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Jon sat down and interviewed one of our up and coming athletes. Enjoy:
Let me first start by saying it was a pleasure to sit down with Élise. She’s outgoing and very personable so it made this ‘interview’ seem more like two old friends just sitting down to chat even though I knew very little about Élise prior to this. 
If you WOD in the evenings at ACF you’ve most likely seen her pushing herself as hard as anyone else or if you attended Fall Face Off (or saw pictures) then you saw her competing in her first ever CrossFit competition….in RX none the less! But do you really know Élise? My guess is no, as she’s one of our newer athletes and thus the reason I chose her for our inaugural Member Spotlight. I asked Élise a few questions so we can all get to know the girl whose current goals are to balance school work with CrossFit training in an effort to excel at both. Now let’s get to know Élise.
Early Years: Born & raised in Canada; Shawinigan-Sud, Quebec to be exact. She graduated high school in 2004 and then attended college at Marist where she was recruited to play basketball.
Occupation: Former Pro Basketball in Germany and now a full time student working to obtain her Masters in Forensic Biology at UAlbany.
CrossFit background: Crossfitting since December 2011 she joined Poughkeepsie CrossFit in January 2012 after doing WODs on her own while the Strength & Conditioning Coach at her alma mater Marist College.
Favorite CrossFit WOD: ‘I don’t really have a favorite WOD really but anything that contains deadlifts or jerks I really like.’
Least Favorite: ‘Bodyweight movements for sure!’ Élise says one of her main goals is to become more proficient at bodyweight movements before next year’s CrossFit Open. With a little dedication and hard work I believe that is a very reachable goal!
Diet Plan: Paleo or ‘as Paleo as can be’ she says. ‘I focus on making healthy choices when it comes to food. With my travel & schedule it sometimes becomes difficult to be 100% Paleo’
Favorite food cheats: Without hesitation ‘Chocolate & Breads’. It took me a few minutes for me to get her refocused after this question. My guess is that it’s been a while since she’s had a true cheat meal!
WOD Music: Country! Now that could make for an interesting WOD!
Complete this sentence: ‘CrossFit should….’: ‘Be in everybody’s life! It’s an hour out of your day a few times a week to promote an overall better lifestyle.‘ I agree Élise; CrossFit should be part of everyone’s lifestyle!
Favorite WOD partner: Hlín Sæþórsdóttir …Élise says they can connect because they are both expats. Hlín from Iceland & Élise from Canada. She goes on to say that she believes the reason they have such a good connection is because they are both new to Albany CrossFit but both come in with CrossFit experience. They also pair up together whenever possible during barbell movements as they have very similar strength.
Biggest lesson to take away from CrossFit: That it’s ok to cheer on your fellow athlete and be happy when they succeed. ‘They’ve been working extremely hard to get to where they are and the least I can do is cheer them on whether they finish before me or after me. It’s us against the workout not me against them’.
I couldn’t have said it any better myself! Élise gets what we’re about and I wish her continued success as she works to obtain her CrossFit goals as well as her Masters in Forensic Biology. Again, thank you Élise for taking time to sit down with me!
Everyone: Next time you see Élise be sure to say hello and introduce yourself if you have yet to meet this great athlete!!
