Member of the month: Rozie Amos

We would like to announce our very first athlete of the month here at CrossFit Ironstone : Rozie Amos: Rozie is is not only dedicated to her own training. You can find Rozie working hard in the box perfecting her lifts and working on weaknesses. Rozie is always super encouraging to those around her. If you have ever been lucky enough to be in class with Rosie you know that she works extremely hard but will still find time to cheer on others around her. Rosie is always willing to lend a helping had, weather you need help moving, unloading equipment, need a new recipe or just need someone to listen to you.  One of the greatest qualities we love about Rozie is that she never forgets the important ace of having fun, and putting her fitness to use, you can find Rozie out with friends snowboarding on a cool winters day or pulling a heavy sled borrowed from a stranger in the park! All while maintaining an infectious smile. Without further ado I present Rozie – Jenn Belong

1. When and why did you start Crossfit?

I started Crossfit in November 2013 and celebrated my birthday with my first WOD ever! I’d been a gym regular for several years before Crossfit, working with a trainer at the Y in Victoria and then working through the New Rules of Lifting for Women book at Goodlife. I liked that well enough but had always had an interest in Crossfit but was held back by thinking that I wasn’t fit enough to try it and thinking that it was too expensive. Eventually the stars aligned, I got a promotion and sold my car in the same month and then my boyfriend admitted over a blizzard at DQ that he’d like to try Crossfit and I signed us up for fundamentals as soon as I could! I was hooked after my first WOD.

2. What were your fitness goals before Crossfit and how have they changed?

I was mostly into running combined with rec sports and some weight training. I’ve always been interested in being able to lift more weight and move faster – basically be the best version of me. Since joining Crossfit my goals have stayed similar but then numbers have gotten bigger! Being able to train with ladies who can snatch and dead and squat big numbers have ripped the ceiling off my expectations and inspires and motivates me daily. Once the snow melts I hope to trade in my rubber boots for some runners and start incorporating some running back into my life. Moving weight is a great stress buster but there’s nothing like the peace that can come from a good run.

3. What are your fitness goals for 2015?

How long can this section be? I have about a hojillion, but my top three right now are to get a muscle-up, to improve my grip strength so that I can stay on the bar longer for toes-to-bar and pullups and to get more flexible because I’d rather strength be my limiting factor in a lift than range of motion.

4. You recently competed in your first Rx competition – how many scaled completions did you participate in before this? What made you decide to go Rx?

Before the Beatdown, I’d done three comps. Only one of them had a scaled division and I entered that scaled because I wasn’t able to do half the RX movements. I decided to go RX at the Beatdown because when I saw the movement standards I knew that I could do at least a few reps of each weighted movement. Some of them were going to be challenging, for sure, but I knew that I should be able to spend more time moving the bar than staring at it in frustration. That and I knew I wouldn’t win the scaled division so it made sense to level up and take on RX.

5. What is your proudest Crossfit moment?

Just one?! I’ve been doing this for fifteen months, there are like … nine hundred! I think I’ve been the most excited about bodyweight movements: my first ring dip, strict pullup, being able to link toes-to-bar, that kind of thing.

6. What have you learned from CrossFit besides exercises and lifts?

How to lose count while counting to 21.

7. Lastly what are your interests outside of CrossFit and fitness?

If I could retire tomorrow I’d spend my time not at the gym snowboarding, drinking americanos, homebrewing and watching Top Gear & Gilmore Girls. I like to travel too, so I use snowboarding as an excuse to check out new places each year (life goal: hit everywhere on the powder highway). I’m heading on my third annual snowboard trip with a friend of mine who lives in Calgary. In 2013 we went to Banff, in 2014 we road tripped to Whitefish, Montana and then up to Fernie and Kimberley and this year we’re heading to Salt Lake City.