Coaches

Head coach, programmer, co-owner, athlete at CrossFit Terminus.  Ben Benson was a former climber, mountain biker, and outdoor adventure lover. He traveled the world with ice climbing, but eventually determined that long climbing trips didn’t fit into a normal lifestyle. He found CrossFit in 2007 and instantly became hooked, loving the idea of functional, measurable fitness that was able to be done in a short time domain. He has now coached CrossFit as a full time profession for over 7 years. Ben has also completed the CrossFit Movement and Mobility, Gymnastics, Basic Barbell, Endurance, Science of Exercise, and CrossFit Kids certification courses.

Ben appreciates quality of movement and holds his clients to the highest standard. Ben likes class structure and may seem rigid at first, but if you stick with him, he has a huge heart and is always concerned with how to better his athletes through exercise and lifestyle changes. With his tattoo flare, balanced with his perfect hair, you won’t miss this one of a kind coach when you walk into the gym! In the past Ben has coached/ programmed for a Georgia State, American and World Record holding powerlifter.

Ben has coached and programmed for multiple athletes during the 2015 CrossFit Games season, with a team (Team Terminus) and individual (Emily Bridgers) winning the 1st annual Atlantic region. He has been Emily’s coach for the past 5 years and together they celebrated a 6th place finish at the 2014 CrossFit Games, as well as an additional appearance at the 2015 CrossFit Games.  Additionally, Ben began coaching and programming for Stacie Tovar and Becca Voigt  through Regionals for their 6th and 8th CrossFit Games appearances respectively.

Athletic background: 10 years of competitive gymnastics, followed by high school and college dance team

Why I started CrossFit: I wanted to lose weight and get back to being fit after a break from dancing. I was bored at the gym and not seeing results. A college friend told me to try CrossFit with him. He thought I would like it. I had my first one on one with the coach and jumped into class the next day. It was foreign and scary – I had never touched a barbell before – but I was HOOKED

Why I came to Terminus: My former coach had been working with me for two years remotely as we lived in different cities/states. I was ready for a change and decided to move to Atlanta to train with him. He found Terminus and LOVED IT so I followed suit. It was everything that I imagined and so much more that I never could’ve dreamt of! Classes are structured and well run, the coaching is TOP NOTCH. I went from being the best at my gym to middle of the pack – it was a kick in the gut and the ego but I wanted nothing more than to excel in this environment. I had no interest in coaching when I got here – I wanted to finally focus on myself as an athlete – but after a few months of being at Terminus, I couldn’t help but want to be more involved. I was itching to coach again and was so thankful to be given that opportunity!

What led me to coaching: About 6 months into CrossFit, I found myself naturally in a position of leadership – I loved helping and encouraging the other members. The owner of CrossFit Lake Travis approached me to ask if I would ever be interested in coaching. I gave it some thought and almost immediately signed up for my Level 1 Trainer course. It became a growing passion of mine. I was eager to learn and improve my craft. In the next year I also completed the USAW Sports Performance Coach certificate course, Level 2 Trainer course, and an additional Coaching Weightlifting Seminar.

What do I like about coaching: I love watching the journey that my members go through. I like to see them fight through challenges and surprise themselves with their capabilities. I’ve learned in my time at Terminus that what drives me most is working with beginners – introducing them to this world and helping them build a solid foundation of movement. I live for the “A-HA” moment that an athlete experiences when something finally “clicks”. I also really enjoy teaching weightlifting – helping beginners and intermediates break down and correct positions to become better lifters. It takes a lot of work to make corrections to these complex lifts and I love to see watch athletes grow over time – it makes those little victories that much sweeter!

Coach, co-owner, professional CrossFit athlete at CrossFit Terminus.  Emily was a former collegiate gymnast at the University of Georgia, where she studied exercise science and graduated in 2009. She was plagued with a back injury during the later years as a gymnast, which eventually led to the end of her career. Emily always valued fitness and training, but as a born competitor, she missed the competitive aspect of her life.

She found CrossFit in June of 2010 and immediately knew she found what she was missing. Not only did CrossFit strengthen her back and rid her of pain, with the help of Ben Benson, CrossFit became her new sport. Emily has her CrossFit Level 1 and for the past 5 years, she has coached CrossFit, where she enjoys working with athletes of all ability levels. She is enthusiastic and strives to spread positive energy to her clients as they work to meet their goals.

Emily has competed in the South East Regional Competition for the past 5 years, where she placed in the top 10 every year. She competed with a team in the 2013 CrossFit Games. In 2014 she placed first at the CrossFit Games Southeast Regional, and finished 6th at the 2014 CrossFit Games.  Most recently Emily won the first annual Atlantic regional where 2 regions competed for 5 spots to the 2015 CrossFit Games.  In doing so, she punched another ticket to the 2015 CrossFit Games.

Marshall spent nine years in the US Army, where he was first introduced to CrossFit in 2007. However, unbeknownst to him, he was going about it all wrong for the first few years.

A few years later, while working in a special missions unit, he was introduced to mobility concepts from a unit PT while dealing with numerous shoulder injuries. He quickly discovered Kelly Starrett’s early CrossFit Journal articles from 2008 and became obsessed with movement and mobility. He was amazed at what a $2 lacrosse ball could do, and the idea that movement was medicine, meaning that HE could deal with HIS medical issues himself.

He scheduled a visit to the old “Parking Lot of Dreams” to meet with Kelly Starrett at San Francisco CrossFit, which made a light bulb go off, and set him on a new path. He decided to leave the military in order to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy and moved to San Francisco to join and learn from San Francisco CrossFit’s elite staff.

Marshall has worked as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at City College of San Francisco for the football team and women’s soccer team. He has coached at Alameda CrossFit, Flagship CrossFit in San Francisco, and interned at San Francisco CrossFit under Drs. Kelly Starrett and Roop Sihota.

Marshall moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University and is pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy. Marshall is also the Head Coach for Athletes’ Potential here in Atlanta for Dr. Danny Matta. In addition, Marshall operates a non-profit for veterans with mobility issues called Operation Reload & Recover, and is an active member with Team RWB.

In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Luz, loves college football, is a life long UK fan, is addicted to coffee (and is a snob about it), and is a band wagon SF Giants fan.

Coach, motivator, athlete.  Chase played basketball for years growing up, getting stuck in the same predictable gym routine throughout his teenage and college-age years. He had heard about CrossFit and had always been curious about it-after trying it out, he was hooked.  He very quickly obtained his Level 1 CrossFit certification because he wanted to improve his movements, his fitness, and improve himself all the way around.

Chase came to CrossFit Terminus as a valuable member to our community because, in his words, he wanted more training, more variability, more coaching, and more equipment.  He walked in our doors one month after the Grand Opening in September 2013 and “was amazed by the level of the athletes and the coaching quality.”  After shadowing Ben and coaching casually as a peer in classes, Chase naturally fell into one of our main coaching roles.

Chase is known for his excitable nature, always pushing our athletes to the next level.  He wants to see people give their all and not only reach their fitness goals, but to exceed them!