She is a Drop Box athlete whose had an awesome year! When she's not out actively serving our country, she's in the box working on her next progression. She always comes to the gym with a smile on her face and a fierce determination to give each workout her absolute very best. She is exciting to watch and often sets the bar on our leaderboard for women! All her personal achievements are the results of hard work, dedication, and commitment.

It's a New Year and our member spotlight shines brightly this month on the amazing

AMANDA BRAND!

Amanda at her first CrossFit competition this past summer (Bend the Bar) which she did alongside her husband Mike

“Be impressed by intensity not by volume”

Being active has always been an important aspect of my life. I knew this growing up when I started dancing at the age of 4 and playing softball at the age of 11. The passion I felt for dance and the love of the game encouraged me to find something just as great. I discovered CrossFit for the first time ever in 2011 when a friend of mine wanted me to try something new and back then I never heard of CrossFit so I went out of curiosity. I attended one class and really didn’t feel like it was for me. So I stuck to my regular old gym rat routine; running on a treadmill, doing sit-ups on a mat or taking a Zumba class. Coming back from deployment in 2012-2013, I continued running, and started training for my first half marathon (yes, I actually enjoyed running back than) after about a month I ran my first “halfy” and as much pain those 3 hours were, it felt amazing to finish. Even though satisfaction was there it still wasn’t enough. So there I was, 2 half marathons, 3 challenge runs and 2 Tough Mudders later I fell in love with the challenge of my body being pushed to its limit. I needed something more and a year later CrossFit came creeping back into my life.

Being in the military has been a huge milestone in my life, teaching me responsibility and devotion. It even led me to find the love of my life, who just like me shared the same passion for CrossFit.

Our CrossFit story goes like this, when I met my husband Michael, he was a bigger gym person than me, so when he told me he wanted to try CrossFit, he fell in love with it instantly and decided to tag me along. We attended another affiliate but unfortunately, we didn’t stay long because the community and family style appeal everyone talked about was missing there. So we decided to leave that box. We then took fitness into our own hands and bought our own equipment and did it on our own “garage style”. But still something was missing; maybe it was the feeling of being in a class surrounded by people.

Forward to 2015, scrolling through Facebook I saw a post about a GRAND OPENING AT DROP BOX CROSSFIT. I don’t know what it was but I had a good feeling about it this time, so my husband and I decided to try it out. From the first e-mail conversation with Alma to the moment we walked in the doors on January 28th for a 4:30 WOD, I knew instantly there was something special about this place. A couple of weeks later the CrossFit Open and a 30-day Paleo Challenge began, and in those 5 weeks I lost 7lbs!

I PR’d on my first clean and jerk at 105lbs, did my first ever handstand pushup and learned that double unders were way harder than they looked. I remember the first goal sheet that Coach G and Art gave us and I filled out the entire thing with goals that I never thought I could attain. But from then on, with the support and help from amazing coaches and athletes, I am now chasing 130lbs on my snatch, 150lbs on my clean and jerk and my double unders are looking pretty good. Through all that progression, I even competed in quite a few competitions and some alongside my wonderful husband!

This place and the energy of CrossFit has brought me to the happiest place in my life. I have so many shared moments with the love of my life, both of us achieving goal after goal, and making so many new friends that transformed into my family away from home. Words cannot express how grateful I am for this place and for the love of the process! I finally found that passion and love for fitness I had been missing since I was child.

I am beyond excited for 2016; there is so much I want to do, and so much I want to learn. I’m ready to keep pushing myself mentally and physically all the way to brink. I am ready to continue this journey with a great group of people but even more excited to do this with the people I call my Drop Box family!!!!

*CrossFit L1- June 2016

Amanda and some of her favorite shared moments with her Drop Box Family

Her biggest supporter and fan, husband Mike

Member Spotlight- Amanda Brand!