clean -200lbs (2018)
Snatch-150lbs (2018)
Fran-2:25 (2018)
Ran 2 marathons in 2008
Birthed 3 babies
Bachelors in Exercise Science
Certified CrossFit Trainer Level 3
(CCFT / CF-L3)
Level 1 Precision Nutrition
Ever since I was a toddler I loved to swim! I swam on a swim team from age 7-15. Once in middle school, I competed in sprint kayaking till I graduated high school. During this time I traveled in and outside of the United States to train and compete. In high school, I also ran cross country and competed in track (long distance). After graduating high school I went to a military college where I did ROTC all four years and continued to pursue my athletic endeavors in a more professional manner in leading Army physical fitness training and pursuing my exercise science degree. Right as I was about to graduate college, I found CrossFit! It was love at first WOD. With my first paycheck, I got as a freshly minted LT in 2008, I went and earned my CrossFit level 1 certificate. I started coaching right away but took a few years away from coaching to fly CH-47s for the Army. I competed in regionals in 2009 (just one spot off from qualifying for the Games!) and 2010. In 2015 I separated from the Army to be a full-time mom and CrossFit coach..who also likes to dabble in local CrossFit competitions.
All throughout middle school and most of high school I was overweight. I was the fat kid in a little swimsuit who did not know any better and my mom would just tell me that’s “how I was built”. My parents would attempt to help me in eating better, but I would ultimately sabotage any attempt by binge eating anything I could find and hiding the evidence (like full jars of peanut butter, blocks of cheese with crackers, cereal, ice cream-you know, the good stuff!) I could really cut loose if I went to my grandma's house where candy and cookie jars were all around the house. Binge eating and hiding the evidence was my specialty..till one day after a running workout, one of my kayaking coaches (who was German, so imagine him saying this in his thick German accent) pulled me aside and said “Sara, you know what you need to do to become a faster runner?” To which I responded, umm... run more? He said, very seriously, “you need to lose some weight”. It was at this very moment that I realized I was in fact fat and that I was in control of my body. From that moment I tried everything to lose weight while still not fully understanding how to properly fuel my body. This period in high school caused a lot of image issues but also inspired me to figure out how to balance nutrition alongside fitness.
When I first began coaching almost 15 years ago, I honestly did it because I loved seeing others accomplish physical feats they never knew they were even capable of. While this still drives me today, my motivation has changed. Now my focus has changed to helping others move well inside the gym in order to improve their lives outside the gym. While I still enjoy competing (because competition brings out the greatness in you!), my main motivation would be my kids; not just being there for them now, but being there for them in the future. I am passionate about serving those who truly have a desire to become a better version of themselves!
