A few months ago, the Best Dam CrossFit, located over on 1007 Ste. G, Elm Street got a new owner, someone a few of you might just know, Deborah Downs, (pictured third from left above). ‘Coach Deb’ as she is known at the gym, is also the Lead Pastor at the Christian Center Church – which means she is one busy lady!
Deb has been a long-time runner, but she tells us she got interested in CrossFit when one day she was watching a video presentation from a fellow minister over in Denver, and she noticed this woman looked very fit, and frankly said, “I want arms that look like that!” So, she joined Best Dam CrossFit and started working out there.
The timing was fortunate, because Deb says that was right at a time when she was promoted to Lead Pastor in her church but was also going through a lot of other challenges and says her crossfit family and the focus time she got from working out there really helped her.
Beyond that though, she tells us how about a year and a half ago, she read an article where a Christian missionary was using CrossFit as a way to reach out to people as part of their work in areas of the world where Christian missionaries are not well received. In this model, the group set up a gym as a way to involve the local population, educate them in safe and healthy ways to move and improve their fitness and health, and also be able to talk on spiritual topics as well.
Now, fast forward to 2021 and Deborah was thinking about the larger picture of what she might want to do long term, and she was seriously considering becoming a certified instructor and maybe even owning her own gym someday. Feeling hesitant about the commitment – a crazy miracle event happened – when a local ‘angel’ donated the entire cost of the certification for her! So, what now is a woman to do except GO FOR IT! She tells us she still has absolutely zero idea who her benefactor was.
Certification complete, it was only another few months later that the existing owners of the Best Dam CrossFit reached out to see if she’d be interested in taking over. Lucky us, she took the plunge!
Deborah emphasizes to us that the gym is for anyone, any fitness level, any age. They have periodic classes through the day, although members can come by anytime and work out or join in one of the classes. Every month they focus on different facets of fitness, for example this month they are working on gymnastics moves and food nutrition. In February, the gym will also be taking part in the International CrossFit Competition, which is held inside the gym and results are shared all over, so the athletes gain recognition for their accomplishments.
They run classes for kids on Saturdays and have everyone from adults to teenagers working out there. Deb says she works with our seasoned citizens in all types of customized movements to help keep them strong and balanced – all based around whatever their individual goals are.
A self-described ‘holy roller’, what you feel when you talk to Deb is her obvious strength, but also her grace and desire to meet a person wherever they are, and then work with them to see them improve on their objectives both physically, mentally and indeed spiritually if desired.
To join or learn more, you can visit their website HERE, call them at (725) 204-7869, or swing by the gym at 1007 Elm Street, Ste. G and go check it out in person.
In closing, a final thought is this: in Deborah Downs we have a woman as the Lead Pastor in her church and a personal trainer and business owner of her own CrossFit gym – as fellow females of the human race, we’re going to just point out what an amazing example of a modern woman she is!
