I was born in Russia and moved to Colorado with my family when I was 13. I moved to DC in 2002 to pursue a graduate degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution and finally settled in Columbia nine years ago.  I’ve always enjoyed fitness classes, but I really fell in love with exercising when I went to my first Krav Maga class in 2004. I moved up quickly and enjoyed the benefits (both self-defense and the fitness) but I continued to feel that there was something lacking in my exercise routine. I tried CrossFit when my Krav Maga studio started offering CrossFit classes and immediately began to see changes that I was really excited about. I continued to practice Krav Maga for self-defense, but CrossFit became my primary source of fitness. Life and injury caused me to leave my previous gym and take a break from CrossFit. Fortunately for me, Marina and Brian opened up the Cove. Now with a family (and a rambunctious 3 and a half year-old), and a job in DC, CrossFit at the Cove is the ideal solution in my life to get the exercise I need in the short amount of free time I have.

 Olympic lifts. While I really enjoy most of the barbell workouts, the complexity and intricacy of the snatch and clean & jerk make it so rewarding when your body is finally starting to get it. I also really like burpees – crazy, I know. They have just always been pretty easy for me.

Wall ball and rowing. I’m short…I know I know, that shouldn’t be my excuse, but the fact is that I literally almost have to jump every time I throw the ball to reach that target, and I’m so much slower at rowing than most people that it’s just very difficult to enjoy those movements.