TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE GYM? That’s a good question, don’t we all live to do CrossFit? ;-) I do enjoy hanging out with my girlfriends and having a nice cocktail on some fancy pants rooftop terrace downtown. But of course, I cannot do that all the time. I am on the road quite a lot from work and sometimes for leisure, which I enjoy very much. I went to Dallas recently to see the Professional Bull Riding Championship Finals, my new passion! However, to not completely forget my German roots, I go to Dankhaus in Lincoln Square to teach German once a week. They have a lot of great adult language classes if anyone is interested :-) WHAT INITIALLY GOT YOU INTO TRAINING AND WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK? I started CrossFit back in the UK when a good friend of mine, Ben Silva-Weatherley opened his own box back in 2014. I tried only ONE WOD and I was immediately hooked. We all got really addicted, worked out every day, sometimes twice, hung out at weekends and went to competitions together. That was one of the best times of my life! After my hip injury 2.5 years ago, I tried out other fitness programs and gyms, but nothing came close to CrossFit. So here I am – back for more! WHAT ARE YOUR FITNESS GOALS? HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO REACHING THEM? My goal is to be able to do the movements I could do before my injury albeit with better technique and care, plus lots of stretching. I have now also integrated Yoga into my workout routine – practicing self-care is immensely important (thanks to Laura I now know). For me it is more about conditioning these days, less about going super heavy on the bar. I learned to listen to my body, whatever feels right on the day. Some days you have more in the tank, other days less, but you always show up. You snooze, you lose! WHAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OR GOAL YOU’VE REACHED AT HARDWARE THAT MADE YOU THE MOST PROUD? I did a lot of movements during the open that I was worried about at first going back to such as Dumbbell snatches from the ground or kipping pull-ups. And I did it, for the first time in like 2.5 years! Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you, you just have to believe in yourself and go for it! FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT? Murph, 12 days of Christmas, Diane – when I was still the handstand push-up queen (need to practice them more again) LEAST FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT? Running and rowing, you just don’t get far with short legs ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE INTERESTED IN TRYING OUT HARDWARE? I met a lot of my now good friends at Hardware. The Hardware community really gave me a sense of belonging. For someone that is relatively new to this country, Hardware made me feel at home :-) So if you are looking for a great workout AND friends, this is the place to go!