Dean Thureen

Hometown: East Grand Forks, MN

Age: 54

Occupation: Research Scientist – retired

When did you first start training at CFKSQ? My intro classes started the week after Thanksgiving, 2016

Favorite WOD: No real favorites, but I kinda like the bikes and bodyweight workouts

Least Favorite WOD: Anything and everything with burpees

Tell us about your sports & fitness background:

I wrestled and played football since I was 6 yrs old.  I dropped tackle football after my freshman year of college, but wrestled all 4 years.  After graduation, and 3 years of active duty in the Army, I started coaching HS wrestling when we moved to Delaware, and did so for 10 seasons until my girls were born.  And I played in many of the DE and PA flag football leagues up until a few years ago.
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?

I came into CrossFit kicking and screaming.  I had friends here at CFKSQ that swore by it, but I saw no benefit to someone ‘of my age’ throwing around Olympic weights. But then my wife made a pact with Karin Silbernagel that after she passed, they’d give me a couple weeks to mourn, then drag my ass off the couch.  Karin set up my first interview with Everett and threatened to drive me to make sure I showed up….

Laurie was my one-on-one coach for those first few lessons, and I remember being so self-conscious about not being able to do ANYTHING right, but I survived and started coming to class fairly regularly in mid-December of that year.

And then I ignored the first rule on the board – ‘Check your ego at the door’.

The WOD was “See Spot”.  A 2-person workout with Bear Crawl, Backwards Run and Sit-ups.  No problem, right?  Except I tried so hard to keep up with Kenny, I ended up tearing a rotator cuff on the bear crawls.  Been fighting with it ever since…

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?

That last summer before Sheri passed away, I’d gained 35lbs from hospital food and stress eating.  Having once been pretty fit and active, the physical and emotional damage was really starting to take a toll.  I couldn’t sleep, I’d huff and puff just walking a couple flights of stairs, and I really just wanted to sit and not do much of anything, but at the same time I’d be really pissed at myself for not doing much of anything.

Once I found my groove here, the weight started to come off, the technique and form got a little better, and the confidence soared.  I’ve recently worked with Jared on my nutrition (which made me painfully aware of how terrible my diet was), and found the latest nutrition challenge to be beneficial.

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?

The biggest surprise for me was how much I really do enjoy it.  And once I accepted that I didn’t have to try and Rx every WOD, I was happy with just coming in and sweating through my own scaled or modified versions.  My goals and results are mine.  My only competition is me.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFKSQ moments:

I will never compete in any of the competitions, but I love volunteering or just coming to watch.  The support and encouragement that everyone gives and gets is really inspiring.

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?

Woodworking, travel, reading, golf.  And chasing my girls while I still have them around.

Any advice for people just getting started?

Listen to your coaches and the veteran classmates.

Ask them for feedback.

Come regularly.

(ESPECIALLY the days you really don’t want to, or the days after a legs workout when the toilet is your worst enemy).

If you don’t have time, make time. You have options.

(I love my 12:30 class, but if I’ve got things to do, I’ll show up at 7, 10, 3:30… but never 5am – those people are crazy).

And check your ego….

Becky Turnbull

Hometown: Originally from Hunt Valley, MD… have lived in Kennett Square since 2002

Age: 42

Occupation: Server at Twelves Grill& Cafe
When did you first start training at CFKSQ? April 2017

Favorite WOD: Long endurance WODs that include running. “Murph” is definitely a favorite

Least Favorite WOD:  WODs that are sprints with barbell movements only

Tell us about your sports & fitness background: I played a number of different sports throughout my childhood but soccer was always my favorite and I played year round most of my life, including in college. After school was over I started running 5-6 days a week…. I have run one full marathon and several ½ marathons.

How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel? I was a member at another CrossFit gym for a year before coming to CFKSQ. I remember my first wod at CFKSQ but since that wasn’t my first CrossFit workout,  I think talking about that one wouldn’t really be the answer to this question.

That being said, while I remember feeling very nervous and athletically challenged, I can’t really remember what my first wod was.

However, I clearly remember my first of the benchmark “girl” workouts that I did. About 2 weeks after I began crossfit, the wod of the day was “Annie”-  50-40-30-20-10  Double Unders (or in my case 2X singles) and Sit-ups.

I clearly remember struggling and  barely being able to complete both movements.   I think of this often, and how these movements,  like so many other things  are no longer the struggle that they were that at the beginning.

What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)?  I started Crossfit because I was very drawn to the idea of workouts that constantly change and use all different parts of the body. I had been running the same routes on the same roads almost every day for years and while I love running, I kept getting the same injuries and I knew it was time to mix things up. Just as I had hoped, since I started Crossfit, I feel much stronger,  I feel like more of a diverse athlete, and my running injuries have been pretty much non-existent.

What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?

Since starting Crossfit I have become more confident, not just with athletics but in other parts of my life as well.  I think a lot of that comes, not just from completing WODs but the people that I am surrounded by at CFKSQ. The coaches and fellow members often remind me not to sell myself short and to focus on what I have accomplished rather than what I didn’t do… and at the same time they encourage me to never settle or stop trying.  This has been something that helps me in the gym and has very much carried over to outside the gym as well.

Working out with coaches watching and other people all around me was my biggest apprehension to starting Cross fit and now it’s pretty much what  I love most about it.

Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFKSQ moments: There are a lot of things that come to mind! CFKSQ has provided me with so many great “moments”

However, I would say the number one would be during the last open. I had never worked out in a competition type setting and was very intimidated by “Friday night lights” and completing an open wod with other athletes, judges and spectators! I chose to do my open wods on Saturday morning during open gym with a friend or two and a one coach as judge.

Three weeks into last year’s open a power outage at CFKSQ for two days led to “Friday night lights” being held on Sunday. I could not come to the gym on Monday so I had no choice but to attend this “Sunday edition of Friday night lights”. I was so nervous and even contemplated dropping out of the open. But I didn’t, with much hesitation I went to Sunday “Friday night lights”

It ended up being an amazing experience. The positive energy in the gym was amazing and encouraging!  I even ended up making a PR power clean during the WOD.

Two months later Liz and I competed in a partner Crossfit competition in Wilmington.  I never in a million years thought this was something I would or could do!

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit:

Watching my kids’ sports and activities, volunteering at the kids’ schools, running, photography and video/ photo editing, and spending time with friends and family

Any advice for people just getting started? I would tell them you need to try very hard not compare yourself to anyone else.  I know it’s easier said than done but it is so important. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses, and everyone’s CrossFit goals are different, and everyone’s Crossfit journey is different.

Just focus on you and what your goals are and always take pride in the accomplishments no matter how big or small.