Kyle’s Story
May 1st 2013 my life forever changed. at 5:46 pm our son Lane was born. One of the most memorable times in my life. I was on cloud 9, super excited to make memories with this little boy! I began to wonder what he would grow up to be like? Hopefully he would want to be like his Dad, I thought. The more I thought about this the more I realized I had to change both mentally, but more importantly, physically. I never was the skinny fat kid, although I was always active playing baseball, racing motocross and hunting. I was just always the chubby kid. I never felt comfortable with my shirt off, and still to this day I struggle with it, but I knew that if I wanted Lane to be confident in himself he would have to see/learn confidence from his Mom and Dad. This is where my CrossFit story begins.
It was about two weeks after Lane was born, I was mowing grass, it was hot and I had my shirt off. I remember just being fed up with being fat and not feeling comfortable. I stopped mowing and drove down to Four Barrel CrossFit. I think I talked myself out of going at least a half dozen times before this, but not this time- this time was going to be life changing! Nervously I walked in and thought, “Holy Shit, these people are going to laugh at me!” Obviously looking like I was lost, Case introduced himself and gave me a little description of what CrossFit actually was, the health benefits and the community. We walked around the Box and as we were talking I couldn’t help but to notice this girl just slamming weights around. I was describing this girl to Jill as being, “built like a brick shithouse.” Later on I found out it was Renee (Cases’ Wife). Case began to tell me about the 101 class that just so happened to be starting the next night. So It began. I drank the CrossFit Kool-aid. I weighed myself that night at 209 (my heaviest being 217). The first few weeks of the 101 class were a real wake up call, but I pushed through and tried not to let myself get discouraged. Case was a real motivator- he never saw the downside like I did. He would always be there with positive reinforcement. One day I saw Cases’ tattoo that says, “Be the Change,’ and thought- those are perfect words to live by. So that simple quote became my motto.
Since I began CrossFit, I’ve completely changed the way I look at physical fitness along with the food that I eat. I don’t feel like it is a job to go workout, it is something that I enjoy doing and I look forward to it. Almost 2 years later I have dropped 50 pounds of fat, gained confidence and built muscle that I never thought I would have. I’ve completed two paleo challenges, dropped to 9% body fat from around 25-30% when I started. I’ve learned that the foods I thought we good for me are not, and why we need the certain foods that we do. I can’t thank Case enough for having his dream to help others along with all of the other coaches at Four Barrel, you all are changing lives.
Jill’s Story
When I started CrossFit Lane was 6 weeks old. For 4 weeks I had watched Kyle find a passion for working out and learning about nutrition. He would come home soaking wet and worn out but he couldn’t wait to go back for more. Kyle would often tell me how much he thought I would enjoy CrossFit. So after I went to my 6 weeks postpartum check-up, the doctor released me to workout. The following week I started my 101 classes, and I soon found myself having a passion for fitness and loved learning about the paleo lifestyle. Kyle and I loved that we could workout together- and that there was child care for Lane.
In January, we participated in out 1st paleo challenge. For 2 years prior to CrossFit and learning about the paleo lifestyle, I was a vegetarian. The more I learned about nutrition, I began integrating grass fed meat into my diet. Our outlook on the food that we were putting into our bodies completely changed. We changed what we bought and kept at home so we could make healthier snacks and meals. Also, we try to expose Lane to a variety of options, so he can have healthier habits for a lifetime.
Four Barrel has forever changed our family. We make healthier choices and make fitness a priority. As our family is growing I plan on continuing working out throughout my current pregnancy. I am 20+ weeks pregnant with Ruby who is due in June. Our ultimate goal is being healthy, but we also want to set a positive example of fitness and nutrition for our kids, Lane and Ruby.
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