Welcome to “The Silk Road” where we learn about the fitness journeys of our members and coaches.
First up is member-turned-coach Brittany Ernst. Brittany has been doing CrossFit for over three years and became a member of SCF in the summer of 2020. She obtained her CF-L1 certification and began coaching classes this past November. In her short time here, she has become an integral part of our coaching staff and you can find her in the early bird classes at Silk City Fit!
Where she was:
“I was excited to be at the lowest weight I had been in years” Brittany remembers. “Since middle school I think. But it was miserable, and I was hungry all the time, and shortly gained all the weight back to my starting point.”
A friend asked Brittany if she wanted to do a bodybuilding/bikini competition. Brittany, fresh off playing four years of D1 college softball, was yearning for competition, and decided to give it a try. But being hyper-focused on losing weight was draining.
“It was no fun. Then I tried spinning classes, aerobic classes, body pump classes. They were cool, but I wasn’t into them.”
After trying a few different ways to stay fit, she eventually found a Groupon for one free CrossFit class. It gave her the physical competition she was craving, with a similar atmosphere to team sports.
She started going five to six times a week, and her hard work started paying off.
Where she is now:
One of the biggest shifts for her has been to stop focusing on the scale and losing weight – she began realizing there are much better ways to measure progress.
“I can lift so much more than when I started” Brittany said. “A major eye opener for me has been using objective measurements like the inBody scale and other body fat measurement techniques (like hydrostatic weighing) roughly every 6-8 months to see, record, and monitor progress.”
Now Brittany finds herself hitting PR’s and hitting new levels of fitness. Her favorite type of workout is with a one-rep of a heavy barbell and WODs that last seven minutes or less.
“Short and sweet. Anything with strict gymnastics movements, too.”
Where she’s going:
“I like the coaching side of it” Brittany says, reflecting on her first few months with her L1 certification. “I want to help other people achieve their goals.”
Brittany also has a newfound interest in nutrition and wants to be as well-rounded in CrossFit as possible. She is three weeks into the Whole 30 Program, where the goal is to eat food as close to their natural state as possible.
Whatever Brittany’s future holds, we are glad Silk City Fit is a part of her journey.