September 2026 Athlete of the Month

Janann Woody

About Janann Woody

More Than 12 Years of Showing Up: Janann Woody and a Legacy of Strength, Faith and Love

Athlete of the Month – CrossFit Broken Chains

By Coach Nate Hemphill, CCFT-L3, Owner/Head Coach, CFBC


For more than a decade, athletes have walked through the bay doors at CrossFit Broken Chains and found Janann Woody  on the other side.


Sometimes she's grinding through a long workout. Sometimes she's moving a barbell. Sometimes she's cheering for someone else. And very often, she's simply doing what she has done for years: making sure the people around her know they're welcome, they're loved, and they belong.


At 49 years old, Janann is an incredibly capable athlete. But after nearly 13 years at CFBC, the impact she has made on this community can't be measured by a workout score.


Janann has become part of the fabric of CrossFit Broken Chains.


It Started With Phil

Janann's introduction to CrossFit came through her husband, longtime CFBC coach Phil Woody.


Phil had started CrossFit while Janann was still working out at a traditional gym. Eventually, he convinced her to give it a try.

  • "He encouraged me to come and try it out. It stuck! I've been coming ever since."

"Ever since" is putting it mildly.


Depending on who's counting, Janann has now been part of CFBC for 12—or technically 13—years.


A lot can change in 13 years. Members come and go. Coaches change. Equipment changes. Workouts change. Bodies change.


But Janann has kept showing up.


And the reason has increasingly become about something much bigger than exercise.


Called to Love People

Ask Janann what has kept her coming back all these years and she starts with the people.

  • "I've met some amazing, strong, determined, kind, loving people over the last 13 years."

Then she adds something that gets much closer to the heart of why CFBC matters to her.

  • "It's also a place I know the Lord has called me to. To love people."

If you've spent much time around Janann, you've probably experienced that firsthand.


She is warm. She is hospitable. She knows people's names. She notices people. And whether you've been at CFBC for years or you're nervously walking through those bay doors for the first time, Janann has a way of making you feel like there's a place for you here.


For her, that's every bit as important as the workout.


A Moment Bigger Than Fitness

Of all the memories Janann has accumulated over more than a decade at CFBC, her proudest isn't a PR.

It isn't a competition.


It isn't finishing some brutal workout.


It's a baptism.


During one of CFBC's Faith and Fitness workouts, Janann and Phil had the opportunity to baptize fellow athletes Claudia and Andres  at the gym.

  • "It was such a special moment to see that the Lord had brought them to our gym, not just for fitness, but because He has a bigger plan for their lives."

For Janann, that moment represented something special about the place she and Phil had invested so many years in.

  • "Broken Chains is a place where we don't just exercise our physical bodies, but we work on our spiritual health as well. I'm really proud to be part of a gym where we have the freedom to share in moments like that."

After 13 years of workouts, that is the moment she remembers most.


That says a lot about Janann.


Strong for the Life Ahead

Don't let all the talk about community fool you, though.


Janann can work.


She loves the long, grinding workouts where she can settle into a pace and just keep moving. Farmer carries, squat cleans and push presses are among her favorites.


Double-unders?


Not so much.

  • "My brain cannot compute..."

Even after all these years, there's still something to work on.


But Janann's perspective on fitness has also changed as she's gotten older.


At 49, she's increasingly aware that the strength she's building today is an investment in the decades ahead.

  • "I know I can do hard things. I can help carry and lift and move when others are unable."

And as she watches others her age begin experiencing limitations in what they can physically do, Janann wants something different for herself.


She wants to keep moving.


She wants to keep squatting.


And perhaps most importantly, she wants to keep chasing her grandbabies.


That's functional fitness in its purest form.


"Show Up."

After nearly 13 years, Janann's advice for someone beginning at CFBC isn't complicated.

  • "Show up."

But she doesn't mean only when you're motivated.

  • "Even on hard days. Even when you want to cry. Even when going home seems easier than driving to the gym."

Because on the other side of those bay doors, she says, there are people waiting for you.

  • "We are a community who loves being together. We want to say your name as you walk through the bay doors and give you a hug."

And then comes perhaps the most Janann part of her answer:

  • "I want you to know you are seen—not just by the people at CFBC, but by the Lord too."

Living the CFBC Bond

For Janann, the CFBC Bond  and her Christian faith are inseparable.


She sees it in loving your neighbor. Comforting someone who needs comfort. Respecting coaches and mentors. Speaking with kindness instead of tearing someone down. Encouraging people to walk with their heads held high rather than living in shame.

  • "The more I reflect Christ, then I will be living out the Bond. And if I live out the Bond, I am reflecting who God is. They go hand in hand."

It's a philosophy Janann doesn't simply talk about.


She has spent more than a decade trying to live it.


A Challenge to the Next Generation

Janann is quick to thank the CFBC coaches who have poured into her and the rest of the community over the years.


But she also has a message for her fellow athletes approaching that "middle-aged" territory—including a playful warning to Francesca.

  • "May we be a force to be reckoned with!"

And then, in typical Janann fashion, she turns the attention toward someone else:

  • "May our example of showing up spur the younger generation on to greatness."

Final Words

There are athletes who become part of a gym.


And then there are people who, over enough years, help a gym become what it is.


Janann Woody is one of those people.


For nearly 13 years, she has shown us that strength isn't only demonstrated by what we can lift. It's demonstrated by how faithfully we show up, how well we love people, how willingly we serve, and what kind of example we leave for those coming behind us.


She's strong enough to carry the weight.


Fit enough to chase the grandbabies.


Faithful enough to keep showing up.


And warm enough to make sure that when the next nervous athlete walks through those bay doors, someone is there to say their name and make them feel at home.


That's Janann.