TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE GYM?
I’m originally from Wisconsin, but I’ve lived in Chicago for over 15 years. I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and being from Wisconsin, cheese will always be a part of my diet! I enjoy what I do for work where I currently manage the development of software for a mortgage company. In my free time, I enjoy checking out restaurants around the city and hanging out with friends. Kyle and I love to travel whenever we get the chance, especially to places where we can immerse ourselves in different cultures.
WHAT INITIALLY GOT YOU INTO CROSSFIT AND WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK?
I had a buddy that I worked out with at the gym pretty regularly and he started doing CrossFit. He loved it and would tell me about the variety of workouts that he was doing. He kept encouraging me to try it for about a year before I finally decided to give it a go. Once I tried it, I was hooked! That was 5 years ago and I’m just as hooked today as I was back then! I love that the workouts change constantly and there is always something to work toward. Although I love the workouts, I think what keeps me coming back is the strong sense of community. I feel like I am part of a family at Hardware – one that is there to not only encourage you to do better during a workout, but is also there to support you when life gets you down. I feel really lucky to have found such an awesome group of people to be a part of my life.
WHAT ARE YOUR CROSSFIT GOALS? HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO REACHING THEM?
One of the things that I love most about CrossFit is that there is always room for improvement in everything we do. All of the exercises have different variations that increase in difficulty and skill as you progress. My goal is keep pushing myself to higher levels of difficulty and skill in all of the movements we perform, especially the ones I am less proficient at.
WHAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OR GOAL YOU’VE REACHED DUE TO CROSSFIT THAT’S MADE YOU THE MOST PROUD?
Some of the movements that we do in CrossFit don’t necessarily come naturally for me. One of the hardest movements for me to learn was the snatch. There’s something about the technique needed that just goes against the way my brain and body are wired! I had to put in a lot of work to get to the place I am at today (which still needs plenty of improvement)! One of the goals I set for myself early on was to someday snatch 135 lbs. It literally took me years of small incremental improvements to get there, but I finally hit it earlier this year. It was a great feeling!
FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT? LEAST FAVORITE WOD/MOVEMENT?
One of my favorite movements is probably the burpee. I feel like it not only pushes me physically, but mentally as well.
Overhead squats and snatches are particularly challenging for me, so probably my least favorite.
ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE INTERESTED IN TRYING OUT CROSSFIT?
Before I tried CrossFit, I remember feeling really intimidated by it and felt like I had to be at some higher level of fitness to be a part of it. I couldn’t have been more wrong! All of the movements that we do in CrossFit are scalable to any level of fitness and the people couldn’t be more encouraging. The sense of community is really strong and everyone pushes each other to be the best versions of themselves. If you have doubts like I did, I encourage you to just try it! I think you’ll be surprised by how comfortable you’ll feel in the gym and you might even surprise yourself with what you’re capable of!
