Ines Subashka: Introduce yourself:
Rhonda Starr: My name is Rhonda Starr, I am 35 years old.
IS: How long have you been doing crossfit?
RS: I have been Crossfitting for about a year and a half.
IS: Have you been involved in some other sports before that?
RS: I’ve always been athletic and enjoy playing many different sports. I don’t have a sports specific background but have always managed to stay active. I haven’t ever really worked out much…always found excuses not too- not enough time, no money for a membership- any excuse.
IS: How did people around you accept the fact that you are doing crossfit?Did they take a jaundiced view of it?
RS: When a friend introduced me to Crossfit in November of 09′, I thought it was a joke. Not Crossfit as a whole, but the workout he wanted me to do. I thought it would be easy. It was Cindy. I had to modify the pull ups and push ups and got in 12 rounds… from there on I was hooked! When I started telling people about it, they thought I was crazy and the wod’s were crazy! The more I talked about it and the more results I got, the more people wanted to check it out.
IS: Do you have a nutrition plan that you follow? If yes, do you meet disapproval from you friends?Or do they understand why you eat the way you do?
RS: When February of 2010 came around, I joined a box. Crossfit 801! Tyson the owner talked to me about nutrition and getting my diet in order. I already ate pretty well but still had dairy and grains in my diet. I decided to try Tyson’s suggestion of the Paleo diet for 30 days to see how it would affect my workouts and energy levels. I am still doing Paleo to this day. Anyone I talk to about Paleo that is a non crossfitter had no desire to do it. I find that food is the hardest habit for people to change. My friends give me props for being able to stick to Paleo or any diet, but most are not willing to try to change their eating habits.
IS: What does crossfit mean to you and did it change your life in some way?
RS: Crossfit has most definitely changed my life. I suffered a back injury about 7 years ago. The doctors couldn’t figure out exactly where the injury was so they could not do much more than attempt to fix it. I woke up every morning for years in pain. It was hard to get out of bed. I also have struggled my whole life with asthma. I remember I would make up crazy excuses to get out of running in P.E. because I was so afraid of the pain I would experience when my throat would close and I wouldn’t be able to breath. Since I have been Crossfitting, I haven’t had any back pain and haven’t used an inhaler for my asthma in a year! Crossfit is a life style. I choose to live a strong healthy life style and Crossfit is perfect!
IS: What is your favorite WOD and which one do you hate the most?
RS: I don’t really have a favorite WOD…but I like alot of them. I dislike WODs with running and thrusters. Thrusters are so hard. I love back squats and over head squats!
IS: Is it hard for you to combine your daily tasks with workouts? And have you ever used the excuse that you are too busy to workout?
RS:Right now I am not working. But, even when I did restaurant management, that is a 55-60 hour a week job, I never say I don’t have time. Tabata takes 4 minutes, there is always 4 minutes somewhere to spare in a day!
IS: Do you remember some funny story with you and crossfit?
RS: A funny Crossfit story? Well, I consider myself a bit of a clumsy crossfitter. I have dropped a 36# kettle bell on my toe from a full one handed snatch position, I have crotch shot myself with a 53# kettle bell doing sumo dead lift high pulls(note to self-” do not lean forward while pulling a kettle bell into a dead lift position!” Oh sit ups….eesh..so we were doing Angie and I was on the sit ups and I really wanted a good time on this wod I went so fast my butt was bleeding from the sit ups…this was at a Crossfit New Life, and the only trainers were males. They didn’t have anything to patch my bloody buns up so I went and bought some femenine pads and brought them in the next day and left them at the box. I put a note on it that said: “ For the next time my butt bleeds”….the girls loved it…the guys didn’t know what to do.
IS:What advice would you give to the beginner crossfiters?
RS:Advice…the first few weeks are hard, push through. Anytime you learn a new movement, remember that everyone in there started off the same as you. Don’t get discouraged or embarrassed learning a new movement because in a few months you will be saying these exact words to the next newbie. You always have more to give than you think you are capable of giving. Allow your self to be pushed out of your comfort zone to acheive more. Go against yourself! Your best is your acheivement. Own it and be proud of it!
