Bio
I am Autymn Stafford, owner and coach at CrossFit Bloomington.
I used to weigh over 200 pounds and I am 5’3” tall. Although that was many years ago, it still hurts to look back and see myself when I was obese. The pain wasn’t from being over weight, it was from the circumstances in my life. I was in a bad place in life. I was a recovering drug addict, a single mom and I took care of my ill mother. I hid in the house and over ate to make up for my low self-esteem and to deal with stress. I had high cholesterol and was often sick. I was constantly tired. I was extremely unhappy.
When I decided to take control of my health it was difficult because I was unsure what to eat and what the ideal exercises were. I was scared of the gym and I was embarrassed to walk/run outside because I had been laughed at and called names because of my weight. However, I continued trying to make the right food choices by doing research online and reading books about nutrition. I decided to keep exercising regardless of what other people thought or said to me. Eventually, I began to lose weight. I began to have more energy. My walking turned into running. Running turned into 5k races, then 10ks and eventually marathons. I taught bootcamp classes and lifted weights. Without even realizing it, I had become a completely different person. I was happy and I felt great. I had an outlet for my stress. There was a boost in my confidence. I realized that I had control over many things in my life and I didn’t have to accept things for the way they were. I could lose weight if I wanted, I could get stronger if I wanted. That confidence spilled over into my everyday life; I was a better mom, I got a better job and then became an entrepreneur. My quality of life increased exponentially.
On my fitness journey, I became a different person. Eating well and taking care of myself helps me think clearly, my body to function properly, it lowered my cholesterol. I am rarely sick, and I have endless energy. Since my struggle, I have followed my dream to provide a safe place for people of all fitness levels to go and get the tools that they need to change their lives. Five years ago I opened a CrossFit gym. Now, I am inspired everyday by the people I train. I am glad that I decided to change my life and I love that I have the opportunity to help other people change theirs too.
Know More About Autymn
- CrossFit L1 certification course
- CrossFit L2 certification course
- CrossFit Endurance Specialty course
- CrossFit Gymnastics Specialty course
- CrossFit Mobility Specialty course
- USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
- The Outlway Way Training Camp
- CPR/AED
- CrossFit online Scaling course
- CrossFit online Judges course
- Opex Training Seminar
- CrossFit New England Affiliate Immersion
- Two Brain Business Incubator Program
- Eat to Perform nutrition coach
- CrossFit Master’s specialty course
- Conjugate Method seminar
I want to be a resource for people who want to better their lives. I train people every day who work hard to change their life for a healthier, happier future. It makes me happy to know that I am there to help my community and friends every step of the way. I truly desire to see people succeed and gain more confidence. I see men and women do things in CrossFit that they never imagined that they could do, such as rope climbs, box jumps, pull ups and heavy lifts. It is a privilege to be a part of this amazing community. I LOVE what I do on a daily basis.
I do it because it works. I am 36 and in the best shape of my life. I can do things that I never dreamed I could. I used to weigh twice what I do now and I love feeling healthy and being fit instead of tired and sluggish all of the time. Before I found CrossFit I tried several different types of exercise, P90x, Insanity, walking, running, yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, Tae Bo, step aerobics, weight training and even Bootcamp classes. No single exercise has done for me what CrossFit has.
