November Athlete of the Month: Catherine Grice

Congratulations Catherine, you are our November Athlete of the Month!

Catherine has been a part of the NoCoast community for about a year and a half and has made so much progress in many areas of her health and fitness. Not only does she work hard in the gym, we love how hard she works in and out of the gym with her nutrition as well. She has made an overall lifestyle change that has impacted every aspect of her life. She has also taken the leap to add some personal training sessions with Dan to her repertoire. Combining all of this, she is an inspiration in the gym!

Quotes from Catherine:

“I try harder when I exercise with a group. I love that you meet people at a CrossFit gym. The community keeps me coming back. I'm learning new tricks. I have more lean mass! The Clean Challenge in January worked really well for me.”

“I’ve been struggling with pull ups and toes to bar. What wasn’t I doing? Dan's weekly 1:1 sessions have addressed that question! I never would have thought of this stuff on my own. They've provided the necessary focus; movements specific to my achieving those goals. I know that my lats are getting stronger, I have some control now on the tuck front levers. Who knows what will happen now that I'm 'prioritizing protein.' :P”

Age/Weight:

60 yrs, 128 lbs

Athletic/Sports history/highlights:

Swim team. Field hockey. I rowed all four years of high school (thank you Title Nine), with the best year being ’78 when our lightweight eight won the Scholastic Championships. I started road bike riding at forty and did a lot of group-riding, rallys, and some racing over the next 12 years.

How long have you been CrossFitting?

Since November of 2016, with a break for the shutdown.

How did you get into CrossFit?

Matt Anderson's ex-wife, Mei Ling, and I would walk on breaks at work. She knew Ashtanga yoga was losing its appeal and talked me into giving CrossFit a try.

What is your favorite WOD/CrossFit movement?

I like the lifts.

What is your least favorite WOD/CrossFit movement?

Any box jumps programmed immediately after the air bike or thrusters.

What is your most memorable CrossFit moment?

Climbing that rope all the way to the top! I am ridiculously proud of myself for learning that trick.

How does nutrition play a role in your fitness and recovery?

I never questioned my diet or my body's ability to recover from exercise. Then my younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Perimenopause hit. The shutdown commenced. I watched my Dad’s cognition and mobility deteriorate. This man who had exercised every day that I could remember... Was that going to be me? Why were so many of my family and high school friends obese but I was not?

Jeff and I were “flexy” vegan before the shutdown. A co-worker asked me if I knew anything about ‘autophagy’? I did not. Since then, I’ve done a lot of reading and YouTube watching on the topic of nutrition and metabolic health. I watched Dr. Robert Lustig’s lecture ‘Sugar: The Bitter Truth’. I explored fasting, ketosis, low-carb, and digestive rest… of those things, giving up sugar, and processed carbohydrates has had the biggest impact.

Most recently I’ve learned that my post-menopausal body needs WAY more protein than I’ve been giving it and if I want to get stronger, it would be better if I had a snack before I head to the gym.

How has CrossFit improved your overall wellness?

I try harder when I exercise with a group. I love that you meet people at a CrossFit gym. The community keeps me coming back. I'm learning new tricks. I have more lean mass! The Clean Challenge in January worked really well for me.

How has the extra work you've been doing impacted your performance?

I’ve been struggling with pull ups and toes to bar. What wasn’t I doing? Dan's weekly 1:1 sessions have addressed that question! I never would have thought of this stuff on my own. They've provided the necessary focus; movements specific to my achieving those goals. I know that my lats are getting stronger, I have some control now on the tuck front levers. Who knows what will happen now that I'm 'prioritizing protein.' :P

How has CrossFit changed your family?

Mostly my family still thinks CF is pretty extreme.

Advice to new people:

Show up (regularly). Try. Technique first, then load.

The Saturday Specialty classes help a LOT.

Take a picture of the white-board after practice, it helps with remembering the names of all those nice people you just met.