Our May Blade Athlete of the Month is Holly Banghart. Holly has recently posted some new PRs and is doing movements again that she was unable to do for a long time. She never gave up and she continued to come in, scale the workouts to her ability and kept a great attitude. She constantly worked her mobility, received professional bodywork and fought hard to return full strength. Holly has been dedicated to crossfit for over 2 years and her determination is one you don’t see often.
Why do you crossfit?
HB: Because I LOVE it! I love that in one short hour your strength work and cardio are done. I love that it’s intense and I get a little rush from it. I love that it pushes me to try new things and go harder each day. I love that it’s so structured, I have to have structure. I love the people, I especially love watching the new people and seeing their improvement and all their PR’s and celebrating those with them. Oh, and the shoes…I LOVE the shoes!!!
What is your favorite benchmark WOD? (Girl or Blade)
HB: Cindy! Pull ups, pushups, squats in small sets…that’s for me.
What is your least favorite exercise?
HB: It’s a tight race between Thrusters and Wall balls. Same movements really and I pretty much suck at both. If I have to pick just one I’d say wall balls only because of the added frustration factor of the “no rep”.
What are your hobbies?
HB: Sadly I don’t really have any hobbies of my own. Much of my time is spent working, but I am very grateful that I am lucky enough to really like my chosen career. The rest my time is spent watching my boys play their sports (Football, Baseball and BMX racing) and just doing different things with them. I get a lot of enjoyment spending my time with them now and I know in a few short years I will have the time to add in hobbies of my own.
What is something that many people may not know about you?
HB: 3 years ago I had the opportunity to have one of my landscape projects featured on the DIY Network. The show was called Indoors Out and the idea was you had to create a room you would typically have indoors, outside. Mine was a theater/game room. We filmed it in two days and then about a year later it aired. It still makes me laugh when I think about it…so much fun! (but I would never do it again)
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
HB: Getting a muscle up was really exciting but I think I’m actually more proud of my recent PR’s on front squats, back squats and deadlift. Those three lifts had all been about the same for over a year, in fact my deadlift had been the same since September 2012. I think I have finally started working out some Sciatic issues that I believe were inhibiting me with a lot of extra mobility. If/when I get some free time my new hobby will be more mobility.
What are your goals for 2014?
HB: When Chris first put up that staggered ladder bar thing on the pull up rig, I was really excited to try it. Well I did try and ended up missing the first bar and landed flat on my back on the ground. I look at that stupid thing all the time and wish I weren’t afraid to try it again. So now it’s out there…I will try it again, and not only will I be successful but I will also do a muscle up at the top.
