2.1.17 Wednesday Wins!
Today we shine a light on one of the Cove’s favorite couples… Ed and Keisha Montgomery! Most people at the Cove love one another, but these two REALLY love each other. So much so that they willingly turn the “me time” we all crave into “we time”! Part of the reason people find success here is because of the incredible support system inside the gym. But to ALSO have that support OUTSIDE is just awesome. And as a military family who re-establishes roots so often, we are thrilled they now consider the Cove community “family”. Plus with their two awesome boys in tow, it’s a total family affair. We asked them about their journey, success inside AND outside the box… and what CrossFit life is like when you do it with your life partner! Here’s what they had to say…
Ed and I grew up in or near Galax, VA. Literally smalltown USA, ha! We met in 1998, but it took us years to get serious. I am a teacher by trade, but have been blessed enough to stay at home with our two boys Kelan (7), and Kasen (3) since Kelan was born. Ed is a Lieutenant in the Navy and he has traveled everywhere. We moved to Maryland in July 2015. Until that we were in San Diego for 14 years. Yes, we were spoiled. We are still hoping Maryland will grown on us…the Cove sure helps!
Our history with fitness… Unless you are a high school athlete, or coach, no one really takes fitness seriously back home. Ed wrestled, played football and baseball at Grayson County High School and I played basketball about 10 miles away at Galax High School! Other than intramural pick up games in college, I really didn’t stay in shape and it showed. Ed was always lifting weights here and there and running on a regular basis, especially after he joined the Navy in 2001.
I was working as a teacher at this time and we had a little group that would meet after school 3 days a week in the elementary school gym to do fitness videos. Looking back now it just cracks me up. I was 21 years old and just really not taking care of myself, physically. By the time we got married in 2006 I was at my heaviest weight ever. About 40 pounds more than I am now. I knew that he was active and when I moved to San Diego, I vowed to get in better shape for him and for the future kiddos we wanted. I started slow. Super slow. One morning we got up to jog together and I couldn’t jog 1/4 mile without stopping. I stuck with it though and it got easier. By the time I was expecting our first child I was down about 20 pounds or so and we had completed a P90X series, TOGETHER! When Kelan was about 8 months old I ran my first 5k. Slow and steady, but I finished. That January, my resolution was to run a 5k every month for a year (easy to do in San Diego)!
I did it, and was hooked. Running became my “me” time. I could put the baby in the stroller and cruise. Kel did most of the races with me, in the stroller of course! That is when I started putting my health and fitness as a priority. I also picked up several spin classes that I loved along the way. I also found that when Ed deployed, which was ALOT over the last 10 years, that I could really focus on my workouts and it helped to have those goals and make the time go by faster. His last deployment, we signed up for a half-marathon to complete together when he returned. So…training I went. Pushing the little guy this time up and down the boardwalk. Sometimes he would ride 10+ miles so mommy could get her workout in. We completed the race with no issues and checked that major milestone off the bucket list. I also noticed that when Ed returned from deployments he would pick up different workout tips/tricks along the way. We started to gather quite the little Crossfit gym in our garage. The rower, bumper plates, squat rack, and med balls were accumulating. He would look up WODs for us to complete together while the kids played in the back yard. It was fun, but other than youtube we hadn’t been taught proper technique. When he was in different cities around the world, like in Panama, he would stop into a box to try a workout, but at home in SD, we did our own workouts, bc we had the equipment.
Things changed when we got here. All of our equipment had to be stored bc we downsized and had nowhere for it to go so the Box Search began. The Cove was the third box we tried before actually joining. I have to say that the kids room was a great draw for me, but the hospitality of everyone just put the icing on the cake. Everyone has been so nice, friendly and helpful. Cove is our first CrossFit family!
Outside of the gym I can tell that Crossfit is making me stronger. These boys are ROUGH, and I needed to toughen up to even attempt to hang with them. I also have to say that I feel like my posture has gotten so much better. I used to have chronic neck and lower back pain, but it is pretty much nonexistent now. I’m loving that side affect.
Physically I am noticing changes too. I’m noticing things aren’t as jiggly as they used to be. That makes me super happy. I always lost weight when I was training for a big run, but nothing ever felt as solid as it does now. I still have a ways to go, but right now I’m happy that my body hasn’t given up on me. Ha! I am probably in better shape now than I was at 20.
Doing Crossfit together was a priority. To be honest, it was a priority to Ed. I was perfectly content getting my runs in here and there and doing some strength training at the YMCA a couple of days a week. He was determined to get us in a box together. He was convinced it would help the transition of the move and he was 100% right. Things have definitely started looking up since we joined. We love working out together. It’s just fun. We challenge each other and cheer each other on. I have to say that the Friday partner WODS are our favorite. It’s seriously a fun date for us. We know the kids are taken care of and we are having fun and doing something good for us! We really look forward to those workouts the most! We try to balance each other out. We may have one week where he has to take the majority of the deadlifts for example, but the next week I may do most of the rowing. We tend to be a pretty good team like that, and it’s just fun! That Friday workout is usually our only workout together during the week. I try to pop into the 9:30 or noon classes so that our evenings aren’t so crazy at home, but you can bet 10 min after I leave the gym my phone is ringing. It’s Ed, “Hey, how was the workout? Did you go RX? How many people were there? Who was the coach? Did the kids behave themselves? Did you PR? Etc!” Crossfit has become another area of conversation for us aside from the typical school, kids, work conversations. It’s refreshing. Also, every night at about 8:15 or so Ed sends me a text…a screenshot of the next days workout! Doesn’t even matter if I’m sitting beside him. Ha!
The Cove has been awesome. We felt immediately welcome and included. That’s been nice. Being a military family, it’s tough to start your lives over every few years, but we do. It’s really nice that everyone at the Cove knows our names or faces, our kids names/faces. It’s nice to feel comfortable enough to ask a question, even if you think it’s stupid. The coaches have been great about answering everything and helping with whatever skill may need tweaking or extra practice and attention. I am hoping and praying that wherever we end up in 21 months when the Navy sends us packing again, we find a home like the Cove.
10 Good Mornings (keep the load low)
5 High Box Jumps
3 Rounds
“Climbing Diane”
21 Deadlifts
21 Handstand Push ups
3 Rope Climbs
15 Deadlifts
15 Handstand push ups
2 Rope Climbs
9 Deadlifts
9 Handstand Push ups
1 Rope Climb
Fitness: 185/125
RX and RX+: 225/155
Time Cap = 15 minutes
Coach’s Tip: We want you to get variation of movement today, so don’t try to go RX and do 21 HSPU if that will take you 10 minutes at the wall! There is NO shame in scaling and this is a TOUGH workout to do RX even without the rope climbs. Another great scale is to do FEWER reps on any given movement. We’d hate for people to scale the movement entirely just because they can’t handle quite that volume (i.e. if you have a few HSPU but can’t do 21, don’t do overhead KB presses. Just do fewer HSPUs!) Remember the movement standard for RX Diane is no ab mat for the head. You can use one and still do RX (which we recommend for safety), you will just need to put your hands on 15lb plates to ‘level’ the ground!
