By: Chris Jones and Maranatha Chapman
We have many couples, families, roommates, lifelong friends, and coworkers daily come through the doors of Premier to workout together… Who enjoy sharing the challenge, the reward, and the hard work that CrossFit entails, side by side. But one of our very favorite things is seeing parents and their kids working-out together. Many of our older members naturally look after the younger ones and play a mentorship role in their life and getting to witness these relationships helps us all grow. There is something so incredible about watching these special, unique, and sometimes hilairous parent-child duos workout alongside one another. So over the next few weeks, we will feature just a few of our parents and adult kids who work out together!
Consistency, camaraderie, and accountability are three of the aspects I love about coming to class at Premier. Consistency yields results, the camaraderie makes it enjoyable, and the accountability keeps you disciplined. I think everyone that has attended a class at Premier has experienced these aspects, and really formed a family type bond with the other members in their classes. But there’s one particular family that always comes in together who truly embodies all of those aspects. And that family is The Romines! If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting any member of this family, then I’m sure you can agree with me that they’re pretty awesome individuals. The way this family loves, supports and encourages is inspiring and infectious.
Take it from long time Coach and family friend Seth Walker, he says “The Romines are the type of family you hope to have when you grow up. My wife, Hannah, and I have personally always looked up to them and tried to model after them.” At the head of this awesome family is the self-proclaimed swaggiest of them all, Mr. Michael Romines. When asked to describe Michael, Seth replied “Michael is hilariously unpredictable. He is always the life of the party. You know he is going to say or do something, you just never know what.” If you’ve ever been to class with Michael, you can confirm, that is an incredibly accurate description. We asked Michael what his favorite part of doing CrossFit together as a family was and he replied “I like that it offers another option for us to be with our kids. There is never enough time or activities to be with them.” His reasoning and goals for coming to CrossFit? “To just be healthier, thus allowing more time with family, friends etc.”
He also mentions Jenny, his wife, is someone who pushes him to workout as she is someone who has always been one to do so. Their oldest son, Benjamin, follows that up by saying “My mom inspires me by seeing how hard she works and tries at with things she not as good at.” This Mother of three supports and loves like no other. Coach Seth described her by saying “She is one of the sweetest and most loving people. She is everyone’s #1 cheerleader.” We asked Jenny if their family talks about CrossFit with each other outside of the gym and she replied “Absolutely! Maybe too much in front of others, but now some of those listening have joined!” Michael mentioned that they will text back and forth about movements they like or dislike, as well as discussing the workout of the day. It’s safe to say CrossFit plays a big part in this family’s everyday life, even so much that Benjamin says “The first thing we do when we go out of town is figure out somewhere we can workout together.”
With all of this working out together, we figured that there had to be some competing going on between them, so we asked who was more competitive of the three. Michael states “I suspect I am the most competitive. Show me somebody ok with losing and I’ll show you a loser.” Even when asked who would win in a race, he says “In a foot race, Benjamin would win. But I would trip him if need be to win.“ Jenny is in agreement with that statement proclaiming “MICHAEL!” as the most competitive. While Benjamin subtlety disagrees, claiming himself as the most competitive.
Michael and Benjamin did however agree on who had the most CrossFit swag, and that was daddy Romines himself. Michael boldly stated “Well, I’m the most swaggy in the family regardless of classification so I would go with me.” However, their swag was too close to call for Jenny as she thinks they tie in that category. Much like their attendance to class, they consistently enjoy eating tacos together at Don Juan’s every Wednesday night, so we asked, “Which is better… tacos or coffee? Benjamin says tacos, while Michael on the other hand claims coffee is more dignified than tacos. Jenny, much like myself, says “Why ask such a question, I need both!”
The Romines are a family full of life, love and big smiles. We are so thankful they are a part of the Premier family, as they have been for so long. If you have not met them by now, be sure to come to an evening class where you can find them working out, dancing and simultaneously lip singing to every rap song that comes on during the WOD. Coach Seth described them best by saying “You can’t help but love the Romines family because they will love you first”