Member of the Month: "From “Just for Fun” to Fitness Powerhouse: Michelle Thomas Nails Bar Muscle-Ups and a 195-Pound Squat"
Michelle Thomas first started CrossFit in 2015 at a gym in Vancouver.
She enjoyed it a lot, but the programming lacked structure, “so there was no way to really track your progress,” she explained.
Still, Michelle still became pretty fit because it’s impossible not to when you’re doing CrossFit. But when she became pregnant with her first child, she stopped.
In 2020, Michelle, now a mother, moved to White Rock, but didn’t plan on resuming CrossFit.
Two years later, in 2022, she gave birth to her second child and realized maybe she did want to get back into it.
Her husband Ed was going to a CrossFit gym, but Michelle was intimidated as she found the environment to be hyper competitive, which wasn’t what she was looking for, so she didn’t join.
Shortly after that, Eric and Jo Sugawara opened Kea Athletics, and Michelle immediately knew it was the right environment for her.
“It was an open environment and there was no judgment. I started with the 9 am class and met other moms and regular people who just wanted to get fit and enjoy themselves,” said Michelle, who joined Kea in the winter of 2023. “I wasn’t competitive. I just wanted to move.”
Where she is Today
While Michelle’s main goals haven’t changed—get fit and have fun—the fitness level she has achieved today is far beyond where she thought she would be.
“I remember when I started, I was trying to back squat my bodyweight (145 pounds). Now 195 pounds is my best, and I want to hit 200,” said Michelle, who never even played sports as a kid.
She credits her progress to Eric and Jo’s progressive programming, one that uses percentages to build strength, conditioning, and skills over eight week cycles.
More recently, Michelle also turned to Jo for help with her nutrition, and saw some big results.
“I lived on smarties and white carbs,” she laughed.
Jo had her track her macros and focus on getting protein in every meal, something Michelle thinks has really helped her performances in recent weeks.
Case in point: A few weeks ago, Michelle managed to get her first bar muscle-up, a movement that wasn’t even on her radar when she started at Kea. (In fact, she wasn’t sure she would even be doing pull-ups in her 40s after having kids, but today she can string them together with ease).
Beyond the Fitness: “It Feels Like Family”
Even more important to Michelle than her fitness gains is how Kea has become an opportunity to build and enhance the relationships in her life.
Her husband Ed, as well as her brother Curtis and wife Jenica are all members of Kea, as well.
“Everyone is so busy,” she explained, so without the gym Michelle doesn’t think she would see Curtis and Jenica as much. “Having my family there is such a nice thing. We have such a nice connection. And we’ll text each other about the workouts, or about how sore we are.”
Michelle also believes Kea has had a positive impact on her marriage.
“It has given us something to connect on and have a life outside of being parents,” she said.
Most recently, Michelle’s neighbours have also joined Kea, and are loving it.
“It has really brought people into our lives. It’s just so welcoming. It feels like family being there” Michelle said.
She added: “If I could go everyday, I would. It makes me so much happier to go.
written by: Emily Beers
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