Brittani Morales

I first began Crossfit when I came home to visit from school and my mom had started going to Crossfit at the park with our neighbor.
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CROSSFIT KATY 2014

REGIONAL AND GAMES ATHLETE PROFILE

Name:  Brittani Morales                    

Hometown:   Katy, TX

Age:   26

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Occupation:   Kindergarten Teacher and CF Katy Coach

When did you first start CrossFitting?  Officially August 2009.  I would Crossfit at the park when I came home from school on break.

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?  I only train at the best gyms…that’s why I have been at Crossfit Katy since the beginning!

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)?  Mostly afternoon since I have to be at work so early.

Favorite WOD:  CHIPPERS! Or anything long and heavy, :).

Least Favorite WOD:  Anything with burpees or double unders and maybe thrusters…ugh

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Tell us about you sports & fitness background.  If you ask any of my family, they will laugh at you if you ask about me playing sports.  By junior high, I failed miserably at playing my family’s sport of softball.  I did play volleyball in junior high, but we all know no one has any street cred with junior high athletics!  In high school, I did drill team for a bit, but wasn’t too crazy about it.  At Texas Tech, I loved working out at our Rec center.  From the spin classes to yoga, to running 11 miles on treadmills, I was there!  I ended up doing 3 half marathons in college.  It was an easy training program for me, I knew what I need to do each day, and it was fairly attainable (I would later learn that running is the most boring thing ever!).  I would sometimes go into the circuit machine room, but would never go close to the weight room because it was far too intimidating and I had no clue what I was doing!  SO as for my fitness background, I loved to be at the gym or doing fitness classes, but lack of coordination kept me out of sports.

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?  I first began Crossfit when I came home to visit from school and my mom had started going to Crossfit at the park with our neighbor.  I don’t remember the first WOD, but I immediately fell in love, and loved that I didn’t have to plan what I was doing.  When I went back to Lubbock, I couldn’t find any Crossfits there at the time, so I would try to do versions of what they were doing back at home, but in the middle of the Rec center where everyone could give me strange looks!

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?  I don’t think that I really lost any weight, actually the scale has been a tough thing to overcome mentally.  I have to remind myself that it is just a number.  I have read articles that show how one weight can look different on many people.  I do know that my bodyfat percentage has changed since beginning Crossfit.  I’m not sure where it was when I first started, but I know it was somewhere around 24%, and now it is 18%.  It’s definitely has a lot to do with eating though.  If I am being super strict, like eating zone-paleo, I can feel and see a difference.  It takes a lot of discipline, planning, and prep work.  If we aren’t zoning our food, we usually just eat paleo.

My body composition has changed.  I have arm muscles and traps that no longer fit into fitted shirts.  I will forever be cursed with the Crossfit blue jean issue, so I tend to stick to dresses and Lulu.

When I started Crossfit, I just did what the board said.  Because I was new, I would always PR on my lifts, which was extremely uplifting and motivating!  My benchmark workouts kept getting faster and faster, and I slowly got better.  My first individual comp was CF Katy’s 1st Bring the Heat and I ended up getting 1st in the standard division.  All these little things built on each other and it helped me to learn what a competitive sport is like, and then somehow I ended up on Crossfit Katy’s Regional…and now Games team!  When I first started Crossfit, I had no clue what I was doing and if someone would have told me I would be going to the Games, I would have thought they were crazy!  The mental aspect has been one of the biggest challenges to overcome, and this year was probably the toughest mentally for me.  The regional workouts were full of my not-so favorite skills, but I think it helped me to realize that if I keep doing Crossfit, I’m never going to be finished.  There is always going to be a goal to work towards, always something new, always bigger challenges.  If something is thrown at me that is not one of my strengths (strict Handstand Push Ups, max distance handstand walks, and my frenemy muscle-ups), then I am going to do the best I can at that moment, and I’m going to have to be ok with that, because there are always more days ahead to work weaknesses, but letting negative thoughts consume my mind at that point, is only going to make it harder.

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?  I never thought that Crossfit would consume this much of my life!  I am so thankful that my husband, Chad, enjoys it as much as I do (and happens to kick butt at it), because it really does take up such a big chunk of our time.  You have to have balance though.  Life isn’t all about Crossfit, but we have met some amazing friends and seen big changes in family members through it.

Name one goal you have reached since joining CFK and one goal you want to achieve (example:  deadlift/squat/press ­­­___ pounds; do a pullup; do a WOD RX’d, etc.).  Muscle-ups have been a goal I have reached, but also I goal that I still want to achieve.  We have a love-hate relationship.  I have been working on those darn things for two years now!  I can get them one at a time, but even then there are good days and bad days.  My goal is to be able to consistently string them together.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments.  Some of my favorite CFK moments have been:  seeing my dad begin Crossfit and completely change the direction of his health for the better, being proposed to at our CF Katy Crawfish boil, making it to the CF Games with my awesome team and our amazing fans, and meeting so many great people from all walks of life.  The members here are like my family!

Any advice for people just getting started?  JUST DO IT and keep doing it.  If you check your pride and your worries at the door, just do what the board says, and keep coming, you will begin to see why every time you talk to a CrossFitter, they can’t not talk about Crossfit, and then you’ll soon find yourself doing the same thing!

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit? Outside of Crossfit?  What does that even mean?  Just kidding…sort of.  I love cooking, going dancing, doing anything Pinterest worthy haha, and relaxing with my main squeeze, my friends, and my family.

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