Erin Cobb

Friends from a local CrossFit training center are organizing a fitness-related fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 19, for Erin Cobb, the 28-year-old Davidson woman who is recovering after she was shot by her ex-husband on Sept 24 at her east Davidson home.

Ms. Cobb was an avid “CrossFitter” before she was shot, and remains partially paralyzed, according to Jane Elizabeth Huff, a Davidson resident and co-owner of CrossFit Davidson. She said Ms. Cobb worked out regularly at CrossFit Vitality in Concord, whose owner are partners with the Huffs in the Davidson center.

Vitality owners Steve and Jessica Pinkerton have organized a region-wide CrossFit fundraiser on Erin’s behalf, inviting all area area CrossFit affiliates to participate in a dedicated workout, or Workout of the Day (WOD), as they are called. They’ve created a special “Cobb WOD,” called a “hero” WOD.

Ms. Cobb is planning to attend the Nov. 19 event, which will be at Vitality CrossFit, 7828 Westwinds Blvd., Concord. It begins at 1 p.m.

Registration fees, T-shirt sales and all related donations will go to Ms. Cobb’s foundation, which is helping to paying her medical expenses. Information is at www.cobbwod.com. “Erin is planning to attend the event. Thank you for helping us spread the word,” Ms. Huff said.

Police say Ms. Cobb’s ex-husband Jeremy Hester went to her home in the Runnymede neighborhood, off Shearer Road, and began arguing with her early on Sept. 24. The former Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department officer shot her in the neck, then shot himself in the head, according to a police report. Three days later he died from his wounds.

Ms. Cobb’s mother has been chronicling her recovery on a website, and reports she is out of a rehabilitation center and back on her own – with lots of help from friends. She’s in a wheelchair and is still undergoing therapy to walk again.

RELATED LINKS

Erin Cobb CrossFit fundraising website, cobbwod.com

Oct. 12, 2011, “As woman recovers from shooting, friends help”

Sept. 28, 2011, “Jeremy Hester dies after Saturday shooting in Davidson”

Sept. 24, 2011, “2 people in serious condition after east Davidson shootings”

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From left, Jason Huff, Jane Elizabeth Huff, and training director Ken Crowder at CrossFit Davidson. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

A new fitness business called CrossFit Davidson has opened in a warehouse on Depot Street in Davidson. Its co-owners – Jason and Jane Elizabeth Huff – say it’s an “atypical gym” where daily cross-training classes focus in three areas: Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and conditioning.

The business was holding a grand opening Friday night, April 8, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., including a CrossFit Games event. Crossfit Davidson is at 305 Depot St., in the back building of the Metrolina Warehouse complex.

Ken Crowder on the rings at CrossFit Davidson. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

CrossFit training offers a “community oriented approach” to fitness, Mr. Huff said in interview Friday at the spacious, newly renovated warehouse-turned-gym. It’s not an open gym, like others with rows of equipment that members use on their own time. Instead, it operates a regular schedule of small group or individual classes, led by certified CrossFit coaches.

“It’s a class-focused gym,” Mr. Huff said. The Huffs co-own the new business with Steve and Jess Pinkerton, who also own a similar facility in Concord.

Each class is an intense workout, ranging in length from 5 to 45 minutes. Workouts typically include work in CrossFit’s three areas:

• Weightlifting – Members do Olympic-style lifts, working their way up to recommended weights.
• Gymnastics – Hanging rings, either suspended from a ceiling for experienced CrossFitters, or hanging from bars closer to the ground – work on the core and multiple muscle groups.
• Metabolic conditioning – Repetitive exercises to build strength in several parts of the body. This can range from repetitive movements with weights – such as kettle and wall balls – to stepping or jumping on boxes. The goal here is to work up to increasing repetitions over a specified time.

Training also can include lectures and discussions for members on nutrition, proper rest and recovery intervals, and specific CrossFit exercise techniques.

Jane Elizabeth Huff on a set of floor-use rings. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Mr. Huff has been a competitive triathlete and cyclist. His wife encouraged him to try CrossFit. “I thought I was in shape from cycling,” he said. “I was humbled, because I was a specialist.”

He now says he’s stronger and fitter than ever. For athletes, he said, “It well make you a faster specialist.”

He and Ms. Huff said the training can help non-athletes who want to build strength and endurance.

Added Mr. Crowder: “CrossFit is training for life, not training for a specialty.”

For info or to schedule a free workout and assessment, contact Director of Training Ken Crowder at crowder@crossfitvitality.com or 704-987-7200. See also the CrossFit Davidson website, http://www.crossfitdavidson.com/

CrossFit Davidson is in a warehouse at the back of the Metrolina Warehouse complex off Depot Street. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

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