Athlete of the Month?

I have dabbled in a variety of fitness endeavors.  I ran track and cross country in high school.  I played intramural basketball and softball in college.  Since leaving the friendly confines of academia, I had tried to stay fit by participating in foot races, road cycling and "lifting weights."

I was first introduced to CrossFit in 2015 and I have been all in for 1 year.

I have kept a fitness journal for quite some time and it was kind of fun to read back on my first day of CrossFit.  I remember being absolutely winded and overwhelmed by movements I had never done.  Today I am still absolutely winded, but have benchmarks and scale progressions for most movements that show up in a workout.

I love the coaches at CrossFit Golden.  I really appreciate the mindfulness and passion they bring to each class, especially considering how many classes they coach a day and all of their other responsibilities.  My favorite parts of CrossFit are gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting and Strongman.  I wish my answer was nutrition, but I am working on it.

My current goals are to run an 8 minute mile and do a handstand push-up (last week, I pressed-up from 1.5 abmats).  One of my first goals when I started CrossFit was to do a cartwheel.  I have not accomplished that yet, but have accomplished many other gymnastics skills I never thought I could do like climbing a rope and doing a forward roll.

I do not think I would have taken much advice when I was first starting out in CrossFit.  All I can offer is to listen to your coaches and your body.  If you are not seeking out and accepting your coaches' recommendations you are either a liar or a fool.  You are either withholding information that your coach needs to help you or you are paying for a service you do not value.

I love hitting an unexpected PR during a workout.  We recently had a workout with 90 seconds of double unders and I got 47 unbroken reps.  Since I can typically only manage 10-15 at a stretch I was thrilled and carried that smile through the rest of the workout.

I have diverse interests outside of CrossFit.  I enjoy coin  collecting and have a reasonable collection of United States dimes.  I also enjoy skiing and scuba diving.  Occasionally you might find me up in Black Hawk, CO playing poker.

You probably don't know that I love teen comedies.  While I would like to claim my favorite movie is "Fight Club," I am more likely to watch a re-run of "Can't Hardly Wait" or "Superbad."

Don't be afraid to fail, participating in events outside my wheelhouse (in the CFG community and outside the gym) have often been my most memorable experiences.  CrossFit has given me the confidence to try things and seek adventures in life.  One day I will have to say, you all go ahead, I will be here on the bench when you get back, today is not that day.