S06122 BISON 15 - Strong Turtle Energy - Adaptation Equals CrossFit Success with Mo Boak
Botox and Burpees talks with longtime @crossfitbison member Mo Boak @mobee515 about how a return-to-office mandate forces a full reset of her workout routine and why she refuses to let fitness be the thing that breaks.
Mo shares how she shifts from midday classes to the 5 a.m. crew, stays durable through smart scaling, and builds real confidence over time.
• balancing work, commuting, and parenting without quitting training
• switching from lunch-hour workouts to a consistent 5 a.m. CrossFit routine
• using sleep and bedtime consistency as part of the program
• leaning on coaches and training partners to choose smart weights
• playing to strengths from running-based sports while building upper-body skills
• staying healthy through scaling, pacing, and leaving ego out of it
• raising kids around fitness habits and everyday functional strength
• focusing on body positivity and long-term progress over big goals
• best advice for new CrossFitters
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TRANSCRIPT
Sam Rhee (00:01.112)
All right, welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees, the Bison 15. I have with me one of the stalwarts at Bison, CrossFit Bison our gym. It's Maureen, better known as Mo Boak. she's been at CrossFit Bison for nine plus years at this point. So she's been she's seen it all at this point. And I'm gonna let Mo go ahead and introduce her and then let's get right into the topic that we're gonna talk about.
Mo (00:08.495)
Yeah.
Mo (00:20.788)
Mm-hmm.
Mo (00:27.496)
All right, thanks for having me, Sam. not sure quite what I sign up for doing this, but I'm game. but yeah, I've been active member of Bison for about nine years. really started CrossFit sort of by accident with a little push from my husband. after we had our first child, we were trying to figure out how do we both work out and be more efficient. And so I was doing a different workout program.
Sam Rhee (00:33.771)
Ha ha
Mo (00:57.214)
while I was pregnant and s he would had joined CrossFit right before our son was born. So as he started doing it and got really into it, he was like, I think you should do this. One, I think you would like it. Two, I think it would help our schedule be more aligned because we can all have the same schedule. So we used to pass the kids off in the parking lot and do back to back classes for many years. yeah, that's really kind of how I I got started with CrossFit. And it's been a great place ever since. and I really, you know
Going on 10 years, love it, still, still learning, still trying to get a RX on many movements. but yeah, it's been great.
Sam Rhee (01:34.862)
It's so funny because you plus so many other parents, I see the the kid handoff all the time in the morning. and I know a lot of athletes also can probably relate with that, or the I have to get out of here right now so I can get home and then my spouse can get here. and so there are a couple couples where we always know if the class runs even a touch late, like the next
person in the couple is going to be a little bit late. So I but I think that's a lot of dedication. Like that that really means a lot in terms of you know prioritizing fitness and sort of, you know, squeezing it in when you have when you're parents and you have a lot of, you know, work responsibilities and and ki you know family responsibilities. So so what do you want to talk about, Mo?
Mo (02:05.329)
Yeah.
Mo (02:24.893)
So I think one of the biggest things and I think a lot of people have experienced this probably the last eighteen months or two years, companies that had increased flexibility of remote working have really changed the policy or sort of gone back to prior COVID type policies. So it's been a big lifestyle shift because I think for many people similar like my age and my parenting lifecycle.
Who we were five, six years ago is actually different than what we are now. So like logistically it's changed. You could have more kids in the house now, so your life is sort of set up differently. So now going back into the office depending on your commute level and flexibility really puts a wrench into w whatever program you've been doing for the last few years.
Sam Rhee (03:18.797)
So what what are you man so where were you in terms of your work mandated responsibilities and what changed at that point?
Mo (03:27.697)
Yep, so I kind of have an interesting perspective because it's not it wasn't really a COVID mandate. I I've is I'm actually coming up on 18 years working for my company. I manage a regional underwriting team. I'm an insurance underwriter. And we started work from home flexibility in 2009. So we were like well ahead of the curve. And because of that, you know.
Sam Rhee (03:49.596)
wow.
Mo (03:54.92)
I think people really, really appreciated the flexibility. It was actually like an employee benefit for a long time that people stayed because of our hybrid work style. So ironically, our division, the division I'm in, was slightly more ahead than most other divisions. A lot of the so my office is sort of in the the middle of nowhere in New Jersey. so a lot of people have long commutes. So we had this increased flexibility first.
A lot of the other offices that are in major city hubs didn't have that flexibility. They had the more standard five days in the office that we saw pre-COVID. So when COVID happened, some of the other divisions scrambled because they never had done it before. Our division was great. We're like, we got this. We're already set up. Everybody had a home office. it was no problem. So at that point, pre-COVID, I was working two or three days in the office. That's it.
The rest was at home. So it was really flexible. and then, you know, obviously COVID, we are home for 18 months, I would say. which which was great. I feel like that was, I mean, it was great in some aspects. Parenting while working full time was totally insane. And I don't actually know how we got through it, but we always joke if daycares hadn't reopened, we probably wouldn't have had our third kid because we are maxed out. but
Sam Rhee (04:52.855)
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Mo (05:20.549)
So back to the office, we they adopted a hybrid routine. So they kinda had everybody across the company on the same three two. So they wanted three days in the office, two days at home. So for our division that was an increase, because people were two days at home for the most part. but what happened and I think you kind of see it in other companies, people just didn't come back. They refused. So they, you know, were just ignoring the mandate, not coming back.
So our CEO sort of like doubled down and said, like, all right, fine, then nobody gets work from home. And so it was about a ye it was a year ago, January twenty-five, where they put out the mandate, everybody was five days in the office, no matter what you did before, no matter what division, everybody was five days, with direct manager flexibility to approve one flex day.
Sam Rhee (06:15.901)
wow. And so what was your workout schedule like before when it was 3-2 or you know 2-3, whatever? And then and then when it went full five or maybe one flex, how'd you sort of figure that out?
Mo (06:30.341)
Yeah, so pre when I had the flexibility, I was home more, I was a big midday fan. So I used my lunch hour to get my workout in. Luckily bison's, I can make it there in five minutes on the dot. and it was a huge flexibility for my family. My husband could do the five AM class. He's always been a early riser. I could, you know, man the kids in the morning, get everybody out the door, do the midday class and then
pick right back up and work and finish out the day. So for many years it was great. especially when you have like the young kids, you know, you never know what your night's gonna be like with sleep interruption and all that stuff. So the midday class was great because I didn't have to get up so early. and it it really worked well for our family. So conversely, when they announced this return to office, I think I went through the stages of grief, you know. Like
full on denial, anger. I was, you know, quitting my job. We're moving. We're I was buying a new car. There was probably some temper tantrum stamp stomping in the kitchen. It was really hard because like one of the big things I was most worried about was my workouts. You know, like what am I gonna figure this out? So after, you know,
the full circle and they gave us like a few months to like mentally adopt coming back to the office. so I guess I reached the stage of acceptance. I guess some days I'm still not sure I'm totally there, but I decided like I can't let this ruin my fitness, right? 'Cause it was kinda like you gotta figure it out. So luckily, and my husband will attribute Dave's great programming to this, but
My husband's much better at working out by himself than I am. I really appreciate the class environment and like it motivates me to get up, knowing like, you know, Susan's gonna be there to, you know, pick my weights for me. but so what we've been doing now and pretty much it's about a just about a year now coming up on it is my husband and I get up together. The kids are a little older now. we have a pretty good setup in the garage. My husband works out in the garage at 5 a.m.
Mo (08:54.565)
I go to the 5 a.m. class at Bison, and I've slowly turned into a pretty steady 5 a.m.er over the last twelve months or so.
Sam Rhee (09:02.941)
Ha ha.
That is crazy. So yeah, the five AMers are at every gym, obviously, very dedicated. Like you're not there at five AM to like be social, like chill, hang around afterwards. Like if you're going to the gym at five AM, you have stuff to do. You gotta get in, you gotta get out. You probably didn't get enough sleep most nights anyway. And so it's like but it's such a dedicated like fitness crew. So
Mo (09:29.683)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (09:35.551)
What time do you go to bed in order to get up to make five AM class?
Mo (09:40.306)
I think that's the biggest like there's like a pressure to go to bed, right? It's like almost like an increased anxiety about that. I do try to get into be in bed by nine. and I'm pretty pretty consistent with that. Again, my family, I'll blame my husband's DNA, were a family of early risers. So like I was probably only sleeping max till like six anyway. so like it's not like it's a crazy shift, but
Sam Rhee (10:03.501)
Mm-hmm.
Mo (10:08.507)
Obviously y you gotta get to bed in order to feel functional. And as the kids have gotten older, you know, the practices go a little later. sometimes getting to bed at nine is hard, but I've been trying to be as consistent as I can getting the sleep 'cause I do think it's so important. I've always been a a big sleeper, so I'm known to be cranky if I don't get enough sleep. So it is it is important. So it was interesting, when I was a middayer
Sam Rhee (10:31.031)
How many days a week now do you make it to bison?
Mo (10:37.307)
I was pretty much like four I was do like three midday classes and then I try to do a Saturday class. so I was doing about four days. now I'm actually averaging probably more like five days 'cause I've found that the more you wake up at, you know, four twenty every day, my body clock is being reset. So it's like I don't actually sleep in even when I have the day off. So like I've
been enjoying getting up more, so I've found myself going even more often than I was before.
Sam Rhee (11:08.791)
Wow, that's pretty cool. And then for the gym itself, you were a collegiate athlete, right? You were field hockey, was that right? And wow, that's pretty cool. And were you not d did your team where did you go? Didn't you guys win or you guys were playing at a very, very high level in college?
Mo (11:17.105)
I played field hockey and lacrosse in college.
Mo (11:28.999)
So I went to Bryant University in Rhode Island, and when I was there, we were division two. So it was they have since moved out to division one, but it was a really nice balance of being a student athlete. We all knew we weren't going pro in anything. and they actually cared about you getting your classes done and having good marks and stuff. So it was it was a really great post-high school balance. my field hockey team made it to
the final four, the NCAA final four, which is pretty cool. and then lacrosse we we never quite got there. We could never beat Stonehill was our big rival. We could never quite get over the hump, but we had, you know, great career with both sports. it was a great experience.
Sam Rhee (12:14.571)
And then so what do you enjoy about CrossFit the most? what kind of workouts, what kind of program do you like? You're a very good athlete. I and I will tell you what I think you're good at after you tell me what you think you're good at or what you or what you find most challenging in CrossFit as well.
Mo (12:25.423)
Ha ha
Mo (12:30.541)
field hockey and lacrosse are both running sports, right? So I know I've always been a really strong runner. I was a midfielder my whole career. So I was I was definitely running a lot all the time. So any of those type of workouts, I know running's like no big deal for me, and I'm always happy to run. and I so as a result, I think my leg strength stuff is far superior than my upper body.
I was never a gymnast. you can see the women that were gymnasts, even as children, for not even not even like, you know, collegiate gymnasts or anything, but you can just see I can see in my daughter, if you build that upper body strength at an early age, it just stays. So all the upper body stuff is definitely a huge learning curve for me. But it's it's fun to keep trying to learn new skills in your forties and still trying to get there. but yeah, I I would say, I I the biggest part about CrossFit for me personally.
With my job I have to make a lot of decisions all the time. And I love CrossFit 'cause I don't have to decide what to do. Somebody's just telling me what to do. So I am happy just to show up and I'll pretty much do anything, I'll figure it out. So
Sam Rhee (13:38.754)
I really like when you guys in the class try to figure out, like, you know, because you're friends with my wife Susan and you know, which weights you guys are gonna choose, like you mentioned. Like, are you guys gonna go lighter at the 5565? You guys gonna go to 75? Are you guys gonna push it at 8595 or even h heavier? Like you guys have a very nice sort of like, you know, sort of discussion. and sometimes you guys push each other, sometimes you guys
actually are like, let's all like feel better and move down. What what makes you guys decide like what to do on any of these workouts weight wise?
Mo (14:10.995)
Ha ha ha.
Mo (14:18.515)
Well, I think you know, I was because I played two sports in college, I actually didn't get to experience true off season conditioning as a collegiate athlete. So I never really lifted in college because I was always in season. you know, really 'cause the heavy lifting and programming with strength and conditioning coaches is really all off season work that I got to skip out on. so I think that was also a big learning curve coming into CrossFit.
Oftentimes I don't know which weight to do. I don't know how how strong I can be. and I think our coaches are really good at that. I love going to the midday class on Fridays when I do work from home because Liz is great at always pushing me to go heavier. and she kind of like knows my body and knows what I can do. But I think, yeah, you find your people and you kind of you see who the scores are similar to. And I think sometimes it is like, should we push each other? Can we do this? Like
'Cause sometimes you just need that confidence for somebody else to say, like, you can do that. It's so you know, it's only five reps, we can try that, you know. So I try to still trying to figure out, you know, where I can be. but having good people around you certainly helps versus you know, working out alone I probably would always go lighter.
Sam Rhee (15:34.977)
You're very durable. I don't know if I've seen you miss an extended period of time at the gym. Is there anything that you do in s like specifically to make sure that you can stay healthy? I mean, even though you're c you're attending four or five days a week at this point?
Mo (15:53.014)
yeah, knock on wood. I even through college, I've never really had any major injuries. So like I don't have a lot of like physical baggage, I guess you could say. but I do try to just like listen to my body. Like so sometimes like if I if I don't feel it that day, like I'm very comfortable scaling. I don't have to push all the time. I don't have that, I've always been like motivated against myself versus other people. So like
I'm perfectly fine with like backing off a a workout if I don't feel like 'cause I at this point in my life I don't wanna get hurt. I'm just here to work out and stay healthy. and I actually I was found myself in fun great functional fitness yesterday. we did farmer carries this week, right? And so yesterday at lacrosse practice I found myself carrying a bucket of water balloons across the lacrosse field, you know, full of water. So I'm like, I can do this, you know, this is crossfit.
But yeah, I think I think I just try to be smart about it. Like, you know, I don't do a lot of the movements that are a little day I don't do a lot of upside down stuff because I know I I don't have that core strength, so I try to scale appropriate, just to make sure I don't get hurt and stay healthy.
Sam Rhee (17:06.029)
That's really smart. So now you have three kids. How do you approach their development as athletes and training? is there anything that you have taken from what you've learned and apply it to them?
Mo (17:24.263)
I think you know, obvious my husband obviously is an athlete too. I think we just try to instill in our kids that even if you don't play sports, obviously we'd love to play sports 'cause we had such a positive experience ha playing team sports, but you have to work out, period, like everybody does to stay healthy. So I think they see it in us. They know it's part of our routine. They see us, you know, every morning at six AM, usually both sweaty.
Usu my my five year old will say when I give him a hug in the morning and goes, Ugh, you smell like a bison. So that that they think it's normal that everybody works out every morning. I think they have no concept that other a lot more most parents probably don't exercise, right? so I think we just try to instill that and keep them healthy and running around as much as possible. We try to stay active with them.
Sam Rhee (17:58.115)
Ha ha.
Mo (18:22.119)
We're just now with our almost ten year old Dave's been getting it showing him, you know, deadlifts and and we had him do benching. so we're kinda we have all the stuff, you know, so it's like we're we're hoping they spark the interest and ask to do it, you know, 'cause we you can only push so far.
Sam Rhee (18:39.095)
So where do you see yourself in terms of your fitnessing over the next five, ten years? Do you have goals? Do you have anything specific? do you some people like to challenge themselves? Like is there anything specific to you at this point?
Mo (18:55.943)
Yeah, I mean I I think the the years of you know needing something to chase are behind me. Like I did post college, I did like a bunch of marathons. I you know, I did I did stuff that I felt like I needed to be motivated by. Now I'm motivated just to go and keep getting better, working on new skills, trying to finally get a chest to bar, maybe someday, you know. Ten days and counter, ten years plus, but yeah, I mean
I'm really I don't need like to chase something. I'm just there. I'm happy to be there. I'm happy I can be there. and I feel great, you know. So I think I feel better at forty than I probably did early thirties in terms of strength and body positivity and that kind of thing.
Sam Rhee (19:42.316)
Yeah, which is amazing. So I think as an example like I always look to you as an example of what people at the gym can achieve without having to have the goal of being a CrossFit Games athlete. Like because you're very bit like you you have a full time job, you have three kids, you have plus Dave, which I
Mo (19:56.404)
Someday I'm gonna get there, Sam, you know.
Sam Rhee (20:10.017)
you know, it's not a fourth kid, but like he's I'm sure he's a handful too. and you you guys are very involved in your kid sports. You guys are very active in terms of their development. I know how much Dave coaches and how and and you as well. And and yet you pull it all together and still make it to the gym. You still make fitnessing a priority. And which I think it's amazing that you say that you are more
Mo (20:11.991)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (20:39.265)
body positive now than you were even five, ten years ago pre-kids, before you had all these changes. what is it that you l like to see in terms of your body image and how that can translate maybe for others as well at this point?
Mo (20:59.505)
Yeah, I mean I think I feel like stronger than I did probably my thirties. Cause what in my thirties I just ran. I ran a ton. So while I might have been like slightly leaner, I just feel like my posture's better. Like I I like feeling strong. I like feeling fit. and I think cr you know, CrossFit's done that for me. Obviously, as we've gotten older, we've been a little bit more mindful of like eating and and drinking and stuff like that too, which I think helps. 'cause you can't
get away with it as much I think as you get older. But yeah, I think like we are busy and I think we choose to try to lean into that and just tr try to we're not trying to make huge like decreases. It's just like don't gain weight, just stay the same and keep going, right?
Sam Rhee (21:47.63)
Well, that's pretty awesome. I think it's very inspirational, honestly, because like I said, there are some people who when you're young, you have all the time in the world. And like you said, your metabolism allows you to enjoy life, you know, drink, party, go out, and then as you start to figure out like all the other responsibil responsibilities you have.
you just have to sort of keep all of your boxes checked and you can actually get fitter. You can actually learn new skills, like you said, you can actually get stronger. And I think that's a good goal for me and for everybody else. if there's one piece of advice you could give to a CrossFitter, like if you had to look back at yourself, you know, when you started, what kind of what would be the one piece of advice you would give yourself?
Mo (22:39.699)
Well, even I when people ask me about CrossFit, I always say, the biggest thing is you have to have confidence to ask for the scale. So you can't let your ego get in the way of the workout. and just make sure you're even if it's a slower progression, like make sure I'd rather someone go in baby steps and slowly progress over time. So you don't get hurt, you can stay longer and you can keep improving, versus people that like
go like a million miles an hour and try to push out the gate. I think you just you're gonna burn out, probably like in anything in life, right? Like slow and steady. Michelle Frusciano and I we refer to ourselves as the slow turtles, our strong turtles, because we're 10 years plus and we're, you know, finally almost at RX in some of these workouts. But I think you just have but you have to be okay with that. You know, you know, at this point in your life, you can't expect you're gonna be able to compete with
a twenty year old too. So I think you being aware of where you're at and just trying to just keep showing up, you know, try to get there. That's half the battle.
Sam Rhee (23:46.305)
That's that's awesome. I love that phrase, strong turtle. That works. Mo, thank you so much for your time. good luck. I know we had to squeeze this in early on a Sunday morning just so that you can get to all the other responsibilities you have today. So I really appreciate it and thanks so much.
Mo (23:49.521)
Ha ha ha
Mo (23:59.719)
Yep.
No problem. Thanks for having me, Sam.
