WEDNESDAY WINS JO-AN B.!
We are thrilled to announce we are bringing back Wednesday Wins and even more excited to celebrate Jo-An B. as our first featured athlete in 2020! No one works harder than this amazing woman. She rises at an ungodly hour to find that one hour for herself — she’s a registered nurse who loves her career choice and a mom to three year old daughter Adaline. So between caring for family and others at work, time for her own self-care is at a premium.
“Growing up I wasn’t really into sports. I played some JV teams in high school but I was more of the typical nerdy Asian who was always studying for the next test. As the oldest child in the family to parents who emigrated to the US to have a better life for our family, the pressure was there to excel in my studies; therefore, physical activity was on the bottom of list of things to do. I started running after college just because it was something easy to take up. At one point, I got serious and joined a running group and finished my one (& only) half-marathon in my 20’s. But my typical exercise routine was pretty much- going to the gym, running, and working out on circuit machines. I’m pretty introverted- so I was happy doing things on my own.”
One of her co-workers was really fit & into CrossFit and it sparked an interest for her “A lot of times when I worked with her, she would mention how sore she was from her workout. One time, I remember thinking to myself, ‘It’s been a LONG time since I was sore from exercising… I miss that.’ I Googled CrossFit gyms in the area and saw a free intro class at the Cove and it was only 2.6 miles from where I live?!… **ding, ding** I thought ‘OK, let’s see what this is all about.’ I was SO intimidated by the class structure, the loud music, the yelling, and the number of people in the class. I did NOT like being in a class — where people can watch you — but got over that pretty quickly (since there was no other choice :)”
While it’s not always easy to rise before dawn, she’s one of our most loyal 5:30a athletes. I remember coming to my first 5:30a class and it was Coach Katie teaching. I remember her saying: ‘Hey. Good morning, Jo-An!’ and all I thought was ‘OMG… she knows my name!’ It felt so nice to have that personalization when I was new. Thanks Coach Katie! Of course, ALL the morning coaches are awesome as well!”
She not only takes class almost daily, but wraps each session with accessory work to further her fitness. “Becoming a mom was a bit of a rude awakening to me. It. Is. So. Hard. Coming to the 5:30a class is hard, but I cherish it because it’s MY sliver of time and mine alone. I’m not X’s mom or X’s wife… I’m Jo-An. The gains there are mine and I worked hard for them. I started staying after class to work on skills… like, all of them. There were SO many things I wanted to be able to do during the WODs but I just wasn’t strong enough. So I knew I had a lot of ‘catching up’ to do. There is still so much I want to be able to do, but in retrospect, I’ve been at the Cove a little over a year and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. From scaling the scales, to now being able to go ~5-10lbs over the FX reccs (on certain movements). This is the first time I’ve been able to quantify my progress and it’s so exciting & motivating to see it! Also, summers at the Cove with a super sweaty WOD means you burned some serious calories.”
While her gains have been extraordinary across the board, sometimes it’s just ONE thing that sticks with you and reminds you what you’re truly capable of. For her, it was doing her first handstand kick-up. “It was both a physical and MENTAL challenge for me. I was SO convinced my head would go straight into the ground & I was going to break my neck. But once I conquered that skill & got over the fear (I literally shouted out in joy), it became the gateway to many more PR’s & accomplishments for me at the Cove. I love our
5:30a crew and love to see them make their own personal progress with PR’s too!”
She’s learned so much about herself in her last year here. “There are so many things, but I’ve learned with self-discipline & consistency, I can achieve results. I’ve also learned body-awareness/perception. That is, knowing what are my limits are and when I can push myself just a little more.”. But it’s not just inside the gym where she’s seeing change. “CrossFit skills have spilled over to my mom-life — hip-hinging to pick up my 3-year old safely, deadlifting a box of groceries from Costco, engaging my core to move patients at work, etc. Now, if I could just string some double-unders….argh!”
We asked her what advice she’d give to a newbie at the Cove. “Keep coming! Even if you think the WOD is impossible or scary. You can scale down the scales or just adjust the numbers! It IS possible! Once you get the flow of things, it’s fun and exciting to see your progress!”
Yep, she’s got the flow and is the progress is blinding. Throw a fist pump her way when you see her. She’s put in the work and earned every bit of her success!
WOD
For time:
21-15-9 reps of-
Bar MU (reps divided by 3)
Deadlifts
DU (reps x 3)
Time Cap: 14 min
Fx: J-Hook Row (keep reps at 21-15-9), 135/95, SU (reps x 6)
P: 185/125
O: 225/155
ACCESSORY
4 rounds-
15 Glute Ham Bridges
12 GHD Situps
Scale: 24 Regular Situps
Coach Alea’s Tips: For the Metcon, make sure to be patient on the muscle up pull to avoid the chicken wing. Focus on keeping your glutes engaged during the deadlifts. Pick a weight that you don’t have to break up more than 3 times per set. During the accessory work give the GHDs a try! Even if you don’t do all the reps, at least try a few.
Jo-An sneaking some time (and some space) for accessory work after class, per usual…
