November’s Extraordinary Athlete, Nancy McMahon came to us via her husband, Doug. Doug has been doing CrossFit for several years now at CrossFit Dallas Central. He wanted to give Odyssey a try because our schedule fit his a little bit better and because we were a masters gym. Doug had tried to get Nancy to join him at CrossFit for a long time, but she was a little bit intimidated at Dallas Central. However, he finally convinced her to give it a try here at Odyssey and she has been doing great ever since!
Nancy is a stay-at-home mom to their beautiful daughter, Hollis, a senior at Ursuline. She had been very inactive for a long time, eating Paleo and frustrated because she wasn’t able to get fit. When she started with me at Odyssey she was nervous and timid. She couldn’t hang from a 
pullup bar, or do a pushup and she was uncomfortable jumping in any fashion. In order to do “box jumps” we used the smallest purple stool and had her step up and down while holding onto a bar for balance. She didn’t even feel comfortable stepping over a jump rope because she was afraid she might trip.
During her first week in regular classes Nancy made the incredibly lucky discovery that she knew one of our members – Michele Rodgers. Michele, along with Tiffany Westerman, took Nancy under their wing and helped her through all of the classes. They even went so far as to exchange phone numbers and text her to encourage her to come to class! They worked together daily, did all the accessory work, and even made sure to do the Crossover Symmetry daily to get the best results from their workouts. Because of all of this, Nancy was making great strides.
At the beginning of the summer we began our 2017 Summer Slim Down Challenge. Nancy signed up with my nutritionist at Stronger U and started being extremely conscious of everything she was eating. She stuck with the challenge and even won it – along with a free month of CrossFit! Since she began she has lost over 20lbs and 9 inches in her waist!!!! That is incredible! And the weightloss is just the beginning. To top it all off, she is enjoying working out with her husband and they have even brought their 
daughter, Hollis in a few times. Nancy now has better balance and she is able to hang from the pullup bar, do a knee pushup and she is stepping up onto taller boxes without holding on to anything. She even progressed to jumping rope with both handles in one hand to get better at the rhythm – and now she is jumping rope just like everyone else!
These may seem like tiny changes to many of you, but I guarantee they are huge to her and they are the building blocks from which the really huge success will be built. Nancy, congratulations on being October’s Extraordinary Athlete – we can’t wait to see what comes of your Journey to Extraordinary!