Member of the Month: Vickie Rhoads
Vickie “Mom” Rhoads has been a meaningful presence at CrossFit Dark Horse since she arrived 2 years ago. A bad-ass athlete in her own right, she never fails to encourage others and push them to do their very best.
Sadly, she will be leaving us in a few weeks, moving to Tuscon where her husband Paul is the new Defensive Coordinator for the Arizona Wildcats (University of Arizona). Even though she is no stranger to the life as the trailing spouse of a college football coach, it is with a heavy heart that she leaves us, having found fitness and friendship in our community.
Vickie has been an accomplished athlete her whole life, competing in cross country, track, and basketball in high school, and then going on to play basketball at Missouri Western State College, a Division 2 school, while earning a degree in kinesiology.
After college, she kept fit by running, walking, taking boot camp and kickboxing classes, but none of them really filled the gap. “And there were a lot of years where I wasn’t very active other than chasing my boys! I was looking for something different workout wise when a new CrossFit (box) opened. One of my good friends was doing it so I decided to give it a try. I immediately loved the challenge and that everyday the workout was different.”
Her first big accomplishment was getting a strict pull-up. ”It took awhile but I was so proud and felt strong.”
When she moved to Los Angeles, she found a home at CFDH. “My favorite part about CFDH is how supportive and encouraging everyone is. Everyone also likes to have fun but work hard too.“
Her favorite movement is the deadlift and she would like to improve her snatch. As far as goals for this year? “The list is long of goals I’d like to achieve this year but on the top of that list would be a muscle up.”
“CrossFit makes my body feel better. When I don’t workout for a couple of days my knees and shoulders hurt but CrossFit helps keep them loosened up.”
When Vickie is not crushing it at the box, she is busy keeping her family life running smoothly. “I say I’m a Family Manager. When our boys were growing up I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with them.”
“In my free time I like to be outside – hiking, hanging out at the beach and riding motorcycles. I have loved living in California because you can be outside year round unlike the Midwest where I grew up.”
Man, Vickie, we sure are going to miss you around here. Thank you for being part of our Dark Horse Family. You’ll always have a spot in our gym to workout when you’re in town!
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