Woman Athlete

My competitive nature drove my desires to become an athlete. At a young age, I was always active and basketball became my sport of choice. I would always play with the guys and refused to be denied equality amongst males and females. Yes, I was the one that would say, “Anything you can do, I can do better. Years later I began to admire the sport of lifting, heavy lifting at that. Wait, a female enjoying and wanting to lift heavy?? Yes, for several years I broke all the typical gym rules and stationed myself on the squat rack and free weights section of the gym for my entire workout. Stares were the norm and raised eyebrows from females became frequent. At first I did not mind attention, but after a while it became quite distracting and I was never able to complete a lift session without people interrupting or making comments.

            It wasn’t until I stepped into Beach Fitness/CrossFit Seal Beach that I felt at home with my new passion. When I started lifting, I was more involved in the power lifting aspect of the sport: squats, deadlifts and bench press. Last year, the art of Olympic lifting sparked my interest because it requires so much more components of fitness such as agility, balance, coordination, speed and power.

            At CrossFit Seal Beach I soon observed that the athletes and coaches that stepped into this gym were exactly what I needed in terms of the perfect environment. Each individual shared my passion of having a commitment to health and fitness while adding a competitive nature. As a female lifter, I was definitely in a comfort zone in that if I was being looked at it was because people want to positively critique my form. I can share accomplishments with other female athletes because we all have similar goals and no one is afraid to shed out some blood, sweat and tears. The sport of weightlifting has definitely boomed and it makes it so much more exciting when you are surrounded with a community that is Beach Fitness.

-Helena Robel