Workout of the Day
#6 “Karen”
For Time.
150 Wall Ball (20/14)
I started CrossFit in 2012 at CrossFit Solano, where I was on the 2013 regionals team. Luckily, I had a seamless transition from Collegiate baseball to CrossFit. I needed something competitive. After college, CrossFit was it. In September 2013, I opened CrossFit Napa Valley, which ran until August 2022. We rebranded to Crush Fitness then and opened up a second location in St Helena, which was sold during Covid and is now Core Community Fitness. During my time, I had a master athlete make the games multiple times and built a community in Napa, which I was extremely proud of. In March 2022, I had my first baby, which shifted my goals, and currently, I have just finished the Solano Fire Academy and interviewed throughout the Bay Area. I love helping people and being part of a community. I’m excited to meet you all!
I am a Vacaville native returning to town after spending the last eight years in Santa Barbara (UCSB grad). I was a competitive swimmer most of my life. I also started playing rugby in Vacaville in 2016 and continued playing in college. I started CrossFit in 2013 at CrossFit Davis as part of my training for swim, then started training with CFVV in 2015 and coaching in 2016.
Over the last eight years, I’ve played collegiate rugby, trained with the UCSB-only weight lifting team, trained at my local f45 and CrossFit gyms, and recently competed in an NPC bodybuilding competition. (I’ve just started running and am also looking to get more serious about training for a marathon. If anyone has pointers on that, I would love some!)
I’m finishing up a holistic health certification this September through the NCA to become a nutritional therapy practitioner (NTP), which I’m super excited about – the foundations of the course are sleep, stress, nutrient-dense diet, digestion, and blood sugar regulation. I’m hoping to add value to the community by helping members interested in learning more about different lifestyle habits and improving and optimizing their health in these areas.
Coach
I’m single, I am originally from Fairfield, I’ve been working out at CrossFit Vacaville for two months now. I am currently going to Solano Community college for Business Administration. I do CrossFit because no matter how physically fit you are you still get challenged. There’s always room for growth and also because you’re not at the gym for 2-3 hours. I also am training for military special forces and CrossFit is the best training for that.
CrossFit makes me mentally and physically prepared for life. Those tough times in the gym when you don’t want to push any more, but you push yourself anyway can be correlated to the tough times in life. There’s a scripture that is posted in the gym that explains it perfectly. Romans 5:3-4 – Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Some of my main achievements in my life are I became a United States Marine, I finished high school with a 3.9 after failing my ninth grade, I also deadlifted 530lbs. I want to become a trainer because it has been a dream of mine to help others see the best version of themselves!
Coach
CREDENTIALS
CrossFit Level 1 Certified
CrossFit Level 2 Certified
I have played 3 sports at a competitive level over the past nine years and have always loved being very active. I began attending CrossFit about a year and a half ago and began to assist in the Mobility and Stretching portion of the gym. Being an athlete, CrossFit has done amazing things for me. It has not only made me physically stronger but has also taught me to be more disciplined in all areas of my life. Pushing myself mentally and physically has helped me become a stronger, faster and more competitive player on the field and court. I love being a part of the gym and helping members push themselves to become stronger while achieving goals they never thought they could reach. CrossFit Vacaville in particular, provides an encouraging environment with trainers who truly care about the members that attend. It is a huge privilege for me to be a part of this staff.
Coach
CrossFit Level 1 Certified
I grew up in Vacaville and graduated from Vacaville High School. I have 5 dogs that keep me busy and I enjoy working out and crocheting. I started working out when I was 14 years old by doing track & Field and eventually got into weightlifting. Once I graduated, I wanted to continue sports and working out, so I found my new fitness journey with CrossFit Vacaville. CrossFit Vacaville helped me to stay in shape but also opened my eyes to nutrition and has helped my overall physical and mental health! I enjoy helping others and spreading my CrossFit knowledge so coaching felt like a natural transition. My greatest satisfaction as a coach is getting to watch others achieve their goals they have been working on or didn’t even know they could accomplish!
Coach
I am married with 2 fur children and was born and raised in Vacaville. In addition to coaching at CrossFit Vacaville, I work as a full-time recruiter for PG&E and have a BS in Criminal Justice. Some of my favorite hobbies include boating, camping, anything active/outdoors and of course working out!
Before starting my CrossFit Journey, I was looking for something different than traditional weightlifting and I found that the camaraderie of CrossFit is unmatched. The workouts themselves have gotten me into the best shape of my life! I love that it’s constantly varied. My only wish is that I would have had the courage to step into a box sooner in life. My favorite exercises include anything with a dumbbell! But I wouldn’t exclude any particular exercise because I love it all! I chose CrossFit Vacaville after doing some research and looking for a CrossFit gym that would challenge me, safely. CrossFit Vacaville provides me with the best workouts daily but because the owners and members are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and some have even become like family.
Overall, CrossFit has improved both my physical and mental state. It’s given me confidence and helped me achieve greatness I would have never achieved in a globo gym or otherwise.
I decided to become a coach at CrossFit Vacaville because I love CrossFit so much, why not help train others and show them why it’s so great? Training members also helps my own form and technique as well! Like many who CrossFit I am driven every day to live the healthiest life I can, and we can help anyone achieve the same! So, if you’re thinking about checking out CrossFit, don’t waste another minute!
Coach
Hi, I’m Alyssa! I am married to my husband Greg for over 8 years and we have two small dogs. Originally I am from Pennsylvania but it’s hard to call that home since my husband and I move every 2 to 3 years because of the military. Vacaville is new to me but I have visited here previously not knowing at some point I would live here. It is hard to pin point one specific movement in CrossFit but I can tell you that from the beginning I really loved the split jerk and pullups. Over the past year, my focus has been on handstand work.
For about 5 years I was a long distance runner and really enjoyed obstacle course running (Spartan’s, etc), and I was ready for a change. A big focus for myself was to work on my upper body strength, not knowing my lower body was just as weak, and CrossFit was appealing. With recently moving to Vacaville from Oklahoma, I did some research prior, contacted the gym, scheduled an intro appointment and got right into the routine again. The community at this gym is more than amazing. There will always be coaching available to you as the athlete, no matter your experience. I was the newbie at this gym and within a couple weeks, I was family.
CrossFit has tested and matured my mental capacity. Joining 3 years ago, that was not in my plan, but I am glad it worked out that way. If you give this a try, you will accomplish more than you ever imagined you were capable of doing. Naturally I have been able to help motivate and guide people in many tasks. As a person and coach, I want to encourage someone that they can and will succeed at the task at hand. Coming into CrossFit, I was not the most confident, plus there is a lot to learn! I WANT to coach someone and help them learn and be confident and have GREAT form!!
What drives me? Happiness…seeing someone smile is contagious and gets me excited. If there were to be anything else to add would be if you ever thought of doing something you should probably do it (within reason of course), so if you thought of giving CrossFit a try, then come on by!!
Manager / Coach
CREDENTIALS
CrossFit Level 1 Certified
Mobility and Recovery Certified
Olympic Lifting Certified
I moved to Vacaville in 2008 after attending Michigan State University. I ended up falling in love with California, and recently got married to my husband, Mike. Together we have an adorable dog named Winston. You will see him around the gym, greeting our members, sporting his own CrossFit Vacaville scarf. He is our official mascot! What I like about CrossFit is how it not only makes you stronger, but more confident in other areas of your life. It gives me great satisfaction when I see people get results and reach their goals. At our CrossFit, you will find a supportive environment helping you succeed. You just have to show up!