Meet Monica, our I AM BSHEmoth for the month of August! Monica started her journey with us about 2 years ago and has made so much progress both physically and mentally since the beginning. A devout 5am'er, Monica is always putting in work with a smile on her face!Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself or something that would surprise us.I grew up with a very musical family and spent my childhood singing in church. My dream was to be on Broadway and I originally started college as a musical theater major. Life took me in a different direction, however, and I eventually landed in the Finance sector helping individuals plan for their future. I moved to TX three years ago from CT to pursue a career in management. Now I lead a team of financial advisors and I love what I do. Although I didn’t follow through with the arts I am still very fond of singing and catch a Broadway musical whenever I’m in NYC.As far as fitness goes, as a kid I hated exercise. I wasn’t involved in sports and would spend hours reading books. I still have “fond” memories of my sister trying to get me to do aerobics in our living room over summer vacation. Yuck! It just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t till after my daughter turned two that my fitness journey began. What started as losing baby weight turned into a complete lifestyle change. My daughter turned 16 this summer (OMG!) and I can’t imagine a life without a focus on health and fitness.How and when were you introduced to Behemoth?I was introduced to CrossFit from a friend several months before I moved to TX. Once here it took me a while to get situated and I decided to take a break and work out from home, which was great for a while, but you can only do P90X with Tony Horton for so long before you get bored. Once I moved to Cypress I was ready to get back to the gym. I found several CrossFit locations on Yelp and Behemoth was the first that I called. After talking with Aja on the phone for a few minutes I was so excited about the process that I didn’t check out any other CrossFit locations. That was two years ago this summer!What are you most proud of, physically, mentally or both since beginning with us?Well, to start, I am in the best shape of my life! In January I completed my second Dexascan since I started at Behemoth and I had lost 5lbs. of fat and added 1lb of muscle. My goal has been to get lean and strong and have energy to do the things I love and I feel like I am well on my path to achieving that goal.Why Behemoth?The coaches, the community, and the process. All our Behemoth coaches have been extremely supportive. At times I’ve needed some extra motivation to go up in weight or convince myself that I can complete a MetCon and they always give me the right amount of direction and encouragement to get there. Second, I can’t say enough about the folks that are part of the Behemoth Family! Some of the most amazing people I know; dedicated, supportive, and friendly. We challenge each other, praise success, and cheer each other on when needed. Amazing! Lastly, having been to a couple other CrossFit gyms in the past I admire the time the coaches take to ensure that folks are educated on proper form, movement, and lifestyle behaviors. It’s not just what you do in the gym, but so much what you do outside as well.What next? What are you excited about pursuing here in the future?I still feel like my journey is only beginning here. I am working on a pull up and would like to have one by next year. I’d also like to get 10 push-ups from the ground.“3, 2, 1…Go” Mad Lib section-My favorite lift (movement) is… Squat clean-My most frequent class I come to is… Love my 5am crew!-I have always wanted to… Backpack through the Grand Canyon - hoping to make this happen for my 40th.-When I’m not crushing weights, my favorite thing to do is… Spend time with my daughter and boyfriend Josh, cook (lots of meal prepping going on at mi casa), and read.-Favorite “application of fitness” outside of the gym is… In order, yoga, hiking, and downhill skiing. I have a future goal of living near mountains so I can do the latter two more often.-Favorite Pandora station… 90’s Alternative-Beast mode engaged when this song comes on… “It’s My Life”-Bon Jovi
