Women view CrossFit as a lifestyle, community

Published 3:00 am Tuesday, July 11, 2017

When the dart landed on Monday afternoon, Lori Jacobs, Jessica Jones and Zoe Bradley were busy working out at CrossFit 1776 on Swindall Road.

One of the things that drew Jacobs into CrossFit training was the interaction with everybody in the gym.

“I think CrossFit is about community,” Jacobs said. “People come in here and it’s a group setting. It feels individualized because they are doing something similar together, but they are doing their own thing as well.”

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Bradley goes once a week to the CrossFit 1776 with the goal of losing weight, while at the same time having fun.

“It’s addicting to me,” Bradley said. “I love it and I love the community and coming here and working my butt off. This summer it’s been twice a day, five days a week. I am trying to work in five to 10 work outs a week.”

After losing her first 35 pounds she was addicted.

“I decided this was going to be a lifestyle,” Bradley said. “People tell me all the time that I can’t live at the gym and I tell them yes you can. It’s so addicting. Right now I have lost 55 pounds and it keeps falling off and I am getting stronger.”

Getting stronger, was what drew Jones into the sport.

“I liked the strength part of it and growing up this was a man’s world,” Jones said. “Women didn’t come in and back squat 200 pounds. I happened to see it on ESPN and I told my husband that I wanted to try that.”

Jones started watching workouts on YouTube and the more that she did, the more she liked it.

“Being able to do pull-ups and hand stand pushups, back squatting 200 pounds and jerking 140 pounds over your head doesn’t appeal to some people, but when you’re little and you walk in and you’re able to back squat 200 pounds, it’s fun.

“There are always challenges in CrossFit. You will never perfect everything there is,” Jones said. “The great thing and the fun thing is there is so many things you can improve on. You never stop improving and you never stop having goals.”