Collegiate women are addicted to a lot of things: shoes, spray tans, Facebook, texting, boys and hair bows. Nineteen-year-old Alex Gentilella is addicted to deadlifting 255-pound weights.
Gentilella participates in a strength and conditioning program called CrossFit, which she describes as a combination of Olympic lifting, body weight movement and gymnastics. The result is a high intensity workout that produces almost instant results.
Crossfit is so effective that it is utilized by police academies, military special operations units, champion martial artists and other elite athletes.
The freshman biotechnology major explains that she likes exercising because it makes her feel good.
“I ran a half-marathon on Sunday,” she says casually.
Her weightlifting numbers are impressive. At 140 pounds, she deadlifts 255 pounds, split jerks 150 pounds, snatches 118 pounds and clean lifts 135 pounds (Yeah, we had to Google the terms, too).
Gentilella started the Crossfit program almost two years ago after her neighbor in Parkland, Fla. convinced her to try it.
“I couldn’t walk for three days after,” she says. “But I’m telling you, it’s like a drug.”
And she is certainly addicted. When she goes home during breaks, Gentilella wakes up at 7 a.m. every day to hit the gym.
Workouts can last anywhere from four minutes to an hour. The program provides every participant with a list of things to complete under the allotted time. Most people collapse to the ground after their workouts.
But not Gentilella.
“I try not to go down on the floor because I don’t want to look weak,” she explains.
Crossfit has introduced Gentilella to a lot of great people. For her, the program blurs the lines between age gaps—she has a best friend at the gym who is 30 years old. But Gentilella says she has been an adult since birth.
“I found childhood videos of myself, and my parents were feeding me with a big-person fork out of a big-person bowl,” she laughs. “They didn’t know what to do with me. They told me I was just another adult in the room.”
Gentilella says she is inspired by her mother’s success in life to work hard each day. Besides Crossfit, she’s involved in the Panhellenic community, Student Government Productions, and Alpha Zeta, an honors fraternity for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Gentilella admits that she looks a bit intimidating because of her build. While most girls admire her well-developed arms, guys want her to be their workout buddy.
“When I tell guys I Olympic lift, they say, ‘That’s awesome, let’s run stadiums together,’” she says.
Gentilella says she feels pretty badass when she lifts weight.
“Especially for girls, I think it’s really empowering,” she said.