WEDNESDAY WINS! TEAM THREATT!
WEDNESDAY WIN: TEAM THREATT!
Today we celebrate one of the Cove’s favorite couples, RoCarla and Warren T.! Both have made such incredible gains in strength, speed and stamina that the coaches AND their fellow athletes alike, are in awe.
Unlike most other couples here at the Cove, it is not their ‘date night’ place. “We actually never work out together, Warren says. “And we certainly don’t do partner WODs. I don’t want my wife to see me struggling!”. But despite the fact they are on different schedules, CrossFit and the Cove have become big topics of discussion at home. “ Even though we never take classes together, we talk about it ALL the time. We’ll go over the workout the night before or when I’m ready to come in later that day, he tells me what to expect.”
These two big personalities have a chemistry that is palpable, but he gives her all the credit. “RoCarla is the star of any show. Everything that is good in my life she has either lead me too, pushed me too, inspired me to become, or gave to me.”
They met with they were fresh out of the military (her Army, him Navy). Despite the inherent rivalry, they worked together and met during their employment orientation. “I wanted to ask her out as soon as I saw her. I scoped out the times she got up, where she got her coffee and when she went to dinner. I always say ‘fortune favors the bold’. I got her in the elevator and asked if she wanted to have a drink with me. Not sure if it was because she was stuck in an elevator with me, but she said yes. And even after she kept me waiting for a long time at that bar, I was just happy she showed up.” They had their first ‘real date’ in DC (at the Lincoln Memorial). Despite his attempts to impress her from the onset, she was playing hard to get. “ He was such a goofball.” “I even ducked his first kiss.” But this was the beginning of their amazing – and funny – and forever — story.
She was living with her parents trying to buy a house. “I told my mom about the date. I told her I met a great guy, he lives in Virginia. He’s nice. He’s respectful. He likes his mom. He has ambition. He’s got a good job. So why hasn’t he called me yet?!” How does he not call me?!”. But he did. And every day after that they talked for hours. It resulted in him moving up here (after some not-so-subtle nudging) and starting a new life together. Sorta.
“Ro was recalled after she left the Army (she was still in active reserve) right as I was planning to move up here. Just as I was working on moving and all the job logistics she got the notice for 404 days. I had to put the ring on her. I made a plan. I planned to go back to the Lincoln memorial to propose. But weather was not in our favor that day but as I said, fortune favors the bold! I decided to it right then. Just as she was about to attack a colony”. (yes, she was playing a video game).
She served, he settled into his new home and life began together (albeit 404 days after they expected). They got married, had two beautiful daughters and on paper everything was great. But it wasn’t. “After the babies, I suffered from post partum depression. I didn’t even know I had it. After Warren and the kids went to bed I’d get out of bed and binge eat and watch trash TV. I’d get two warmed cookies and a Machhioto from Starbucks every day and think it was okay. I was eating 2,000 calories a day just at Starbucks! And I was teaching those kids my bad habits. It took a long time to realize it was actually post-partum depression. I was angry and sad and didn’t know why. Sometimes you blame or think it’s your spouse or something is wrong with the relationship, but he was wonderful the whole time. In fact, he was the one who told me I was depressed. I couldn’t even see it myself. “
“I was like “I have to get better”. I took more time for myself. Started going to church. I gained a lot of weight and it wasn’t coming off. I remember had to go to Warren’s work Christmas party. I must’ve but on six outfits and none looked good on me. Everything needed to change.” Getting her mind right was the priority, but they knew healthy bodies would help with a healthy mind. Warren grew up as a chunky kid and knew the impact that it has on the body AND mind.
Warren: “I hit 200 pounds when I was TEN years old. I wrestled heavy weight as a kid; I was heavy, but I could move. But when I hit my teenage years everyone else got taller and stronger and I didn’t. In 8th grade I started lifting with the high school football team and started learning about weights. That’s where I got hooked on the barbell. I was stronger than I thought I was and started dropping weight in 9th grade. I learned what a calorie was in 10th grade and I was still 200 at 17, but it was a very different 200. I went to the Navy, and lived most of my young adult life fit. But then we got married, had a family and I started getting bored. I still did some running and light lifting, but the weight room felt like a stranger.
RoCarla came to the Cove through the Fresh Start Challenge. It was the exact change she was looking for. She is a natural athlete and was always super fit playing basketball in high school and receiving the highest PT score when in the Army. She could do more push ups, sit ups and could run faster than than all the guys – but lost that part of her. She wanted it back. And so did he.
Since starting at the Cove, RoCarla is down over 30 pounds and is back to her strong and confident self. She’s in a great headspace and has seemingly found the balance she was missing. And the same is true for Warren. “I can walk into the gym and not feel like a stranger. I always thought of the gym as ‘my house’. I finally feel at home again. The atmosphere is so conducive to getting work done. I’m not one of the guys that can blow my own sail; I need external stimulus. I learned I lifted weights wrong a lot of years. The coaches teach me the right way to do it and correct my form and now I’m hitting 485 on a deadlift.”
Warren said, “I found the Cove to be an environment that provides me with all the tools I need to reach my full physical potential. Football let me know how strong I can be. The Navy taught me that I am only limited by how hard I want to work. The Cove is the place I can put all that together.”
It’s a family experience too. She says “The kids get excited for us to work out.” In addition to telling their parents to “send it” regularly, “They tell us ‘you need to eat more protein mommy. They love it here. The first thing they do when they get here is grab a PVC pipe!”.
They’re fit. They’re having fun. Oh, and they LOOK great too. Ro chimes in “I feel great. I’m wearing jeans that are two sizes smaller now. And Warren keeps saying “you look GOOD in those jeans! We just love seeing the changes in each other’s physiques. It’s amazing.”
As he so beautifully states, “The Cove is the place where we share in an experience, and the Cove has made us a happier couple. We love the time we can spend at the Cove just being ourselves and not the roles we serve.”
“We want to convey our heart felt admiration and appreciation for the entire Cove community. We have never been surrounded by so many exceptional people in our entire lives. I can’t relate how it feels to have those same exceptional people talk with me and be kind to me. I always muse that if I had to colonize another planet I would start at the Cove.”
STRENGTH
Front Squat
6 @ 70%
6 @ 70%
6 @ 75%
6 @ 75%-80%
6 @ 80%-85%
P/PP Mods:
Modify percentages as needed – do not exceed 75% of previous 1 RM
Optional squat to box
WOD
For time:
1/1/1, 2/2/2, 3/3/3…10/10/10 reps of
Hang Power Cleans
Front Rack Lunges (ea leg)
T2B
*15 min time cap
Fitness- 95/65
Performance- 115/80
Open- 135/95
P/PP Mods:
Sub DB hang cleans for barbell cleans
Optional unweighted lunges or DB lunges (hold at either side versus front rack)
Sub slam balls for T2B
Coach’s Tip: Same Front Squat sequence as last week, working on some volume and consistency with squatting. The metcon works as follows- do 1 HPC, 1 Front Rack Lunge (L), 1 Front Rack Lunge (R), 1 T2B. Then on to 2 of each, 3 of each, etc. Lots of transitions so pick a weight you can hang on to from the HPCs to the Lunges.