Congratulations to Samantha Vitale – our June 2021 Athlete of the Month! Samantha has been a member at Capital City CrossFit for 3 years now. Since starting she has been a motivated and determined athlete. Samantha has a competitive spirit which she uses every time she comes into the gym. She may not necessarily be competitive against others around her, but she is always competing against herself – challenging herself to be better. Samantha has used this motivation recently, putting in a lot of time and effort into sharpening her gymnastic skills. She has just recently accomplished a long time goal of hers by adding pull-ups and toes-2-bar to her CrossFit repertoire! Additionally, Samantha continues to get stronger and her overall movement, mobility, and endurance has noticeably improved in just the last few months. Samantha has recently put her fitness to the test by competing in her first ever CrossFit competition – the Festivus Games – back in April where she made the C3 Community proud! Congratulations Samantha and keep up the great work!
In general, what is your background?
I grew up in Memphis, TN and went to college and veterinary school at Mississippi State University. I moved to Urbana in 2015 to start a residency at the University of IL. During that time, I met my fiancé, Bob, and somehow learned to acclimate to the cold. Bob moved to Sherman 3 years ago, and I moved here full time about 2 years ago when I finished my residency. We are getting married next June so I should probably start planning that! We have a small hobby farm with 13 chickens (and three baby chicks) who lay rainbow colored eggs. We also have a huge vegetable garden and we have basically everything that you can think of growing. We sell eggs and produce from a farm stand on our property, and I think chicken farming may be my true calling. We also love boating and camping at Lake Shelbyville.
Age, Occupation?
I am 31 years old, and I am a veterinary neurologist. I work about every other week at a specialty practice in south FL, and the weeks I am in Springfield I work from home on a veterinary specialty teleconsulting application that is in development.
How did you get to know about CrossFit and why did you start?
I’ve always loved group fitness (not motivated on my own) and I’m a bit competitive. I started boxing after vet school and joined a women’s boxing gym when I lived in Chambana. It was fun, but the weights weren’t quite heavy enough for me, so I decided to try CrossFit. I’m now officially addicted. I only wish I had started years ago!
How has CrossFit changed your life, lifestyle, level of fitness?
I know this sounds cheesy, but I literally cannot wait to go to the gym every day and see what I can do. I have no God given athletic abilities (except for the saddle stretch- if only that was an Olympic event) so even the most basic movements seem like huge accomplishments for me. But every day is a new challenge and opportunity to achieve a new goal and be stronger than yesterday. Also, my job is stressful and lifting heavy things is basically therapy.
Name one goal and/or personal record you would like to accomplish through CrossFit.
I WILL RX Murph in 2022. (5 pullups down, 95 to go)
Favorite CrossFit moment so far?
I have achieved a lot of goals this year that I have been working on for ages. I got my first toes to bar and can now do (some) pullups. I would say one of the best moments I had was during 21.3 of the Open. I was actually in FL at the time, so I did the WOD at the gym I drop in when I’m there. I managed to do 11 pull ups that counted (for the scaled version) and I was so proud of myself because that was the first workout I had ever done real pull ups in. I’m pretty sure the people at that gym were wondering why I was so excited but they were nice about it!
What is your least favorite WOD to date?
I don’t necessarily remember my least favorite WOD, however, if there was a WOD that had bike, snatches, and burpee box jumps, I would be very tempted to take a rest day.
What do you like most about Capital City CrossFit?
The people are so nice! Since I basically work in a different state or work from home, it is hard to meet people in the area. I’m so thankful to have met great friends here and to be part of such a supportive, welcoming community. I have also learned a ton on Fun Fact Friday!
Favorite exercise?
Do I have to pick one? I really like deadlifts, but I also like anything with a press (push press, bench press), and clean and jerks. My favorite cardio is definitely rowing and I wish every bike workout was a rowing workout instead.
Least favorite exercise?
I have to say I’m not a big fan of the bike. It takes me like 30 seconds to get one calorie on that thing. I’m sure in another few years it will grow on me.
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