Featured Athlete – WOD & DONE

Jared Stein- Featured Athlete

Name: Jared Stein
Age: 30
City/State: Brooklyn, NY
Favorite Movie/Character: Ocean’s Eleven
Favorite lift: Back Squat
Favorite Girl WOD: Linda
Favorite Hero WOD: DT
Favorite Lift/Movement: Pull-ups
Least favorite/Weakness: Snatch
Favorite Healthy Meal/Snack: Plantains
Favorite Cheat Meal/Snack: Pizza

CrossFit Affiliate Name: WillyB CrossFit and LTrain CrossFit
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Year of Affiliation: 3
Owner(s): Jared Stein and Grig Mindlin
Membership Base: 400 members
Coaches: 8 Coaches
Box Size: 20,000 square feet over 3 locations

Every athlete has a unique story with their foray into the CrossFit world, and Jared Stein’s began on the CrossFit.com website.

As an athlete-turned-box owner, Jared’s journey began when a college teammate mentioned the main website to him back in 2008. Never having completed a WOD prior to this, Jared found himself confused by the language used on the site. After watching the videos and following the movements, he was instantly in love with the concept of lifting and conditioning in the same workout.

As his interest in CrossFit continued to grow, Jared decided to open a CrossFit box with his friend, Grig Mindlin. Jared and Grig met on Jared’s second day of CrossFit when they were paired together for a partner version of Cindy. Jared did his best to keep up with the more-experienced Grig in a foolhardy attempt. They have been friends since that workout.

The idea of jointly opening a box emerged when Grig moved to a part of Brooklyn that sorely needed a CrossFit box. He called Jared and the two discussed the idea—and three months later, their first location, WillyB CrossFit, opened its doors.

WillyB CrossFit opened without any members, but soon after, the classes began to fill. Eventually, Jared and Grig opened a second location in Brooklyn: LTrain CrossFit. Currently, between the boxes, there are 21 classes on the schedule each day, with Jared coaching anywhere from two to five of those classes.

From the perspective of programming classes, Jared has learned a bit about his community of athletes. When incorporating a series of mono-structural work, he has noticed that people tend to use that as a rest day and skip class. More notably, Jared has noticed that when thrusters appear, complaining quickly follows.

Currently, Jared trains once or twice each day and up to six days a week—depending on how he is feeling. Drawing from the programming from CrossFit Linchpin and CompTrain, he follows both workout models and does his best to work toward elite-level fitness. In doing so, Jared hopes to achieve a 500 lb. back squat.

Jared’s inspiration comes from his father, who is his role model. His father’s core tenets of doing things right, staying calm, and treating people with kindness are what Jared has integrated into his daily life. “If I can be half the man he is, I’ll have lived a good life.”

From a fledgling CrossFit athlete to a multi-box owner, Jared has learned quite a bit about himself and the community. Operating under the credo of “Move well, feel good, have some fun,” his focus is to keep customers happy and healthy—which, in turn, will ensure success for everyone. His professional goal is to expand his fitness brand throughout the northeast and continue to bring health and wellness to more people—while being sure to have fun in the process.

“It doesn’t matter how fast they are, how strong they are, or how many pull-ups they can do. If they are happy and having fun, they will forever be your athletes.”

Use coupon code “LTRAIN” at checkout to save 15% on your next order

Grace Avery – Future of our Sport

Name: Grace Avery
Age: 11
City/State: East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Favorite movie: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
Favorite television show: SpongeBob SquarePants and WWE
CrossFit Affiliate Name: Cynergy CrossFit
Favorite lift: Clean and Jerk
Favorite Girl WOD: Grace, of course!
Least favorite/Weakness: Squat snatch, muscle-ups, and ring dips

With the incredible athletes who have framed today’s CrossFit world, it is important to remember the generation of future athletes who will succeed them. At 11 years of age, Grace Avery promises to be a prominent future contender.

Grace comes from a large family and is the youngest of five siblings. In addition, she has two dogs, Brady and Hope, and a mouse named Oreo. Her mother is a nurse and her father, who inspired her to enter the CrossFit world, is a firefighter/paramedic.

Grace’s journey into CrossFit began six years ago. When she was younger, Grace would watch her father perform first responder challenges and would often join alongside him. This sparked her interest, and soon after, her parents enrolled her in a CrossFit Kids program. Now, Grace currently trains with the adult programming four times per week with different coaches.

Far from being inactive, Grace is engaged in an array of activities outside of CrossFit, and especially loves basketball, soccer, and football. Currently, she plays Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) girls basketball, where she has a tournament each weekend throughout the spring season.

With years of experience under her belt at 11 years of age, Grace has already competed in multiple events in the New England area, at the RUFIT Festival in Virginia Beach, and at Wodapalooza in Miami. This is only the beginning of Grace’s resume, as her goal is to compete in the CrossFit games in the next five years and be dubbed as the “Fittest on Earth” in ten years.

Grace’s main focus is to always improve herself while having fun in the process. Fortunately, she has many sources of inspiration to draw from. Her parents certainly provide no shortage of inspiration for her. She also looks up to her older brother, Derek, who is currently serving in the U.S. Navy. In the CrossFit world, there are a number of athletes who she looks to for motivation to keep doing her best, and she is thankful for the opportunity to have met and trained with them.

In addition to her fitness aspirations, Grace looks forward to a college career at the University of Connecticut. Here, she hopes to earn a degree in fitness, which will arm her with the tools to become a successful trainer and to someday own a CrossFit box of her own.

Watch out, because after she becomes the “Fittest on Earth”, Grace may one day be in the WWE ring to become the fiercest.

Pamela Gagnon: Performance Plus Programming

WIN a year-long subscription ($240 value) to Performance Plus Programming

by Dr. Zach Long and Pamela Gagnon

(see rules of the contest below)

This week we are excited to announce that we’ve partnered up with Pamela Gagnon and Dr. Zach Long of Performance Plus Programming to offer you guys this opportunity to win a full year worth of programming, tutorials and coaching from these two amazing specialists. In order to enter this contest please follow the 4 simple steps below:

Follow on Instagram: @thebarbellphysio
Follow on Instagram: @pamelagnon
Follow on Instagram: @wodndone
Find the post with the picture above on either one of the three pages and comment on it with what you would like to improve the most.

The winner will be picked from only those that have left comments as described in the step #4 above and awarded the year long membership.

This is a really amazing opportunity please don’t let it slip by you. We might also have some runner up prizes 😉

DEADLINE: 3/24 11:59PM EST

Performance Plus Programming

Designed to improve your strength, control, and performance while bulletproofing your body against injury!

✔️four weekly workout

✔️ ten minutes in duration

✔️ improved movement

✔️ improved mobility

✔️ improved performance

https://www.thebarbellphysio.com/performance-plus-programming/

YOUR COACHES:

Dr. Zach Long, better known as The Barbell Physio, is an internationally known physical therapist and strength coach. Zach consults regularly with elite weightlifters, CrossFit games athletes, and professional athletes from a wide range of sports. His expertise is in improving sports performance while simultaneously decreasing injury risk factors.

Pamela Gagnon is a leader in the area of body weight strengthening movements for today’s athletes and currently a Lead Coach for CrossFit Gymnastics. Her background as a Division I Gymnast and 3x CrossFit Games Masters athlete has given her over 30 years of experience as an athlete & coach. She coaches athletes worldwide on how to implement strength and gymnastics skills to improve their fitness performance.

Holly Allen – U.S. Air Force Mom

To honor our Men and Women of service, WOD & DONE is offering a 30% off discount for active military members (honor system) until 5/31. If you are an active military member or a spouse of an active military member please use the coupon code: “Protect” at checkout.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Name:	Holly Allen
Age:	27
Hometown:	Salem, Oregon
Current Residence:	Rapid City, South Dakota (recently moved from Alaska)
Favorite movie / character:	Resident Evil series
CrossFit Affiliate Name:	My husband is in the Air Force and I am fortunate enough that our military base has a designated area for CrossFit in an airplane hangar.
Favorite lift:	All squats!
Favorite Girl WOD:	Fran – I hate every minute of it, but I love the challenge!
Least favorite / Weakness:	Snatch – It’s my least favorite lift, but the only way you’re going to get better is by doing more.
Name of home Box:	The Pride Hangar
Location:	Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota
Owner:	U.S. Air Force

One of the most resounding aspects of CrossFit is its celebration of the men and women in the armed forces. When many of the servicemen and servicewomen are called away, their families send them off with pride in their hearts, pushing forward in their absence—and Holly Allen is no exception.

Holly is no stranger to keeping a very active and full life. In addition to being a mother of two boys, a CrossFit competitor, a college student, and a small business owner, she is the wife of an active Air Force serviceman. Holly is no stranger to a full schedule, as she has mastered the art of managing her time to accomplish her goals while her husband is away. If there is one thing that she has learned to do, it is to keep pushing forward.

As a kid, Holly was an active gymnast for many years. As she grew older, this transitioned into other sports, with cheerleading as one of her highlights. Looking for her next challenge, Holly had always heard about CrossFit, but was intimidated by the stories she had heard.

During her pregnancy with her last son, Holly was ready to get serious about her fitness. Having always struggled with her weight, she made a commitment to herself to begin a healthy lifestyle and started weightlifting. Soon after, with the help of a close friend to guide her, Holly dove into the CrossFit world in March 2016.

Like most beginners in the CrossFit world, Holly worked toward building a comfort level with the Olympic lifts. By December 2016, she was embracing them. She quickly became enamored with the variety and brutality of the challenges of CrossFit—which, as she proudly admits, is what keeps her coming back for more. The mental and physical aspects of each WOD have helped her reach and surpass her goals.

Holly’s CrossFit setup is a bit different from a typical box. She currently resides in South Dakota on the Ellsworth Air Force base and performs her WODs in an airplane hangar with fellow CrossFitters on the base. Although she does not have a coach on-site, Holly has a coach who is local to the area who will come to the base where they will work together on her form and other skills as needed.

With no shortage of goals, Holly is focused on improving herself on multiple levels. With regard to her fitness goals, she is working to become a better, stronger, and faster athlete, where she strives to move toward the front of the pack in future competitions. Holly is actively working to achieve her goals of a 200 lb. back squat and a 300 lb. deadlift by the end of 2017. In addition, Holly is aiming to achieve her weight loss goal while continuing to become stronger and faster. Outside of CrossFit, Holly hopes to complete her bachelor’s degree and move into the next stage of her career.

Holly’s drive comes from her family. Her husband and their two sons, Tristen and Dawson, are the cornerstones of every achievement. With her husband pushing her to the next level, he is the foundation for her motivation and success. Most importantly, Holly wants to set a solid example for her two sons, where they will look back and remember her as strong, brave, and confident.

“I want them to remember that their mom kicks butt.”

Shellie Edington

(raw photo credit: @strengthandgracephoto)

Name: Shellie Edington

Age: 52

City/State: Columbus OH

Favorite movie / character: Star Wars / Chewie

CrossFit Affiliate Name: CrossFit 614

Favorite lift: Split Jerk

Favorite Girl WOD: Amanda

Least favorite / Weakness: Burpees

Name of home Box: CrossFit 614

Location: Columbus, OH

Owner: Mitch Potterf

Shellie Edington is a one-of-a-kind athlete. It quickly becomes evident, through her glowing personality, that she is a genuine, determined, and giving person. Having met many athletes and vendors, we have noticed one common thread: whenever Shellie’s name arises in conversation, we only hear glowing praise.

Becoming a Masters Division champion of the CrossFit Games was not always a goal that Shellie was actively working toward. As a former competitive gymnast, Shellie slowly moved away from her athletic lifestyle. She married her husband Christopher, and soon after, she became a mother of 3 beautiful children. Focusing on her life as a wife and mother, Shellie’s strength and mobility began to wane while she gained some weight.

Shellie noticed that there was no structure for kids younger than first grade. Using her gymnastics background, Shellie made the decision to introduce her children to sports and athleticism and developed Tumblin4Kids. Her introduction to CrossFit happened in 2010 when one of her students mentioned a CrossFit Kids course at CrossFit 614 in Columbus, Ohio, instructed by the owner, Mitch Potterf. This ignited her journey to CrossFit stardom.

At the beginning, Shellie found herself frustrated, out of shape, and in pain. Unable to do a single pull-up and experiencing pain in her joints, she pushed past her discomfort. With hard work and dedication on her part and with the guidance of her coach, Mitch, Shellie found herself standing on top of the podium in Carson four years later.

Shellie currently holds a high ranking on the top of the leaderboard in her division and continues to train with Mitch at CrossFit 614. Her aspirations to become the best version of herself shine through her CrossFit training and performance.

Please join us in wishing Shellie the best of luck during her training for and performance in the 2017 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin.

Check out CrossFit 614: http://www.fitclubcolumbus.com/

(* ”23 years later” By Brittney Saline)

Amy “Pistol” Mandelbaum

(raw photo credit: Irene Penny Photography)

This month’s Athlete Spotlight is Amy “Pistol” Mandelbaum. Amy was one of the first athletes who gave WOD&DONE brand a chance and helped us spread the word. So, it’s not a surprise that we wanted to share her story in our bi-weekly Athlete Spotlight series .

Name: Amy “Pistol” Mandelbaum
Age: 49 (50 in May)
City/State: Westport, CT
Favorite movie / character: The Matrix, Trinity – of course!
CrossFit Affiliate Name: CrossFit Westport
Favorite lift: Clean
Favorite Girl WOD: Helen
Least favorite / Weakness: Amanda

Amy started doing CrossFit over 7 years ago with no athletic background prior to that. Her fitness consisted of random interval, boot-camp style classes and spin classes. That’s when a friend suggested that she give CrossFit a try. “It took one class and I was hooked. It was a complete departure for me in terms of physical challenges” – Amy said.

She has competed in every Open since, been on two Regionals teams 2011 & 2012, competed at the Games as a masters athlete in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and earned a spot at the 2015 Games, but had to withdraw last minute due to a family emergency and took 2016 off to dedicate to her daughter, who was auditioning for musical theatre programs, and to give time to the development of CrossFit Westport.

When asked about her current training, Amy responded: “I now train five days a week with my coach – Jay Leydon. I am training to get back into the Games and after a year-and-a-half hiatus. It’s been a process to get my head back into the competitive mindset. “

Two years ago, Amy, along with her husband David, set out on a venture to open CrossFit Wesport in their hometown of Norwalk, CT. To date, their box has over 180 members and they are still growing. They operate a 6000 sq ft facility that runs seven classes per day. With other business responsibilities, as well as being active in her family, Amy still finds time to teach 1-2 classes every day. Here is what she had to say about how it all came together.

Name of the Box: CrossFit Westport (crossfitwestport.com)
Location: Norwalk, CT
Year of Affiliation: Two
Owner (s): Myself and my husband, David
Aprox Membership base: (optional) 180 and growing!
Coaches: #? Names? (optional) Including myself, six
Size (sq.ft): Just under 6000 sq ft

Tell us how it all started:

“I had been a coach and competitive CrossFit athlete for many years and had a vision of what I wanted to create in a strong community. I knew that my life as a competitor needed to slow down but that I wanted CrossFit to be a part of whatever “next chapter” I was going to write for myself. It was my husband, David, who presented me with the opportunity to own my own box. I jumped at the idea without a second thought. With his support and my incredible coaches, we have created an amazing environment for our members.”

Tell us more about your box:

“CrossFit Westport is a health, fitness, and lifestyle gym. We are not a competitive box, though we have a number of terrific athletes. We are very welcoming to both the experienced CrossFitter as well as to those who are trying it for the first time. You come to us to work out in a safe, well-organized and fun environment. Our members work to reach and surpass their goals and we aid them in those achievements. In my view, this is all about the journey and there is so much that can be attained by finding physical strength and conquering your fears. Our members are moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, young professionals, teens, you name it. We have a very community-minded diverse membership. We believe in giving back so we raise money for charity, we support our local community and we have an amazing teen sports program that supports our local high school. We are a very social box and enjoy each others company both in and out of the gym. We view our incredible staff as family as well and fully support them in their own development. In short, we are a place to come find your best self and great friends.”

What is the one workout YOU KNOW if you program you’ll get the most amount of complaints?

I don’t generally get complaints about workouts. I try very hard to listen to my membership and challenge them appropriately. So if I hear rumblings of sore shoulders, for instance, I will take that into consideration as I program or I will change programs on the fly to accommodate the feedback I get from my coaches. Our members are not generally whiners, so when someone voices a concern, I take it seriously.

As an owner, what did you learn about yourself and how have you evolved personally and in the business sense since you’ve opened up?

Owning a box has challenged me in ways I could not have predicted, but it has also given me a great perspective on how, as a coach, I can positively impact others’ lives. I wake up every day happy to go to work. I have learned to be a very good multi-tasker. Additionally, being responsible for such a large group of people dilutes my focus in a positive way. I am not so focused on the minutia of everyday life in the gym, so I let go of things that in the past, would have really bothered me. As a result, I feel very present both at home and at the gym.

When asked about her short and long term goals Amy said: “My longer-term and always-present-goals sort of blend: to maintain a healthy family life, be with my kids as much as possible and to nurture and grow my membership at my gym – CrossFit Westport. The best I can say is that my long term goal is to age in as healthfully a way as possible, and continue to help others live a healthy life along the way”. We would like to wish Amy an injury-free and successful competition season as well as to continue running a successful CrossFit gym while helping others achieve their goals.

Stavros Kalogirou

Name:	Stavros Kalogirou
Age:	40 years old
City/State:	Martinez, CA (NorCal)
About Me:	I’m SF Bay Area local born and raised. I’ve been married for almost 17 years and have 4 amazing kids (3, 7, 9, and 11). I’m a Firefighter/Paramedic for a bay area department (actually I drive the engine, coolest job in the world).
Favorite Movie/Character:	Braveheart, William Wallace
CrossFit Affiliate Name:	Diablo CrossFit since 2006 (http://www.diablocrossfit.com)
Favorite Lift:	Thrusters
Favorite Girl WOD:	Fran or Helen…tough to say!
Least favorite/weakness:	Toes 2 Bar/Squat Snatch
How did you start CrossFit?	When I was in the process of being hired as a firefighter, during our orientation the PT coach said “if you want to get in shape for this, go do CrossFit”. I had NO idea what it was, I was lucky enough to stumble into Diablo on December 21st, 2006 for my first workout…I’ve never looked back!
How often do you train/ Do you have a coach?	I train 5 days a week, usually an AM session and a PM session. I’ve been working 1-on-1 with Coach Scott Gillis from Optimum Performance Training Calgary (www.optimumperformancecalgary.com) since July 2016. I can’t say enough about working with my coach, he believes in me more than I ever could. I also work with a nutrition coach, Mike Kesthely from Nova3Labs (www.Nova3Labs.com), I trust him implicitly with my nutrition and it’s paid dividends. Check them out!
Who is your role model?	My mother passed away in 1997 when I was 20 years old, from lung cancer, she raised me and kept me safe a single mom and fought until the very end. I wear pink every time I compete in her honor. She’s my role model. In the CF world, I appreciate the people who can compete at a very high level, but keep it fun. I love to smile when I compete, if I’m not having fun when doing this…then I need to find something else to do 🙂
What are some of your goals – fitness or otherwise?	I placed roughly 320th out of 20,000+ last year in the 40-44m division in the CrossFit Open. My goal is to place well into the top 200 and compete in the Masters Qualifiers. I also want to continue to learn how to best balance my training and competing with all the other incredibly important things in my life.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years/ 10 years?	Wow, I’ll be 50 in 10 years, hah! But seriously, I’ll still have kids at home and be driving a fire engine. Other than that, I want to get better at life, a better husband, father, friend, firefighter, and certainly better at fitness 🙂

Alyssa Novoa

(Photo credit: Wodapalooza fitness festival 2017)

Name:	Alyssa Novoa
Age:	11 years old
City/State:	Apopka, FL
Favorite Movie/Character:	Little Mermaid _Ariel is my favorite
CrossFit Affiliate Name:	CrossFit Unmatched (http://crossfitunmatched.com/)
Favorite Lift:	Deadlift
Favorite Girl WOD:	Fran
Least favorite/weakness:	Snatch
How did you start CrossFit?	My parents started and it looked like fun so I started doing the kids class and loved it!!
How often do you train/ Do you have a coach?	I train at least five days a week. My coach is my dad and the coaches at my box help me too.
Who is your role model?	Maria Sharapova
What are some of your goals – fitness or otherwise?	Fitness wise, I would like to keep improving as much as possible in all the sports I play.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years/ 10 years?	In 5 years, I see myself succeeding in school, playing varsity soccer for my high school, top 25 in Florida under 18 for tennis and going to the CrossFit Games as an athlete. In 10 years, I hope to have my level 1 CrossFit certification, attend college and to be a professional athlete in a sport I love.

We started working with Alyssa even before we knew she was going to the Wodapalooza Fitness Festival 2017. She is dedicated, does well in school, and shows grit. Alyssa, being one of the youngest athletes on the competition floor, showed tremendous perseverance and had a positive attitude the entire 3 days of the competition. We clearly recall the moment (pictured above) when Alyssa looked like she was ready to quit but she found the strength and courage to finish the event under the music of applause of the packed stadium.

In the world of CrossFit, one who finishes last gets the biggest ovation and this was no exception. The crowd showed their support for Alyssa by cheering her on until the very end. There she was, competing with older girls, doing pullups, toes to bar, cleans and other highly complex movements of that METCON. It was exciting to see her perform and we were thrilled that she trusted WOD&DONE hand protection for this and other workouts in her training as well as during this amazing weekend. WOD&DONE is proud to feature such a young athlete, who without a doubt will continue to grow in the sport of CrossFit.