The Padillas

ATHLETE PROFILE:

Name:  Luis Padilla  

Hometown:  San Juan, PR

Age:  34

Occupation:  Engineer

When did you first start CrossFitting?:  2  years ago

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?:  2 years

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)?  4:30 pm

Favorite WOD:  Anything with shoulder to overhead and pullups

Least Favorite WOD:  Anything with Burpees or step ups

Tell us about you sports & fitness background:  I always liked to try different sports in high school, I did everything from Taekwondo, swimming, baseball, track & basketball.  Once I started college I mostly played basketball to stay in shape until I suffered a knee injury while playing in an intramural game.  After the surgery and subsequent rehab I tried the traditional gyms but doing 3 sets of 10 and the lack of variety made me quit within a couple of months every time.

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit?  Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?  Some friends of Giselle and I started doing CrossFit in 2013 and talked to us about it.  I was really intrigued with the concept of a WOD and tracking your score and progress, but with work and our daughter (only had one at the time) I did not feel I had the time for it.  A couple of weeks later Giselle signed me up to do the trial class and I have been hooked ever since.

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?  I always have been able to manage my weigh but once I hit my 30’s I started being pre-hypertensive, my percentage body fat had increased significantly, my knee started bothering me again and felt unstable from time to time.  I have been doing CrossFit for about 2 years now, my knee feels great, my blood pressure is back to normal and I have a lot more energy.

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?  My diet and activity level, I never paid too much attention to what I eat.  But after I started CrossFit it did not take long to understand that if I wanted to finish the workouts and improve over time I had to improve my diet.  Both Giselle and I have improved our diet significantly.

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.).  One thing that was big for me was being able to do the muscle ups during the 2015 open the work out.  Before the open I had only been able to do about two muscle up in my life.  During that work out I was able to do 14.  One goal I would like to achieve in 2016 is handstand walk.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments.  Winning the Holiday partner competition.  It was great to be able to finish the competition considering that when I first started CrossFit my main goal was to be able to finish all the workouts.

Any advice for people just getting started?  Stick with it!!  When I started I could only do it two times a week.  I slowly worked my way up to 3 times a week.  So what I am trying to say is it gets better.
What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?  Giselle and I travel quite a bit for work.  Between that our daughter activities, church and friends we don’t have time for much else.

ATHLETE PROFILE:

Name:  Giselle Padilla

Hometown:  San Juan, PR

Age:  34

Occupation:  Account Manager

When did you first start CrossFitting?:  1 ½ years ago

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?:  1 ½ years

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)?  4:30 pm

Favorite WOD/Lift:  Power Clean, Deadlift

Least Favorite WOD/Lift:  Thrusters

Tell us about you sports & fitness background:  I always had been active, running, volleyball.

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit?  Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?  My initial thought was that I was not able and capable to do this. Starting with the warm up I never thought I would be able to do a bear crawl.

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?  Crossfit has change my lifestyle in a good way eating habits, energy and flexibility.

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.).  I want to be able to do pushups not on my knees, pull ups and bear crawl.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments.  The moment that I did a double under.

Any advice for people just getting started?  I recommend to anyone to challenge their self and don’t be afraid.  You don’t need to be in shape to start off, but if you do your part with diet and workout the right amount of times per week you will achieve your goals and more than you expected.

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