Reborn Athlete – Brittany Cohorst

I didn’t grow up in a family where fitness and health were a priority, in fact, quite the opposite. Alcohol, drugs, and poor eating habits were what I was surrounded by, and how I just thought my life would be. It wasn’t until I had my son at 18 that I started to wake up and realize I wanted a different life. I wanted to break cycles of alcoholism and abuse because at the very least he deserved that. I spent most of my 20’s trying to navigate and figure that out. I failed, A LOT, but there was always a nagging feeling that I could be so much better than where I came from.

In the beginning of my fitness journey, I took up running and became obsessed. I had found a new outlet to just let it all out. It made me desire to push boundaries with what I was capable of physically. I was running daily and started working out at the YMCA, and for the first time fell in love with how working out made me feel. I was hooked and it wasn’t a chore.

Throughout the next 10 years I tried ALL the fitness things. Working out on my own, running, P90X, Insanity, became a Beach Body coach, ½ marathons, a triathlon, and then stumbled upon this outdoor fitness group called Camp Gladiator. The first day, legitimately, I thought these people are crazy. There was just something about it that I couldn’t get over, this was the first time I was fully immersed in group fitness, and I felt like I was a part of a team. I had people checking in and telling me they were excited to see me. I had no idea that community was what I needed so badly.

In 2017 I became a trainer for CG because I realized the impact and importance of living a healthy lifestyle, what that could do for me, and I wanted to help do that for other people. We are literally changing people’s lives through coaching, and I so badly wanted to be a part of that. I coached for CG right up until the pandemic and had to step away. Since then, I’ve had this longing to be in the gym and coaching again but the timing was never right. I worked out at home and kind of did my own thing and started realizing again that something was missing.

On a whim I decided to join a CrossFit gym at the end of 2021. I didn’t realize at the time the impact it would have on my view of fitness and longevity. The concept of functional fitness and being strong impressed me. That’s really what it’s all about. Learning how to train so your body is strong and so that you can continue to do the simple things we often take for granted.

In January 2023 I came to CFRR for an event and honestly that day I walked in feeling like I didn’t matter. I had gone through a divorce in 2018, my son is grown, and I was struggling to figure out what the heck I wanted. Who am I and what am I doing? Little did I know that was going to be the start of a newfound community and friendships I so badly needed. God had a plan for me in all this I just couldn’t see it yet.

Multiple events happened throughout the year that kept bringing me back to CFRR, every time I walked through the doors, I felt at peace, I loved the trainers and the members. I joined the gym in November of last year and had the opportunity to take the L1 certification this past January. Since then, I’ve been working on my skill sets as a CF trainer and jumping in to learn everything I can. I see the value in what CF can do for people of all ages and that’s what I want to share with people. There is a better way. Quality, pain-free movement is what it’s about and to be able to walk people side by side through that changes their lives and mine.