Hannah Christensen

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Name:  Hannah Christensen

Hometown: Payson, AZ

Age:33

Occupation: SAHM

When did you first start doing CrossFit?: May 2020

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?: March 29th, 2021. I moved to Katy the day before and had already been doing my research and was really excited to come try out CFK

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)? Never in a million years would I ever have believed that I would be waking up to do physical fitness as 5 AM but there I am. 

Favorite WOD: Any sort of RFT with running and burpees to target. Oooh also anything with dumbbell snatches.   

Least Favorite WOD: Karen or really any WOD with wall balls. That’s a tall person’s movement and I am not that. 

Tell us about your sports & fitness background: I grew up with severe asthma so I had A LOT of limitations as far as what I could do with sports and fitness. It wasn’t until high school that I went ahead and tried out for soccer and cross country. It was brief but really fun and to my surprise the more I ran the better my lungs felt over time. As I went through adulthood though I really struggled keeping any kind of consistent fitness routine. I did some trail running and a lot of hiking. Also I had tried out a handful of different gyms but did not enjoy them. Every experience was intimidating and it never felt like I was getting the workout I hoped to achieve. 

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD... what was it, and how did it feel? May 2020, my husband was working on the road and I was raising 3 kids all by myself.  I felt like I didn’t have time for anything but my family and due to that had really stopped taking care of myself physically and mentally. I was desperate for a change but was unsure how to go about it. After some encouragement from a few friends I ended up signing up for a month-long challenge at my local Crossfit gym. I was met with lots of excitement and positivity by everyone when I walked through the doors for the very first time. While I don’t remember my first WOD but let me tell you about my second WOD. It’s one I’ll probably never forget. My second WOD ever was “Murph”. And it wasn’t even so much that it was my second WOD ever but the second time I had worked out in over 3 years! I remember thinking half way through the first mile, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE STUPIDEST IDEA YOU’VE EVER HAD. I very much did not realize what I was getting myself into but I’ve never been a quitter and I wasn’t about to start then. I kept my head down and just plugged away. 5, 10, 15, 5, 10, 15, over and over. I did ring rows in place of pull ups and modified push ups and fought through it but I finally finished it. After the feeling of death subsided and I was finally able to think clearly I realized what I had just done and was just filled with this massive amount of pride. I did it! That was it for me though. The challenge had me hooked. 

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)? 

The list is infinite. There are the obvious things like losing 53 pounds and going from a BMI of 30% + down to 19%. But also things I didn’t come in the door expecting like seeing definition in muscles I didn’t even know I had. And the biggest one is feeling physically stronger/capable and having the endurance to get through the day. 

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced since starting CrossFit? 

Having somewhere to go clear my head or blow off steam was exactly what I needed. In turn I’m able to be a better mom. Not only can I carry my kids around without being exhausted and can sit on the floor and play with them but having that space for myself has allowed me to have more space for patience. And overall outside of being a mom, I am so much happier, confident and excited for life. I feel ready for whatever challenge life has to throw at me. 

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.): It’s no secret that I am indeed very short and when I first started CF I was afraid to box jump a 16” box. So jumping a 30” box (which is literally half my height) was definitely something I dreamt of doing but didn’t think was achievable until I got to CFK. 

I’m currently working on learning how to HS walk so give me a couple months and check back.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments: Working out in the dark because the power went out was really cool in terms of staying dedicated and it was really great that I got to share that with a bunch of other people who felt the same way. 

Any advice for people just getting started? Soooo much advice actually….. Check your ego at the door. Scale if you NEED to. Compete with yourself before you try to compete with anyone else. Everyone’s journey is going to look massively different so don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Don’t be afraid to push yourself but stop if you feel like you’re going to hurt yourself. Record your scores for everything. You’re going to be shocked when you look back at those scores and see how far you’ve progressed. Dig deep and embrace the suck, it’ll be over eventually, I promise. 

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?

I have a real love for cooking and trying out new foods. So eating… my hobby outside of CrossFit is eating *insert facepalm here*