Our Ole Glory’s October Athlete of the Month is Arianne Robichaux, or better known as Ari. Originally Ari began CrossFit at a different box in town. She initially decided to give it a try when she discovered a Groupon coupon (because she’s frugal). During this time she met Beau at his previous job, Acadiana Brain Injury Center, where she was doing her clinical hours to graduate. Beau kept promoting Ole Glory CrossFit and persisted that she try it out. A few monthslater she dropped in and knew immediately that this would be her second “home”. She states that “CrossFit is the only fitness program that is forever challenging with amazing outcomes (besides the bruises haha!)”. Fran (21-15-9 Thrusters and Pull-ups) was her very first workout. Although she had to scale the weight and use a green band for pull-ups, she “still felt like a badass!

This past year Ari dedicated herself to her health and nutrition. She has worked hard to be consistent and it has clearly paid off as she has already lost a total of 16 pounds! Since starting CrossFit, Ari has seen incredible changes in her body and well as her fitness capabilities. Prior to CrossFit she was unable to run three miles without taking a break nor did she have the strength to do a single pull-up. These days she can run faster and can string multiple pull-ups together. Currently her goals are to become more proficient in an inverted position which include handstand push-ups and handstand walking.

Throughout the past year she has accomplished two major goals including both bar and ring muscle ups. Earlier this year shemade a deal with Coach Natalie that if she was able to master both movements then she would sign up for the next CrossFit Open. Looks like someone is participating in 2019! Additionally, Ari recently competed at Ragin Games in the scaled, same sex, team division, which they tied for 3rd place out of a total of 30 teams. This truly shows how much of an impact nutrition can have on your performance. Way to go Ari!

In her normal non-CrossFit life, Ari is 32 years old and is married to Darren Robichaux (shoutout to my bebe!). Her occupation is a Speech-Language Pathologist where she has worked with children in the Iberia Parish schools for over six years. In her downtime she enjoys traveling with her husband, going camping in their pop-up camper and kayaking. However, if you know her, you could say her main hobby is CrossFit.

Everyone has their favorites in CrossFit. Ari’s include any type of gymnastic style movement (i.e. toes to bar, pull-ups, bar muscle ups) as well as deadlifts, double unders and of course the “amazing friendships, homies and besties” she’s made since starting at Ole Glory. Ari says “I seriously love every single person at OG! The coaches are extremely skilled and knowledgable and do an amazing job at teaching all the skills and movements. Not to mention letting me blow up their phones with a certain movement that I need help mastering.”

If you are on the fence about giving CrossFit a try here are a few words of advice from Ari. “Just do it!!! When I started doing CrossFit I wasn’t an athlete or had much background in sports. I was inconsistent in working out and my overall health. If you are looking for a lifestyle change, Ole Glory is the place to start!!” Congrats again Ari, you definitely deserve it!