Shyla Rish

Hello! I’m an Oklahoma native who has been CrossFitting for seven years and coaching for five. I jumped into CrossFit back in 2017 after some uncertainty in my personal life. Having never exercised before that year, I wasn’t sure I could hang with CrossFit. I told myself I’d give it a month - I even kept my other gym membership (where I was taking some group classes and yoga) because I just knew CF wasn’t for me. 

It only took a week to change my mind. I remember feeling like I’d found my place for the first time in my life. I’d always felt small and weak (I’m 5’1 on a good day), and after just a few months of consistent CrossFit classes, I was doing things I’d never done before - like a push-up! And lifting a barbell! After three months, I hardly recognized myself. What started as “small and weak” started to feel like fast, strong, and capable. Even if my height stayed the same. :) 

The possibility of becoming stronger certainly drew me in, but it was the community that held me there. I met one of my (now) very best friends in that CrossFit gym and I still see my CrossFit beginning as a kind of dividing point between my life before and my life after. I’m a different girl than the one who walked in that very first day. 

After a year or so, I knew I wanted to coach. I wanted to help people see what I had seen - that for every limitation, there is an opportunity to push past it. When I began coaching On Ramp, I would get emotional just seeing someone learn to air squat for the first time - so I knew for sure this was my calling. 

My favorite CrossFit movements are ones that cater to my height - pistols, deadlifts, and squat cleans. I also love gymnastics - it’s always a challenge, and I love learning new things. 

Outside of CrossFit, I enjoy being outside in the sun - taking my boys fishing, walking my dogs, and taking the occasional trip to Arizona! Not a cloud in sight. :)