ATOM:-Fran Pehi

Posted by Lee on Dec 6, 2011 in Athlete of The Month, WOD | 15 comments

How long have you been CrossFitting?

1.  I’ve been CrossFitting since early 2009

Why do you CrossFit?

2.  I CrossFit because it forces me to push my mind/body over and beyond my limits…Crossfit keeps me outside of my comfort zone, whenever I’m in that shed, i’m outside of my comfort zone….and I love it.  Sick I know but ultimately, that’s what makes me tick…its just ingrained in me.

Was there a moment, or maybe a WOD (or its aftermath), when you realized you understood what CrossFit was about?

3.  I knew what Crossfit was about after my very first WOD.  The feeling of comraderie, support and encouragement for everyone in that shed doing that wod beside me…that, to me, is what Crossfit is all about.  Its about turning up for a session, giving it your all and then some and whilst doing so, encouraging your fellow crossfitter to go harder, stronger or to just keep going until neither of you have got much else left to give of yourselves.  It’s about helping each other and about helping oneself, whether that be physically, mentally or emotionally.

 

How has CrossFit impacted your life outside the box?

4. I found Crossfit, or rather, Crossfit found me, after I’d discharged from the Australian Army a few years before.  I’d served for over a decade and needless to say, the sense of mateship, comraderie and encouragement was fairly strongly instilled in me by this stage.  Since leaving the Army I’d tried to find that missing piece through different team sports but none of them seemed to quite fit the puzzle, until my younger brother introduced me to Crossfit.  I knew, after my very first WOD, that this was what was missing in my life.  Not only do I revel in encouraging and supporting my fellow Crossfitters to give their all in every session, I also lean greatly on them for the same.  Crossfit has also helped me cope with some harrowing personal circumstances over the past few years and breaking down in the middle of a WOD was never something out of the norm for me, but each time, I came out stronger and more capable of dealing with life until my next session:) So discovering Crossfit has been an extremely personal journey for me therefore the impact has been magnificent…to say the least.

Do you monitor your diet?

5.  I’m a little haphazard when it comes to my diet.  I’m alot better of late than what I’ve been earlier and I realise I need to be far more focused than what I am to be able to achieve higher results and go further in the world of CrossFit.  I always believed I ate reasonably healthy but after some time at CrossFit, I realised I really knew buggar all…so now i’m more in favour of the paleo diet and find that it works very well with me.  I find that if I stray from maintaining a good diet, my training will definitely suffer but I do have cheat days on a weekly basis.

 

Do you ever get discouraged or burned out? How do you overcome that?

6.  I get more burnt out than discouraged and I find the best way to deal with that is to rest.  Whether its a rest day or not and I’m overly tired for whatever reason, I’ll take a day off…you need to listen to your body, you know whats best for you sometimes.  When I do get discouraged, I’m able to remind myself that getting to the shed is the hardest part…and if I made it there and I didnt feel very happy about my performance for that session, I’d also remind myself I did well by just turning up and then leave it there…and do better next time!

 

Who in the CrossFit community inspires you and why?

7.  Gee whiz..where do I start?  Every Crossfitter inspires me, whether they’ve just started or are old hands at it…every single Crossfitter inspires me.  Crossfit’s not for everyone, it takes a different kind of person to be a constant in this type of traning environment.  But one thing I want to say is that our shed is filled to the brim with really awesome athletes, every single one of us is an inspiration in my eyes no matter what your WOD time/rxd or scale…you’re all inspirational and awesome CrossFitters of some degree

Which pr—for a WOD or lift—are you most proud of and why?

.8.  I’d have to say my last strict press of 52.5kg just over a week ago, was my proudest moment.  Mainly because I’ve always felt quite weak in that lift for some reason but, I strongly believe that the Wendler training cycle made an incredible difference and I was able to achieve such a good result.

 

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who trains at Lee and Lori’s shed, for your encouragement, support and friendship.  It’s a really great place to train and to just be.  A huge thank you to Lee and Lori for providing us with such a caring, warm and non-intimidating environment in which to train and to contstantly strive to be our best.  I’ve trained at a number of boxes in NZ, Canada, USA and here in Aussie…and I still strongly believe that Lee and Lori are up there with the big guns…you two are awesome…thank you.  Much love always, Franny Pants:)

 

Share on Facebook