Atchie Bernstein
- CrossFit Level Two Trainer
Atchie started her fitness journey at age 5 when she was on swim team. Swimming competitively was fun, but she craved more of an interactive team component. The natural transition from there was into water polo. She played water polo from age 8 until the end of high school and on some club teams through college, however, occasional club practice just didn’t have the same energy as high school. From there, she started experimenting with workouts in the school gym, where she had fun getting creative with a mix of interval training, cardio, yoga, and strength training. During undergrad at Sonoma State, everyone in her classes knew Atchie as the one always in workout clothes, sometimes still sweaty from a workout, and very active. Fitness was her outlet for stress and she found it really kept her grounded so that the rest of life could be in order.
During winter session of classes, a friend asked her to try out a Groupon deal to a CrossFit gym in Petaluma. She just assumed CrossFit was a mix of all different types of exercise, which is kind of what she had already been doing, so why not try with a friend?! She went to the first session with her friend…that was the last class the friend went to, and just the beginning of Atchie’s journey with CrossFit. Within a month she was already interested in learning how to coach and help others find the passion that she found through CrossFit. The workouts proved to be a challenge every time no matter what, and the community was awesome. Within a year and a half, Atchie got her CrossFit level 1 certificate and has been coaching since May, 2014. Currently, Atchie is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Occupational therapy at Samuel Merritt University. Through OT and CrossFit, She hopes to inspire a healthy, active lifestyle for people of all ages and abilities for many years to come!