"I grew up competing with my older sisters. I love competing. I think CrossFit is what I was always looking for to meet my fitness and competition goals."
Photos by: Christina Roth
Over the past two-and-half years, Amy Bright has gained a lot of perspective on training and coaching through her love of CrossFit.
She began CrossFit in the summer of 2010, after Steve and Jessica Pinkerton opened CrossFit Vitality in Concord, N.C. Bright, a former full-time teacher, high school athlete, and youngest of three athletic girls, is no stranger to competition.
“I grew up competing with my older sisters. I love competing. I am definitely a competitive person,” she says. “I think CrossFit is what I was always looking for to meet my fitness and competition goals.”
Bright competed at the 2011 Mid Atlantic Regional as a member of the CrossFit Vitality team, after qualifying individually with a seventh-place finish in her region in the Open. She helped the team bring home a fourth-place finish that year at Regionals.
“Being on the team made me push even harder because there were so many people relying on me to do my part. It was awesome to be included with such a great team of athletes,” Bright says.
During the summer of 2011, Bright, her husband, Jason, and their two sons, relocated to Mobile, Ala. At this time last year, Bright was training and coaching at CrossFit Mobile, and preparing to compete as an Individual at the 2012 South East Regional.
“Going in as an Individual was an awesome feeling, and it was so much fun,” Bright remembers. “I went into last year with the mentality of just doing the best that I could and to learn from the entire experience.”
She made it to the final day of competition and finished in 17th place.
“To me, it is incredibly motivating and inspiring to be on the same floor with so many women that I have admired since I started CrossFit.”
When Bright and her husband learned about an opportunity to open their own affiliate, they were more than excited to return to Charlotte, N.C.
“We have talked about opening our own box since our first CrossFit experience at Vitality,” she says.
They officially opened CrossFit Northlake last November.
“Opening our box has been an awesome experience,” Bright says. “It’s a lot of hard work and we stay really busy, but it’s been awesome.”
Bright, who continues to teach part time, juggles her daily routine with a humble presence. Her training is intentional and programmed to fit into her busy schedule. And it’s paying off — she is currently ranked fourth in the Mid Atlantic after a first-place finish on 13.4 with 109 reps.
“I’m excited about my performances so far, but I’m more focused on training for Regionals,” she says. “I am hoping to learn from last year and make this year’s experience even better.”
She has spent the past several months focusing on strength training and building endurance for multiple workouts each day.
“I am strongest in the gymnastic movements, but I know it’s important to reveal weaknesses in order to improve,” she says. “One thing I learned from last year is I have to tune in more on recovery. The sheer volume of workouts over such a short amount of time is really intense.”
Going into the final week of the 2013 Open, Bright is hoping to finish strong and maintain her position on the Leaderboard. She sprained her AC joint in her shoulder at the start of the Open.
“So far it’s been OK, but thrusters and pull-ups would not be my favorite right now,” she says. “I can train through it, it’s more annoying than anything.”
Her injury has not hindered her from giving her full effort and moving up the Leaderboard each week.
Although she is focused on training for Regionals, Bright is equally excited about coaching and challenging the members of CrossFit Northlake.
“I’m looking at the Open from a whole new perspective this year, and it’s so cool,” she says. “I saw PRs — huge PRs — every week and that drives me to be the best coach I can be. It’s not so much who is at the top of the Leaderboard, but who came in my gym that day and did their first toes-to-bar, or who came in and lifted 95 lb. over their head and couldn’t do that before.”
Bright says the Open workouts have definitely helped to grow their CrossFit community.
“People would invite their friends for support, and they would come and take pictures of each other,” she says. “Seeing the community aspect of it at our own box is really cool. I’m coaching members who, in another year, I know are going to be on the Leaderboards themselves. To be a part of their journey is inspiring.”
