go for salt over sweet although I won’t turn down dark chocolate dove bars.
What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done? Kevin and I did the Broad Street 10 Mile Run in 2013. He was so nice and stayed with me the whole time until the end where he ran ahead and beat me!!
What’s your least favorite WOD? I should say Gwen but I am going to go with The Seven. I was just getting over a sinus infection and cough when I decided to do this WOD in January and could only finish 5 rounds. I am also not a fan of Karen, just because of the number of wall balls.
Favorite lift/movement? Any gymnastic movements especially handstands. I also like push presses and jerks.
What’s your least favorite lift/movement? Assault bike, hands down. What skill are you planning on working on as the new year 2017 is here? I am looking forward to getting stronger. I want to get the confidence to up my weight on more WODs. Definitely looking forward to the Open this year too! Go Purple Crush!
Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear”? My JAW grips and chalk and water bottle. I also love using the foam rollers and lacrosse ball to workout those kinks.
What you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? My biggest improvement since starting CF is overall fitness and health. I have lost 20 pounds since starting CF and love it! I am also way more aware of what I am putting in my body.
Who is your favorite coach? I am a 9:30 class regular so I am lucky to see Aimee 3 times a week. Aimee somehow manages to keep our 9:30 class in line when we seem to have no braincells. I am still in awe every time Aimee demonstrates a movement and she always has something positive to say. Steph was our on boarding coach and she hooked me in the second she told me I was strong although she might say that to everyone! Steph’s warm ups are so fun and really show how competitive we all are. I also love her cues she gives on the lifts. For example, you want to f*ck the bar on the deadlift. Steph also coaches my kids and they love her! I also see Gordy once a week. Nothing beats a Gordy warm up! Gordy’s knowledge on skills and mobility is amazing and all his transition movements are incredibly helpful. A big shout out to Manisha! She is becoming such a great addition to the coaches team at CF.
PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?.. Since I am still a newbie here at CF, PRs keep coming. I just participated in the Nutrition challenge and lost weight and inches. It really reminds me of how nutrition is so important. You can’t just exercise alone you need to eat better too at my age. I am also happy that I have started going 5 times a week and can absolutely see a difference. I love coming to class and doing something different everyday.
Kevin
Hometown: Roxborough, PA
Current Location: King of Prussia, PA Age: 39
Occupation: Director of Technical Presales for CA Technologies
College: Albright / Elizabethtown
How long have you been a CrossFitter? 1 year 5 months
Did you ever play sports? Yes, I played both soccer and baseball growing up. When I got to high school I decided to focus on soccer. After playing soccer in college, I was fortunate enough move on and play semi-pro for Reading Rage. I still continue to play in a competitive over 35 league in West Chester on Sundays.
Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share? I like to keep moving, so I am still playing soccer and enjoy playing golf. I also enjoy creating projects to work on around the house. My recent project was remodeling our garage (who does this??).
What is your biggest achievement at CrossFit in the 2016 year? My biggest achievement in 2016 was just getting stronger in so many of the movements, and stringing together Pull-ups and Chest to Bar. Like so many others I have tight shoulders but have worked with Coach Gordy learning various stretches to help me, I am starting to see some good progress.
What do you feel that you still need to work on? Where do I start, first I need to improve my overall squat, then really improve my Over Head Squats (As they are meant to do, they show all of my weaknesses). I am starting to feel comfortable with HandStand Push Ups and need to work on kipping vs. just doing them strict. Oh and MU's...
Goals for the rest of this year? My goals for 2017 are getting bar muscle-ups and stringing them, as well as learning the kipping movement for the ring muscle-ups. I am want to focus on and learn the kipping part of Handstand Push-ups.
What's your favorite WOD? Fight Gone Bad and any WOD which includes Deadlifts.
How about your favorite food/snacks? Steak and burgers are my favorite with anything chocolate for a snack.
What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done? Considering I have never been a long distance runner, training for and running the broad street run tops the shortlist.
What’s your least favorite WOD? Karen (I think I am scheduled to be on a plane the next time it shows up)
Favorite lift/movement? Deadlift What’s your least favorite lift/movement? Overhead Squat
What skill are you planning on working on as the new year 2017 is here? Bar and Ring Muscle-ups and Pistols
Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear"? Chalk, WODies grips and belt
What you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? Mobility has to be at the top of the list for me. I still have a long way to go but I have definitely seen a big difference from when i first started. A close second is the increase in overall strength and the ability to RX more and more WOD's.
Who is your favorite coach? I have had the opportunity to be cached by almost all of the coaches here, which makes this a very difficult question to answer. I really like how each coach has their own unique way of getting everyone motivated to do a WOD even when you have your own doubt. Every coach has provided their own input to help me improve my technique in all of the movements and become a better Crossfitter while at the same time increasing my fitness. I think very highly of each and every coach and always look forward to seeing them on a daily basis.
PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?.. One of the PR's I was proud of achieving was taking my deadlift from 395 to 425. This was a big jump and at the time I had a target of 415 I was looking to hit. Another PR I was happy to hit was during Nicole, where I went from 54 Pull-ups to 75 within 3 months time. Going into 2017 I had set several goals, one of which was to work on Muscle-ups. I spent two week working on Ring MU's after each workout. With help from Coach Aimee and Coach Gordy I was able to get a strict ring MU. Another goal I challenged myself with was HSPU. While i still have a lot of work to do with these, I am now capable of doing them in a workout, going from 3ABM's to 2ABM's. I have to say I really like how 2017 is starting off and looking forward to improving on each one of these goals. Now I just need to get those damn bar MU's!! As far as Nutrition goes.....If i could focus on this the way I have focused on achieving the goals I set above maybe I would have a highlight to mention!! Just another thing to work on....