Name: Nirmala David
Age: 36
How long you have been a member at CFSC: 6 years
How you got started at CFSC: My coworker told me I was getting fat and drove me to CFSC (in the Ayrsley) since it was close to my house.
Favorite CrossFit movement: Cleans (pre-Whit)
Least favorite CrossFit movement: Snatches & OHS
Favorite healthy food/meal: My RP friendly India food (lemon rice, chicken curry and Bhurtha/Eggplant)
Favorite part about CFSC: The classy people and countless hot bodies to admire
Something we don’t know about you: I’m super shy and have a hard time talking to people. Aside from that, I also played the saxophone for 15 years with the hopes of joining the NY Philharmonics.
…Parents reminded me I was Indian so I stuck with IT instead :/
Words of wisdom for people who are new to CrossFit or interested in trying it: CrossFit has a stigma of having a cult-like atmosphere. Well…it’s true so you might as well stop resisting and join the cult. In this cult, you tap into skills and capabilities you never knew you had and inherit a permanent fan club ready to push you and root you on. Now that’s a cult worth joining!
Name: Brian Paparella
Age: 35
How long you have been a member at CFSC: 4½ Years
How you got started at CFSC: I started to get bored going to a regular gym and doing the same movements each week. I friend told me about CrossFit, and after coming to a couple of the Saturday workouts I decided to join.
Favorite CrossFit movement: Cleans, but lately I have been enjoying running
Least favorite CrossFit movement: Ski Erg
Favorite healthy food/meal: Chicken with rice and broccoli
Favorite part about CFSC: The community. I love how both the coaches and athletes push me to be out of my comfort zone, but at the same time respect my limits.
Something we don’t know about you: I was born with a Pectus, which is birth defect that doesn’t allow my heart enough room to expand when it’s under high stress. When I first talked to my doctors about starting to do CrossFit, they told me that I wouldn’t be able to do it since it would put too much stress on the heart. After going through some tests and agreeing to monitor my heart rate during the workout, they allowed me to do CrossFit.
Words of wisdom for people who are new to CrossFit or interested in trying it: I think the most important thing is to focus on getting the form down first, and then worry about increasing the weight. When I first started, I was concerned about how much weight was on the bar and not the form. I got to a point where my form wasn’t good, and for about 6 months couldn’t go up in weight at all.
I took a step back and worked on the form, and I have been hitting PR’s left and right since then. I am also seeing a gradual increase in the weight that I am able to do.