Athlete of the MonthMarch

Brian D.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE GYM?

I’m the Sr. Account Manager/Director at Bag Tags, Inc. Bag Tags is a printing company located in Evanston. Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my girlfriend and chilling with family and friends. I also enjoy watching movies, tv shows, listening to podcasts, playing video games and reading a good book. I’m a huge nerd at heart! I can talk all day about anything Star Wars or Marvel.

 

WHAT INITIALLY GOT YOU INTO CROSSFIT AND WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK?

 

Tommy, my brother, and my mom initially got me into CrossFit. Tommy was a member at Hardware for roughly a year before I joined and that was how I found out about it. I made a bet with my mom that if she completed ten classes at Hardware, I would join the gym.  She held up her end of the deal and the rest is history.  If it wasn’t for the awesome community, owners, and coaches I would have stopped coming to Hardware long ago.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR CROSSFIT GOALS? HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO REACHING THEM?

 

My goals are to be able to execute pull-ups, handstands walks, rope climbs and one day muscle-ups. Aside from pull-ups I’m not close to hitting my other goals yet, but I’m going to keep working toward them!

 

WHAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OR GOAL YOU’VE REACHED DUE TO CROSSFIT THAT’S MADE YOU THE MOST PROUD?

 

The last seven months has been a huge transformation for me in and out of the gym. I’ve lost almost 40 pounds by making some simple lifestyle changes. I prioritized sleep (6-8 hours per day), eating healthy, and consistently coming to the gym. Since making those lifestyle adjustments I’ve been able to attempt movements and WODs that weren’t possible when I weighed 265 pounds. In the last three months I completed the twelve days of CrossFit, Fran (twice), Annie (RX) and GI Jane.

 

 

FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT?

Annie / Double-unders

LEAST FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT?

Fran / Overhead Squats

 

ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE INTERESTED IN TRYING OUT CROSSFIT?

 

Don’t worry about doing the WODs RX. The RX WODs are designed for the most elite athletes in the world. Scale the workouts appropriately so you always hit the intended stimulus. That’s the approach I took the last seven months and the results have been super noticeable.

 

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