I’m turning 40 this year and thanks to Bill and Jennie, I’m in the best shape of my life. Bill’s nutritional advice was a revelation that has completely changed my diet, lifestyle and looks. I’m leaner than ever with little effort and feel better. I’m rarely sick anymore. I also spend a lot more time in the kitchen putting together all sorts of inventive and delicious meals. I’ve made major improvements in strength, endurance and speed but continue to strive for more and with the programming at the Fort, I’m sure I’ll continue to push past my goals to attain levels of fitness that would have been unimaginable before coming to Crossfit Fire. Thanks Bill and Jennie for all you do!

Before photos, and then 60 days of strict nutrition

[Read more →]

I joined CrossFit Fire in October of 2009. I really had no idea what I was signing up for…I’m not gonna lie, I was scared/nervous! I had never been an athletic person in my life (cheerleader for life yo!) and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do anything at CrossFit Fire. The first day I walked in...I thought to myself for a split second… “no one saw me walk in yet- so I could run out of here” Then Jennie came around the corner and welcomed me in.

In 20 minutes, a few times a week I was watching myself transform. In January I realized that I had lost about 12 pounds. But the difference was my whole body was changing and I was loving what I was doing!! I have really good friends I work out with, and have also made new friends at the Fort. The people and the challenge of CrossFit Fire are what keep me coming back. I feel like I cant wait to get there and work out with my group!

In February a Better Body Challenge was starting and I knew this would be the last step I was looking for to feel better about myself. I thought to myself, “I have to do this challenge- this is it I know it. After three weeks following Bill's nutritional advice I dropped 13 pounds!! AFTER ONLY THREE WEEKS!!! This is amazing stuff!!! At the end of 90 days I took an after picture to truly see my results. What did I see…a hot crossfitting paleo chick in my after picture!! I finally feel like I won my personal battle!! I am now 125 pounds and wearing size 3 dresses!! I have never felt better about myself! I completely owe it to CrossFit Fire and my new Paleo eating lifestyle. Thanks to Bill for the nutrional advice (the main reason I look so much better)- and thanks for Jennie for helping me stick it out and making me feel beautiful and strong NO matter what I was doing!!!

90 day transformation

[Read more →]

As you know, I was doing Crossfit workouts at our other gym with Garth and Tom for 8 months before the stars aligned and Tom found Crossfit Fire for us. The instruction and competitiveness that we receive in our workouts is second to none, which elevated our workouts to a level we’d never experienced before.

Then came the diet advice, which is what REALLY made the difference. It started with the “two week experiment of Jennie”. When I saw how you looked, I wanted to do EXACTLY what you were doing with your diet. Within a week of that, Bill setup the nutrition seminar. He didn’t just say “this is WHAT you should eat”, but rather explained in detail WHY we should eat the way he was describing. After 60 days of following Bill’s nutrition advice, I lost a lot of my bodyfat, felt great, and am now setting PRs and besting my times during the Metcon workouts (not to mention beating my fellow Crossfitters who I never used to beat before). AND I’ve gained an increased confidence that I can tackle anything life throws at me.

What you and Bill have done for me these last few months in nothing short of amazing – my life has changed for the better because of you!

60 day transformation

[Read more →]

Dedicating your time, effort and body to eating, being and promoting paleo and CrossFit is tough! It was worth it though! My total weight loss was 25 pounds exactly. Besides the weight loss, things have drastically changed for me health-wise. I've struggled with cronic anxiety since I was 21 and there has been nothing I can do to help it. The first few weeks of eating paleo were exhausting. My energy was down, I had a hard time making it to the Fort, and I was sleepy all the time. Once my body got rid of everything in my system, I had a complete change. I was full of energy, my anxiety was gone and I felt great. I learned that to feel good you need to put good things in your body. No sugar, no bad carbs, no processed foods. When I first started at CrossFit Fire, I had a really hard time going to the fort 3 times a week. Now I go 5 days and have never felt better.

I've also realized, that I need to give myself a little bit of credit for what I have accomplished. Eating healthy and exercise is a part of my life now. So is the Fort. I feel like I owe Jennie and Bill for everything they have taught me. They've helped me change my life forever!

90 day transformation

[Read more →]

My total weight loss was 42 pounds. It really took seeing the pictures to see how far I’d come. The work is far from over. The diet was very tough to stick to at first; I guess I really didn’t notice how many carbs/grains/sugar I really ate during the day, until I gave them up cold turkey. I felt like someone had sucked the life out of me the first two weeks. But when you drop that initial weight/water or what ever it is the first couple weeks (20lbs for me) its real motivating when you see the scale. But more then the weight loss has been the way I feel free of (mostly) grains and carbs. I used to REQUIRE a nap after work every day, there was just no way around it. After a week or so on Paleo that nap BS was over and my energy was endless. I was amazed.

My general health as a whole is 100 times better. I had a reoccurring/chronic upper respiratory infection that surfaced every other month or so for as long as I can remember. Since I have gone Paleo it hasn’t returned. That in its self is worth the weird looks I get at the store buying 15 pounds of red meat every Saturday. Now that I have been at the Fort for a while and I get to compare work outs the benefits/results are undeniable. Pre BBC “Cindy” was 7 rounds with an assistance band for pull ups, last week I was able to get 12 with out the band, far from the Elites but a huge step in the right direction. This really has been a life style change for me and I plan to stick to it and see just what my body is like under all that jiggle HAHA.

90 day Transformation

[Read more →]

Simply put, I eat a LOT of skirt steak; ask the MeatGoat. I usually throw it under the broiler for a a few minutes on each side, slice, and serve. It goes great with black coffee for breakfast or as a cold snack later in the day. This time, I decided to put in a little effort and this is what resulted:

Tequila-Lime Marinated Skirt Steak

• 2 pounds grass-fed skirt steak
• 3/4 C fresh lime juice
• 3/4 C Cazadores Reposado Tequila
• 1 bulb elephant garlic, diced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 serano pepper, diced
• celtic sea salt to taste
• fresh ground black peppercorns to taste
• ground cumin to taste

Instructions: Combine steak, lime juice, tequila, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, and serano in a large bowl, being sure to mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, stirring every so often. Remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before cooking.

Pre-heat broiler on high for 10 minutes. Remove steaks from marinade and add salt, pepper, and cumin. Pour marinade into a pan, add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste, and simmer on the stove top until liquid is cooked off.

Place steaks 4" under broiler for 3 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2.5 minutes. Remove steaks from oven and let rest, covered by aluminum foil, for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with marinade reduction.

[Read more →]

When it comes to cooking, I lack time and skills. Generally, this would lead to some basic, generic tasting dishes, but not today! The following was awfully easy to prepare and contained an explosion of flavors. There is no doubt I will be making this again.

Lemon Butter Chicken with Onions:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Trader Joe's Poultry Seasoning
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 6-8 TBSP Kerrygold Pure Irish butter, sliced
• 1 large lemon, sliced

Instructions: You can see by the pictures that we used a 6 quart Lodge Enamel Dutch Oven for preparing and cooking this dish. If you do not own a dutch oven, don't worry, a baking pan, lined with aluminum foil will also work. Use enough foil to be able to create a tent over the food. This will lock the moisture in and provide the proper cooking environment.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken in the bottom of your dish and season to your liking. Layer with onions, butter, and lemons. Cover the dish and place in oven. Cook until chicken reaches ~160 degrees. The amount of time required will vary based on the size and amount of chicken, but generally takes around 30 minutes.

When dishing up, be sure to get plenty of melted butter with your chicken

[Read more →]