Featured Athlete – Danielle Hall

Let’s see. The biggest step is always admitting your problem right? Here goes…Hi, my name is Danielle Hall, I am 28 years old, and I am addicted to CrossFit. Whew! Nothing new really and I’m sure many of you can relate. I’ve always been active since I was a kid. I did the whole ballet, tap, tumbling routine in my younger years then softball and track in high school. When I got to college I refused to gain the “Freshman 15” and needed to find something to do to stay active.

I dabbled in fitness once I got into college as far as the typical weight lifting and cardio, globo gym thing was concerned. I had no clue at the time how important your eating habits affected any of this. I just enjoyed using the gym on campus as a getaway.

Once I graduated college, I got a membership at a globo gym, and as the years passed, I stuck to working out at the gym 5 to 6 days a week. I would go in after work to do my 30-45 minutes of cardio and lift weights and I was in there at least 1.5 to 2 hours. One day, hanging out with friends, one approached me and said, “Hey, I am a member at CrossFit Beaumont. We have free classes every Saturday, you should come try one.” I had no clue what CrossFit was and had never heard of it. He explained it to me and even though the thought of it made me nervous, I am always up for a challenge. The next day was Saturday, and I went. From that day forward I was hooked!
I ended up going to CrossFit’s free Saturdays for a year. The first two weeks in January of 2012 I attended CrossFit Beaumont’s 2 week free trial to test drive what classes would be like with a difficulty a little more than what the typical free Saturday was. I went every single day they had the classes for those two weeks. Every day I left CFB feeling completely dominated by the workout. All I could think was how was I going to go back to the gym and just walk on a treadmill and do my same boring routine? I joined right after the 2 weeks was over. I originally started going 2/3 days a week and still hitting the gym other days. My first competition was The Golden Triangle Games that CFB hosted. I competed in the scaled division and took first place and had only been doing this for a few months. It only motivated me more. Made me realize I didn’t want to just do CrossFit to be fit, but to compete. See where I stand against others. In October 2012, I joined full time and can be found at CFB 5-6 days a week. I still have a long way to go, movements to conquer, times to overcome, and bettering myself, but CrossFit has pushed me past limits I never thought I could go. I am doing things that I never would have thought to do in the gym or even thought I could do period. My whole lifestyle has changed. The introduction of paleo has consumed my eating habits; I have lost several inches and gained good lean muscle tone that I simply wasn’t getting in the gym. I’m breaking plateaus and getting better each day. I have never felt this good in my life! On top of all of this, it’s fun and I have made some great friends and met great people! I know some have heard of CrossFit and have never attempted it because they’ve heard horror stories and wonder how is it fun? It is only as hard as you make it. You get out what you put in. It’s always different, always a challenge, and never the same gym routine. Since starting CrossFit, I have never looked at fitness the same and feel like a whole new person because of it. I’ve been doing CF a little over a year now and every time I step into the box, I still get butterflies before every work out, because I know it’s going to push me hard and I’m going to push myself and be a better person when I’ve accomplished the day’s workout. I have excellent coaches that have pushed me past my comfort zone to become a better athlete and willing to go the extra mile to improve myself, and the support of the CrossFit community is awesome! We have a great group of athletes that keep everyone on their toes and hungry for more.

I encourage anyone to give it a try. Even if you have never stepped into a gym in your life, it is definitely a life changer. I know, because it has changed mine.