Kayla Geffert

About

My story is simple. If you met me 15 years ago, you may have known me by the nickname “Noodle Arms”, a shy, quiet girl who struggled to gain strength and hold her own physically and mentally on the basketball court, and in life. You’d see a committed team player, someone who chased excellence on a Division 2 college basketball team but was unsure of herself off the court and without direction toward a greater purpose.
Over the years, through finding CrossFit and a career in firefighting, I have realized my purpose in life is to have the ability to accomplish difficult tasks for myself and for others when they need it most. As a CrossFit coach and a firefighter, I pride myself on being capable of handling anything life throws at me. Whether someone needs help moving heavy furniture, needs a partner to run a half marathon, or needs to be carried out of a burning building, I’m confident I can be there for them.
If you met me for the first time today, you may see someone who is driven to take on physical and mental challenges, who serves her community, and who doesn’t give up until she gets results.
Today, I feel the most capable and confident I’ve ever felt in my life. Through 15 years of consistent effort in the gym, little wins in my physical training have built up slowly over time and transformed me from the inside out. As a coach, I want people to know that feeling. To face things that are hard, to realize how capable they are, and to handle whatever life throws at them. No matter what their current level of athleticism or capability is, they have an opportunity to make a choice, take action, and improve every single day. And I am right alongside them, making the same commitment every time I coach at 8 Mile.

Turning Point

Throughout my life, my biggest enemy has always been the one between my ears. Once I graduated from college, I felt lost and had no direction for where I should go in the next stage of life. I turned to what felt like the only thing I knew, fitness and training. However, this time, my training had no purpose. It became an unhealthy escape from the fear of stepping into the next stage of life. The underlying anxiety about my future led me to overtraining, under eating, and neglecting recovery.
My turning point came the day I decided I wanted to become a firefighter. Once I took the oath to serve and protect, my fitness became a necessity for not only myself, but for my crew and community. I had a true purpose to help others and be able to perform my best on someone’s worst day. I needed to start taking care of my body and building muscle. I found CrossFit online, which later led me to CrossFit 8 Mile. I experienced a major difference between solo training and community fitness- there were now safeguards in place to help me build a safe and sustainable fitness regimen. I didn’t need to be pushed harder; I’d been doing that to myself for years, and it only led to burnout. I needed help working smarter. I needed coaches to guide me. Standards to protect me. A community to inspire me and friends to cheer me on. Now, my workouts fuel me, and I’ve never felt stronger.

Passion & Motivation

I coach to serve anyone who makes the choice to step through CrossFit 8 Mile’s door and who wants to feel more capable and confident in their body and mind. For those who continue to show up and not give up, I’m here to create the little victories that keep you coming back- even when it’s hard, even when it doesn’t go perfectly, even if it takes you outside your comfort zone. If you try your best and refuse to give up, improvement is inevitable. Improvement builds confidence. Confidence makes us more capable of taking on challenges. And that’s the secret, the magic pill if you will, that cycle creates a wheel, a positive feedback loop: we face hard things, we win, we become more confident, we face harder things. We become capable.

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