1.Occupation?
I am an outside sales rep for a flat-rolled steel processing company called Metals USA. I’ve been doing this for 10 years.
2. Favorite sports teams?
I love University of KY basketball and football, as well as St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Spring training started last week and I’m headed to Florida for a few games in March.
3. Favorite local restaurant or bar?
Saints, the de facto DCCF clubhouse, as well as the Backdoor, Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, Gerstle’s, Varanese,.….
4. When did you join DCCF?
I joined in November 2012 at the urging of one Alfonsina (AKA Foosi) Caldas Russell. For those of you that don’t know Foosi, she is a long time 6am’er and totally kicked my ass one night playing mercy. It was an “ah ha” moment. I signed up for the beginner classes within a week.
5. What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting? i.e., Have you made #gainz?
I’m definitely much stronger and I eat much healthier. My diet used to be a lot of cereal, frozen pizza, spaghetti, and PB&J’s, and my only exercise was walking my dog. Now I eat a lot more whole foods and I’m at DC 4-5 days per week, typically. Although my body weight is about the same, I am leaner now. Prior to DC, I was “skinny-fat” – no upper body strength and the beginning of a gut! I freaked out one day on the scale at a Dr. appointment and knew I had to change something.
Gainz??? Hellz yes!!! I found old notes on my phone from December ’13 with all my PR’s at the time. I’ve smashed them all in the last year. My back squat is up 30#, snatch up 20#, clean/jerk up 25#-ish.
6. What class do you usually attend?
Any and all of them, but I primarily go in the evenings or sometimes noon. Saturday’s are probably my favorite, though.
7. Favorite lift?
I love the OLY lifts. It takes so much precision and attention to detail to be done correctly. You can do burpees through sheer effort or other movements with brute strength, but to correctly and efficiently execute a snatch or C&J takes a lot of time and work. I love the process of getting better incrementally.
8. Tell us about one of your goals for 2015. (Or… tell us about ALL of your goals!)
My 2015 goal is a 1X-bodyweight snatch, which is about 175#. I’m at 155# right now, but considering 14 months ago I was thrilled about hitting 135#… I’d also like to learn butterfly pull-ups and get a ring muscle up.
9. Any tips for new members?
CrossFit is a marathon, not a sprint!!! If you are injured, stay home, rest, seek treatment, whatever. The gym will be there tomorrow or next week and you aren’t going to lose all of your ‘gainz’ by missing a few days! The worst thing you can do is try to come back too soon. You will just make things worse and miss more time in the long run. And emphasize technique/form. Sure, you can probably lift more, but if you are putting your body in bad positions in order to do so and are risking injury, what is the point?
10. What are your hobbies, interests or talents outside of CrossFit?
I enjoy playing golf and actually started CrossFit to get stronger in an effort to be a better golfer. But a funny thing happened along the way – I discovered I like CrossFit more than golf. And time that used to be spent hitting balls is now spent doing wall balls and double-unders. I still play golf and I can hit the ball further than ever (but my short game has gone to hell) but it now comes second to getting into the gym. I also hike/backpack, scuba dive, and am up for just about anything outside.
11. Tell us something interesting or surprising about yourself.
Other than being a 40-year-old intermediate level competitive CrossFitter?