Member Of The Month – January 2022
Our January MOTM award goes to the brilliant Michelle Tierney! Our little American star.
If you know Michelle, you’ll know how much fun she is to have around, and how excitable she is! You might also know she often puts herself down, usually laced with so much humour that it’s funny of course – I mean, she is the Top Bants 2021 award winner! BUT she really doesn’t see how good she actually is. So after watching her go from strength to strength recently in her training, we felt she deserved this award. When she first started at M Squared she couldn’t hang off the rig whatsoever. Scap pulls required her to have her feet on a bench to make it easier and anything remotely related to a beat swing was out of the question. Recently she got her first kipping pull-ups on a green band and they look mega! So much progress has been made with hanging off the rig, and she has also made loads of progress elsewhere too, her lifting looks ace, her weights have been going up and up, honestly there was a period where she pretty much rang the PB bell every session!
Her fitness levels have improved loads too. Aside from the fitness she’s ace to have in classes, always comes in with a smile (as well as LOADS of questions of course), is the first to support other people and be a great cheerleader (she IS American after all!) and loves to get involved. Last year she took part in her first competition – Battle Cancer, and smashed it, and very recently, despite being absolutely terrified, took part in the M Squared FeMale competition too, with Rosh, as team “Curl Up and Dye” – epic team name for a pair of hairdressers! And she did absolutely MEGA! So lets find out a little more about her and her CrossFit journey…
M – How long have you been doing CrossFit?
MT – Hi! Thank you for picking me as member of the month! I can’t believe it! I actually cried when I found out. I’m sure it was some kind of pity vote. “Well, she shows up and gets her money’s worth. Cleans are still questionable, her cardio is non existent but we have to give it to her.” That is how I assume the coaches meeting went🤣.
So, in 2019, I used to go to one of those “we’re looking for 6 women who want to lose 20lbs in 2 months” gyms. One of the coaches, Tom, did CrossFit and he programmed our classes like mini CrossFit workouts, so that was my introduction, but I’d say officially when I joined M Squared in January 2020, right before all hell broke loose.
M – What class time do you usually attend and why does that work for you?
MT – I usually go at 7:15 on work days and 9:30 on off days. I know if I don’t get up and go I’ll make a million excuses on why I shouldn’t go in the evening. I’m a creature of habit, so staying in the morning classes is best for me.
M – What is your why? Why do you put yourself through it each day? Do you have goals you want to achieve?
MT – My why…well, losing weight isn’t important to me, I’ve always been curvy. I don’t weigh myself because it sends me into a shame spiral of self loathing. I just want to be healthy as I age and if I lose weight along the way, bonus. I would love big, scary arm muscles and maybe a whisper of some abs, but mainly I do it to feel accomplished, even if I suck. I show up and I finish to the best of my ability that day. As far as goals, I’d like to be able to do pull ups without a band of any kind. Just wanna pull this ass up.
M – What advice would you give anyone wanting to start CrossFit but is either unsure or nervous? We get people all the time saying they need to get fit first or they could never do what we do? Any advice for those people?
MT – You have no idea how intimidating it is coming into MSquared. It’s like a living collection of Greek statues lifting weights and flying around on the rig. Full on Mt. Olympus. I can understand people being hesitant to join. Personally, I have low confidence and I don’t give myself enough credit but I blame it on a lot of encounters that happened throughout my life, particularly when people made remarks about my body. When I was in Florida for Spring Break a guy told me I had a nice face and a great personality but it was a shame about my body. I was 128lbs. After my son was born and I was over 200lbs, I went running and some guy leaned out of his car window and screamed, “it’s about time fat ass!” These are only 2 examples, unfortunately, there are more. The awful hurtful things people have said play over and over again in my head and they have scarred me. I have worked out for the better part of 20 years but it’s the hurtful things that kept me from putting myself out there to trying new things. Sometimes I wonder what’s the point especially when that nagging voice creeps in. I also believe that’s why I need to make classes light hearted with a few LOLs. So I completely understand the fear of going into a space like MSquared. Here’s the thing though, I always tell people about the gym how amazing and supportive you all are but I believe until you’re ready to put whatever doubts you have aside and hush the voices in your head, it won’t matter. I hope that isn’t negative but everyone is fighting some internal battle. Now that you all know I need counseling…😂.
M – What is your biggest achievement so far in CrossFit and what are you most proud of?
MT -Where do I begin?! When I started everything was hard. I mean it still is, but on a different level. I started this journey super late in life, I’m a fossil. I couldn’t snatch with anything but a pipe in the beginning. Hanging off the rig was painful and my shoulders couldn’t take it. I started coming 2 days a week and I had to talk myself into coming more frequently, I was so afraid of failure. So in the beginning, I was proud to even show up. Basically, I’m happy my body allows me to be there 4-5 days a week and continue to make progress, even if it’s slow or ugly. Being able to do anything on the rig makes me super happy. My shoulders can take my weight, so they are either getting stronger or I’m getting lighter. Who knows but it feels like such a win.
On a side note, I’ve been living in Manchester for 8 years, it took me a long time to be happy here. Sure I miss home and real summers…..but my little salon and the gym are the two things that have made me feel settled and happy. I’ve met so many people I’m in awe of athletically and now you’ve blown my mind with your brains! I’m super grateful that I pushed my own issues aside and joined. Also, thick thighs save lives.
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M – Michelle, I hope your confidence has grown more from winning this award, and from seeing how capable you are in the competition the other week, and hopefully you can see yourself how we all see you – which is just amazing! Well done on being our MUCH deserved Member of the Month!
