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, and you've got one lean, mean mamma.

Sandy had already shed serious pounds before she joined CFLB, by doing a scaled-down version of CrossFit WODs in her garage and watching what she ate. When CFLB Coach Carlos (her personal trainer as well as mentor, though don't tell Carlos that) knew Sandy had outgrown her garage workouts, he urged her to join the group classes at our gym.

"I knew it was time to step it up," Sandy recalls. "But I was also intimated, not so much by the other athletes in the class but by the workouts themselves."

But that didn't stop Sandy. Overcoming her trepidation, Sandy jumped into the group classes and gave it her all. "My first group WOD was wall ball shots and pull-ups," she remembers. "I couldn't even take off my shirt for the next two days."

Four months later, and here's Sandy, finishing her first WOD RX'd and killing it in the process. Sandy's cranking out heavy deadlifts and lots of 'em, and is just about ready to drop her last skinny band on her kipping pull-ups. She's embraced Paleo, which has given her the extra push she needed to reach her ultimate weight goal and enhance her performance in the gym.

"I'm in the best shape of my life," Sandy says.

Ask her about her proudest accomplishment, and she won't tell you it's the RX WOD or her impressive deadlift PR. "I'm proudest of the fact that I didn't quit," she explains. "I'm still here, still doing it, still wanting it."

Now, Sandy's biggest motivation isn't just her own personal fitness. She's doing this for other women who want to get back into shape, but just aren't sure how. A certified CrossFit Level 1 trainer who plans on getting her CrossFit Kids certification next, Sandy also trains 12 women out of the same garage where she got her start. All said, Sandy's clients have lost a total of 125 pounds. Sandy has been where these women are now, and that makes her an effective trainer.

"I'm proof that it's not over when you turn forty or have kids," says Sandy. "I'm not twenty, and I'm doing CrossFit. There's no fad diet, no pills, no surgery that will get you these kind of results. It's hard work - and it does work."

For anyone who looks at CrossFit workouts and thinks, "there's no way I could ever do that," look at Sandy. Look at her working her pull-ups, lifting crazy-heavy weights, swinging kettlebells like they're nothing. If she doesn't inspire you, no one will.

"When I started working with Sandy, she struggled to do beginner push ups," says Coach Carlos. "Now she is deadlfting 200lbs! And don't let her sweet voice fool you. She transforms into full beast mode during the workout so look out."