athlete-of-the-month (1)

Stephanie Tomy

July 2016

About The Athlete

Steph started with us last September full of enthusiasm to try out a new approach to fitness learn more about this whole CrossFit thing. It didn’t take long for her to fit right in at CFC with the enthusiasm and positive attitude she has with life in general.

Over the last couple months, hours upon hours of dedicated work on her motor control and recruitment are paying dividends. Her running, Olympics lifting, squatting and general performance are taking off and we are proud be be apart of that transformation and her progress.

Keep up the awesome work and congrats Steph!

A little more about them…

What got you into Crossfit, how long have you been doing it and what keeps you coming back?

I actually have coach Matt to thank for my new-found obsession with crossfit. I met him at school and he nagged me relentlessly to join for a couple months before I finally grew the courage to join in September 2015. I didn’t realize how de-conditioned I was until I was laying on the floor completely gassed after finishing “baseline”. I felt so defeated and I remember never wanting to feel that way again, that’s what keeps me coming back. Obviously I can do that at any crossfit gym in WPG however, CFC is the place to be. The people are incredible and everyone works together to achieve the common goal of getting functionally fit 😉

What are some of your non-crossfit hobbies or activities?

I absolutely LOVE water activities – swimming, boating, water-skiing, tubing. I also love travelling, hiking, camping and spending time with family and friends.

One sentence to describe CFC from your perspective…

Matt will like this one – it makes you better. If not physically, mentally and vice versa. I could go on and on about how CFC is the best but I will leave it at that for now.

What is your favorite part of CFC?

The atmosphere. It’s always so positive and welcoming (even at 6am when making your lungs bleed is the very last thing you want to do). Nothing beats heavy weights, loud music and good people.
I also love the fact that all I have to do is show up and do work.

Favorite and least favorite movement/workout, and why?

My least favourite movement definitely goes without saying… RUNNING! I. HATE. RUNNING…. and everyone knows it. My legs and lungs burn, I can never seem to control my breathing, and I feel like puking before I even start. Nothing about that equation is enjoyable.
My current favourite movement is power cleans. The idea of lifting something super heavy from the ground to my shoulders is really cool to me, and I always have a blast doing it. Overall, they make me feel like a badass.

Favorite superhero, band/musician or celebrity, and why?

Captain America – he’s so dreamy.

Biggest/proudest/latest accomplishment or PR?Tomy1

I think the thing I am most proud of is being a 6am regular.. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be waking up at 530am almost 5 times a week to exercise.. It really shows how much my mental toughness has grown – that to me is far more important than any PR.
Being able to do a handstand was also a proud moment of mine. It took 20 minutes of coaxing before I mustered up enough courage to try, but I did it – and I didn’t fall on my head!

What’s your take on our coaching team?

Let me start by saying, the coaches at CFC are all incredible and special in their own way.
Shane is ALWAYS smiling and I absolutely love his life motto. “Just living the dream my friend” is always his reply when I ask him how he is doing. It doesn’t matter what day or time it is, and I assure you he says it with a smile. He also has great words of encouragement, especially when I think I can’t possibly go any longer.. or run any further. I will always remember the day we had to test our 400m run. We had to run 400m 5 times with 90 seconds rest in between and see what our fastest time was. Shane had somehow landed the 6am class but I’m glad he did. Despite the fact that I complained all class, he cheered me on every step of they way. Every time I stepped in the door after my run he always had something nice to say, wearing a big smile of course! One more thing… Shane told me I look like a real lifter now 😀
Taylor has incredible self-discipline and serious dedication when it comes to his training. The metcons he puts together for himself never seize to amaze me… not to mention the fact that he does multiple of them a day. He isn’t afraid of pain… that is something I admire. He has some pretty sweet abs too. In terms of his coaching, I can always count on Taylor to encourage me to throw some more weight on the bar. Not surprisingly, he was coaching me when I was finally able to clean 140lbs. He also watches the leaderboard and congratulates me on my PR’s! If only he played better music…
Admittedly, I have a bit of a soft spot for Matt since we were friends before turning me into a crossfit junky. However, I can’t be too nice otherwise he’ll thank me with running and burpees.. All jokes aside, Matt is extremely intelligent and ambitious. And has a big heart, despite what he says. He is always proud but never satisfied. If he’s not coaching, he’s reading something to better himself, very rarely will you see Matt doing something unproductive. As a coach, Matt knows exactly what to say to improve my lifts and knows exactly what to do to fix my ailments. Matt is notorious for coming up with “special treats” that are sure to leave you sore in places you never thought imaginable. “It’ll make you better” he says…
Jason is full of nonstop energy and always has me laughing. His encouragement has gotten me thru some gruelling workouts.. aka Fran. My shoulders were on fire and all I wanted to do was stop and rest for a few seconds but Jason stood right next to me talking me thru it until the very end. You can’t help but work a little bit faster with such a kind heart cheering you on. Oh and Jason plays the best music… THANKS J!
I feel bad for Michelle as she always sees me at my worst.. 6am’s are not my finest moments however she always greets me with a smile. She goes easy on me in the mornings, and for that I am grateful. Michelle is always full of laughs and has the best stories.. she is very knowledgeable. I must add, she has some siiiick biceps and knows how to do all the cool tricks.
I have yet to be coached by Jenna however, I workout alongside her in open gym quite often. Let me just say… she is small but she sure is mighty. Jenna is very strong and knows how to push herself and others around her. She is capable of doing all the advanced movements but never forgets to stop and cheer on those who can’t. For someone who scales most movements, that is something that goes a long way.

Do you have any goals set for the near future – in or outside of CFC?

Operation pull-ups have been in effect for a while now. Only once I am able to do a pull-up will I be able to call myself a real “cross-fitter”. I have also been thinking of maybe doing a local competition once my work capacity improves. Outside of CFC, I will be starting my master’s in kinesiology this year!

Give us a little known fact about yourself…

I have a few extra organs – 3 kidneys and 2 spleens. The joke is that I ate my twin in the womb..lol
Thank you for all that you do, you’ve changed my life!!
-TOMY

Coaches Comments

Steph, is usually in the 6 AM class, which if you’ve ever gotten up at that time to workout is tough. It shows a sense of dedication to fit crossfit in when she can. When I do get a chance to coach her it’s pretty sweet. She always has a smile and brings in a lot of positive energy. She pushes herself to get stronger while at the same time having a good time with those at the gym with her. When she finishes a metcon she cheers on those to continue to push to finish. That attitude brings a sense of community to our crossfit bubble. It helps make not only the athletes but the coaches, feel like a part of a team. She is also probably the only person I know who actually works better with her shoes off lol. But over time she has become stronger and more proficient at crossfit. It’s so fun to watch athletes grow and I hope she continues to come and grow and share her positive energy. Oh black socks, that way when they are dirty no one can really tell. Lol. – Coach Jason

Tomy is one of the friendliest people to ever inhabit planet earth. She glows with positivity and enthusiasm, which brings that into the box ever single day; it’s a pleasure to coach and be around in general. I have never met someone with such an utter distain for planks and running; that being said, she never shys away from a workout and spends an admorable amount of time on those aspects and working her weaker points – which is paying serious dividends right now, particularly with power cleans and power snatches. Such a great personality to have around the gym, as both a member and fellow excersier, keep up the great work! – Coach Taylor

Ahh ya, Steph… She’s alright, I guess…Ha, just playing, always fun to get a good reaction or evil glare from this girl. Steph is one of my best friends, and I was the one that got her into CrossFit. Since starting CrossFit, all her metrics of fitness have gone way up just like everyone else at CFC. But more importantly, I have seen Steph grow in many other important ways. She gets up early, crushes workouts, works on her weaknesses a lot, and has no problem doing things she does not like or are not a strength of hers (but you will always hear about it, especially me, I really take heat). She continues to improve and grow, she brings loads of positive vibes into classes, is great with our entire community, and is an integral part to the growing (and awesome) community we have here at CFC. Keep going Tomy, it will make you better 🙂  – Coach Matt

What can I say, I seem to have good luck with Stephanie’s in my life. Tomy has shown some great strides with CrossFit in the past couple of months and I’m extremely proud of how far she’s come. She’s a very unique charactor, probably the first person I’ve ever met who prefers to do just about everything with her shoes off. Tomy has embraced her inner-lifter and it’s exciting for me to see (especially for me being a strength based coach). I believe Stephanie is well deserving of this athlete of the month, good job TOMY! – Shane

Steph always enters the gym with a big smile and a unmistakable hello. When I first started at CFC Steph was rehabbing an injury, and now she’s back at it full force. Having her in class is always great because she brings a little pep and a little extra push for everyone to make it through the metcon. She also has an awesome collection of gym shoes, but she hardly ever wears them. – Coach Michelle

Sincerely,

The CFC Coaching Team