Erin DiNicola Reassesses Priorities in 2020, Opens Affiliate Dedicated to Empowering Women
After doing her first CrossFit workout — Murph — when she was working as a diplomat in Afghanistan in 2012, Erin DiNicola returned to the United States, pumped out four kids, including going through a stressful high risk pregnancy with twins, in less than four years.
At the same time, she and her family found themselves constantly moving around the country because of her husband’s job with the US Army. Before she knew it, DiNicola had fallen off the fitness wagon, had gained weight and was drinking too much, she explained.
- Then everything shut down last March because of the global pandemic, and DiNicola finally had the “time and space to step back and take stock of my personal and professional priorities,” said DiNicola, now 40.
- She committed to dialing in her health and nutrition, which included eliminating alcohol from her life, and returned to CrossFit “a little older (and) a lot wiser and ready to become the best version of myself that I could be for my two daughters and two sons,” she said.
- One thing led to another, and after being alcohol-free and losing 25 pounds in 2020, DiNicola was back training “at the level I wanted to,” and had a new priority: To open a CrossFit affiliate.
One big thing: CrossFit Mt. Pleasant, in Mt. Pleasant, SC will officially open its doors this February, is dedicated to empowering women, especially mothers. DiNicola and her friend turned business partner are doing this by offering childcare “to make it accessible for moms who wouldn’t otherwise be able to make it to class,” DiNicola explained.
- CrossFit Mt Pleasant will also offer massage therapy, a sauna and brown bag lunches on topics related to women in leadership. “Our language is all about empowering women both physically, as well as emotionally. We believe strongly that women rise up by supporting one another,” she said.
Why now: DiNicola recognizes that the middle of a pandemic “may not be the most obvious time to open a box,” but she thinks it’s the right time.
- “People need hope, now more than ever, and when you look at the history of CrossFit, the thing that has stood the test of time is the strength that comes from the community,” she said.
- “We have adaptive athletes, a huge military (and) first responder community and many others who have turned to CrossFit as a way to grow stronger in more ways than physical. I think this is absolutely the right time to open a box,” she added.
The big picture: More than anything, DiNicola — who recently qualified for the Fittest of the Coast competition and has registered for the CrossFit Games Open that begins in March — wants to show “all the women and moms out there who want to be good role models for their little ones” the importance of continuing to prioritize their own health and fitness.
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