September's Spotlight Athlete of the month goes to Stacey LeGrand! Since joining Drop Box she has made huge strides in her fitness and nutrition/weight loss goals. Stacey is hardworking and positive each time she walks through our doors. Her dedication has rewarded her with impressive results which have been noticed my many of our members and coaches. She is also quick with the cellphone camera too and captures many cool WOD moments of her fellow athletes which she shares on our member's group. Most importantly, we love the fact that she has a very supportive mom who has been with her throughout her CrossFit journey.

I would like to thank Drop Box for selecting me as September’s Athlete of the Month! It means so much to me to have my life progress noticed by this wonderful community. For those who don’t know, I work at Newport News Shipbuilding as an Apprentice Engineer and I’m working on my Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s degree at ODU. I plan on taking my Fundamentals of Engineering exam and graduating this fall.

I started my CrossFit journey 20 months ago at the start of 2016. I had an uncle in Illinois who owned a gym and a co-worker in Newport News who would talk about his own CrossFit experience over at CrossFit Oyster Point. After a year of hearing great things, I figured it was about time to turn my life around and start feeling better about myself. I convinced my mom to go to a few gyms in the area and get a feel for them. We stumbled upon Drop Box because it was only a block away from our house. Art immediately greeted us and gave us the official spiel on CrossFit, nutrition, and the origins of Drop Box.

Mom and I decided to take the plunge and take the intro classes. We also decided to take body measurements instead of weighing ourselves. We wanted to get over that feeling of hopelessness you can experience when you first start a new regimen and your body is building up muscle while reducing body fat but maintaining the same weight. We just wanted to feel better about ourselves and not stress about a number.

When the Open 2016 came around, mom and I were convinced to participate. The energy from everyone in the gym was extremely encouraging and every Friday night, we showed up and we persisted. It was one of the most up lifting moments in Drop Box. One of my favorite stories to tell anyone who asks about CrossFit (or anyone I can corner!) is about one Saturday partner WOD. My team was the last team to finish. The last hill was to run 400m sharing the slam ball. The other two ladies took the ball and ran. Meanwhile, I, probably the slowest runner in the gym, was huffing and puffing trying to keep up. I made it to the half way mark, turned around, and noticed that -everyone- who was at the gym, who finished the WOD already, who were there for open gym, was with me, cheering me on. It brought tears to my eyes. That sense of community has been key to my journey.

Stacey with her mom at last month's Beach WOD at the Oceanfront.

Most recently, my progress has been very noticeable. Daily, I’ll come into the gym and people will compliment me on how I’m looking. I’ve participated in every nutrition challenge since I’ve joined, and the two this year have really helped me reach my best physical fitness level thus far. Coach Steph did an amazing job putting together her challenges where I lost 35 lbs, 4.7% body fat, and several inches all over my body. I started this journey wearing XXL pants. I’m currently down two sizes to a Large. The worst part is having to spend so much money on new clothes! There are good months and there are not so good months, but every day you have the chance to start again. Every meal you have the opportunity to make a healthier decision. It’s a never-ending battle, but be persistent and results will follow.

Outside of weight loss goals, I’ve also achieved some other goals. I went from a headstand to a handstand in 3 months. My front squats and back squats have gone up significantly. My run times are down and I also managed my first few double unders as well as box jumps at 16 inches! Before he left, Coach Cody encouraged me to do a few box jumps in his last WOD. Then a few days after that, Coach Kim helped me do a few handstands during her WOD. Next, Art wants me to try and reach a new goal of 125 lb power cleans by December. I’m looking forward to achieving this and several other goals because Strong is Beautiful!

I would like to thank the amazing coaches of Drop Box for helping me every step of this journey. And I would also like to thank the wonderful community at Drop Box for being so welcoming to new members and encouraging their progress. You guys are the best!

Stacey and her mom participated in their first CrossFit open as soon as they joined the box which served as a baseline for all the great progress to come and they both did awesome! Here she is in 2016!

Stacey is very creative and helped lead Team Red win week 1 in DB's Spirit Challenge for the Open earlier this year!

February 2017, Stacey gets her first headstand!

May 2017, Stacey gets her first handstand! #progress

June 2017, why sit in traffic when you can WOD! Go Stacey!

Stacey has been an active participant in all of our Nutrition Challenges held at the box. Here she is at celebrating an 8 week challenge at the PR bell where she lost over 22 pounds!

Stacey LeGrand - September Spotlight Athlete of the Month