"I am the fittest, healthiest, most mentally strong, and happiest I have ever been."
Hey budding OA members, I am Lisa! I joined OA in April of 2018 after many gym memberships, training programs, half marathons, you name it. It was time yet again to find another membership of some sort because I had hit a wall of training myself. Upon reflection, I realized that I not only wanted a gym that focused on training, but at that time in my life, I needed a community. Through a good friend of mine, I found OA. Here I am over 3 years later and I can honestly say that OA has changed my life.
From a fitness perspective, joining a CrossFit gym can certainly be intimidating. I had never picked up a barbell, never done a pull up, and honestly thought I never would. But, depending on your goals, there are classes for everyone whether you want more cardio, more weight lifting, or a combination of both. Because of these offerings, and members who frequent each class, the intimidation factor becomes obsolete and you quickly realize that you are just like everyone else. You will struggle through some workouts, but you will also excel. You will be cheered on and you will cheer someone else on. I quickly learned that the goal of being an OA member is to have fun while focusing on fitness, and I can honestly say I look forward to going every day…where I usually partake in a mid-workout dance party when a jam comes on.
From a community perspective, I have gained an entire family. We celebrate holidays, birthdays, families, major events, and really anything that we have an excuse to celebrate! We also honor each other and our diversity. We hold events for police, military, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other occasions for our town. We also partner with other local fitness entities to promote health and wellness for our community. Most of us are from the area and we love to ensure we are promoting or giving back to the places where we grew up. Our grassroots community efforts have shown to be just as important to members as the workouts which is amazing.
All in all, I am the fittest, healthiest, most mentally strong, and happiest I have ever been. CrossFit (and our amazing coaches!) teaches you the mental toughness and patience to trust the process, which has many implications for our daily lives that I can see playing out often. At this point, the fitness is an amazing addition to the general wellness I feel. If you are committed to improving yourself as whole, come join the OA squad!