Our Coaches

1. What year did you start functional fitness style training? June of 2014

2. What made you start? My husband started it about a year before I did and it was all he ever talked about! He finally convinced me to try it out and I was hooked after the first workout!

3. Why did you become a Trainer? I was a personal trainer and group fitness instructor before joining CrossFit Lake Travis…I’ve always loved helping others with their health and fitness journey, so after about a year, my coach at the time approached me about getting my Level 1. Coaching at CFLT and seeing members accomplish goals they never thought possible is my favorite part of coaching and something I look forward to every day!

4. What is your favorite movement? Definitely double-unders...a close second would be overhead squats.

5. What is your favorite cheat meal/snack? My favorite cheat meal would have to be a big ol’ cheeseburger with fries! And freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert...my family will tell you I can bake some awesome chocolate chip cookies!

6. What is your ideal favorite workout? My ideal WOD would have the previously mentioned movements in it…double unders and overhead squats.

7. What is your favorite superhero and why? Wonder Woman would definitely be my favorite superhero. She is strong and uses her strength for good! I have 2 daughters who are being raised in this amazing community of strong, supportive women…they have a whole group of superheroes to look up to, which is pretty awesome!!

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I spent the first 10 years of my life in West Texas and then moved to Roanoke, Virginia. I ended up back at Texas Tech for college which is where I met my amazing husband of 15 years. We have 3 awesome and crazy kiddos. Marissa is 12, Allie is 11 and McCoy is 8. When I’m not at CFLT trying to finish my workout before the next class starts, I am busy running the Nichols’ household and helping my husband with his Landscaping Business. CrossFit Lake Travis is a big part of all our lives and we love our CFLT family. Staying healthy and active is something that is very important to me because it enables me to be the best wife, mom, Coach and person I can be! CrossFit Lake Travis has given us a way to stay healthy together and I’m so grateful for that!

1. What year did you start functional fitness style training? My parents opened a gym in early 2011 so I would do some workouts on the weekends or whenever I didn’t have soccer or volleyball practice. I joined my first gym as a regular attending member in 2015 when we moved to Nashville and the community changed my life!

2. What made you start? My aunt and uncle are to blame for my introduction to this style of training. They came to our family Christmas party one year going on and on about functional fitness and insisting on teaching us how to squat properly: feet shoulder width apart, core tight, push the knees out, you know the rest. It was nothing like the stuff they taught you in P.E. class and it was absolutely groundbreaking to me. Soon I was outperforming all the girls and most of the guys in the pull-up test, and making the older teams in school sports. I realized this style of working out could take my athletic ability to the next level, and being as competitive as I was, that’s all I needed to start getting serious about it.

3. Why did you become a Trainer? I have such a passion for working out, CFLT and the people here. It has developed my mental and physical capacity in ways I never thought possible, changing my outlook and even goals in life. I am always eager for opportunities to come alongside someone who is learning a new movement or to encourage someone in making a better lifestyle choice because I have experienced the benefits of both; being a CFLT trainer is the most tangible way for me to do that.

4. What is your favorite movement? Those that know me are probably expecting me to say the butterfly pull-up, and while it is one of my favorites, it is second only to the overhead squat. It’s the perfect test of mid-line stability, flexibility and strength, thus proving to be one of the ~many~ hard movements for me when I first started working out because of my weakness in all three of those areas. After years of practice and countless shoulder stretches, the dread turned to excitement whenever they came up in the programming.

5. What is your favorite cheat meal/snack? I have never used self-control and Oreos in the same sentence.

6. What is your ideal favorite workout? I am always down to hit Nancy or a long chipper.

7. What is your favorite superhero and why? Captain America. All. Day. He represents the greatest country in the world and he is always trying to do the right, moral thing even when it’s not the most popular choice.

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I am from San Diego, California. I am smack-dab in the middle of the 5 kids my parents so faithfully raised. I have 2 older sisters, 2 younger twin brothers, a dog and too many aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins to count. Peace and quiet is not in my vocabulary. When I am not a the gym working on gymnastic movements, I work for Hopdoddy Burger Bar's Training Department. I create their training material/videos and enjoy every minute of it. My hobbies require me to be fit and let's be real, having muscles is pretty awesome. CrossFit Lake Travis helps me to do all that while pushing back the nursing home as long as I can.

1. What year did you start functional fitness style training? January 2019

2. What made you start? I needed something new, something different, something that challenged me mentally and physically. When I found CrossFit Lake Travis, it was the perfect fit for me.

3. Why did you become a Trainer? With a degree in Health, passion for Fitness, and a love for people...my desire is to help others experience the benefits that I have thru CFLT.  One of my favorite things about CrossFit Lake Travis is that we’re all learning and growing TOGETHER and I love that I get to play a part in seeing that growth in people. 

4. What is your favorite movement?  Front Squat

 5. What is your favorite cheat meal/snack? Mexican Food

 6. What is your ideal favorite workout? I enjoy multiple shorter AMRAPs that require max effort with built in rest.

7. What is your favorite superhero and why?  One of the only Marvel/Superhero movies I’ve seen is The Avengers and I really love the idea of that movie. It’s powerful superheroes all joining together to fight a common obstacle/evil. I believe the CFLT community is able to achieve goals that we didn’t think possible because we have others walking beside us, pushing us, and encouraging us to achieve our highest potential.

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I was born and raised in Bryan, TX and graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in Health. My husband Bryan and I have been married for 18 years and have 3 children..Nathanael, Caleb and Halle. When I’m not at the gym either working out or coaching...I’m keeping the House of Payne in order. For fun, I love finding new yummy food around Austin, hanging out on the lake or just enjoying time with family and friends. I love our CFLT community and have been thankful for the friendships we have developed over the last few months!

1. What year did you start functional fitness style training?  January of 2013

2. What made you start? I just had my second baby and needed to MOVE. I gained over 20 lbs and heard about this style of fitness through some friends. I was still doing cardio heavy exercising like running long distances but was at a plateau and quite frankly I was bored. I decided to drop in to a gym in Houston one day and never looked back. 

3. Why did you become a trainer? I love to teach, both in medicine and fitness.  There is so much crossover in medicine and fitness and I saw a great opportunity to help people with both their goals of being healthy and avoiding injury.  I’m not afraid to tell you to scale!  You also tend to continue to learn when you teach so I welcome the extra knowledge.

4. What is your favorite movement? Kettle Bell Swings

5. What is your favorite cheat meal/snack? Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

6. What is your ideal favorite workout? I enjoy light weight barbell movements with high reps and rowing.

7. What is your favorite superhero and why? The Incredible Hulk because I feel like that’s my alter ego around my kids ;)

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I was born in Shanghai, China and grew up in Plano, TX. I did dancing growing up but never really participated in any sports because I am a nerd at heart. I studied Biomedical Science at Texas A&M and attended Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine followed by UTMB Galveston for residency in internal medicine. I have a part time direct primary care practice in Marble Falls, TX. I am married to a fellow physician who is a gastroenterologist who is also a gym member and we have 3 beautiful children. I see a lot of patients who struggle with diet and weight loss along with all the other medical complications that come with obesity such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Instead of pushing medications on them, I am a firm believer in life style modifcations that are sustainable and I feel like functional fitness is definitely one of them. I like to incorporate fitness into my medical plan and what better way is there to show that than being a coach?! Also with my medical background in anatomy and physiology, I can help with modifications for certain athletes who have injuries or are not able to complete certain movements due to other health limitations. I am so excited to be apart of this amazing group of coaches and athletes who I also consider to be great friends!

1. What year did you start functional fitness style training?  I started functional fitness back in February of 2018. 

2. What made you start? After I stopped playing football I needed to find a form of fitness that I enjoyed. I tried doing the regular globo gym because that’s what I was used to while playing football. I found myself losing motivation after going for a couple weeks. One day I saw my friend Kassidy who had visibly looked more fit since the last time I had seen her. I asked what she was doing and she said functional fitness. She invited me to join her during a few classes and since then I’ve never enjoyed fitness more than I do now.  

3. Why did you become a trainer? After losing over 75lbs by doing CF and changing some thing with my nutrition, I’ve found this new urge to help other people reach their goals and become the best version of themselves that they can be. I know the struggles of finding a sustainable healthy lifestyle so now I’d love to make that change easier for others.

4. What is your favorite movement? Any barbell movement. I love slinging around heavy weight! Especially the squat snatch. I always tell people that even though the snatch is one of the hardest movements we do, all the work and effort we put towards it is worth it when you hit a perfect squat snatch! 

5. What is your favorite cheat meal/snack? Can’t choose just one. 1.French Fries 2.Fried Chicken 3.Oreos with a cold glass of milk 4.Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food 5.Snickers

6. What is your ideal favorite workout? Anything that has a heavy, low rep barbell movement that DOESN’T include burpees!

7. What is your favorite superhero and why? This is probably the hardest question because I’m such a nerd and have too many favorites. 

Top 3 would have to be Batman because he’s the greatest detective of all time and can defeat Superman. Iron Man because he’s a genius billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. And lastly Captain America because he’s the type of person everyone should strive to become. 

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I was born in raised in Plano, Texas. I’m the third child out of 4. I have an older brother named Landen, an older sister named Lauren, and a younger brother named Landry. Yes, our names all start with an “L” so I was called the wrong name all the time growing up. I currently live on my own with my sweet Siberian husky Katara. When I’m not at the gym, I’m working as an freelance editor and videographer. I love that I get to make money doing what I love. I stay fit because I know what it feels like to lose your breath after tying your shoes and so I never want to get to that point again. Plus it’s super fun to say I can lift over 300lbs above my head.