Testimonials

Gwen Kuehl

Many people join Crossfit because they need a higher-level challenge to their fitness routine.  That woman wasn’t me.  In August 2012, I found myself 50 lbs overweight at 36 years of age (I was obese according to the medical community).  I had slowly put on pound after pound since grad school and then getting my dream job working 80-hrs weeks.  I was such a successful woman, but my weight made me feel ugly, hopeless and disgusted.

Since joining KOA, I have lost more than 40 lbs.  But it isn’t what I have lost, but what I have gained.  CONFIDENCE.   I do believe in me!  I see myself as beautiful now and I know I am the best person, friend, daughter, employee that I never knew I could be.  I get stronger every day and I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished.  I have earned every pound and muscle. I wish I could tell you there was a miraculous easy answer but my change has come from hard work and a new diet.  I have learned how to talk to myself.  No more negativity and hypercriticism of myself here.  I wake up each day feeling great and ready to face new challenges.  I am excited about what the next year will bring for me, how strong can I get, how toned will I be at this time in 2014!

So if you are reading this and you feel the way I did, don’t waste one more minute of your life.  I wish I could give you a day in my life, then and now, to show you the metamorphosis because you wouldn’t hesitate to start your journey.  Please stop making excuses.  I promise you it will be difficult at times but the KOA family support will motivate, challenge and hold you accountable.  My new KOA family helped me transform my life, let them help you change yours.

                  
January 2013                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       October 2013

Joe Coates

The first picture was taken a month or so before I started. I was 44 years old, my weight was around 200 pounds and I never knew when my back was going to go out and I'd be walking around like a pretzel for a week or more.

Within 3 months of starting at CrossFit KOA people started asking me what I was doing because the change in my appearance was so dramatic. My weight was down to 178 pounds and I'd taken 4 inches off my waist. Now I've been a member for almost a year and I can deadlift over 300 pounds, do pullups and climb ropes. People are routinely shocked when I tell them I'm 45 years old.

 

 

Probably the most dramatic example of how CrossFit changed my life was the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Like many homes in Cranford we had 5 feet of water in our basement and spent more than a week dragging our water logged possessions up the stairs. But thanks to the strength and fitness I'd achieved at KOA my back never gave me a problem. I have no doubt that had it happened a year earlier, before joining CrossFit KOA, just a couple hours of that work would have thrown my back out and taken me out of commission for days.

 

I tell anyone who asks about it to come give it a try. The coaches start you with what you can handle, and by increasing the work as they see you getting stronger and more fit help you achieve amazing results very, very quickly. And the first class is free, what could be easier than that?

 

Mike Anderson

Roland Bussiere

For most of my life, I was an athlete or at the very least involved in athletics. At the age of 25, I realized my life had changed; I weighed 300 plus pounds and was generally out of shape despite though going to Retro fitness or other gyms. I finally realized I needed to do something to change my life. I started researching fitness online andasked a few of my friends what they were doing, and I eventually stumbled across Crossfit.

It looked interesting but extremely intimidating, so I talked with one of my friends who is a coach in Rhode Island and she turned me onto KOA. Being skeptical, I only joined for a three month contract and started doing foundations a couple of days later with Coach Ryan. Starting out, I probably had the same stereotypical thoughts like everyone else: these guys are way to advanced for what I can do; how will I make it here?

After going through foundations and talking with Ryan, I realized I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by at least trying it out. After a month at KOA, I could tell I was already seeing results but wanted to take it to the next level. I talked with Josh about my diet and he told me about the 24 day challenge through Advocare, which really turned around my eating habits. Now a mere three and half months later, I have lost 52 pounds and am below 260, which I have not
been since freshman year of college.

I owe it all to my family at KOA. They are the ones who you turn to when you need that extra push at the gym or are curious about a product. But most of all, they literally become your family and you will find yourself hanging out with them and sharing your success with them. That is why I could never see myself leaving KOA; they are the family, the team, and inspiration we all need to get through your WOD. They are the reason I have been so successful and the reason I keep coming back day in and day out no matter how sore or how tired I am.