The other night I was at dinner with December’s Extraordinary Athlete, Karen Sanderson and I couldn’t stop looking at her shoulders. They looked slimmer and strong and just plain sexy! Karen came to us about 9 months ago through Julie Heath and Julie Beichler. She is the mom to her sweet boy, Ashton and she owns her own business. Karen was going through a really hard time and her friends thought that an intense workout partnered with quality time with friends would really help her. Little did we all know that Karen was going to drink the CrossFit Kool-Aid and get addicted!

When Karen first joined us she was living in Ft. Worth and regularly commuting between Dallas and Ft. Worth. She got a punch card with us and came in about once a week. When she began she was having serious knee issues from running marathons earlier in life. She was also seeing a doctor about some genetic hormonal issues. It turned out Karen has Hashimoto’s disease, also known as hypothyroidism. She was medicated for the thyroid issue and completely changed her diet to help her better control and cope with the issue. She also had Platelet-Rich Plasma injections for her knee to get it back to pain-free functioning.

In August Karen moved back to Dallas and joined the box full time. It took about 6 months for her knee to fully recover but now she is killing it in the gym! I just received a text from her telling me that she has lost 20lbs since she began with us in April. More importantly, she has gained muscle and enormous strength! Yes, Karen is back squatting heavy weight – and for the first time her knees are pain free! But that is not the strength to which I am referring. I am talking about her emotional and spiritual strength. Karen texted me, “I’m not thinking, ‘Well, once I get to my goal weight then I will be happy… I’m enjoying every workout and every recovery day!!'” She is finding strength and confidence in her own abilities and power and that is beautiful!

Congratulations, Karen, on your Journey to Extraordinary! You are killing it!