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A journal about fitness, discipline, routines, burnout, confidence, coaching, and learning how training fits into real life.

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Competition Stories

  • How Attending the Rogue Invitational [as a spectator] Reignited my Love for CrossFit

Coaching + Mindset

  • Failing 75 Hard Still Felt Like Success
  • Mindset + Faith: Rosa Strong

Hi, I’m Brandy — a CrossFit L2 trainer, English teacher, writer, and lifelong seeker of adventure. For years, I chased fitness through extremes: yo-yo dieting, burnout, and the constant pressure to “start over” every Monday. Over time, I learned that real health isn’t built through punishment or perfection, but through consistency, resilience, and a life that feels worth living.

The Gym Bag Journal is where all the pieces of my life collide: fitness, grief, travel, storytelling, personal growth, and the wild adventures that happen both inside and outside the gym. Some days that looks like training for a competition. Other days it looks like crawling through caves, navigating grief, rebuilding routines, or simply trying to stay grounded when life gets heavy. This space exists for all of it — the discipline, the chaos, the setbacks, the wonder, and the moments that remind us we’re still becoming who we’re meant to be.

Here you’ll find honest stories, lessons learned, motivation, mindset, adventures, podcast episodes, and the real-life moments that shape who we become.

Because the gym bag is more than gear. It’s everything we carry through life.

thegymbagjournal

CF-L2 | Founder of The Gym Bag Journal Blog & Podcast | English BA, Emerging & Social Media MA
✍️ 🎙️ ✨
I knew they love me! 👸 💅 Love you back, 5:30! 🫶 I knew they love me! 👸 💅 Love you back, 5:30! 🫶
September Recap: I’m having fun moving again. 🥹 T September Recap: I’m having fun moving again. 🥹That’s mostly thanks to my teammates and friends: @katbell228 & @amholmesr , but Sugar certainly helps, too. 🐾
WODs to Wild: Bonaire 🇧🇶 Hiking, scuba diving, c WODs to Wild: Bonaire 🇧🇶 Hiking, scuba diving, caves.Flamingos, iguanas, donkeys, parrots.Oh, we’ll be back.🌵 🦩 🦎 🤿 🪸 🐠
So many days this past year I went to the gym just So many days this past year I went to the gym just because I “had” to coach. Grateful for that. Grateful for this community.#griefjourney #griefandloss #crossfit #healingjourney
Murph doesn’t care what kind of year you’ve had.🇺🇸 Murph doesn’t care what kind of year you’ve had.🇺🇸📸 @kilo15heavy (crushes it again)
Houston heat got my endurance chopped, screwed, ca Houston heat got my endurance chopped, screwed, capped, and scaled rn.It’s hot out there—stay hydrated. ✌️🌡️
No one talks enough about how grief affects athlet No one talks enough about how grief affects athletic performance.Your lungs.Your recovery.Your motivation.Your nervous system.Sometimes “getting through the workout” IS the workout.#grief #griefjourney #crossfit #fitnessjourney #healing
💸 The Math Example: $200/month membership If some 💸 The MathExample: $200/month membershipIf someone attends 5x per week:5 classes × 4 weeks = 20 classes/month$200 ÷ 20 = $10 per classTo say it plainly:That’s $10 per class — for a one-hour, coached session.THE QUESTION ISN’T IS IT TOO EXPENSIVE. IT’S WHETHER YOU’RE USING IT. 😉
In May, my world shifted. I became responsible for In May, my world shifted. I became responsible for taking care of my dad as his health declined, and in June, I had to say goodbye to him. I miss him so, so much.Those months were some of the hardest of my life. I was (and still am) running on empty—physically, emotionally, mentally. The gym, which has always been my place of release and strength, suddenly became a place I could barely get to. Most days, survival was the only priority.Now, in the quiet after loss, I’m trying to find myself again. Grief has a way of making everything unfamiliar, even the parts of you that once felt unshakable. It’s not a neat or linear process. Slowly, I’m finding my footing. Slowly, I’m remembering what it feels like to move, to train, to rebuild (again).This season of my life has reminded me that strength isn’t just measured in PRs or WOD times, it’s in the small, steady steps you take when everything feels heavy. And I’m taking those steps, one day at a time.
Some gym stuff as of late. 💫 Some gym stuff as of late. 💫
BCS 2025: It’s a benchmark 👀😅 Long story short: I BCS 2025: It’s a benchmark 👀😅Long story short: I know what to work on 🫡 @crossfitanavah 🩵💙
✨ Coaching Update ✨ Since February, I’ve had so m ✨ Coaching Update ✨Since February, I’ve had so much fun coaching at CrossFit Anavah. Every day, I get to encourage athletes to push outside their comfort zones and chase growth. My style might seem a little “tough love”, but it’s always rooted in helping you reach your goals and see real results.One of the best parts? I’ve already seen so many athletes hit PRs, nail skills, and accomplish things they never thought possible. Watching those wins unfold makes me so proud as a coach. 🙌🥹At its core, CrossFit is about functional fitness: constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity. It’s training for life—building strength, endurance, and resilience that carry over into everything outside the gym. Fitness is defined as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains—aka being ready for anything.The vibe at Anavah is unrivaled: hard work, tons of encouragement, and zero cult energy 😉 Just a community that lifts each other up while having fun along the way.Here’s to more growth, more goals, and more good vibes with this amazing crew! 🚀🩵💙🩵💙#CrossFitAnavah #CrossFitCoach #FunctionalFitness #ToughLoveResults
Qualifier szn was a ride 😅 25.2? Misread the fine Qualifier szn was a ride 😅25.2? Misread the fine print ✅Back? Absolutely smoked ✅Plans? Thrown out the window ✅Had to redo workouts (yes, plural) ✅Life? Definitely life-ing ✅Oh, let’s not forget COVID 🙃✅Still showed up. Still submitted.Here’s a peek at the mayhem. 💪Shoutout to my patient teammate: @jamesbeaird01 😅 Team: Kilos & Cornbread! 🌽 🤠 #CrossFitQualifiers #BCSClassic #ControlledChaos #BarelyBreathingButStillLifting
Logo drop. That’s it. That’s the post. Season 2 c Logo drop. That’s it. That’s the post.Season 2 coming soon. 🙂‍↔️What should we unpack this season? Drop your thoughts below.👇 🧠 #TheGymBagJournal
💚🏈🏀👟 Adult Field Day: where the workouts are wild, 💚🏈🏀👟 Adult Field Day: where the workouts are wild, the trash talk is friendly, and the fun is undefeated.10/10 would run it back with Kayla and The Good Sport crew!@shopthegoodsport @kayla_weightliftingmama 📸: @ckimcreatives #GoodSportGirlies #AdultFieldDay #StrongAndSilly #PoweredByFriendship #thegoodsport
To sum up the fun that was had with @laurenlynndel To sum up the fun that was had with @laurenlynndellorusso , we give you… 🥁 💪 💥 📸@herculusmedia 🏋️‍♀️@crossfitkatyevents 🩵@crossfitanavah
The Tortured Athletes Department 🖤🤍 (Bring the He The Tortured Athletes Department 🖤🤍 (Bring the Heat Edition)We showed up in purple—not to be cute,but to be remembered.We laughed between heats,we got no-repped with grace,and we swallowed our egoswith the same breathwe used to cheer each other on.This wasn’t a podium fairytale.It was a full-body poem.One written in barbell bruises,in synchronized suffering,in the kind of silencewhere a glance says: “Keep going.”We didn’t win.But we didn’t lose.And no—we weren’t down bad,just down for anything.This is how we heal:in shared soreness,in chalk-dusted chaos,in two friends showing upexactly as they are—strong, sweaty, and unbothered.We came. We lifted.We gasped. We grinned.We didn’t get last.And we didn’t go down easy.Not tortured—just that tough.—————————————So much fun competing with you, @laurenlynndellorusso , and I hope this is the first of many! 🫶 ✨
HYROX Round ✌️with my partner-in-grind, @kayla_wei HYROX Round ✌️with my partner-in-grind, @kayla_weightliftingmama ! We pushed, we PR’ed (penalty? what penalty? ), and we had a damn good time doing it! Already hyped for our next race in Dallas—November 2025 can’t come soon enough! And, of course, repping @shopthegoodsport 🖤#HYROX #RaceReady #PRCity #UnfinishedBusiness
22.3/25.2 has been and always will be my favorite 22.3/25.2 has been and always will be my favorite workout. It got me this time, but I know what I need to do before we meet again! 😄22.3 score 161 (tiebreak time 7:52)25.2 score 157 (tiebreak time 7:43)📸 @joebuvidphoto #CrossFitOpen #CrossFitOpen2025 #CrossFit #CrossFitAthlete #CrossFitLife #CrossFitCommunity
25.1 is the first Open workout I’ve ever felt the 25.1 is the first Open workout I’ve ever felt the need to redo, but I managed to squeeze out 15 more reps! 😄 Anyone else’s feet cramp up on this one or was it just me? 👣
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  • From WODS to WILD
  • Grief & Strength
  • Journal Entries
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  • Training & Life