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April Spotlight Athlete

of the Month

Meet

Lea FortmanN

Years doing Crossfit:

About 5 years

Member at CrossFit Burien: April 2017

It's rare to have to opportunity to coach an athlete like Lea. She's incredibly driven, constantly setting goals and working on the little things that are far from glamorous in order to reach them. She's equal parts competitive and supportive with the athletes around her, and more often than not competing with herself to surpass what she knows she is capable of. And lastly, she's humble. She welcomes critique and correction from coaches, recognizes her own limitations (then CRUSHES them), and sincerely congratulates the CFB family members around her when they wreck a workout. As the highest scoring female athlete at CrossFit Burien in the 2018 open, she spent no time celebrating or sitting comfortably in her current state - she came out the very next week to nail a bar muscle up, after recently hitting a HUGE PR on her squat snatch. Lea's work ethic and presence at the gym is an inspiring picture of continuous improvement and accomplishing what you set your mind to. WE WANT TO BE LIKE LEA WHEN WE GROW UP!! Thanks for being such an amazing person, athlete, and role model at CFB!

A little about LEA!

 

Tell us about yourself?

I’ve been living in Tacoma for the past couple year teaching economics at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Then Mark moved out here a little over a year ago and we bought a house in Burien last year and got married last summer. It’s been a pretty crazy year, but we’re excited about our new home and all the new friends we’ve made along the way.

 

How did you hear about CrossFit Burien?

After Mark and I bought a house in Burien, one of the first things we did was start looking for a crossfit gym. We’re so glad that Crossfit Burien is part of our new hood.

Why do you do Crossfit?

I love crossfit because it presents a new and different challenge everyday. I used to run a lot and workout on the elliptical at the gym, but after doing Crossfit I could never go back that. I also love the community and camaraderie it provides and it’s a good outlet for my competitive side.
 

What are a few of your favorite memories from Crossfit Burien?

I think the first night of Friday Night Lights this year was one of my favorite events. The atmosphere was awesome and it was fun competing side by side  with all the amazing athletes we have at the gym and cheering everyone on in the different heats. All of the gym socials have been really fun too. It’s great getting to meet and hangout with people outside of our regular class time.

What are some short-term goals that you have recently achieved and some long term goals that you would like to achieve?

The past couple months have been great! I’ve PR’d a bunch of my lifts and I just got a bar muscle up! Long-term, I want to work on improving my gymnastic skills, getting ring muscle ups, and hopefully move up in the rankings next year in the Open (and beat Mark!).

What is one piece of advice that you would pass along to a new athlete who is just starting Crossfit?

Try to be consistent working on new skills, even if it’s really frustrating. I avoided things for a long (e.g. learning how to do butterfly pullups) and looking back I realize I would be a lot better at those things now if I had been more diligent practicing them earlier on.

Fill in the blanks:

My favorite WOD is… Fight gone bad

In the summer I like to… Camp and hike

I really want to travel to… Eastern Europe, especially Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast

My ideal weekend includes… I’d start the day off by sleeping in, Mark bringing me coffee in bed and going to the gym. Then doing something outside if the weather is nice or hanging out with friends, eating, drinking and playing games.

My favorite food is… tacos and Korean food

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