Success Stories

How Invictus Helped My Running Written by Invictus Member Melissa Vasel I wanted to take a minute to share an athletic accomplishment that I truly believe came about as a result of being a part of the Invictus community. I ran the Boston Marathon this past April, and unexpectedly PRd with a time of 3:27. My original plan was to run it as a long run and go for a new PR at Ojai at the end of May. After PRing in Boston, my running coach told me I had zero chance of PRing at Ojai, and that I should...

A Thank You Letter to Invictus Written by Invictus Member Michelle Cowan Dear Invictus, How do I start this? I am not the most exuberant person by nature;  I usually keep to myself before socializing with folks and being the life of the party. So you will not typically see me chatting someone’s ear off about the wonders of Invictus, and how rare a find I consider you all to be. However, I do want you all to know how much you’ve done for me, and how much I appreciate it – all too often folks are too ready to...

Is Crossfit for Ultramarathoners? Written by Invictus Member Ed MacBean A few weeks ago I ran my second ultramarathon – the “PCT50″, which runs along the Pacific Crest Trail about an hour east of San Diego.  In many ways, an ultramarathon may seem contradictory to CrossFit – rather than “constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement”, an ultra-marathon is a repetitive motion carried out at low intensity for a very long time.  I PR’ed the PCT50 by 1 hour and 43 minutes, and that still involved running more than 10 hours! But, for me, completing an ultra is my version of the CrossFit Games –...

Spotlight on Invictus Athlete : Adrianna Kripke Interview by Heather Hippensteel Adrianna Kripke’s infectious smile and enthusiasm is hard to miss. Her eagerness to learn has helped her improve tremendously in the past year! She is quick to introduce herself to new members or visitors to make them feel welcome—that is exactly the type of community we strive to create! I always love chatting with her and when I was asked to do an athlete profile, I knew that she would jump at the opportunity to share with us. Nichole: How long have you been coming to Invictus? How did...

Seeing How Far I Can Go Written by Shanel Morrow “When I started CrossFit West Jax this past September, I remember telling Coach Nick (Hawkes) that my first goal was to back squat 100#. At the time, I was barely pushing 65#. By the time December, and our move to San Diego, came around, I had improved significantly, but was still shy of my goal. January meant resuming CrossFit – this time at Invictus, with my same goal in mind. On March 29, I went for it under Coach Nick’s guidance and I got 105# for three reps! I never...

Larry “The Legend” Blum “I think it’s amazing that Larry can squat and do overhead movement at the same time because when he first started, one of the things he said to me was ‘I don’t know why we have to work on so much mobility, I’ll never be able to squat below parallel.  Number One – he can do that now!  And number two – he couldn’t achieve full range of motion in the overhead position.  Now he can do both – at 75 years old!” – Coach Michele “It was really painful getting there!” – Larry the Legend...

Gettin’ Stronger by Gary Martin “For me, the key to getting stronger was to trust my coaches. I have always had goals in my head, but had never really put them on paper or communicated them to my coach. Finally, I wrote them down and gave them to Coach Nichole. I was embarrassed at first. The numbers I gave her seemed a pipe dream. She took them and began programming. Since then, my numbers have taken off! As of today, I have hit at least one PR in nine consecutive workouts. The  goal numbers I originally thought outlandish (200lb shoulder press,...

Invictus Athlete Profile – Tristan W. Written by Nichole DeHart I recently had the privilege of working with an amazingly inspiring individual. Tristan walked into Invictus two months ago with the desire to change up his workout routine. This is a normal request from our new members, but Tristan is in a unique position, he lost one of his legs in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 and now has a prosthesis. Shane and I had the opportunity to work with Tristan for his introductory sessions. With a few movement modifications and clever progressions, we had Tristan doing things...

PaleoKai – When You Need A Little Yum Written by Invictus Athlete Kari Michal In all of us there lurks a child. CrossFit and the Paleo lifestyle have reconnected me with mine. For ten years I was a vegetarian, until I fell in love with a man that ate meat. He introduced me to CrossFit and the Paleo lifestyle. After researching it, because I was a naysayer at first, I decided to change my eating and exercise regime completely. And with that, everything changed. I became stronger, leaner, full of energy, and definitely more aware of the adverse effects of...

Catching up with Invictus Member JoJo Rossi Interview by Nichole DeHart Nichole: Jojo, tell me a little about yourself and your background. JoJo: My husband Aaron and I have 2 young children- Giulia is 5 years old and Enzo is 3 years old. I am the Pastry Chef for a local restaurant group. Growing up I wasn’t very athletic. This is really the first time in my life I have actively worked out. I’ve battled my weight my whole life so it has been nice that Crossfit just clicked for me. I really enjoy it! Nichole: How did you hear about...

“Built on Common Purpose and Shared Success” Written by C.J. Martin – and honorary Invicti Drew Canavero I had planned to write a “mission accomplished” post detailing the success of the Invictus athletes this weekend. It was, by all measures, an unbelievable weekend. Among the highlights are the following: Team Invictus Around the Globe (Aja Barto, Steve Howell, Azadeh Boroumand and Michelle Kinney) – 1st place at SICest of the Southwest – special shout out to Aja Barto on his 345 lb Clean & Jerk with no warm-up Team Invictus San Diego (Shane Farmer, Tino Marini, Nichole DeHart and Lauren...

Missed Already – Invictus Athletes Patrice and Richard Madrid Introduced by C.J. Martin and interviewed by Jaimie Bougie One of the sad realities of being a San Diego-based gym is that some of our favorite members eventually receive orders to serve our country from other places in the world. While we were so excited to get Richard back to San Diego after his last deployment, we are equally saddened that he and Patrice have been assigned to a post in North Carolina. We will miss you both! Jaimie - Patrice and RJ, you two have been familiar faces at Invictus...

Aspiring to Pull-Up – My Journey Written by Invictus Member Irene Tobias I’ve gone through life with several female fitness heroes; as a kid in the 80s, it was She-Ra, Princess of Power (strongest woman in the Universe, twin sister of He-Man). At present, I am thoroughly inspired by the amazing Amazonian women who compete in the CrossFit Games. But one figure that I’ve always been physically motivated by for many years has been Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 – particularly in the quest to attain strict pull-ups. The scene where she rearranged the bed in her prison cell into...

Becoming an Honorary Invicti Written by Taryn Romanowich – owner of CrossFit Function in Yorkton, Saskatchewan A lot of factors led up to me deciding to seek out a coach. We (my friend, and soon-to-be business partner) had been training out of a Globo-gym, and it burned down. We trained out of a garage for a bit, but then the depths of winter hit and that was tough to maintain when the barbells froze your hands. Then we opened an Affiliate, and starting a business and all of it’s priorities overtook my training and goals.  I decided to seek out...

Pete & Carla’s Invictus Experience – Pete’s Story Written by Invictus Member Pete Strachwitz As I sit here, I almost don’t know where to begin telling my story. I grew up with tibial torsion and femoral anteversion, which basically meant I was pretty pigeon-toed (and, in fact, still am somewhat pronounced on my right side). It was significant enough as a child that I wore corrective shoes to bed for a year (I remember thinking they were ice skates), at about age 5 or 6, and also wore different corrective boots to school. I also slouched a lot, which made...

CROSSFIT SAVED MY LIFE Written by Invictus Member Carmen De La Parra In August 2010, I started attending Invictus. I won’t say I started doing CrossFit because that would be over stating what I was able to do. At my age, at the time 58 years old, it proved to be quite a challenge. Had it not been for the wonderful coaches and classmates who gave me so much encouragement, I would have been ready to give up in a jiffy. Slowly I started to make some progress. Often I was really sore and at times I felt really awkward...

Meet the Champ – Chis Kanaar Written by George Economou Last week the competitors of the 2012 Look Good Feel Good Challenge voted for their winner, and by a landslide, chose Chris Kanaar as their champion!  Seeing as how I got to coach Chris on his initial fundamentals back in April 2010 and work with him in the Nutrition Coaching Group, I wanted to be the one to sit down with the champ and get his side of the story on the Challenge. Motivation From the get go, Chris was in it to win it!  He made the decision early...

Invictus Athlete Profile – Lisa Burns Written by Nichole DeHart I have been working with Lisa since she joined Invictus. She is not only the mother of two and an incredible athlete, but also a wonderful motivator. Not a session goes by without Lisa saying hello to everyone in the gym, cheering on other athletes and sharing her latest paleo-friendly recipe. I have never seen Lisa give me anything less than 100% every session. Her success speaks volumes, and it’s directly attributable to her dedication inside and outside the gym. She recently accomplished some big goals, like her first pull-up...

If you haven’t met Kim McLaughlin yet, I suggest you do so right away.  She is not only one of the toughest girls you will meet but she is incredibly friendly, devoted and a darn good athlete. In fact, Kim walked away with first place in the inaugural Look Good Feel Good Play Good Challenge – placing no lower than third place in any of the three scoring categories.  Kim was kind enough to sit down and talk with me and share some tips for those of you who are current challenge competitors. Nichole: So Kim, how long have you...

Dan Tandon has been a member of Invictus for nearly 2 years and a great contributor to the community. Below, Dan Tells us about what motivates him, how he has changed his life through CrossFit and what it means for his family. This story is brought to you by the guys over at Crossfit Story....

A Scary Incident and a New Perspective on Fitness Invictus Member Ali’s Story – Introduced by C.J. Martin I returned from my vacation in Maui to mostly great news, but I was shocked to hear that one of our favorite members was in a horrible accident. I shot her an email to check in on her and was amazed by her response. I wasn’t amazed by her disposition – which is consistently optimistic and upbeat – but rather her perspective as to what her fitness means to her in light of this recent incident (and some REALLY cool news). I...

Once upon a time, a client/friend of mine asked me to contact her friend, Bo Smith, about CrossFit.  Bo needed to get in shape, but thought CrossFit wasn’t for him.  It took a few calls, but in August 2009 Bo was finally ready to jump in.  He didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but it set him on a journey to a transformed life, where health became a priority for him and those around him. Bo and his wife were expecting their first child when we began training. This was key motivation for him to kick it in...

Krazy K turns 51-years-young today!  But the amazing thing about her birthday is that she looks and feels YOUNGER today than she has in years. Krazy K has been a life long carb-addict.  She would almost always choose bread over meat.  For years I attempted to educate and convince her to modify her diet, but being her son didn’t help in that fight.  The catalyst for change finally came late in 2009.  She was inspired by Robb Wolf and Nicki Violetti.  Robb and Nicki are friends, but what inspired her was their conviction and dedication to providing the absolute best...

What did you think was possible in 7.5 weeks?  Did you think you could lose 30 lbs?  Did you think you could add 30 lbs. to your max effort clean?  Well, several did. The Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good Challenge was more successful than I could have ever dreamed.  The results, across the board, were phenomenal!  On average, our participants improved by 36 points on their Play Good Challenge workout – a combination of improvement in max effort clean and reps performed in the conditioning workout.  That alone would make me a very happy man; the changes seen in...

As the Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good Challenge comes to a close I found myself contemplating the true meaning of a statement I made to one of the fabulous ladies in the 9:30 group. She asked how the contest was going and I replied, “Good, I just can‘t wait until it is over.” It was the “I can’t wait until it’s over” part that had me thinking (talking to myself actually, but for those of you who know me this shouldn’t come as a surprise). What did I mean when I said that? Am I going to start buying...

Another Reason I Love What I Do Written by C.J. Martin As I have said many times on this blog, working with the amazing individuals that walk through our doors is a dream come true.  Walking into the gym each day and interacting with the members of our community is as rewarding as any career I could have imagined.  Notes of appreciation like the one below from Isabel are the cherry on top.  I owe so much to the coaches and the members of the Invictus community for making Invictus a place where everyone should feel comfortable and capable of...

Mike V. – Another Success Story Written by C.J. Martin Mike V. didn’t wait for the Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good Challenge.  If he did, he would have to be considered a heavy favorite.  Mike came to Invictus with a bit of weight to lose.  He wasn’t overweight, but he knew he was carrying more body fat than was optimal for his health and performance.  But Mike’s resolve to change his body composition and performance has been incredible – and not surprisingly, so too have his results. On our suggestion, Mike submitted himself to hydrostatic body fat testing at...