The Allens

ATHLETE PROFILE:

Name:
Doug Allen
Marla Allen

Hometown:
Lived in Katy 19 years

Age:
Doug: 52
Marla: 49

Occupation:
Doug: Software Industry Executive
Marla: CPA/Homemaker

When did you first start CrossFitting?:
Doug: 6 months after Marla
Marla: June 2011

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?:
We both started at CrossFit Katy, but have visited several other boxes during travels

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)?
9:30 am or 8:30 am

Favorite WOD:
Doug: Annual WODs like Murph, 12 Days of Christmas and Fight Gone Bad to see progress. Lately I have enjoyed hang cleans, push press and running
Marla: anything with deadlifts

Least Favorite WOD:
Doug: Overhead squats
Marla: Snatch

Tell us about your sports & fitness background:
Doug: played baseball & basketball through High School
Marla: nothing until college where I swam and did aerobics

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?
A friend introduced us to CrossFit.
Doug: first workout was front squats for 1 rep max and then in the WOD. I thought the warm up was the workout.
Marla’s first workout was Angie. I came in the next day to tell Leah that something was wrong because I could not move anything it even hurt to laugh.

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?
Doug: lost weight and body fat. Best shape of my life
Marla: lost weight, body fat and gained muscles. Best shape of my life

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?
Both: We didn’t expect fitness to impact other aspects of our life, like how we eat, how we recover, and the choices we make. We didn’t expect the impact of the community and how blessed we have been by the people we have met and the friendships we have made – not just in CrossFit Katy (which is awesome), but across the country.

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.):
Doug: reached – bar muscle ups and double unders; goal – faster 400s in a wod (under 1:45) and overhead squats, and get to Rx weights in a WOD
Marla: reached – rope climb, pulls ups; goal – double unders

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments:
Doug: getting a bar muscle up in 2016 Open and cheering the CFK team at the games in 2014
Marla: when Leah encouraged me to try the rope climb and I didn’t think I could, but I made it all the way to the top on the first try.

Any advice for people just getting started?
Doug: commit to consistently coming for three months
Marla: do your own weights, don’t worry about what others are doing; STRETCH

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
Doug: Travel, golf, family
Marla: bible study, scrapbooking/crafting, Faith Rx’d

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