The Caveman Evolution athlete of the week is Cari Werz. Cari is currently working to getting her c1 certification and provided us with some great information about her CrossFit journey.
Tell us about your Crossfit journey?
I’ve been into sports
since I was 5. I copied everything my older brother did. He was a competitive power lifter so I’ve
been working out in a gym since I was 12.
I haven’t yet competed in weightlifting or Crossfit. After college I continued working out by
going to the gym or taking boot camp classes.
I also loved the convenience of fitness videos in my living room. When I reached 30 I really feel like I plateaued,
I was doing intense workouts, but I didn’t see any progress. My boyfriend found Dogtown Crossfit online
and he was immediately hooked. He choose
them because of the level of experience the coaches have and their talents are
so well rounded from placing 2nd in the Crossfit games to Olympic
lifting to advanced gymnastics. I soon followed my boyfriend in joining Dogtown
Crossfit and after the first introduction workout I collapsed to the ground and
felt so accomplished that I had just done 50 pull-ups (with a band of course)
and an intense workout that kicked my butt.
I got the Crossfit bug, I was hooked.
I love the friendly competitive feeling I get every class. I love how much my knowledge has grown. I used to be intimidated by free weights, now
I feel empowered by them. I love how much of a stress release the classes give
me. I also love the variety in the
workouts. I stuck with Crossfit because
I got better faster results in comparison to every other workout that I’ve
tried. After 3 months of going 3 times a
week, my friends were noticing a big difference in me. My muscles were more
defined I felt more lean, and it got easier to run long distances (I was
training for the marathon).
You're working on getting your c1
certification? What prompted that?
Getting to know Dusty Hyland (owner) and Lindsey Valenzuela (Coach and Professional
Crossfit Athlete) over past couple years inspired me to want to coach Crossfit
as well. All of the coaches at Dogtown
are so passionate and knowledgeable I strive to learn as much as I can from
them every time I go. As a high school
teacher I have a unique opportunity to bring Crossfit to my students. I’ve partnered up with a non-profit Crossfit
affiliate, Crossfit Zen who is volunteering to teach Crossfit at the school I
teach at during and after school. I help recruit students and the coaches lead
all of the WOD’s. I can’t let the
students have all of the fun so I work out alongside them.
I’ve always coached
sports at the schools I’ve worked at and I’m excited I was able to help
introduce Crossfit to the teenagers at my school, Da Vinci Design in Hawthorne
Ca. I’ve seen what fitness can do for a teenager’s confidence. Confidence is everything at that age! My goal is to help as many students as I can
be the best they can be. Once they see
what they can achieve when they dedicate themselves to living a healthier life
style I have seen them change drastically. One student told me they feel like
they can do anything after 6 months of training. Another told me, that they decided to give up
junk food and they prefer eating healthier because they’ve seen how much
stronger and healthier they felt and they liked it. The student athletes become more confident, happier,
and stronger emotionally and physically.
I want to get my Level
1 Crossfit Certification and my Kids Crossfit Certification so I can make more
of a difference in student’s lives. If I
can help them learn safe fitness skills, practice discipline, perform at 110%
every time, commit to being dedicated, they will see the rewards from their
hard work. If teenagers can see and feel
the rewards Crossfit can bring to them then I believe they will apply that
knowledge and strength to everything they do in life.
Do you follow a paleo diet? If
so, what’s your favorite recipes?
I have tired strict
paleo and I’m not going to lie I missed eating bread! I did feel better when I was on the paleo
diet. I lost that last 5 stubborn pounds
that could never shed off. I felt more
lean and defined than I’ve ever felt. Maybe one day I will work my way back to
100% paleo. For now I’ve found that 80% paleo works for me. I cheat in
moderation. I changed my mindset to
thinking of rice, pasta, and bread as a condiment. I put less of it on my plate. I load up on veggies and protein. I also cut back on sugar. I switched to
Original Almond Milk which is half of the sugar content to regular milk. I resist buying sweets because if I see it I
will eat it in a moment of weakness.
One of my favorite
paleo recipes is a balsamic peach chicken crockpot recipe I found on mynaturalfamily.com/recipes/paleo-recipes. I also LOVE making sweet potato fries! Another trick I use to slim down a few pounds
is to make a green smoothie before dinner.
It provides me with a ton of benefits and it fills me up so I eat
smaller portions. It’s also a great
snack to have in the middle of the day if you are starving and you have to wait
to eat lunch. The staples I include in
my smoothies are almond milk, chia seeds, spinach (store in the freezer), small
amount of kale, and protein powder.
Then, I choose a fruit like mixed berries, banana, mango, or just blue
berries. A good recipe is to add the
staples plus ¼ OJ. When you mix vanilla
protein powder and OJ it has an orange sherbert icecream flavor.
What’s in your work out bag right
now
I change my workouts
every day. Dogtown has strong programming. It varies depending on what we are working
towards. Currently the Crossfit Open
starts in a week so we are doing mixture of strength days and conditioning days.
I go to Dogtown CrossFit 2-3 times a week and I am also running 2-3 times a week because
the LA marathon is in a month.
What’s your favorite and least
favorite wods/lifts?
My favorite lifts in Crossfit
are power cleans or back squats. My
least favorite movement is pull-ups, I hate when my hands tear and I’m not very
good at strict pull ups. I still have to
kip my pull up to connect a lot in a row. The toughest WOD for me is Fran
because it has pull ups in it. Fran is 21, 15, 9 reps of pull ups and
thrusters.
Anything else you would like to add would be
great.
If you are considering joining a Crossfit gym I would
recommend researching the coaches to ensure of their level of skill,
experience, and knowledge. You want to
be sure you are being taught safely. If
you want to try paleo I suggest easing into it so it’s not such a shock to your
body and mind. Give up a new thing each
week. Research at least a dozen recipes
so you have enough variety to start.
Then, build on your recipes as you go.
If you go strict be aware that week 1 you’ll have serious cravings but
it goes away and you might get a little “hangry”. Week 2 you will have a lack of energy,
especially if do an intense workout. Week
3 you start to feel like yourself again.
Week 4 your energy will increase and your workouts will improve.