3/CROSSFIT
LIFESTYLE CHANGE
TO START CROSSFIT, GO
TO CROSSFIT STEADFAST
CFSTEADFAST.COM
WHEN HER HIGH SCHOOL
SPORTS CAREER WAS OVER
EMILY
BEARD
LONGED FOR AN ACTIVITY THAT
COMBINED COMPETITION AND
TEAMWORK. CROSSFIT FILLED THE
VOID, AND BEARD SAYS IT CAN DO
THE SAME FOR ANYONE LOOKING
FOR A HEALTHY OUTLET.
42
S OUT H MAGA ZI NE.C OM
In most sports, the biggest cheers come for the top dogs who are leading the
pack. In a CrossFit gym, it’s usually the opposite.
That’s one of the things that drew Emily Beard to the high-intensity workout
program and eventually led her to become a CrossFit coach at Savannah’s
CrossFit SteadFast.
“It’s all about progress and not perfection,” Beard says. “We don’t put away the
equipment until the last person is done. We really push each other.”
That sense of teamwork and camaraderie is what hooked Beard when she was
introduced to CrossFit by her future husband while both were studying at the
University of Montana. As a former high school athlete, Beard craved an activity
that combined competition and teamwork.
About six months after picking up the sport, Beard tore her ACL playing soccer
and had to put off surgery due to a pending trip abroad. She kept going to the
CrossFit gym but had to alter many of the exercises to account for her knee injury,
an experience that came in handy after earning her coaching certification.
“The beauty of CrossFit is you can scale or modify any movement,” Beard
says. “I had to do that for myself for about a year and a half, and that put me in
someone else’s shoes who might not be able to do the movements on the same
scale as others.”
For that reason, Beard encourages anyone looking for a new fitness routine to
give CrossFit a try. One workout is usually enough for someone to know if they’re
the type to get hooked.
“Anyone can do it, it’s just not for everyone,” Beard says. “Some people try it
and it’s just not for them, and that’s fine.”
For Beard and millions of other CrossFit junkies, it becomes a healthy addiction.
“It can be intimidating to picture yourself doing CrossFit, so people tend to sell
themselves short,” Beard says. “I love seeing someone come into the gym and
accomplish something they never thought possible.”