ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

For this edition of athlete spotlight we feature Natalie Ferris – you might be surprised to know she is only 13! Please enjoy getting to know Natalie.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Natalie Ferris and I am 13 years old turning 14 in December (86 Birthday Burpees…! yay… ). I was born in Tokyo Japan and lived there for 11 years going to an international school. About 6 years ago we moved my Grandma here from Zimbabwe to the Sunshine Coast. Every Christmas we would come down and visit her and after a while we decided to move here! So 2 years ago we moved to the Sunshine Coast. My parents started CrossFit just under 2 years ago whilst I jealously watched them go, so after a year of patiently waiting my birthday present was to join CrossFit with them!

2. You are our youngest CrossFit member (excluding our kids sessions) – how do you find training alongside people who are in some cases much, much older than yourself? I am an only child so I have been with adults all my life. Personally, I prefer to be with adults than people my age so I really enjoy the company of all the adults around me. Everyone is very encouraging and helpful. I can ask a question and people will help me improve. This environment helps me a lot because of how nice everyone is.

3. How did you get into CrossFit and what were you hoping to achieve by undertaking this type of training? After seeing Mom and Dad going to CrossFit all the time I got really excited about the whole idea. Everyday on the way to school mom would make me read out the CrossFit WOD to her and I would ask what everything meant. I had never done anything like it so when I started doing it was really exciting. On the way home after each workout we always talk about how hard it was or what was our favourite part. There is nothing in particular I would like to achieve besides being fitter and healthier. Although these are very broad words this means, to me, being fit for all my other activities beside CrossFit.

4. What are your athletic goals for the short and long term? My short term goals are to be able to do 3 strict pull-ups in a row. It is only recently where I have been able to do a strict pull up and very recently during the pull-up challenge where I could link 2 in a row.
My Long term goal is to be at the level of the older girls such as Madi, Rachel and Renee. They are excellent CrossFitters and I should use them for inspiration.

5. What are your other interests/hobbies outside of CrossFit? My main interest is musical theatre. I have always lived in a musical environment so was singing before I could talk. Both my parents sing so we put the Broadway radio on and sing in harmony from across the house. Musical theatre also includes dancing and acting which I love to do just as much as sing. I have been acting for a long time but only been seriously dancing since we moved here. I do Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Gymnastic Aerobics, Cheer and Lyrical. I love participating in musicals and have been in many plays and musicals both here and in Tokyo. One of my favourite shows I have been in was when a touring company from America came to Japan and needed the children’s chorus for Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was one of my first professional productions and definitely my favourite. Also I play the saxophone and am in 2 choirs at school.

6. Favourite Food? My guilty pleasure food would have to be crème brûlée or cheesecake. I love sweets but mom refuses to make them because her theory is “If we make a cake, that means we have to eat it”. At our house we eat VERY healthy and its all mom’s fault. But lucky for us she finds a way to make it delicious. My favourite food that she makes would be her fish tacos.

7. Favourite Band? Being the theatre loving person that I am, most what I listen to is songs from musicals. So that makes the question: What is your favourite musical, which is a question too difficult to answer since I love them all. Last year when we visited my grandparents (Mom’s parents) in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the U.S. we stopped by New York City and saw a few Broadway shows while we were there. One of which was Avenue Q and if I had to choose one it would be that.

8. Do you/did you have any other athletic/sporting pursuits outside of CrossFit? Besides dance, soccer is my favourite sport. I play soccer with the school and my position is Centre Forward. When I was little I did gymnastics but now CrossFit, dance, and soccer are the main sports I do.

9. Do you think that being involved in a regular exercise routine has any positive carry-over into your studies? CrossFit’s regular exercise routine has helped me a lot with time management. Since I am constantly juggling multiple activities this forces me to manage my time efficiently and properly.

10. You regularly train alongside your parents which we think is absolutely fantastic. Are there any rivalries that we should know about? Everyday after CrossFit we have debate and discussion about who’s approach to the work out was best. Also the “Who it hottest/fittest for their age” competition is often brought up. Dad is the judge so he usually declares himself the winner but we all know the true winner is me. 🙂

11. How long do you give it until you can Clean & Jerk more than your dad? Give me a month… I will see what I can do. Lets make that a goal for 2015!

CrossFit Journey reflection

CrossFit journey reflection- Marie Saliba As an affiliate owner and coach I am asked quite often how our CrossFit journey started. This article will aim to articulate my journey- the how, the why and the impact it has had on myself and my family and why I love what we do day in and day out. Over 15 years ago Chris and I started Coastal CrossFit, and what a journey it has been. Far from being a sporty kid, I would always place 4th at school sports. It was during my 11 years in the Air Force that I developed a love of training. I wasn’t great at any sporting endeavors but I enjoyed challenging myself and the military fitness kept me “fit”. After having our first child (Chloe) Chris (my husband) and I moved back to our home town in the Sunshine Coast, with our daughter Chloe being 1 year and our son Jesse on the way soon after. After leaving the security of the AirForce Chris and I started renovating properties and at the same time started a Fitness Bootcamp in Beerwah & Kawana. Life was definitely busy with a young baby, renovating houses and running a business. At this stage we had a fully decked out home gym with the bells and whistles. However the lack of time meant we couldn’t spend hours in the gym so we had to learn to condense training into a short time block. This is the first time Chris introduced me to CrossFit (although I didn’t know that was what we were doing). Strength/cardio combined in short sessions (most under 20 minutes). Over a couple of months we were both experiencing improvements in all areas of fitness. What/how? – it didn’t make sense until we stumbled across one of the best articles ever written by Greg Glassman “What is Fitness” (CrossFit journal article). Little did we know that reading this article would change the trajectory of our lives forever…. It was a humbling experience for both of us. Who would have thought defining FITNESS could have such an effect? We had to take a step back and relearn everything we thought we knew about fitness. And this was just the start of our journey…The urge to help others and share ‘the secret’ saw us start Coastal CrossFit in March 2009. We asked our Bootcamp clients to take a leap of faith and train CrossFit with us for a month and if they liked it – stay, and if they didn’t, no hard feelings. We are eternally grateful to have our very first Bootcamp clients (who have become family) still train with us today. It is on reflection that I realize the things that drew us to CrossFit originally are the same things that have kept us in business and loving the journey. Why do I train?I hadn’t really given thought to why I trained, but it was to improve the quality of my day to day life. To have confidence in my ability to turn my hand to any given task I chose. So why was my (and most peoples) training so far from this – Specific strength days, cardio days, isolation movements, etc. This was not in line with what I was needing and yet I didn’t question it. “What is Fitness” created my new perspective. Functional movement- Amazing things happen when you start using your body as a whole and learning to move properly. Starting with bodyweight movements then adding more complex movements and weight as movement quality allows. My body responded – improvements in all aspects of fitness, my run times, strength, flexibility, stamina. I felt and looked the best I ever did. Simplicity-The no gimmick approach of CrossFit “Give me a barbell and somewhere to hang and we can create some of the fittest humans”. We sold off all of our fancy equipment, bought olympic barbells and Chris built pull-up bars and squat racks. I love the old school feel of CrossFit gyms – everything you need to get fit, no lace and frills. No ego-I thought I was fit, until I didn’t. If you asked me I would have said with confidence I had 10 strict pull-ups, until Chris held me to CrossFit standard of movement (not half reps) which left me with a total of ZERO.Many athletes are humbled and are then faced with the choice – work hard to improve or walk away and pretend it doesn’t matter (don’t train CrossFit). Realizing there are things you are good at and a list of things you need to work at – there are no shortcuts and moving with standards takes effort.I am proud that many of our athletes can do many things that most people can’t, simply because they are prepared to work hard. Achievement/Time horizon –Realizing I am training for me and my quality of life (now and into the future)I have achieved more in CrossFit than I ever thought possible and the best part is that it doesn’t end. The reward of challenging yourself and achieving your goals one step at a time, putting in the work now and for 50 years in the future.I want to lead an active life right to my end and I know this is the preparation time. Community-Through CrossFit I have met my best friends. There is unspoken understanding in our achievements and unwavering support for one another. Despite our individual abilities I have the best cheer squad a girl could ask for, and will cheer as loud as anyone for my crew. Many of our crew have watched my children grow from babies and vice versa. It takes a village to raise children and our village is strong. Family –What I am most proud of is the legacy we are creating for our children. Growing up in a positive environment, challenging themselves physically and mentally, leading quality healthy lives, surrounded by a loving community.My kids have learnt that they can achieve anything through hard work, discipline and dedication. I…