CrossFit Diary

My introduction to the box.

Photography by Olivia Bee

Courtney Stern

Costume Designer

Normally, I’m a toning and lengthening kind of girl. As head costume designer for ABC’s “Switched at Birth,” I pay attention to how clothes look on the body. So I like my workouts to accentuate lean muscular form, which is why I generally gravitate toward studio classes and power yoga. Still, I know it’s important to change up my routine. My boyfriend told me he’d tried a CrossFit class and found it more fun and less intimidating than he thought it might be. I never let him one- up me—not even in Costa Rica, when he jumped 40 feet from one waterfall pool to another. So I figured, CrossFit, hey, why not?

When I was gearing up to go to my first CrossFit class, I’ll admit I was a little daunted. It seems like people who do it are really into it, and it’s not like yoga, where you can do one class and then come back a month later. Plus, my body is not a typical CrossFit body. I’m strong and have muscle, but my frame is smaller. I wondered, Am I going to be able to do all of the exercises?

The community aspect I really liked, because it made me work harder, and it’s motivational to see the person next to you really working too. I can’t do the gym because it is so solitary. I want to be part of a team. While CrossFit isn’t a team sport, there are other people involved and it makes you feel like you’re supporting one another.

Basile, the instructor for my Intro to CrossFit class, started with a friendly lecture introducing us to the basics: how every movement we learn in CrossFit is applicable to real life. Then we stretched, focusing on opening up our hips, and began the foundational movements of CrossFit, mostly emphasizing the squat. Oh, did we squat! Squats upon squats. And then we added bench press and kettlebell swings.

I noticed while we were doing these that Basile paid very close attention to not only my form (and that of everyone else in the class), but also our physical vulnerabilities. I feel like a lot of times classes can be so large. There is a teacher who watches you, yes, but she’s not necessarily correcting movement. Here, even though the workout was really hard, Basile made sure none of us was truly overextending ourselves.

Next, Basile showed us the ropes—literally. We learned how to hoist ourselves up by positioning one foot and snaking the other leg around, so as not to rely so much on upper body strength. I surprised myself by climbing all the way to the top, touching the ultra-high ceiling of the CrossFit box.

"It’s motivational to see the person next to you really working too."

All of these things led up to a more fluid experience—the Workout of the Day, better known as the WOD—where we incorporated many of these movements into a series of repetitions. Today we kept it simple, mostly holding plates over our heads while we lunged.

It was competitive in a good way. If someone in front of you did the rep well, you wanted to do even better. I also liked the fact that you worked super hard for a short amount of time and built strength and stamina and then it was over. Or at least for that day!

In my career, I started at the bottom as a production assistant and worked my way up to where I am now. I know what it’s like to set a goal and push through to get somewhere bigger than I could imagine. And that’s kind of what it was like when I hopped up on the rope, and later finished who knows how many squats. When I put my mind to something, I usually end up getting further than I ever thought I could. Like that waterfall in Costa Rica, this class was something I had never planned on, but was so invigorating that it opened my eyes to trying things that I might otherwise be scared of. You never know what you’re really capable of until you try something outside your comfort zone.

Worth The Squeeze

For our idea of liquid courage, we asked four juice bars from around the country to share their star blends.

Los Angeles / Moon Juice

SPECIALIZING IN: A variety of juices and nut milk, created with raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seaweed for healing power and flavor.
SIGNATURE JUICE: Goodness Greens, their most popular juice since opening day, is "alkalizing, stimulating, mood-lifting."
MAKE IT! Cilantro Celery Punch: .5 oz fresh ginger + 4 oz cilantro + 1 Granny Smith apple (cored) + 8 celery ribs. Juice, then stir in 2 tsp fresh lemon juice.

Chicago / Harvest Juicery

SPECIALIZING IN: Cold-pressed juice created to nourish, hydrate, and heal.
SIGNATURE JUICE: Fennel Juice, a creamy, antioxidant-rich concoction that gives the body a boost of vitamins A and C, helps release toxins, and is great for the digestive tract.
MAKE IT! 7.5 oz fennel + 1.5 oz orange + 1 oz lemon + fresh mint soaked in juice.

Boston / Jugos

SPECIALIZING IN: Fresh-pressed juices and superfood smoothies, enhanced with add-ons like bee pollen and cayenne.
SIGNATURE JUICE: #6, "The ginger adds a mild kick and aids the body in absorption of essential nutrients, while the red apple provides a light sweetness."
MAKE IT! 2 red apples + 2 celery stalks + 2 kale leaves + 1 handful of spinach + 1 inch of ginger + 1⁄2 lemon.

Austin / Juiceland

SPECIALIZING IN: 100% organic, fresh- pressed greens combined with fruit, using unique ingredients like jalapeno and salt to add extra kick.
SIGNATURE JUICE: Applelilly, a mixture of sweet apple and alkalizing organic greens, "a great introduction to green juice because the mild apple flavor makes it a bit less intimidating."
MAKE IT! 4 celery stalks + 1.5 cucumbers + 1.5 apples + 2 oz cold-pressed greens.

Calling The Shots

How fitness changed the lives of three boss ladies.

Photography by Olivia Bee

Raissa Gerona

Barre Studio Owner & Fashion Designer

Raissa Gerona made it to age 25 without ever seeing the inside of a gym or sports bra. "On my birthday that year, I realized it was time to get healthy—physically and mentally," the 31-year-old says. Around that time, Gerona saw a news segment on The Bar Method®— the body sculpting barre class that combines ballet-like movements with high frequency repetitions to build long, lean muscles. "I went to a studio around the corner, took my first class, and was immediately in love," she recalls. Hooked on the change she saw in her body and that confidence that emanates from a woman feeling strong, Gerona went five or six times a week. A year later, she was asked to be an instructor; not too long afterward, she opened her own studio in Marina del Rey.

Now, the girl for whom exercise was a non- entity considers it her lifeblood, instructing early morning classes up to three times a week and also taking them herself. After she leaves the studio, she heads to her other career—as the owner of clothing line Lovers + Friends, a boho-chic fashion brand sold at high-end national department stores and more than 400 online boutiques. As she ticks off her regular weekly schedule, it sounds less like work than dream job: fitting with a model, powwowing about fabric with the design team, strategizing a launch event with the marketing department, researching next year’s trends, and dining with fashion bloggers.

The role exercise plays in one half of her life keeps the other side balanced. "Teaching is therapeutic for me because I have to provide good energy for everyone in the class," she says. "I need to be on my game, to motivate [my students] and make them push themselves." And the community aspect is inspiring as well, says Gerona. “You meet so many successful women. You see people wanting to change their lives by being fit.” For a relatively short relationship to fitness, Gerona’s track record is golden: "I haven’t had a bad workout yet."

Calling The Shots

How fitness changed the lives of three boss ladies.

Photography by Olivia Bee

Anna Kohanski

Fitness Tech Entrepreneur

Anna Kohanski tracks phases of her life through the lens of fitness. Basketball "My very first true passion," she says—dominated her childhood and high school years, and when she got to college she joined the crew team to meet friends. The day that Kohanski, then a bond trader at a Manhattan investment bank, tried her first barre studio class, "This whole world opened up to me," she says.

As she continued with barre, adding pilates and yoga workouts too, she noticed small holes in the exercise landscape. While she loved discovering new classes, it was all word-of-mouth, very little was digitized, and the social fabric around the industry seemed immense but untapped. It was time for technology to pick up the slack. Kohanski and her like-minded friends, Monica Johnson and Louise Tabbiner, were going to make that happen in Venice Beach—home to a burgeoning tech movement—by creating BurnThis, an app that makes class registration social.

BurnThis.com has launched for 12 U.S. cities and counting, and features exercise tips, class reviews, and a booking platform in four cities (with more on the way) that allows users to follow friends’ workout schedules. "Accountability is huge," says Kohanski. "You can see in your profile how many classes you’ve taken. It’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivation."

The founders see the app helping members of a growing community find one another "not just through close friends and acquaintances," Kohanski says, "but like-minded fitness personalities too. I want to know not just where a yogi does yoga, but also, what does she do to cross-train?"

Trading in one life as a power broker in Manhattan for another as a tech entrepreneur right off the beach could have been a rough transition, had it not been for one thing: “Fitness itself unlocked the city for me,” she says. Six days a week Kohanski is trying out new workouts, studios, and instructors, as well as maintaining her own routine, often along the boardwalk near her home. "Everyone has a powerful story to be told through fitness," she says. Where better to start than her own?

Calling The Shots

How fitness changed the lives of three boss ladies.

Photography by Olivia Bee

Yael Cohen

Entrepreneur & Philanthropis

While traveling for campaign work as the founder of a national charity called F*** CANCER, Yael Cohen learned early that she had to take her workouts on the road. The organization, which stemmed from a simple T-shirt Cohen made for her mother while she was recovering from breast cancer, gained traction quickly—first as a Facebook page for scores of fans of the sentiment, and soon after as a full-blown non-profit that focuses on education and early detection.

As the message gathered momentum, says Cohen, "I didn’t have time to help myself. One day my trainer said to me, ‘If you take care of people for a living and don’t take time to take care of yourself, then how can you [do your job]?’" He had a point, she conceded, "and now I use exercise as my release. It’s my one hour a day that I have completely to myself. I don’t have my phone and I don’t have to worry about anyone else. It’s cleansing the energy of everyone else so I can wake up the next day and do it all over again."

Though the organization operates largely via the Internet, "it is still those face-to- face reactions that people respond to, and it’s what builds the community," says Cohen. "People are sharing the worst days of their lives with me and it’s my job to help make it better. You take some of their weight and wear it for them and that’s where exercise comes in."

"Afterward, you feel like you can take on anything."

Every Hour Counts

How Jen Corns, working woman and bodybuilder, gets the most sweat out of each day.

Photography by Randi Berez

Balancing the everyday demands of life can be challenging when you have as many irons in the fire as Jen Corns. Working a traditional 9 to 5 as a software consultant, she also has a start-up cupcake company out of her own kitchen, and since 2012 she’s participated in bodybuilding competitions. After only her second show, she qualified to compete nationally in 2013.

Life, however, "Had a different plan for me," she says. Corns sustained an ACL injury that required rehabilitation for the rest of the year. She’s worked hard to maintain her physical efforts, and she now plans to compete again in 2014. "Finding structure around work, gym, and social life is key to having a successful week," she says. This means making sure to spend as much time with friends and family as possible—and investing a whole day on her own happiness too.

Monday

Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal, so I always start my day off with something nutritious like oats and fruit. When I give myself enough time, I make my perfected protein pancake, yum! Monday mornings I also do 15 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill or elliptical. Then I head to work to start my week with a good frame of mind.

Tuesday

In the morning I do the same treadmill or elliptical HIIT for 15 minutes—gotta keep the energy up at the beginning of the week! Late afternoon I start my weight training with a light warm-up to prevent injury, never using anything heavier than five-pound dumbbells. After training with a focus on my back and biceps, I do 30 minutes of steady pace cardio on a stair climb.

Wednesday

I let myself rest this morning so my body can repair and strengthen, but in the early evening I’m on the treadmill for a long, high-incline walk after I complete a plyometric leg workout.

Thursday

Again, I rest in the morning. If I decide I’ve had enough treadmill from the night before, I’ll take my dog for a hike or to the park for a jog instead—that’s a win-win! "I think a lot of us underestimate how powerful our minds are."

Friday

In the morning I’m back to my 15-minute HIIT cardio. In the evening, I’m weight training again, paying specific attention to my shoulders and triceps, with about a dozen exercises to target these muscle groups: seated presses, lateral raises, dips, extensions, and more. I end the workout with 30 to 45 minutes of light cardio on the stair climb. Once the weekend hits, I’ll give myself a “treat meal,” and will indulge a little that usually means a bun-less burger and sweet potato fries with a glass of wine...or two.

Saturday

As long as it isn’t snowing or pouring — I don’t mind a little rain — I like to take my workouts outdoors to an amphitheater. I’ll warm up with a brisk jog across the bleachers, and move on to sprints. I mix it up with incline and decline push-ups, spider crawls down the stairs, and planter hops along the amphitheater walls. I also add in walking lunges with kickbacks and frog hops across the bleachers. In general, I don’t do a lot of specific core maneuvers. My core gets utilized during weekly exercise if the proper form is used.

Sunday

In order to maintain a healthy weight, I always prepare my meals for the week on Sundays. Being in the gym is important, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to eat properly too — it also makes wiggle room for weekend treats. I consider Sundays my sanctuary day, where I get my mind right. I think a lot of us underestimate how powerful our minds are. I allow myself to get focused and recharged with hot yoga in the morning. It’s my way of hanging up the previous workweek and coming into the new one rejuvenated and ready to tackle whatever’s next.

Make It Yours

It all starts with killer kicks. International artists Olka Osadzinska and Hattie Stewart customize a classic. Show your true colors and go to yourreebok.com to make your own.

Olka Osadzinska - aleosa.com

Celebrated for her bold, graphic, sartorially charged prints, Polish illustrator Olka Osadzinska knows how to draw a party. Her work has appeared in international campaigns for fashion and lifestyle brands (including Reebok). Here, she contrasts her brazen palette on the Freestyle sneaker against one of her wild, lush patterns.

The floral pattern is one of my signature works, first designed for an Italian magazine D'la Reppublica, in an ad for B & B Italia, then used on one of gift wrapping papers designed for my brand Paperworks. This elegant, gloomy design harks back to the luxury wallpapers decorating California's restaurants in the '70s. I wanted to contrast the background by applying bold and juicy colors on the classic Reebok silhouette – splashes of color should bring to mind a colorful club scene and the energy of dancing.

Hattie Stewart - hattiestewart.com

London-based Hattie Stewart’s playful illustrations—seen on film posters, covers of some of the world’s top culture magazines, and on clothing for fashion labels like Marc Jacobs and House of Holland—are known for their exhilarated lines and unmistakable quirk. She shows her colorful character on a pair of Freestyles—all eyes on the prize.

"I wanted to create something sleek but slightly warped, a pattern like molten gold that simultaneously complimented and clashed with the trainer. I love contradictions: things that are ugly and yet weirdly beautiful, something so visually confusing it draws you in and you can't help but stare at it."

Head in the game

Is it really all about mind over matter?

Words by Jaime Lowe

It’s dawn, and the sky is just starting to shift from still and dark to streaked gray. Your alarm goes off, and you get ready: running tights, wick-away shirt, beanie. You’re going for a run this morning if it kills you—last week you had consecutive 10-hour days and that’s what lies ahead for your schedule this week too. You need this.

Yet you crawl back under the duvet still completely dressed. You tell yourself, It’s OK, go back to sleep. How do you cross the threshold from a cozy bed to a hard workout? How do you keep your mind in the game to meet—and perhaps even surpass—your goals?

Common sense tells us that if it feels like work, we don’t want to do it, and there’s science to back that up. According to Self Determination Theory, the more you do stuff you like, not what you think you’re supposed to, the more you’ll keep doing what’s fun.

The logical first step is to find a form of exercise that you like so much you’d do it for pure enjoyment. Says Dr. Andrew G. Yellen, a licensed clinical and sports psychologist: “We stagnate because we get bored. If you adapt, you hit plateaus and you can’t break through barriers.” While often difficult, challenging yourself by breaking routine—like trading in that cycling class for a CrossFit WOD—ends up reaping the biggest personal rewards.

Sports psychologists also regularly recommend setting clear personal goals—whether that means running a ten- minute mile, working your way up to no-cheating pull- ups, or sparring in an amateur fight. While you want to keep your targets ambitious, start by identifying smaller markers of accomplishment to set yourself up for bigger-picture success.

According to Yellen, finding an element of community will also help develop juicier goals—and encourage you to reach them. Many people assume running is a solitary form of exercise, but in fact, races are a group activity, and training often involves a partner.

"It goes back to a team approach—you belong to this healthy new family," says Yellen. "When you look at marathoners, there’s a certain energy that’s palpable before the race. There are people helping you, cheering you on, giving you water...You need a support system."

A study at Virginia Polytechnic University offers more proof. Here, researchers split a group within a walking program: every week, one group got a phone call asking how their exercise program was coming along, while the other received no calls at all. After 24 weeks, nearly half of the individuals who’d had phone contact were still keeping up their regimen, compared to just 2% of those who didn’t have this form of accountability.

"when you look at marathoners, there’s a certain energy that’s palpable before the race. There are people helping you, cheering you on, giving you water ...You need a support system."

Remember, though: it’s important to know when enough is enough. "Rest and recovery—it’s a crucial part of the routine," says Dr. Leah Lagos, a New York-based sports psychologist who specializes in positive visualization and biofeedback. "Listen to your body. Push past pain but don’t cause pain. If you sprain your ankle you need to take some time off."

So when you’re debating getting out from under the covers—the virtues of pushing yourself versus a little soft slumber—there is no wrong answer. Do what you feel, check in with your goals, remember that sleep might actually be the key to running a faster mile the next day. Motivation comes from finding genuine exhilaration in every workout. Because, after all, you’re supposed to be having fun.

Leaps + Bounds

When your whole world is the stage.

Photography by Lauren Dukoff

Julie Nelson

Dancer

When Julie Nelson was eight years old, she was faced with a decision that would shape the rest of her life. Distinctly skilled at diving and dancing alike, her coaches took note and urged her parents to encourage her in one direction. So they asked her which she preferred, and the choice was clear: dancing it would be.

Nelson took strenuous private lessons, then attended professional ballet boarding school in Washington, D.C. when she was 12. Three years later, she decided to finish her basic education at a school for performing arts, and, as soon as she graduated, moved to New York City to pursue her dreams. They started coming true right away. She immediately booked a part in romantic drama dance film Step Up, then found herself on Broadway in “Rock of Ages.” She’s also performed with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift (not that we’re name-dropping ).

Currently, Nelson dances six nights a week in an exploratory and experimental show called "Fuerza Bruta," which promotes truth in movement and acting. Stage or not, she’s authentic as it gets.

WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A TRUE DANCER?

Dancers are very intuitive, and they are constantly aware of their surroundings.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A DANCER IN NEW YORK CITY?

It’s a lot harder to live there, so it’s all about survival, and I think that translates. I know an artist who believes that you can’t really perform until you know what it’s like to struggle.

WHAT WAS YOUR STRUGGLE?

I was around people who had been training since they were three. It was almost Olympic. I noticed right away that I was at the bottom of the totem pole. My ballet teacher said, "You have charisma, but you have no technique." I was always working twice as hard because I naturally didn’t have the ability.

HOW DID YOU KEEP GOING TO PUSH THROUGH?

There is always someone right on your coattails waiting for you to fail, and they might take your place when you do. I’ve taken breaks from dancing twice in my life. Ultimately, I think you have to miss some of it to realize how much you really need it.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

I come from a school of grime and we did anything to dance. You danced through any injury; you didn’t tell anyone. You didn’t complain about anything. With the industry the way it is, you have to be so aggressive. It’s best if you can refuse to categorize yourself in any sort of style and just call it movement.

WHAT DO YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?

Dancing is an extension of emotion. It’s so real and raw... but then again, ask me in a couple months and maybe I’ll be like, "I don’t want to be real anymore." That’s the beauty of it. Art is so subjective and big that you can change your mind when you want to. Growing up, I was always a good kid and never really made bad decisions. I think since this has been my outlet, it’s taken up so much adrenaline that I never needed anything else.