February Athletes of the Month
Sruthi & Randy King
Congratulations to our February Athletes of the Month - Sruthi & Randy King!
Randy and Sruthi both recently hit their one-year mark with Blue Crab CrossFit and we’re so proud of them for prioritizing themselves and their health with a busy schedule! They’ve embraced the challenge of each workout and show up every day to become a stronger, healthier version of themselves. We’re excited to share their stories with you!
Thank you, Sruthi & Randy for showing up and challenging yourselves every day!
Tell us your story - where did you grow up and what kind of activities did you do growing up?
Randy: I was born and raised in Kansas, which is where my parents still live. I spent my weekends and summers working and playing on my grandparents’ farm. I have never been particularly athletic and nor did I enjoy the sports I participated in, during high school I briefly played football and wrestled. After high school I attended the University of Kansas where I got into mountain biking and fencing at the club level. After college I moved to Boston where I lived for five years. While in Boston I began to enjoy running and usually ran about 2 miles per day. I returned to school to complete my PhD and unfortunately all exercise took a back seat to finishing my degree. I struggled to find an exercise program that was the right fit for me.
Sruthi: I grew up in Mt. Holly NJ. I was not an athlete in school but always enjoyed watching sports, mostly football, basketball. We used to play cricket in our backyard as kids. I met Randy while I was in grad school for my PhD in Washington DC. After I graduated, we moved to CA, where Randy started his PhD, and I worked as a postdoctoral fellow for about 2 years. I had to move back to the East coast for work and we were living on opposite ends of the country for many years while Randy finished up his studies. I joined the gym at FDA and was a regular because my commute was terrible and going to gym was a good excuse to avoid traffic. What I enjoyed the most about the gym was group classes, as I was never good at coming up with my own exercise program. However, once kid #1 came along, fitting the gym into my day with the long commute became very challenging.
Tell us how you were first introduced to CrossFit? How long have you been doing CrossFit - any thoughts/comments on how it’s changed or influenced your life?
Randy:
We have two boys, who are fencers. We spent so much time sitting while waiting for them to finish class. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a gym nearby so that we could exercise? Luckily, fencing is just down the road from BCCF and just about a year ago, I saw the BCCF sign and decided to check it out. After meeting with Mandy and doing the Foundations Classes, I was hooked. CrossFit was exactly what I was looking for. Having struggled with going into a gym and not knowing what to do, getting bored doing the same thing over and over with little improvement, I really took to CrossFit. It has been great because the classes vary every day and the coaches have encouraged me to push myself, while keeping an eye on me so I don’t hurt myself.
Sruthi:
Randy joined BCCF and encouraged me to try the Foundations Classes. It was intimidating to walk into the gym, the work outs, the equipment, the loud music, and everyone looked very focused on their workouts. I was very hesitant because I had not done anything like it before and I felt completely out of place. I had spent most of the pandemic regaining my strength after major surgery and had lost a lot of confidence in my ability to do physical exercise. Randy encouraged me to give it a try and what I appreciated was that everything could be modified to what I could do. BCCF coaches were very encouraging and helped me to realize that I could do a lot more than I thought I could. Randy and I have been BCCF members for just about 1 year.
Thoughts/comments on how CrossFit has changed or influenced your life?
Randy:
Exercise was not a priority in my life until I joined BCCF because it always was the first to fall by the wayside when life got busy, especially during graduate school. Now, for the first time in my life, I am enjoying hard physical exercise. I make getting to the gym a priority and schedule my week around it. It seems obvious, and maybe it should be, but I realize how important it is to all around health, not just physical but also mental. I only wish I had found Blue Crab CrossFit sooner.
Sruthi:
I spend a few minutes in the car before entering the gym because I feel nervous every time. I realized I was not alone in this, (almost) everyone comes in a little bit nervous about the workout. I have made friends who cheer me on and encourage me to push myself, finish a workout, and give me a pep talk when I am feeling nervous. I no longer feel out of place. I had a couple of injuries that set me back a little bit, but I didn’t stop coming to the gym. The coaches helped me with modifying the workouts to what I could do. It’s been almost 1 year since I joined BCCF and I know I have improved in many ways, my strength, my balance and my confidence. I am not competing for first place; I’m working towards improvement every time I come to the gym. Our kids have tried CrossFit and enjoy the intensity of the workouts. They too benefit from the supportive environment that is BCCF.
What goals do you have within the next year - CrossFit and non-CrossFit?
Randy:
Probably like everyone at Blue Crab my goals this year are to lift heavier and move faster. Now that I feel more comfortable with the gym and the movements involved, I am trying to increase the intensity this year. In the near term, I would like to be more comfortable with long runs and I am pushing for that 400lbs, deadlift. Outside the gym I am trying to be a more conscious eater.
Sruthi:
I would like to improve my stamina, especially on the bike and rower. I have been focusing on form and getting the rep but, I need to increase the intensity. I am working on increasing strength (deadlift, push press and bench press). I have to get back to jumping onto the box. Outside of CrossFit, I am working on improving my nutrition. I like to garden but that has fallen by the wayside in recent years. I want to change that this year.
Talk to us about your life outside of the gym - hobbies, favorite meal, music, job etc. Any random facts you want us to know?
Randy:
Outside the gym my favorite place to be is in my shop. I am an engineer at heart, and I enjoy woodworking and tinkering. I am working on my 1977 Jeep with my boys. I also enjoy the outdoors, hunting, fishing and hiking. One of our favorite places in the world is Moab UT.
Sruthi:
We are a family of makers. We love making things out of wood, metal, leather, crafts, and artwork. All of us like to cook and my youngest and I enjoy baking. I usually make a unique birthday cake for the kids every year. I enjoy watercolor painting and chalk pastels. My boys gifted me a Cricut machine a few years ago and I love spending time on it. I have made lots of personalized gifts, paper crafts, t shirts, signs, and engraved items for family and friends. There’s a lot of music in our house, our boys are musicians, not sure where they got those genes from. Random fact…Randy gave me an engagement dog; how could I say no!
Do you have any advice for people getting started with CrossFit - what's helped you stay consistent and coming back day after day?
Randy and Sruthi:
The hardest part is getting to the gym in time for a class but we never regret going. We motivate each other to go and enjoy the partner workouts. BCCF has been a huge positive influence on our family because of the camaraderie, the high energy classes, and supportive coaches. We have learned to make a concerted effort in each class, work on consistency, and take pride in the small successes, whether it is the first box jump or a one rep max.
