613 Success Story: Adrienne McLean

This is the first instalment in a series of interviews with our inspirational CrossFit 613 members.  Enjoy!

Kevin: Hi everyone this is Kevin Pryce from CrossFit 613 and I’m here with Adrienne McLean.  Adrienne is our first featured athlete at CrossFit 613. Adrienne, great to have you here.  Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Adrienne: Well, I work as a pharmacist part-time and have two boys at home, 15 and 13 years old.  Myself and my husband Jim work out here at CrossFit 613.  We started back in November of 2013, so its been about 6 months!

Kevin: Awesome, alright question for you: What was your health and fitness like before you joined CrossFit 613?

Adrienne: Funny you should ask, because when I got here I thought I was pretty fit.  I’ve been a runner on and off for many years; since high school.  Last summer, and through part of the fall I did bootcamps so we were up early every morning dragging tires and all that good stuff so I thought that made my pretty fit.  Well I found out when I came here that I was wrong!  Nothing like CrossFit to bring out your weaknesses! I discovered a lot of things that I needed work on.  I would say I was pretty fit before I got here, but I’m certainly more fit since I’ve joined. 

Kevin: Ok Cool! So lets talk health and wellness as apposed to fitness specifically.  How’s your diet?

Adrienne:  I've definitely made some big changes.  After attending the Eat By Design seminars I eliminated certain foods from my diet and combined with training here at CrossFit 613 I lost roughly 20-25lbs.  So I’ve found that generally speaking everything has improved immensely: my health, nutrition, exercise, endurance; everything. 

Kevin: So would you say it was poor before?

Adrienne: It was ok, not great, but now it’s amazing. 

Kevin: Awesome. That’s good to hear.  So pre-CrossFit 613, what did you struggle with when it came to training.

Adrienne: Hmm. Let me think about that one.  Probably mostly to stay motivated.  I like CrossFit because of the variety.  I never know what is going to happen when I come in here in the morning and that’s a great thing for me.  I get bored very easily!

Kevin: Awesome.  Before started crossfitting were their any specific things that you weren’t capable of doing? 

Adrienne: Well there are a lot of things I’ve improved upon.  For example, in boot camp I could only do a few pushups and now I can do lots...and you guys are pretty strict about how we are supposed to do them so I’m almost re-learning, but learning better!

Kevin: Are there any stats you would like to share with us pre-CrossFit and now? Strength increases, weight etc..?

Adrienne: Yes when I started I weighed about 140lb, now I’m about 120-125lb.  I think a lot of that was due to changing my diet., and now I’m building muscle as well!  In terms of strength, I remember when I started I could only deadlift maybe 130lbs, and now I’m up to 155lbs for multiple reps! I’m excited that I can see the progress, I couldn’t do toes to bar before, now I can.  I couldn’t climb the rope before and now I can.  A lot of this progress started around the 5 month mark. 

Kevin: Cool! So let's fast forward to the present.  What’s your health like now?

Adrienne:  Well I can say that my mood is better, my sleep is better, and my running has improved!

Kevin: How about injuries, have you had any?

Adrienne: Oh, yes well you guys are definitely picky about form and let me know every time I’m doing something wrong.  So I’ve had no injuries since I’ve started here.  That in itself is a huge improvement.  I would go home from bootcamp with this that and the other thing, and I find I’m not getting that since training here.

Kevin: Did you find you were getting injuries from running pre-CrossFit?

Adrienne: Yessss! Various injuries, hip flexor injuries, IT band injuries.  And my back, with my bulging discs and stuff, everything is strengthened, so it’s definitely been preventing injuries doing CrossFit style training. 

Kevin: So why do you think you weren’t achieving some of your goals on your own or pre-CrossFit?

Adrienne:  First of all, a lot of this I haven’t tried before!  And that may have been a mental thing.  I’ve never really been a part of a gym before; it was mostly running on my own.  You guys are really good at motivating and inspiring us.  Always giving us something to work on.  Before I think I just didn’t even try! I come here and I see people working hard and I want to do the same! I see there are people with different abilities and that makes me feel comfortable.  I was always afraid in the past to go to a gym because I thought I wasn’t going to fit in. Here I knew I could start and it was ok to be a newbie!

Kevin: Tell me about your experience in our On Ramp course.

Adrienne: I found it to be extremenly important.  When we first considered coming here, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  I didn’t know anything about the movements and your On Ramp program gave me a chance to try it all out without committing.  It was really important in our decision, we didn’t want to put down a chunk of money and realize we didn’t like it! And you guys were very careful about technique, making sure we weren’t going to injure ourselves so I thought well, we are in good hands.

Kevin: Cool.  Aright, so what do you enjoy most  about CrossFit 613?

Adrienne: I love that there is an early morning class. Im an early morning person, getting it done before the rest of my day is amazing.  I love the people here.  They are nothing short of inspiring and so encouraging.  We are a tight group! We support, help and push each other! And you guys are amazing! You are cautious but encourage us to push ourselves safely.  I need that support and feedback so I will do it!

Kevin: What do you think makes Crossfit 613 different?

Adrienne: Apart from different programs, compared to bootcamp, you guys focus on mobility which is so important! It’s a lot of fun as well! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.  You guys are fun, well trained, know what your doing and it’s a great package here!

Kevin: Awesome! Is there anything else you would like to share?

Adrienne: I guess for me, everything I do health and fitness wise is to inspire my kids. I want them to know that the sky is the limit.  I want them to be inspired to push themselves.  We think that we can’t do certain things, but you can’t know if you don’t try it. So I want them to be inspired to push themselves!  But ya I think that’s it, give it your all! The worst you can do is try and fail.  But if you never try you’ll never know. And that’s what I’m trying to teach to my kids.  

Kevin: Well based on what I see, you’re a really great example.  Thank you so much for sharing your story, you really are an inspiration.