March Athlete of the Month Is.............
ERIN HOERNER!!!!!!!!
We all know her, we all love her, she makes class times more dance-y, and makes everyone's day just a little happier every time she's in the gym. Erin has been with us for over 2 years now, never fails to show up promptly for our 4:35pm class (or 9:30am class), gives 110% during every workout (it's terrifying...you don't want to judge her in competitions), and is pretty much one of the coolest kids on the block, which is why we've named Erin our March Athlete of the Month!!!
Get to know Erin!
We asked Erin a few questions about herself and here is what she had to say:
1) What did you do for fitness before CrossFit?
Before Crossfit, I ran and was really bad at it and also a boring go to the gym and half know what to do on a machine person. I’ve played sports for as long as I can remember from ice hockey to soccer to irish step dancing. The sport I’ve played the longest and still play is lacrosse. I play on an old lady team called The Heat. We like to rough up the youngins and talk about the good ole days. I get at least two calls a game for illegal contact (big surprise, I know).
2) What do you spend most of your time doing outside of the gym?
Many people know that I teach so there’s a lot of time spent procrastinating grading and lesson planning by looking at memes. Besides that, I try to always have something that I can look forward to on the weekend. I’ve recently began to really enjoy cooking (not following recipes of course, just buying things and hoping the idea in my head tastes good) so that’s been nice as I enjoy eating. I also love finding new spots to hike with friends and going to breweries after. Lately, I’ve been trying to explore more of the Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh area in general.
3) Tell us something about yourself we may not know.
I have a scar on my left ankle from cliff diving in England. I used to tell campers that it was from a shark attack and they 100% all believed me. The story of how I got it is super lame because really I just bumped into a rough edge of a cliff.
4) What got you started in CrossFit?
After my college lacrosse career ended, I knew I wanted/needed to continue to exercise so I started running. It was really difficult for me so that was a major cue that I needed to get back into shape. When I moved to the Chapel Hill area, I worked out at an O2 (I knowwwww). I signed up for a boot camp class and made good friends with two girls also doing Boot Camp. We then went on to doing small group training together. When they both moved away, I continued to work out, but I constantly cheated myself by going light on weights or not finishing all of my workout because I was so bored. I knew I needed a change and decided to try out Crossfit. I planned to check out three gyms, but literally after one day at Crossfit Chapel Hill, I impulsively decided to sign up for a full year. Now I’m a proud member of our Crossfit cult life.
5) What's your biggest accomplishment at CFCH so far?
I was really proud of myself when I became a member of the 200lb back squat club. That felt great.
6) What's your biggest non-fitness accomplishment?
Breaking the rules here, but definitely finishing a full marathon. I signed up on a whim thinking it could be fun (I literally don’t know why I thought running 26.2 miles would be fun). Every Saturday morning I was up by 6am then spent the rest of the day icing my knees and trying to not fall asleep. Overall though it was great. I cried before the race, during the race, and after the race lol. I learned so much about the importance of believing in yourself, making goals a priority, and how important it is to have Eminem on your running playlist.
7) What fitness goal are you currently chasing?
Very recently I’ve been able to do chest to bar pull ups, so I would love it if I could get a bar muscle up this year. I also still want to be able to do handstand walks because I think they look cool.
8) What life goal are you currently chasing?
lolz, figuring out what to do with my life....
9) What is your favorite CrossFit movement of workout?
Deadliftz. Turkish get ups. Farmers carry. Walking lunges. Wall balls.
10) What movement/workout makes you cringe to see on the board?
Pistols. Bulgarian split squats. Row sprints. That time we did a death crawls….
11) What's your favorite thing about CFCH?
Literally so many things. I think that our gym is a really special place. I can arrive feeling stressed about work and life, but 99% of the time when I leave, I feel absolutely fantastic. And hungry.
I love that when we start a workout we all cheer for one another, laugh, give each other looks of “why does Morgan hate us, 5 rounds is too many”, and yet, despite differences in ages and abilities we all work hard to get. It. done. We’re really lucky to have a place like Crossfit Chapel Hill and the crazy move into a new gym is a testament about how much we all care for our community.
12) What long term plans do you have in the realm of health and fitness?
Stay happy and healthy and learn some more good eats recipes. I’d also like to make #fitandflexy more of a priority.
13) What or who is an inspiration to you?
I think there are a lot of different people who inspire me, but mostly, I like to find inspiration in little things...the white haired men and women who still jog, single mothers who work extra jobs to send their kids to the best camps, the names of soldiers in our hero WODs, people who are kind despite being in bad situations, etc.
14) Which band/station/playlist is your favorite to really get you pumped up at the gym?
Currently if I want to get puuumped I put on Drake’s “God's Plan”. It really depends on the day though. I probably flip through at least five stations on my drive to the gym. Lots of car singing and dancing. If it is a week day though I am just pumped to be escaping work and going to the gym where someone else gets to tell me what to do.