Lives Transformed
Jake Darrington
I joined CrossFit about a year ago now and if you would have asked me if I would ever do half of this stuff then I probably would have laughed, made some excuse as to why I couldn’t or shouldn’t do it. Prioritizing my health was not really a thing for me in my 20’s and it clearly showed in the way I looked and the energy that I was able to carry.
Fast forward to now and I’ve been pretty consistent, hitting the gym about 5 days a week and the progress that I’ve seen is incredible. I’ve struggled with mental health and addiction for most of my life and this is by far the best addiction I’ve ever experienced.
I was forced into a very abrupt change in my life around May of 2023 and had to leave my current gym due to a significant move. That brings me to CrossFit I.F.
I called Sandra up to see if I could pop in and right away I felt so welcomed. I could tell immediately this community was such a tight close knit family and I was just hoping that I could fit in. Immediately I was welcomed, understood and accepted. I now consider these people my family. I really don’t know what id do without them. I got connected with coach Jess and she also helped me to fix a lot of my negative nutrition habits. When joining my goal was to gain healthy weight. In a short 6 months I went from 180 lbs to 215 and the things I am able to do now with the help of these amazing coaches and community is incredible. Not only do I feel stronger, but my mental health has been at an all time high. I’ve connected with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I came here for fitness and I gained so much more than that.
Cesie Dahm -
My entire childhood I was very active with a high metabolism, then high school hit and I tore myACL’s, which led me to quit sports, and the weight started to come on. Then kids happened and even more weight was put on. My weight would yo-yo, so would my confidence, and mood. I always dreamed of becoming more active again and skinnier, but I never knew what my body needed or how to keep going. I would start something new and then without results I would eventually quit. The years 2017 and 2018 I lost both my grandparents very unexpectedly and I had a lot of trauma dealing with those loses. I used food as therapy and was seriously depressed.
Before starting my journey with CFIF, I was at an all time low. I weighed the most I ever had in my entire life, pushing over 300 pounds. My energy level was non-existent, I never wanted to do anything, negativity was taking my mindset over, my anxiety was at an all time high, eating awful food was my therapy, and daily tasks and activities with my kids were just a bother to me. My life was a winding road of sadness, negativity, and bitterness. I had lost myself and I wasn’t sure if I was going to snap out of it.
Enter CFIF, Jess inspired me with one of her posts and something just clicked, that I needed to do something for myself. I attended one of her mobility classes and I was instantly hooked, not only by how the class made me feel, but by how the people there welcomed me and showed me-such love. The following week I attended my very first CrossFit class at Inspiring Fitness, I haven’t looked back since. This was my first ever group workout where others were cheering me on and encouraging me almost the entire time. My adrenaline was going and I could feel myself filling with the positive energy everyone was fueling me with.
I thoroughly enjoy the workouts, and the results I have seen with nearly 100 pounds gone, but I would say my favorite thing about my transformation has been my mental transformation. I am no longer crabby all the time, I am happier, healthier, and more energetic. I am able to come home and play with my kids, they are no longer a chore to me. I am more confident and my anxiety is nearly gone. I am ME again. I have everyone at CFIF to thank for giving me the WANT to be better again, I am now setting positive examples for my children and enjoying our life together.
Katie Feyereisen -
I started my fitness journey one evening at a family dinner where I was talking to my oldest brother about wanting to get in shape. He said, if you're serious... contact Sandra Large. So I did, and I started working with her at Anytime Fitness. We would meet a few times a week and she would work individually with me using resistance bands. After a few months, the inches started to drop and I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon. Sandra coached me from start to finish and I met my goal of running the whole thing without stopping. I saw the confidence start to build in myself, and how making goals was important to healthy lifestyle changes. I vowed to stick with this new life and followed Sandra through all her endeavours from the small group training out of the fitness room at her home, to her outdoor boot camp facility, to the Crossfit shed, and finally to the new Crossfit box.
Recently, I added Always Forward Nutrition and have gained a whole new understanding of loving my body. You don't know what you don't know, and that is so true with nutrition. I have learned how my body reacts and what I need to be healthy. These are skills I can take with me as I navigate my 40's and beyond.
The absolute best part of my fitness journey is the family I have made through this community. Coaches who are responsive, smart and who want the very best for you. I have pushed myself outside my comfort zone and done things I never thought I could with their help. From 1/2 marathons, to sprint triathlons, to Crossfit competitions. My fitness family, and Sandra, have been supportive and there for me through it all.
Heidi Schultz -
For me, the summer of 2022 was one of many hardships that were taking a toll on my life. I knew a change needed to be made. My Crossfit experience started when I came to watch a class and knew I needed this whole community in my life. The Crossfit IF community and coaches are welcoming, supportive, and caring. I have seen a multitude of positive changes happen, including increased strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and control. With Jessica's help at Always Forward Nutrition, I have become more aware of my nutrition, making healthier choices to fuel my body. Crossfit has made me a better person, a stronger woman, more patient mother, and a more determined individual. I want to be able to watch my son grow into a beautiful human and see him succeed and change the world. My improved health is allowing me to do this. I am so grateful that Sandra, Jessica, Hannelore, and the whole Crossfit IF crew are in my life. The love, support, laughs, connections, knowledge, and successes are truly life changing. Thank you friends ❤️❤️
Holly Kempf -
For me CrossFit started out as a way to stay in and get into better shape. It has given me so much more than that! I've not only improved my physical condition and appearance, I also became a member of a community that supports and cares for me and everyone in it. I truly look forward to going there every day to workout and be with my CrossFit family!
Leesa Walter -
Before becoming a wife and a mom, I led a very active lifestyle: I was a full-time student, an Army veteran, I played on multiple softball and volleyball teams, and I would go to the gym when I felt like it. Fast forward a couple years to the year 2020 and I had found myself just completely fed up with how things were going. I was a young mom of a 2-year-old and an infant, my husband was deployed, I worked full-time around Covid, multiple child care set-ups, and I felt like I just had no time to focus on myself anymore. I wasn't comfortable with what I saw in the mirror and my energy level was at an all time low. Something needed to change.
A goal of mine has always been to be a surrogate mother for someone... so I applied. Only to be turned down right away because my BMI was too high. I needed to lose at least 15 pounds in order to be right at the edge of being eligible. At the time I thought "well, that's it. I guess it's just never going to happen." But then I remembered how my friend from high school, Jessica, was always sharing things about CrossFit and how it changed her life for the better. I had nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain. So in the middle of Covid, child-care chaos, and "single-parenting" it, I joined. I wanted it and I was determined to find a way to make it work. And believe me when I say that it has been more rewarding than I could have ever dreamed of.
In my first eight months of CrossFit, I not only lost the 15 pounds needed to move forward in my surrogacy journey, I lost an extra 40 pounds on top of it! With the help of Sandra with CFIF and Jess with Always Forward Nutrition, I lost enough weight to where I was so extremely proud of myself. I felt amazing, I fit into the same clothes I was wearing in my student/Army days, I performed at work better, I slept better, things just started to really fall into place. Best of all, my kids got to see all the healthy steps that I took/am still taking to this day in order to reach my goals. I gained muscle, an abundance of nutritional knowledge, a community of friends that quickly turned into family, and on November 17th, 2023, I delivered an 8 lb. 8oz baby boy for a family that was unable to have a baby on their own.
CrossFit - Inspiring Fitness is unlike any gym I've stepped foot in before. Everyone cheers you on, everyone is interested, no one is competing against ANYONE but themselves, and they notice when you don't show up or if something is weighing on you. Absolutely everyone there has a story or a goal they are working towards. To be part of that is truly a blessing and I will call CFIF my "CrossFit home" for life.
Jenny Dries Steidtmann -
Life is a journey with many twists and turns, and fitness is really no different. My one constant for at least the last 15 years has been this gym. Sure, like most, I joined for vanity reasons, but I knew deep down that I had to fight to stay strong and healthy if I was going to beat MS. This is truly functional fitness at its finest, which translates to strength, balance and coordination that I was told I only had a 50% chance of maintaining by the age of 50. There is no doubt in my mind that my gym has played a vital role in my outcome. My nutritional coaching has simply raised the bar in my overall health journey.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the friendships here. We have such a diverse group with so many different back stories, but we all have the same goal: to support each other to be the best we can be in all aspects of life. We are truly family.
Without this place, I don't know where I'd be; but with this place and this crew, I know I can handle whatever life throws my way.
Carmen Cossette -
After I had my second baby, I found myself feeling the lowest that I'd ever felt, emotionally, mentally and physically. It was time to carve out some time for myself, find a healthy outlet for my stresses and figure out who the heck I was. I had a few friends that were already a part of Sandra's gym and finally bit the bullet and reached out to her. The first thing that I said to Sandra was, "I don't do this stuff" and I am pretty sure her response was, "Well, you will!" Well, 9 years later, I am still here plugging away and I love it! It isn't always easy. I have days, weeks and months where I am struggling but there is always a team behind me cheering me on, encouraging me and believing in me. I have three daughters that I work hard to show how important it is to take care of your mind and body. That strong is beautiful. That we can do hard things. They have seen me struggle and fail. But they have witnessed me picking myself back up and pushing forward. I don't know that I would have found those tools and the strength to push on without Sandra and this community she had built. It is one of the greatest groups of individuals that I have ever been around and am fortunate enough to consider them all my bonus family! And, when my daughter looks at me with mischief in her eye and says "Race you to it!", I think "Girl, you'd better have your running shoes on because this Mama is not going down without a fight!"
Emilie Gasser -
I had been working out in my basement for almost a decade. I needed a break and honestly felt completely isolated and alone. I was in a terrible and destructive headspace. Habits that I thougth I'd outgrown, slowly creeped back into my life, destroying any ounce of confidence or self worth. Then I attended a CFIF class. I needed the PEOPLE in that box to quite literally bring me back to life. I'm stronger at 36 than I've ever been, but I also have more friends than ever. Being around like minded people that value the same things, is something that I never realized the importance of. You've shaped my habits, performance, and confidence, and I can't imagine where I'd be without this place!
Jessica Schneider -
Just about 8 ½ years ago my journey began with CFIF, 3 months postpartum with baby #2. I had never been more uncomfortable in my own skin than I was that year and I knew something had to change to get myself back. I needed to become the wife and mother my family deserved. I needed to find my identity again. My first workout was a cold, December night and I remember thinking to myself, “What the hell am I doing!?”. I found a corner in that barn that I called my second home for many years. I sweat. I met some friends I didn’t know would become more than that. I beat myself up mentally. I shed some tears. I struggled, and I struggled hard. I completed just 2 of the 5 rounds on the board that night and even after the agony it caused for weeks to come; I knew I had found something I was desperately looking for and I showed up the next day. I can’t explain what happened that night but looking back I now realize that it was pure magic. It was the night that I began putting myself back together again. Piece by piece.
Something I will never forget that this place and Sandra gave me was keeping me out of a pretty dark place that I entered with my family in 2017 as my 3rd pregnancy came along. I had many complications and our warrior came 3 months early-he is truly our miracle and I honestly don’t know that I would’ve made it out if it weren’t for this place. The strength, support, encouragement, and love that poured out of every crevasse of these people when I needed it most will never be able to be repaid. We lift each other up and love every member as our own, no matter what. The best part is that love and support never runs out, it's the river that just keeps flowing!
Fast forward some years and here I stand. Still showing up, (now in a new location that has become ‘home’), still sweating, still shedding some tears, still making more friends. This time? Stronger and better than I was on that cold December evening. I am now honored to be starting my 5th year of coaching as an L2-trainer and the proud founder and owner of Always Forward Nutrition. I get to now be that coach and influence to some of the best humans I am blessed to know and call friends. I can now begin to give back what I received all those years ago from a woman who will never know her importance no matter how many times I try to describe it. Funny how the universe gives you exactly what you need when you need it.
This box IS my family in more ways than one and I owe Sandra and the entire CFIF crew so much more than I could ever explain in these short paragraphs. I am forever thankful for Inspiring Fitness and can honestly say my life wouldn’t be the same without it. I can’t imagine myself without it, not for a single second!
My favorite part of this video is the raw, real footage that proves that we all start somewhere. We all have a story to tell. We all face battles that the eye cannot see. You may see me today and never know who the old Jess was, but I can promise that you will always see the Jess I was meant to be.
Hannelore Burhn -
CROSSFIT! It has changed my life and saved my life in so many ways I cannot even begin to count the ways. If I had a wish, it would be that everyone would try this sport. From children to grandparents, with any athletic ability, there is a place for you here. Crossfit gives you the opportunity to be a better version of yourself.
Cheryl Wozaniak -
Had I known anything about CrossFit, I would never have walked through the door at CrossFit IF and met Sandra Large and that would have been a huge mistake!
In 2008, I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and dysautonomia. Over the years, with changes in work, activities, and medications my health was up and down. In 2016, I was working full-time and barely making it through dinner. I was told to exercise as tolerated…..which meant not to expect much. But my mirror told me my body was atrophying and I needed to do something!
Then I met with Sandra! She gave me hope. At that point, I couldn’t do a single sit-up or push-up and would show up at 5:00 after work feeling poorly. Had Sandra not been so positive and encouraging, I would have given up! My initial goal was simple, do one more of anything than I did the last time. Sandra was always kind and supportive. She seemed to always know what I could handle and when I could handle more. Orthostatic hypotension was one of my more problematic symptoms and I had trouble keeping my blood pressure up during workouts resulting in double vision, nausea, unsteadiness, inability to walk a straight line, and headaches.
Fast forward 8 years and nearly 71 years of age, my neurologist told me quite firmly not to stop doing what I am doing! I’ve dropped medication and support hose to keep my blood pressure up. I am now strong and managing my disorder rather than letting it manage my life! CrossFit workouts with Sandra allowed me to build vascular and cardio strength and manage my dysautonomia symptoms. Stronger muscles support veins which increase blood flow as does a strong heart muscle. Challenging workouts sometimes cause my blood pressure to drop. With CrossFit and Sandra’s help, I’ve learned strategies to bring my BP back up that are much more effective than anything doctors told me and serve me well in keeping me going whenever and wherever symptoms arise.
If I stopped here, it would be only half the story. As an educator, I always promoted a community of learners in a classroom. Anyone walking into a Cross Fit I.F. class would see a model community! A group of people with a wide range of abilities working toward the same goal, doing exactly what each needs to grow and get stronger. Everyone is accepted, respected, encouraged, and supported by the group ranging from young adults to seniors. Thank you, Sandra, for promoting and building such a community, and to everyone for all the incredible support and encouragement I’ve gotten on my journey.
As a result of CrossFit IF, I have a wonderful community that I am a part of; I am stronger than I ever hoped to be; and I am the healthiest I’ve been since 2008! My quality of life has improved dramatically thanks to Sandra, CrossFit I.F., and everyone in the community.
I am blessed!
Kristen Bustamante -
Why CrossFit? It’s a loaded question with a lot of different answers. When I first joined CFIF in 2016 it was to lose weight. Today it’s because I can’t imagine my life without being surrounded by these amazing people. Since joining I have had two babies, neither one of those pregnancies were easy, and I found myself feeling lost all over again. The difference was that this time I had an amazing group of people to remind me of who I was, what I had accomplished, and that taking a step back was ok and that it was all waiting for me when I was ready. Yes, I lost the weight. Yes, I gained muscle and athletic skills. I did those things three separate times. I have found the backbone of my life, the support system I didn’t know I needed, and I am forever grateful.
