Meet Suzanne, our I AM BSHEmoth for the month of November! Suzanne has been through multiple surgeries and health scares in the past couple years and despite it all, she has come out on top, both healthier and stronger!Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself or something that would surprise us.
I am a 37 year old mother of 3 (14,11,9) and I’ve been married 15 years. I was always athletic and competitive as a kid. I was a complete tomboy and very antisocial until high school. I am a third generation native Texan. I live on 6 acres in Katy and enjoy working on my big John Deere tractor. I also get the chance to do plenty of real life farmer carries and lifting heavy odd objects. My mom got Rheumatoid Arthritis at 28 years old so I always wanted to get married and have kids as young as possible just in case I did too. I got lucky and met my husband in high school and had my three kids right after we got married. I gained 50-75 lbs with each one of my pregnancies and had around 50lbs to lose after each one. I’ve worked out consistently ever since. I originally ran half marathons (I did three) and then moved on to working out at LA Fitness, where I eventually became a fitness instructor, until finding Behemoth and switching to CrossFit full time. In 2015 my weight just kept creeping up despite eating healthy and working out 5 days a week so I went in and had my thyroid levels checked. My OB sent me to an endocrinologist for further testing. I expected to be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s (which I was) but I wasn’t expecting the doctor to tell me at that very first appointment that I had thyroid cancer. The word cancer literally made me feel like the blood drained out of my body. I was a 35 yr old mother of three and I had no idea what that meant. Within two months I had a total thyroidectomy. Living without a thyroid is life changing and makes staying healthy even more challenging. In 2016 I had to suddenly have my gallbladder removed and in 2017 I elected to have my tubes tied. Recovering from three surgeries in the last two years honestly has been fairly easy with all the help of Aja and Leah. I have come out of it all feeling mentally and physically stronger and really appreciate all of their help, I couldn’t have figured out how to get back to lifting heavy safely on my own.
How and when were you introduced to Behemoth?
I’ve actually known Lee McLaren since I was in second grade. He was talking about being involved in Behemoth opening on facebook, and I had always wanted to try CrossFit, so I figured I’d go check out a friend’s new place.
What are you most proud of, physically, mentally or both since beginning with us?
I am extremely proud of how much stronger I am and how much muscle I have built since joining Behemoth. Mentally I have switched from just caring about every bit of cellulite or a few extra pounds to just leaving every workout feeling super strong and loving my body.
Why Behemoth?
I think Aja and Leah coach at a level above the majority of gyms of any type. They are constantly trying to learn and use many different methods to help keep our bodies healthy and injury free. I have learned so much from them and that is honestly priceless.
What next? What are you excited about pursuing here in the future?
I have a lot of goals for myself but I would love to do pistol squats, hold a handstand off the wall and do unassisted pull ups.
“3, 2, 1…Go” Mad Lib section
-My favorite lift is… Deadlift
-My most frequent class I come to is… 9:30
-I have always wanted to… Be strong as hell.
-When I’m not crushing weights, my favorite thing to do is… Lay by the pool or on a beach.
-Favorite “application of fitness” outside of the gym is… Being strong enough to help my husband on construction projects at the house.
-Favorite Pandora station… Chris Stapleton
-Beast mode engaged when this song comes on… Inside Out Eve 6
