Flexible but not strong
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This is a mock testimonial to illustrate where it would normally go if there is one.
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Flexible but not strong
Joelle had always been naturally flexible, the kind of person who could move through ranges of motion others envied. But flexibility without strength is a body that bends without being able to hold. For years, that gap defined her physical experience.
In 2019, she began lifting weights consistently for the first time. The shift was immediate and clarifying: her body responded to structured strength work the way it had been waiting to. But she knew that to reach her real potential, she needed more than consistency. She needed a system.
In January 2023 she hired a coach and committed to competing. The goal was not aesthetic. It was about building a body that could perform under pressure, recover under stress, and show up reliably in every context life demanded.
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Top 3% worldwide and a body built for life
The results of that commitment were extraordinary. Joelle gained over 15 pounds of muscle mass and entered the 2024 CrossFit Open, where she placed in the top 3% nationwide against roughly 40,000 women and top 3% worldwide against approximately 140,000.
Then came the real test. In January 2025, Joelle became pregnant. Where most would scale back or stop, her foundation held. She experienced minimal hip discomfort, zero back pain, and continued squatting and deadlifting heavy through the second trimester. She only stopped heavy lifting in the third trimester on medical advice, not because of discomfort. She performed lunges, step ups, and high level mobility exercises up until the day before going into labor.
She gained 30 pounds throughout the pregnancy with the last 15 coming in the third trimester. She lost visible muscle mass but gained no visible excess fat and had no stretch marks. She had visible abs days after giving birth. With medical clearance, she returned to exercise two weeks postpartum. Her pelvic floor strength was uncompromised, and within one month she was back to 85% of her lifetime max in the major powerlifting movements. Every movement, including advanced ones, felt great. The only area that needed rebuilding was the adductors, where the muscle size had noticeably decreased. But even there, the path back felt completely open.