Alyssa's Story

All of my life I have been relatively active. In junior high and high school I was in various sports to include cross country and track, and for a good period of time I was pretty good at the latter. In my junior and senior years in high school I got a job and became sedentary in my off time; therefore I gained a lot of weight and became VERY out of shape. I joined the United States Air Force in 2007, in the same month that I graduated high school. During my first couple of years in the AF, I had thought of myself as being rather in shape. When I graduated tech school in 2008, I scored a 98% on my PT test, thinking this was as in shape as I would ever get (Boy, was I wrong!!). I thought I was strong because I could do 32 pushups. At the same time, I was battling back and hip problems. I had sciatica, a common problem in people with a weak core. Every time I went to the physical therapist, I was given all of these stretches to do and different exercises to strengthen my core...and I didn’t want to do them. Nobody does. So my problems persisted. I came to Eglin AFB in 2008 and began doing regular shop PT, thinking that because I could keep up with the guys that I was in shape. I ate like crap, and I wondered why I could never get past 32 pushups on my PT tests. I wondered why my back and hips were still hurting. After being at Eglin for about 14 months, I deployed to Iraq where Brian, my fiance, was also deployed. He had heard from a friend about this “Crossfit” and had decided to give it a try. He kept telling me how this program was so awesome and how it never got boring. I was over at my site doing P90X and whatever random workout I could think up when I wasn’t doing that. Don’t get me wrong, P90X works if you’re looking for something boring and predictable. I just wasn’t satisfied with it. I stopped doing the 90 day program after only about 45 days because I WAS BORED. I finished my deployment after 4 months and came home to my fiance saying all of these wonderful things about this “crossfit” business. The difference I saw in him from before he deployed and after was absolutely amazing. He had put on so much muscle and was so strong! So I asked him about it. He talked it up, of course, and he even got me to try a couple of workouts. I’ll be honest, the first time I tried a true crossfit workout, I HATED IT. I was so mad at Brian for yelling at me and trying to push me. I was screaming every profanity I could think of inside my head. I was ANGRY. I was angry that I couldn’t finish the workout the way I wanted to. I felt weak and defeated. I didn’t understand what this meant; that this meant I had lots of work to do. The concept of me being so weak was unbearable for me. So I decided it wasn’t for me..that it was pure lunacy. A few months went by and Brian and I had both pretty much stopped working out. Brian was putting on a nice little gut and I was definitely doing the same, and my weight was climbing. Brian kept telling me how he’d like to find a Crossfit “box” and start working out again and I would just roll my eyes. One day we were headed out to pick up a TV for my apartment and we decided to take a different route than we were used to...that day we found Crossfit Fort Walton Beach. We drove past the gym and Brian said, “WHAT!? THERE’S A CROSSFIT GYM??!?!” I thought he was going to jump out of his skin. He was extremely excited, as the gym was just down the road from our apartment. We found the gym on a Saturday, and by Monday, Brian was in the gym signing up. After a month or so of Brian coming home and talking about how awesome this gym was, I was about to go crazy. I always felt out of the loop when he talked about the “WOD” or “cleans” or whatever. He would tell me, “you should come try the free workout...you’ll like it.” So eventually I got tired of him badgering me and decided to go try it out. What did I have to lose? If I didn’t like it I could just walk away, right? Right. So I did it. I haven’t looked back! At first I signed up for a month, knowing that I’m horrible about committing to stuff like this. I remember Jordon’s words to describe this, “a quitter’s challenge.” It turned out that I liked it and wanted to keep coming after a month so I decided to go with the 6 month membership. I’d say within a month of making that decision, I was switching to the 1 year membership. I was feeling and seeing results after two weeks...I was sold. I started out weighing approximately 165-170 lbs, and after a mixture of Crossfit and the paleo diet I am currently weighing in at around 150 lbs (BTW I’m 5’9”). My body fat percentage has definitely dropped a lot and my work capacity has dramatically risen. My last PT test I scored a 99.4% with a 28 inch waist. Not to mention I haven’t had any problems with sciatica in a very long time! Last weekend I attended the South Georgia Throw Down in the Rx female division, and I was really nervous that I wouldn’t stack up. I wound up placing 7th out of 14 women, and I was able to clean and jerk 140 lbs. Talk about being stoked! I have gained so much strength since I started here at CFFWB. My deadlift went from 135 lbs to 190 lbs, back squat from 135 lbs to 175 lbs, front squat from 115 lbs to 150 lbs, and shoulder press from 65 lbs to 90 lbs. I can actually do chest to ground pushups, I just recently got to the point where I no longer need the bands to do kipping pull-ups, and I’m working towards getting my first muscle up. There are so many things to work towards when you’re doing Crossfit; there’s always room for improvement. My palms sweat every time I walk in the door at CFFWB...not because the people are scary or anything, but because I know the WOD is going to kick my butt! The satisfaction I get from completing a horrific WOD sets me up for a day of success. It’s motivation to keep me going. I love the instructors and the people who come to work out here. No “globo gym” will ever equal what any one Crossfit gym equals. It’s blood, sweat, tears, and just an overall sense of community and family. I can’t speak enough good words about it...I love it!

Alyssa Grace Wetzel

USAF SrA