ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

May 2021 – Kim McCallion

Kim has been an amazing part of our BeachSide family since May 2019. (Happy 2 year anniversary).  Kim is consistent with her training and gives it her all in the wods. She definitely inspires us all. When you see Kim in the gym give her a high five tell her congrats!

Tell us about yourself:
I was born in Oxnard CA but raised in Ojai. Besides CrossFit I love running and hiking and being outdoors. I know I probably have an unapproachable look on my face if you’ve never met me before but I’m actually quite down to earth and even funny! So come say Hi!

What do you do for a job?
I am a Registered Nurse. Currently I work as a House Supervisor for a Psychiatric Hospital. I am getting ready to transition to a Nurse Manager role at a local CSU that will be opening later this summer. Exciting stuff!

Tell us something people might not know about you:
I didn’t start getting tattoos until I turned 40. Now that I have two I think I might be hooked. I also really like to collect food containers. I don’t know what it is about them but I think they’re pretty cool!  I love reading inspirational books and have picked up the habit of reading at least 10 pages a day of non-fiction material. Okay, that’s three things.

What brought you to CrossFit in the first place?
About five years ago I was serving in the Ministry full time down in LA and there was a group of some of the men I was serving with who were obsessed with this “CrossFit” thing. I would get up early in the morning to jog and sometimes I’d pass by the gym and see what was going on in there. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. One of the guys would sometimes do “Box jumps” on this concrete wall on our campus and one time he missed. He scabbed his shin up pretty good but he kept going. At that point I was sold. But I do have to admit I think that’s the reason why I always run for the 16 inch box for our WODs.

What was your first impression? How has that changed?
I was so intimidated when I first stepped into Beachside CrossFit after completing Foundations with Coach Mee. Of course the WOD was “Nancy”. I stuck 5 lb. plates on that 15 lb. barbell and gave it my best. My left thumb went numb and I wobbled all over the place but got through it. Now overhead squats are something I look forward to. Beachside CrossFit has helped to change the way I understand fitness and helped me to become a better and more confident me.

What was your first “bright spot”?
Believe it or not my first “bright spot” was coming back after quarantine. Before, I would get kind of hung up on comparing myself to others in the gym and even beat myself up a little because I wasn’t as advanced. During that time when I was doing those home WODs I really began to compare myself  to myself and nobody else (because obviously nobody else was around) and truly began to understand the essence of CrossFit. Coming back to the gym I continued to focus on my own personal athletic performance improvement and behold; the PRs flooded in!

What are you working on now?
Ughhhh! Kipping Pull-ups! I’m getting closer! 1% each day right??

What’s your favorite Beachside CrossFit memory?
There are so many! What comes to mind right now is doing The Open 21.2. I remember just pacing myself through that workout and holding on. I ended up with a time of 15:42. It was a victorious moment in my personal Beachside history!

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