We couldn't go another month without recognizing our second Athlete of the Month, Angela Parady.
Angela has been a key part of bringing CrossFit to Kosovo, she is one of the main reasons that CrossFit KFOR exists and will continue to exist well into the future.
She is passionate about the sport and driven to not only improve herself but others around her. She pushes everyone around her to do better and try to keep up!
Here is what she has to say,
"
Bored with the normal routine and my life I finally caved and joined a CrossFit box in 2012. A close friend had been raving about CrossFit forever, and I wanted to check it out. I have always been fit, but I remember the first workout, it was rowing and 100 push presses, with the empty bar. I wanted to die after. This is what people do for fun? I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to go back.
For some people, the movements come easily. They get pull-ups, muscle-ups, snatches, but for me, a former runner, everything was a challenge. But I worked my ass off and never gave up. I remember getting my first pull-up, It took me over 6 months, but I got it, and now I can do 100+ in a workout.
Struggling through WOD’s, taught me that I can overcome things I didn’t think I could before. It helped put my life back into perspective and helped change a lot of unhealthy behaviors I had at the time. I face life head on; ready for whatever it has to offer. I am much more outspoken with what I want and how I feel. I am better at overcoming obstacles, whether they are in a WOD, at work, at home. I find my strength in knowing that I can do what I couldn’t do before. I am not just stronger physically, but emotionally as well. I know that I can get through whatever challenge is before me and I know that somewhere along the line I will find my success. I have pushed and pulled my body to do things I never thought I could. Move 95 lbs over my head 30 times in less than 4 minutes? Done. 100 pull-ups? Done.
Crossfit has also given me a sense of community. A group of people that I have bled with, cried with and laughed with. Back home, I WOD with a group of women who were all on the same mission as I, become stronger, more confident and fit. It is nice to be able to have friends who have similar outlooks on health and fitness, and for someone who has often had a hard time making friends with other women, it was nice to finally have that connection. We all had our struggles with body image, with food, but we were overcoming it, one workout at a time. I remember right before I left, I was sitting with the other women and we were watching one of their daughters push through the WOD. We marveled at how much CrossFit can help young girls with their body image. All through our young lives, we were told that being big is bad, and we starved ourselves, ran until we were going to be injured. We all strive to look like the models we see on TV. Now, CrossFit is giving these girls new role models, Katie Hogan, Kristen Clever, Christie Phillips, Lindsey Valenzuela, Julie Foucher. These are healthy, strong women that teenagers can look up to for inspiration. Even just looking around our box here in Kosovo, the men and women that come in, struggle through a workout and don’t give up, are role models.
CrossFit has dramatically improved my life. I am stronger from the inside out, stronger and fitter to handle life—it’s ups and downs and whatever comes your way. Most days, I can leave my stress at the door when I walk into a box. After a bad day, there is nothing like facing the barbell head on, until you have nothing left and are dripping with sweat. I still have a lot to accomplish in CrossFit, in life, but knowing that I can get through the worst in a workout, helps me realize I can keep striving to be the best. In my life I have been places I don’t want to be, and now I have the confidence, the strength, and the willpower to make changes to keep myself away from that past. "
