I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the last year. I walked into CFSB a little more than 80lbs over weight and couldnt do a single pullup if my life depended on it. Over the last year here is what happened:
Waist – went from 38-40in down to 32in waist
Shirts – went from XXL down to a large
Pull-ups – >1 now I can do 28 unassisted
Dead Lift – 395lbs to 480lbs (500lbs here we come)
Weight – 282lbs as of this morning I wieght 197lbs = 85LBS lost!!!
I could go on and on about the results that I have seen over the past year. My energy alone is through the roof I dont want to go sit on the couch and eat cookie dough anymore haha. I watch what I eat now and make the right decisions on nutrition (most of the time) all thanks to you. You have truely changed my life and I cannot thank you enough. Not only have you built a great box but everybody is like family. Thanks again for everything you have done and we will see you soon.

Thanks,
Britni

If your are intimidated by Crossfit.. Don’t be! The best thing about this journey is that you have no idea how great you can be..each day you get a little bit leaner, stronger, and better. In no way is it easy but nothing worth having ever comes easy.

Lastly, my husband now Crossfits and we enjoy talking to each other about our days, WODs, PR’s and everything Crossfit. Oh, and about those handstand push-ups…I am very proud to say they no longer intimidate me, I can complete them whenever they show up in a workout 🙂

Edna
Thank you!

I am sharing this because I was told I needed to. 3 years ago, my doctor urged me to do something about my health. These photos were taken July, 3 years ago. I started my adventure in August after this trip to Colombia. In these past 3 years, I have learned so much about nutrition and healthy habits. It isn’t just about what you eat or how. It is about the whole person. This includes mental, emotional, physical, and diet. In my world, the word DIET is an acronym: Did I Eat Today? (Thanks to Dr. Pomroy). I found that when you eat healthy, you need to eat more (healthy food). I didn’t have a dessert until our anniversary this August and that was just three bites and I was satiated. The key is eliminating all the processed junk we put into our bodies. I had to give up sugar, bread, coffee, pasta and many of the foods I absolutely loved. But I found others to replace them. I am so aware of what I put into my body these days and tell my students: “If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.”

I see something now that I have always chosen to ignore: how unhealthy our society is. It reminds me of the population in the movie Wall E (pictures included) where they are all slaves to their lifestyle. It isn’t until the end (second pic) where they awaken and realize what they have allowed to happen. I feel that my weight gain was, by society in general, enabled by excuses: “Well you have 6 kids, what do you expect?”or “You look good, don’t worry.” or “At least you eat healthy.” What is “healthy eating”? I found essentially, that it is unprocessed whole foods (organic if possible).
I had injured my knees over time, had surgery on one, and could not go up and down stairs for years. Many things that most people take for granted, I could not do. I walked cautiously always looking down.

I am now able to do all those things and so much more. I have lost 90lbs since that August three years ago. I also go to CrossFit Silverback and love, love it (thank you Sonya Nair Cranford)! I can now jump rope, lunge, deadlift 90lbs, split jerk 40lbs, run, row, squat, and so much more. I never in a million years thought I could do any of that. This gym is unlike any other. They are a community. We all help each other, encourage each other and I can truly say that there have been times I didn’t think I could finish; but with the encouragement of everyone there, I always have.
I have included my before pics and my after pic which was taken on the first day of school. I didn’t do this before because I was embarrassed that I had allowed myself to become the person I had. Being overweight caused me to be insecure with myself and not enjoy life for fear of someone laughing at me. I would not go to the gym until I had lost weight because I didn’t want to be judged. I am past all that and I still have many strides to make, but I have tackled the hardest part: getting started. By changing my bad habits and learning what is truly good for me, I have achieved so much. Thanks to the Grace of God for the strength He has given me to keep going and all my family and friends, I am a happier, content, satiated, less-stressed person.

“As someone who teaches and coaches young people for a living my struggle was not with knowing how to be healthy it was about actually doing it. I have always loved sports. Growing up I went from sport to sport based on what season it was. In college and for a few years after I had found rugby as my athletic outlet. But over time I found myself becoming less and less active.

In June of 2013 while on vacation I stepped on the scale and it read 293 lbs, that was unacceptable. Something was going to change. I knew that I needed to find someway to get active that was going to get monotonous and end in me giving it up after a few weeks. So I sent a message to co-worker and Crossfit Guru Sonya Cranford which simply said “Crossfit, convince me.” She told me to give the free into class a try.

What I found Crossfit was not going to be easy, but it is the right kind of hard. The workouts are constantly varied which keeps it interesting and challenging. In 4+ months of eating right (just as important) and working with the great trainers and fellow athletes at Crossfit Silverback I have lost around 60 lbs, my pant size is down and my energy level is up.”

*Results may vary from person to person.

Weight: 205 to 166
Deadlift: 95 to 200 1RM
Pant size: 16/18 to a 12
Shirt size: XL to a M
Push ups: 0 to 13 unbroken
Burpees 1 min: 9 to 18

Overall I feel Crossfit Silverback saved my life. I’m not only losing weight but I’m healthy and fit. Ill be around longer for my five children. Ill be able to run and play with my grandkids and ill be able to make my family’s quality of life better. Thank you Matt, Garrett, Zack, DJ, Dick and Val, for making me a better me. I’m still not the “weight” I want to be but it’s just a number and im happier now when I look in the mirror. I’m stronger then I have ever been and I know that with Crossfit Silverback Ill soon reach my goal.

My first impression, I was intimidated. I saw the rig and thought, “I’ll never be able to do a pull-up.” But then I saw the rowers and felt like maybe I wouldn’t be totally lost. I used to think that there was no way I could bring my son with me to work out with no one watching him. Of course, all of these impressions couldn’t have been more inaccurate. My son has made great friends and asks to go to the box with me to see them. And I was determined to get a pull-up and didn’t stop until I reached that goal.

What sealed the deal, the feeling I experienced after my intro class, the high. Sonya was smiling and telling me how awesome I did, and I felt that familiar confidence that had been lacking for so long. It also made me realize right away that I was way more capable than I gave myself credit for, and I wanted to keep challenging myself and improving. I remember, a few days before I did my intro class, I read an article about how we’ve basically all become zoo animals, driving in air-conditioned cars and sitting in air-conditioned buildings…and it really struck me when I was done with my intro. My body felt happy and satisfied like this is what it wanted all along.

My biggest accomplishment at CFS is watching my son’s language change about beauty and fitness. He is constantly bragging about how strong I am and talking about how he wants to feed his muscles when we eat dinner. Now that he’s in Lil’ Apes, I recognize that same sense of confidence in him. When someone asks him if he is able to complete a task, he says, “Yeah, I’m a big boy. I do Crossfit.” I would also say that, as a woman and as someone who comes from a history of disordered eating, one of my biggest accomplishments was understanding and respecting my body. I am at peace with who I was, who I am, and who I want to become. I now want to be stronger and more capable, not smaller and weaker. I’m proud of every pound I put on that bar, and I’m not phased by any ideal of beauty that is paraded in front of me. Strong is my forever goal now, no matter if society agrees.

Crossfit is not only about getting healthy physically, it’s about getting healthy mentally. It is worth every penny hundreds of times over simply because it will change your life. Your mentality becomes more positive, more determined, and your confidence will skyrocket. You realize you have this unlocked potential you never even considered before, and you can’t wait to continually push your own boundaries to be the very best version of yourself.

But then one fateful day, at a customer’s location, a guy I have worked with for over 10 years comes up, pats me on the stomach and says, “Mark! They must be paying you so well to get that kind of gut!” All I could think was, “Oh crap! I’ve been caught!” I was embarrassed. I’ve never been the fat kid. I never even had to worry about being the fat kid. So I knew then something had to change. I still hadn’t heard of Crossfit, but I felt compelled to start doing something. So I would run some. And there were a few apartment complexes in the area that I could sneak into to use their weight room, but I could never develop a habit of fitness to take me away from my other habits. So I kept going to bars and eating fast food and being disappointed in myself but, screw it, I could numb that guilt.

So then I figured I would spend some money, and maybe that would get me to stick with it. So I joined a 24-Hour Fitness, cost $30 a month if I remember correctly, and started going. But that place got so old. I never knew what to do. No one there really looks like they do. It was gross in there. And finally, maybe even serendipitiously, one of my coworkers and I were talking about how I’ve been trying to work out but it’s been going nowhere; and she told me that she had been going to Crossfit. This is where I learned what it was and how it had worked for her and that there were probably single girls in any class and they were all over Houston. So I figured it couldn’t hurt.

I had driven past the Silverback sign outside of the vet clinic before. And, after Googling the schedule and reading a bit about the box online, I figured I’d go. I couldn’t have been more awkward, but something felt special about the place. This was before the on-ramp class. So they said, “Can you do this?” Of course, I said yes but thought, “What the hell am I doing?!?!”

I describe my first experience, in one word, “humbling;” in more than one word, “deliriously frightening”. I don’t remember the workout, but I do remember calling my mom on the way home and describing what I had just done. She replies, “That sounds like too much. You don’t need to do everything they tell you!” And I said, “Yeah, I know, but there is something special about this and I think I need to see what happens next.” And then slowly I started making friends, and they were peeling back the curtain into a community that was so much more meaningful and beneficial than what I had as my daily routine.

Sonya and Johnathan were a big part of me having the confidence to stick around. And after a few months of going I could see some improvement but not a lot; and, instead of blaming myself, I blamed the program and sent Matt an email complaining that I didn’t think it was for me and that I don’t think it’s going anywhere. The next day I was sitting at Lone Star Icehouse and my phone rang. I answer and, after realizing who it was, I speed walk outside so it’s not obvious I am sitting at a bar at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. “Hi Mark, it’s Matt. Tell me about your diet. Has that changed at all?” And all I could say was, no, it hadn’t. I knew again that I had been “caught.” It was up to me to commit completely, which still is a struggle to walk the clean-diet-and-regular-exercise path. But I, at least, knew I had to make a life goal to stay on that path.

I still struggle constantly. I enjoy my nights out with friends, happy hour, and the occasional Sunday Funday. But I know that, if I can just keep the bad urges at bay for most of the time, then I will have a very meaningful experience.

What sealed the deal is once the friendships started. I would get excited about seeing everyone at 4:30 and talking before and after. This made me want to attend the classes and inspired me to do the best I could and arrive in the best condition I could for the workout. Also, once the “habit” had formed, people started complimenting, which was so weird at first but I liked it. And, as I became better in that aspect of my life, all other facets became improved as well. Better-looking girls started coming around; work was done consistently better; I could start creating a decent savings account because of all the money saved from not eating out and drinking all the time. Crossfit really does sneak up on you like a drug. But it’s one where, when you look in the mirror, you gain confidence to go ask the 10 out when, before, your self-esteem and lifestyle choices had relegated you to a life of 4s.

It’s a drug that demands you make positive choices instead of negative choices. It’s a drug that demands you associate with better people. And, in the end, every aspect of your life becomes an opportunity of limitless possibilities.

My biggest accomplishment at CFS is being accepted into the community and being a sexy beast now. Two years ago I was a chubby fool who hadn’t heard that the frat party ended years before. Now I have a great career, in school again, a super hot girlfriend and just feel more confident and healthy. I think the whole experience isn’t a plateau of an accomplishment. There isn’t a time where I can go “okay, I did that now that’s done.” That wouldn’t be sincere to the program. The biggest accomplishment is having the opportunity to now say, “Wow, I can’t believe I pulled that off! Let’s see what happens next!”

I have people tell me all the time that they are going to start working out at home or a 24-Hour Fitness type place only to ask them about it a few weeks later and hear that it didn’t stick. Most people get turned off to Crossfit due to the cost, but that is so short-sighted to think that way. The money we pay to have the privilege to be part of such an amazing experience is an investment in ourselves. Paying that little bit more provides the leadership from the trainers; and, for me, it makes me that much more compelled to go. I used to think, “I only went to 24-Hour Fitness once this month. Oh, well, it was only 30 bucks and everyone there looks like an idiot who I don’t want to be around, anyway.” Now I get to say I pay the extra amount so I can be part of a group who knows they are all in it together, and everyone knows everyone by name and roots on everyone and asks about how their lives are and sometimes hang out on the weekends, gets excited for things happening in their personal lives and overall just ooze as much positivity and fellowship as much as they do sweat.

This is what I like; this is why I go; and, yes, you will be sore and you will question why you do it. But after a while you’ll notice those shoulders and that stomach and your deadlift weight, and you’ll spend every day from then on seeing what you can do next!

I thought these people are crazy! There is no way I’m going to be able to do this. The thing that “sealed the deal” was when Matt Phillips considered me an athlete. I was never very good at sports growing up. I tried basketball, tennis and softball but wasn’t very good at any of them. When I started Crossfit and was looked at as an athlete, it motivated me and gave me self-confidence, a self-confidence I had never experienced before.

My biggest accomplishment at CFS was when I joined the 300 club. I think I was the first female athlete at CFS to accomplish that goal. I deadlifted 300 pounds, which was quite an accomplishment for me.

I would tell people to give Crossfit a try. My sister bothered me for months to try it, but I resisted. Once I did try Crossfit, I fell in love. There is an overwhelming sense of community. Crossfit has made me stronger than I ever thought I could be.

Thank you, Matt, for always pushing me. You’re a great coach and motivator. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me over the past 5 years.