A couple whose love for fitness is only topped by their love for each other had a workout they’ll never forget.
A couple whose love for fitness is only topped by their love for each other had a workout they’ll never forget, as the pair got engaged during a CrossFit session that even their coach was in on.
Chaz Zenga, 27, proposed to his girlfriend Dana Kirkland after convincing her to help him demonstrate a warm-up exercise at the beginning of a class at 229 CrossFit in Albany, Ga., last Saturday.
It was Kirkland’s 25th birthday, and Zenga had convinced her to start her day with a workout.
“Friday night, we went to dinner … she was like ‘my arms are hurting, I don’t think I’m going to go to the gym. I was like, ‘We’re going to do a workout for your birthday,’” Zenga told InsideEdition.com with a laugh.
It was earlier in the day that Zenga had picked out the ring with which he planned to propose in a surprising way he thought of days before.
“Monday night, I just had got done taking a shower and went to lay down … and a thought came through my head. ‘I’m gonna propose to Dana,’” he said. “In minutes, everything was planned out.’”
Zenga enlisted his friend and fellow CrossFit coach Zach Hood, who led the Saturday morning class, to help him pop the question.
Video of the proposal — shot by their friend Kori Phillips, who helped Zenga pick out the ring — shows Hood instructing Zenga to kneel on one knee, while he tells Kirkland to lift a weight above her head.
While Kirkland is distracted by the lift, Hood slyly pulls the ring out of his pocket and hands it to Chaz, who quickly opens the box and readies to propose.
“We practiced!” Zenga laughed of the smooth handoff. “I don’t even think I looked. I was so nervous.”
After she hands off the weight, Kirkland realizes Zenga has a ring in his hand.
“Shut up!” she exclaims before Zenga jumps up to hug her. The pair embraces before being mobbed by their friends.
“This will be one of the most memorable days,” he said, noting the proposal was a long time coming.
“We’ve been best friends for seven years. She was always there for me; I was always there for her.”
Afraid to ruin their friendship, the pair hesitated to enter into a relationship — but they could only ignore their feelings for each other for so long.
“We took the plunge together,” he said. “When they say, ‘You’ll just know when she’s the one,’ they’re right.”
