Michael Aaron

CrossFit Midtown is very excited to announce our August 2016 Member of the Month, Nancy Marencin! Read on to learn more about Nancy and her CrossFit journey. Thank you for being such an outstanding member of the CFM community!

Name: Nancy Marencin
Nickname: Childhood nickname was “Messy Marvin” due to the trail of destruction and mess I would leave behind me. I always have been, and always will be, an absolute klutz!
Age: 36
Hometown: Miami, FL

How did you get exposed to CrossFit?
I was initially introduced to CrossFit by one of my clinical practicum supervisors in graduate school, Danni. She was the most confident and dynamic speech-language pathologists I had ever met, and her work ethic was inspiring. When I asked Danni if she thought that these were skills and traits that she had developed over time as a result of her work experiences, she quickly corrected me and professed her love for CrossFit and the amazing changes that she experienced through her years of practice. After that I was intrigued, but admittedly intimidated by the level of athleticism involved in the workouts. It took me a few years to accept the fact that my “workouts” weren’t getting me the results I wanted. Working out one-on-one with a personal trainer, hopping from gym to gym using ClassPass, and spending countless hours on my bicycle was getting me nowhere fast. Danni’s love of CrossFit came to the forefront of my mind back in January, and I decided to find a CrossFit family of my own.

What brought you to CrossFit Midtown?
CrossFit Midtown (CFM) was the third (and obviously final) box I visited. Community and support were on the top of my list. I found it the moment I walked into CFM!

What was your very first day at CrossFit Midtown like?
I knew that I wanted to join this amazing group of athletes immediately after finishing my first workout with Mike. It was so challenging! I’m not sure if it was the first workout (it was definitely early on) but I vaguely remember my response to Mike’s walking me over to the rig for pull-ups. I looked at him like he was crazy and flat out told him “I can’t do those.” He looked me straight in the eye and calmly said something along the lines of “You will.” Mike was so encouraging and I couldn’t believe how much I learned about myself and fitness in general after that first workout. Most importantly, the athletes completing the group WOD couldn’t have been more welcoming and supportive!

What changes have you seen in your overall health and fitness level since starting CrossFit?
Instead of just being a smaller version of myself, I am finally becoming a stronger version of myself! My body fat has dropped from 32% to 27%, my resting heart rate has dropped from 77 to 63, and I am finally making insane gains in my road cycling! Climbing the hills on my bike is no longer difficult, and my average pace is 3mph faster than it was last year! Most importantly, those aches and pains I blamed on aging have surprisingly begun to disappear.

What kind of changes have you experienced since starting CrossFit that were completely unexpected?
The sense of community and level of support and encouragement I experience every time I walk into CFM continues to leave me speechless. I look forward to every workout (even the workouts with running), and I am honestly incomplete when I can’t make it to CFM. Thanks to the positive peer pressure of my fellow CFM members and coaches, I have also experienced a change in the way I look at myself and my body. Every day I am grateful for what my body can do, thankful that I have been granted another day to do it, and I think less and less about what my body “looks like” to others.

Favorite WOD: Anything with Kettle Bells! They are so much fun to swing around (especially after a bad day at work)!

Least favorite WOD: Anything with running. If you have the opportunity to watch me run, you will immediately understand. I look like I’m riding a stationary bike. Tips and strategies welcome!

Favorite CrossFit Midtown moment: This summer I signed up for the Lurong Summer Time Challenge. While I greatly appreciate the lessons I learned about how my body responds to clean eating, the workouts were the true highlight of the challenge. It was so exciting to come into CFM to complete the challenge workouts (and they were challenging) with the same group of people every week.

Hobbies, Talents and or Interests Outside of CrossFit: I love music! In my former life, I was a struggling musician (my oboe and guitar have been gathering dust since 2010). Orchestral, Rock, Indy, Hip-Hop, Ratchet, Trap, House, Electronic Chill … I love it all!

Advice for new CrossFitters: Don’t focus too much on the “final product,” just trust the process and enjoy every new experience and every friend you make along the way. And when the going gets tough, know that we have all been there!