With a passion for Olympic weight-lifting, junior Simone Fiore enjoys spending time training hard as a CrossFit athlete.

Fiore has been doing CrossFit since her mother found Pennant CrossFit in Southborough when she was 12 years old. She believes anyone is capable of training there.

“A lot of people think it’s hardcore, body-builder kind of stuff, but it’s kind of a mixture of everything,” Fiore said. “You could do abs, cardio, or strength. Also it’s not just for really strong people. We have an elderly class that comes in and does workouts.”

The more challenging the classes became, the more Fiore enjoyed going to Pennant.

“I started off with a teens’ class, but I thought it was too easy,” Fiore said. “When I got bumped up to a high school class it became much more challenging and I started doing it more consistently. Over the summer I went every day to work out.”

No matter how hard the workouts get, Fiore continues to work hard every time she goes to Pennant.

“I really like challenging myself every day,” Fiore said. “I can always get better. There’s never a point where I’ve ‘done everything’. I can always lift more or run faster.”

Fiore is also interested in Olympic weight-lifting: a type of lifting with more advanced techniques.

“I really like doing Olympic weight-lifting,” Fiore said. “I’ve taken classes for it before, and I want to get back into that because that is something that’s really fun for me.”

There are two Olympic lifts: first is the ‘snatch’, where the athlete lifts the barbell from the ground to overhead in one continuous motion. The second is the ‘clean and jerk’ where the athlete lifts the barbell first from the floor to the shoulders, then from the shoulders to overhead. Fiore can lift 120 pounds in the snatch, and 156 in the clean and jerk. She can also deadlift 265 pounds, which is where the barbell is only lifted to the hips.

Recently, Fiore competed with her sister in the adult division at the “CrossFit Firewall Team Throwdown” and came in first. The competition was held at CrossFit Firewall in Holliston and anyone could compete in it.

“[When my sister and I won], it was pretty cool,” Fiore said. “I had some knee problems and she had recently had back surgery, and we thought we were going to do terrible, but we ended up destroying the competition.”

According to Fiore, the emotional relationships she has developed at CrossFit are just as wonderful as the physical health benefits.

“The main thing about CrossFit that’s different from an average gym is that it’s such a community,” Fiore said. “I’ve met so many inspiring people and some of my closest friends. It’s really cool to hear everyone’s stories.”

One of the friends Fiore met at Pennant is sophomore Kathryn Gowdy, who has been doing CrossFit since September 2016.

“CrossFit is actually how I met Simone,” Gowdy said. “I remember meeting her at my very first CrossFit class, and from then on we became closer and closer as friends. It was so fun because she always pushed me to be my best.”

Like Fiore, Gowdy enjoys the self-motivation involved in CrossFit.

“At CrossFit, everything is designed to make you the best you can be, no matter where you start,” Gowdy said. “You can compete against the clock, yourself, or others, but in the end if you end up dead on the floor, you know you did it right.”

Overall, both Fiore and Gowdy appreciate the sense of community in CrossFit, especially at Pennant.

“The CrossFit community is so fun to be a part of,” Gowdy said. “People from all ages and athletic abilities come together and do the same workout, while cheering each other on and pushing each other to go faster. Overall it’s just fun to have other people that feel the same pain you do after a workout!”