Vanessa Williamson

Name: Vanessa Williamson

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‍Hometown: Spring, TX

Age: 33

Occupation: CPA, Corporate Tax

When did you first start CrossFitting?: April 2012

When did you first start training at CrossFit Katy?: April 2012

What class do you generally attend (morning/afternoon)?: 5:30 afternoon

Favorite WOD: Anything with wall balls, double-unders, bike, dumbbell snatches, and thrusters

Least Favorite WOD: Deadlifts, box jumps, toe to bar and rowing

Tell us about you sports & fitness background:
I grew up playing softball and played through my first two years of college. After college and once I started working full time, I did my best to stay active by mostly running and casually attending a gym when I could make time.

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?
I started hearing about CrossFit and decided to drop in for a free class. I’ll never forget the first day because the max lift was a three rep max bench press and I thought, surely I would be ok at this since I had benched in college when I played softball. My max for the day ended up being 47# for one rep! Today I can bench 135#! The workout was a 15-minute AMRAP of bodyweight movements. Air squats, push-ups, and double-unders (obviously singles for me at that time). I remember it being a struggle to continuously move for 15 straight minutes and then being the most sore I have ever been the next morning.

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?
I grew up playing sports from elementary school through college, but I would have to say that I’m probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in right now doing CrossFit. After college when I started work full-time at a desk job, I spent a few years being very sedentary and only getting workouts in here and there. I just didn’t make it a priority to make time for it and I could feel my body and energy levels changing. So when I started CrossFit, I didn’t have a huge weight loss goal but wanted to stay healthy and active. That turned into me finding out how strong I am, how much I can push my body to the limits and also brought along a hobby that doubles as a way to relieve some daily stress! Yes, my body has definitely changed but I think what CrossFit has done for me mentally has been my biggest change overall.

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?
Confidence, it’s hard to not be more confident when you physically and emotionally/mentally feel better about yourself.

Name one goal you have reached since joining CFK and one goal you want to achieve (example: deadlift/squat/press ___ pounds; do a pull-up; do a WOD RX’d, etc.):
I think the biggest goal I have achieved, which was also my most recent, was getting bar muscle ups in the open this year. Gymnastics movements have always been something I’ve struggled to learn so that was a huge accomplishment for me. I would love to finally get ring muscle ups and be able to handstand walk and do strict handstand push-ups.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFK moments:
Nothing specific, but I love participating in our community events. Whether it’s open and getting to workout with people from different class times or going to CFK events outside of the gym. When I first walked into CFK I was really just looking for a place to workout, I wasn’t really the type to reach out and meet new people. But everyone else at the gym isn’t really like that and let’s just say being at CrossFit Katy has helped me come out of my shell a little bit ☺

Any advice for people just getting started?:
To be consistent and just show up. After my first week, I almost never came back. It was so hard and I was actually really disappointed in how out of shape I was. It took everything in me to make myself show up every day. But after a few weeks of consistency, I started enjoying working out and my body started changing. I started to notice that the hard work was paying off and showing up every day was no longer a chore or something I had to do, but something I made time for and wanted to do.

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
My husband and I have 3 dogs, so we love doing stuff with them. In my spare time, I also enjoy watching sports, reading, catching up on TV shows and traveling!