November Athlete of the Month: Kim Stalcup
Congratulations, Kim! You are the NoCoast November Athlete of the Month!!!
Kim and JR are a part of the early morning 5:30am crew. Over the past few years they have helped build a close knit, fun, and encouraging morning community at NoCoast. We appreciate all of the hard work Kim puts in at the gym and outside too! Her kindness, energy, and consistency in the mornings has added so much to the early morning classes.
Kim also tackled her first CrossFit competition last month at the Festivus Games with her partner Tracy. Congratulations on getting out there and putting your fitness to the test!!
Quotes from Kim:
“CrossFit has changed my life a complete 180 degrees. My confidence is restored, my mindset is strong and I find that CrossFit is a main contributor to my positive mental well-being. I have amazing friends, an encouraging community and people who inspire me to do hard things then do them again. CrossFit and specifically NoCoast has given me the vehicle to discover my athletic self again.”
“CrossFit has transformed my family into one that values health, nutrition, and athleticism. CrossFit has blessed our marriage and gives us both an outlet and to be athletes together. JR and I both feel that we must be healthy role models for our children as they will grow up knowing only what we define. We want them to choose health and know that 40something is just a number and we always can find grit to do hard things. I want to leave this world with my family knowing that I am a badass and they can be too.”
Age/Weight (optional):
44 years young/76kg is the goal
Athletic/Sports history/highlights:
I was a competitive swimmer since I ditched the floaties at the age of 4. We moved to Florida when I was 6 and I continued swimming with the Swim Florida Club programs through high school. High school swimming was where my sport took off and I found my niche in sprint freestyle, free relays and butterfly. I swam the 500 once and I had no clue how to race that distance. My coach’s advice was to win it, that’s it. So I went out for the first 100 like a sprinter would. Everyone watching didn’t think I knew I had another 4 x 100s left. But that transfers to my training now, I had to learn to pace and to understand how to diversify my athletic portfolio. I only knew sprints and that won’t get you very far when given a challenge. I did win that race but I never duplicated that race strategy again. I ran the hurdles in track to diversify and I learned to love running at least no more than a 300 with hurdles in the way. My swimming career landed me with a swim and academic scholarship at a NAIA division school at Transylvania University in Kentucky but then transferred to University of Florida and swam with a group of my high school buddies for a competitive masters program. Swimming became fun again. Fast forward to adult life and I let life consume me and I felt like I zipped into and out of a fat suit for a few decades never really capturing my athletic competitive self again. That was until I realized one day after moving to Colorado that I was an athlete that lost herself and CrossFit found her again in 2018.
How long have you been CrossFitting?
I started CrossFit in September of 2018 after running into quite a few athletic people and I asked them what they did to be in shape - CrossFit was repeated over and over again. I had started running and I felt like I lacked muscle definition. I had a bucket list for decades to be an athlete again, to compete in a triathlon and to see what’s possible. I was 41 and I had a lot of weight to lose and a lot of muscle to gain. I made a decision and CrossFit (and eventually Olympic weightlifting) became my way of life. I’ve been at this for three years and I can say they have been some of the best years of my life.
What is your favorite WOD/CrossFit movement?
No question- Olympic Weightlifting. Narrow it down even more and I’ll take Clean and Jerk any day.
What is your least favorite WOD/CrossFit movement?
It definitely would be burpees but I am learning to hate these things less. If I go into a WOD saying I hate something then I’ll fulfill that prophecy every time. So burpees may be my least favorite but I’m learning to approach them with a better mindset.
What is your most memorable CrossFit moment?
My most memorable CrossFit moments involve the community every single time. One of the most recent was deciding to go for a second try on our 250m row benchmark. My first go was off - not sure what was going on. So I deliberated and just said what if, why not, just do it. Coach Simon announced to the 5:30am-ers that I was giving it a go again (oh great, singled out attention lol) and Sharon Wetherall came over and was the best cheerleader, yelling at me to pull harder, that I was a badass… and for that 47.6 seconds, she helped me pull out a 2.1 second PR. It’s people like Sharon who make me a better athlete. It’s our NoCoast community that makes CrossFit fun - I appreciate the friendship, the cheerleaders, the badasses and those who I find inspirational. My only hope is I can inspire people too.
How does nutrition play a role in your fitness and recovery?
I have had a complicated relationship with food over the years so I am definitely a work in progress. I suffered with body image issues, scale obsession and even a short lived eating disorder in college. I now choose a healthy relationship with food but void of sugar which I find very addicting. I don’t drink alcohol much at all since it doesn’t serve my body or my mind all that well.
I love learning, inspiring others to choose health and make a lifestyle of healthy choices. I am a sponge to learn from those around me and our professionals in our gym. I look to Dan and Sam and participate in all the challenges to make my total package better. Currently, I’m on a mission to drop body fat while increasing muscle mass to move easier in CrossFit, compete in the 76kg Olympic Weightlifting weight class in February, and be ready for the upcoming triathlon season. I am on the Renaissance Periodization (RP) plan which I find perfect for my goals. I have lost a total of 62lbs from my heaviest weight but I’m more in tune now to my body fat percentage and learning to love myself and recognize how hard I work. My husband, J.R., also a NoCoast member, is a great source of support and reminds me to put the bat down when I try to beat myself up for not measuring up to my sometimes unrealistic standards.
How has CrossFit improved your overall wellness?
CrossFit has changed my life a complete 180 degrees. My confidence is restored, my mindset is strong and I find that CrossFit is a main contributor to my positive mental well-being. I have amazing friends, an encouraging community and people who inspire me to do hard things then do them again. CrossFit and specifically NoCoast has given me the vehicle to discover my athletic self again.
How has CrossFit changed your family?
CrossFit has transformed my family into one that values health, nutrition, and athleticism. CrossFit has blessed our marriage and gives us both an outlet and to be athletes together. JR and I have two children, Brayden (16) who swims for Silver Creek HS and Bryen (12) who plays football for the Erie Tigers as well as baseball. I share the love of weightlifting with Bryen when we both competed in the Rocky Mountain State Games where I took gold and he took silver in our respective age and weight classes. JR and I both feel that we must be healthy role models for our children as they will grow up knowing only what we define. We want them to choose health and know that 40something is just a number and we always can find grit to do hard things. I want to leave this world with my family knowing that I am a badass and they can be too.
Advice to new people:
My advice to new people would be to put one foot in front of another and never give up trying to make yourself better than the day before. Dig deep for grit or look for the inspiration in other places to grow it, whether that be the guy working out next to you (Paul Martin) or a famed person like David Goggins. (If you haven’t read Goggin’s book, Can’t Hurt Me, do it. And if you’d like to know the guy, Paul, working out next to you, read his book One Man’s Leg too). Compete with yourself and always cheer on your community. We get to choose our tribe but we must always give more than we take. I love to add value to the environment and people around me. I think an important thing to ask ourselves every day is “how can I be better than the day before and how can I inspire others to do the same?” Go crush this life and help others crush theirs too. The outcome is amazing.