Success Stories
Jeffery Alan Jones
The Silent, Strong Type
CFLB member since February 2010, Jeffery Alan Jones is one of those rare athletes who has mastered a quiet strength. But don't let his stealth-like workout approach fool you - Jeff is as fast, strong and nimble as they come here at CFLB.
Jeff played a lot of sports growing up, and has toured the world in search of the primo surfing spots. A professional musician and composer, these days he spends hours on end sitting in front of a piano or soundboard. So he relishes those CrossFit...
Elizabeth Rodriguez
10k Is Ok With Her
Like the vast majority of us, Elizabeth Rodriguez suffered from the freshman 20 (and then some) during her first year of college. "I snacked all day and pretty much ate all my dinners at fast food restaurants," she admits.
With her crazy-hectic schedule, she found it hard to lose the weight and the bad eating habits. Over time, a little extra college chub turned into a 100-plus pounds of excess weight Elizabeth didn't want to live with anymore. So she did something about it.
...
Sully Vazquez
60 Pounds In 60 Days
Sully Vazquez is the last guy on the planet to boast about his accomplishments at CFLB - so we thought we'd go ahead and do it for him. This past summer, Sully made a promise to himself to start fresh and get healthy. "So I joined the July On-Ramp session at CFLB and have loved it ever since."
Sully finished his On-Ramp course 30 pounds lighter. And 100% committed to CrossFit and his new Paleo-inspired diet.
"Although it took some convincing, one week after starting I was...
Fernando Alcantara
Muscle-Upping Maniac
A part-time bartender, Fernando's work-related lifting is typically limited to a bottle of booze. But recently while on the job, Fernando hoisted a full keg onto the top shelf, without asking for help.
"I googled it later," says Fernando. "That keg weighed 160.5 pounds." Definitely a PR, Fernando. And quite possibly a new WOD at CFLB?
Long before Fernando was hoisting kegs overhead, he heard about this thing called CrossFit from a friend. So he decided to give it a try,...
Sandy Bond
Sporting Her Daughter’s Jeans
Sandy Bond's 20-year-old daughter may want to put a lock on her closet. Because recently, this 48-year old mother of three put on a pair of her daughter's size six jeans, and they fit perfectly.
"I haven't worn a size six since I was in high school," says Sandy. "That's a good feeling of accomplishment."
A participant in our recent Summer Leaning Challenge, Sandy lost 20 lbs. and 2 ½ inches from her waist in 8 weeks. Add that to the total 70 pounds she's lost over the past year...
Kalie Benson
Power Rower. Power Lifter. Power Everything-Er.
Here's what you do: Go to Wikipedia.com. Type in Kalie Benson. Click on NCAA Rowing Championship. There, under Division II, you'll find Kalie's name listed with the 2003 winning for UC Davis. Yep, Kalie Benson is a bona fide Champion. Now she's a bona fide CrossFitter.
A former high school basketball player, volleyball player and thrower as well as college athlete, Kalie thrived on competition. But after graduating from UC Davis, she found it hard to maintain the same drive that...
Brian Liang
Cooking & Looking Good
Brian is the first to admit it: of all the Summer Leaning Challenge participants, Brian was probably the most skeptical.
"First of all, I LOVE food and cooking," he explains. "So I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of limiting that. But I told myself, why not just try it?"
Brian didn't just try going paleo for 6 weeks solid. He kicked butt at it, losing 12 pounds and 2.25 inches in the process. "I was seeing results just from doing CrossFit," he says. "But after I combined...
Robin Chinchilla
2011 Leaning Challenge Winner
You may not have had the chance to meet Robin Chincilla in person, but you probably recognize his name. That's because it's written up there on the whiteboard every day, next to other über-dedicated 5:30AM CrossFitters. Including this über-dedicated wife Monica.
While most of us are still snuggled in bed sawing logs, Robin's up at the crack of dawn slinging sand bags, climbing ropes and killing it. Sometimes he'll even come back for more at our Olympic Weightlifting Class. No matter...
Jennifer Hawver
2011 Leaning Challenge Winner
Most people are drawn to CrossFit for the challenge, the variety, the results. In the case of Jennifer Hawver, it was the threat of puking that brought her here. "A friend of mine told me that she threw up after her first time doing CrossFit," she explains. "So I HAD to try it."
While Jennifer's never lost her Paleo cookies during a WOD, she has lost a substantial amount of weight and some serious inch-age from her waist. So it came as no surprise to us (although it did to her), when...
Miguel Jurado
5 pants sizes slimmer
Recently, Miguel Jurado’s gotten a few good-natured jibes at work. “My co-workers tell me I’m swimming in my clothes,” he says. But he doesn’t seem to mind. A serious competitor in our 8-week Summer Leaning Challenge, Miguel shed about 11 pounds and 2 ½ inches...
Michael Kollin
50 And Still Going Strong
Michael Kollin knew his CFLB membership was paying off when ran down the block with his kid on his shoulders, without breaking a sweat. "He weighs about the same as those sandbags we run around with," jokes Michael. "So I guess CrossFit really is functional."
Michael's amazing transformation and progress since his On-Ramp days is definitely no joke. He signed up at age 48, with 242 lbs on his frame and a barely-used membership to a local athletic club. "My exercise pretty much...
Jenny Jackson
CrossFitter On Fire
Jenny Jackson came to CFLB after her first attempt at passing the CPAT (California Physical Ability Test), required for the Firefighter Academy. She'd been seeing a personal trainer at a big gym for 6 months - and paying a lot for little result. "I realized that if I wanted to become a firefighter, I would have to do something more."
"When the coaches at CFLB heard I was going for the CPAT, they immediately found out what the test involved and started helping me prepare for it," Jenny...
Matt Capon
Bring The Pain
A graduate of Officer Candidate School, Matt Capon was no stranger to grueling workouts when he joined CFLB on October 2009. A former high school lacrosse and soccer competitor, avid surfer, mountain biker and skier (he even experimented with yoga), Matt was already fairly fit when he started here. And now?
"I am probably in some of the best shape of my life," Matt says. "For the amount of time I put into CrossFit per week, the results have been tremendous."
Matt first heard...
Pat Heasley
2011 Leaning Challenge Winner
For those of you who know and love Pat Heasley the way we do, you may remember the previous success story we did on her last year. So, what has Pat been up to since then? Oh, not much...just dropping 28.5 more pounds and co-winning our Summer Leaning Challenge - bringing her total pound-sheddage up to a whopping 60.5.
"After losing a big chunk of weight in the first seven months of my membership, I just kind of hit a plateau," recalls Pat. "I was getting stronger and better in my...
Nick Parra
Self-proclaimed CrossFit pimp
Nick Parra's weightlifting experience began at age 13, with a pair of dumb bells in his garage. As a high school wrestler, his main goal was getting big. "I worked out for size," Nick admits. "I was strong, but it wasn't a natural strength. I got tired quicker than everybody else."
For Nick, CFLB was where he pieced it all together. "I learned that muscle mass demands more oxygen," he explains. "I strengthened my grip and my cardio, learned about explosive power."
At age 36, Nick...
Gwen Holt
Our 5’2” Powerhouse
When last we did a success story on Gwen Holt about one year ago, she was already kicking butt left and right. Today, she's even leaner, stronger and more awesome than ever. Coming out of our 8-week Summer Leaning Challenge, Gwen lost over 11 LBS and 1.5 inches, bringing her total weight loss since joining CFLB to a whopping 27.4 LB and 19.54 combined inches.
"I told myself it was all or nothing," says Gwen about her commitment to completing the challenge. "I achieved my goal, and...
Orlando Bermudez
The “O”
The first few months after Orlando Bermudez (AKA "O") joined CFLB, he put on about 20 pounds of muscle weight. He's since shed those 20 pounds as well as a few pant sizes, thanks to his Paleo eating habits. "This is definitely the thinnest I've been," Orlando admits. "My clothes are a lot looser."
Strong to begin with, Orlando has seen himself get significantly more powerful and faster since doing CrossFit. "It's not just that I can bench press more weight," he explains. "The strength...
Jason Rabenn
Chef Turned CrossFitter
Jason's one helluva a cook. Which makes it all the more amazing that this lover-of-good-food has managed to trim his body fat by about 5% and shed at least a few inches from his waist line. What he has gained is muscle tone - about 15 lbs of it, as Jason says, "In all the right places. LOL."
Jason came to CrossFit Long Beach in the fall of 2009 with a 16-year background playing organized baseball - and a serious case of shin splints. He quickly took to CrossFit's scalable approach...
Julia Delgado
From 0 Push-ups to 100
Watching Julia finish her 100th pull-up, you would never guess that when she started at CFLB in March 2008, she could barely do a single knee push-up. "I was in disgusting shape," Julia recalls. "The beginning years of my 20s were very lazy."
Julia grew up playing softball, basketball, and practicing karate - which she also taught. So when she decided it was time to get back into shape, she starting taking kickboxing classes. Her kickboxing coach suggested CrossFit as a way to increase...
