In and Around DDXF!!

JANUARY Athlete Spotlight:

Megan Disselkoen

Name: Megan Disselkoen
Age: 50
Where are you from? Born in Colorado Springs, Lived in Greeley since 1996.
Tell us about your school life/family/work life: I’m a graduate of CSU in Occupational Therapy with a specialty in Hand Therapy. I married Bruce in 1994. I worked in OT for twelve years and then had Ellie and two years later my son Grant. I home schooled my kids for various reasons and now I teach kids with Dyslexia to read. My husband and I are real estate investors and own and manage apartments and commercial real estate.
When did you first start CrossFit? I started in 2012 with Ellie to help her get stronger to ride her horse. I was the one that really needed CrossFit.
What is your fitness background? As a kid, I was a gymnast and swam competitively in high school. But my real love was down-hill skiing and riding horses.
What is your favorite thing about Double Diamond CrossFit? I love that it keeps me motivated to stay active and in shape! I love our gym and the family it has become for me and Ellie. The coaches are the best!
What is your favorite WOD or movement? I love anything with squats and love any kind of body weight movement.
What is your least favorite WOD or movement? I really hate anything to do with the rig. And I really hate admitting that…but it’s truth.
What are your goals? A long term physical goal of mine is to win a World Championship with one of my horses.  To do this, I must stay strong and in shape to ride and train them.  So a life time goal is to stay fit, healthy and to keep plugging along with what I’ve been given.
How has CrossFit changed your life? Cross-fit is the first exercise regimen that I have truly loved, looked forward to doing and have been consistent in doing on a weekly basis. I have gone from being a frumpy Mom, to a hot Mama! No matter how sore it makes me feel at times, I will never quit. Cross-Fit has given me a new outlook on life-no matter how I feel. It pushes me to be better than I was the day before. And finally, it has brought me into relationships with people that I would never have had the opportunity to know or love if it hadn’t been for Cross-fit.
Do you have any advice for people thinking about starting CrossFit or that you want to share with our members?  Cross-fit has literally changed my life. It has helped my daughter become who she is, which as a parent, is a big deal. It has helped me become a more confident and positive human being. My advice is to work out whatever your level is and compete with yourself, not others. With this you will find improvement within yourself.

October Athelte Spotlight

Mark Tovar

Name: Mark Tovar

Age: 27

Where are you from?  I was born in Loveland, CO and never left the Northern Colorado area

Tell us about your school life/family/work life: I graduated from CSU in 2015 with a degree in Economics/Business Administration and currently work at Woodward Inc. as a Supply Chain Analyst/Coordinator.

When did you first start CrossFit? I started CrossFit consistently in 2017 and started at Double Diamond on January 1st, 2018.

What is your fitness background? I did quite a few sports growing up with Track and Basketball in high school. After being robbed of my 6’6” growth spurt, I ended up not playing pro basketball and settled as a ‘Gym Bro’ after high school where I pretty much only lifted weights 5 days a week and never did any cardio/mobility/skills.

 What is your favorite thing about Double Diamond CrossFit? My favorite things about Double Diamond are the community and coaching, both of which are second to none!

What is your favorite WOD or movement?   My favorite WOD is “PK” (5 rounds for time: 10 back squats (225/155), 10 Deadlifts (275/185), 400 meter Sprint, 2 min rest). The first time I did it here at DD, it was pouring rain outside which made it so much more fun/memorable.

What is your least favorite WOD or movement?  My least favorite movement is overhead dumbbell lunges for mobility reasons :(

What are your goals? My goals are to simultaneously lift like Kaan and run like John T.

How has CrossFit changed your life?  CrossFit has changed my life by pushing me out of my comfort zone by making me work on my weaknesses in order to improve. This has carried over outside of the gym and has made my life better as a whole overall. I also lost 40lbs which is pretty cool too.

Do you have any advice for people thinking about starting CrossFit or that you want to share with our members?  I would tell anyone thinking about starting that it doesn’t matter if they’re a lifetime athlete or someone who has never worked out in their life because literally every workout can be scaled to both ends of the spectrum. The progress you see in the gym will carry over to other aspects of life outside of fitness and improve your quality of life. Just try it for a week, I guarantee they’ll be hooked.