After
leaving the military,
and transitioning into my civilian career, I quickly began ignoring what
I had
learned in the service about the importance of physical fitness and a
healthy
diet. The stress of a new job and a declining economy gave me several
excuses
to eat poorly and tell myself that I had no time to eat right and
exercise.
(That’s just what they were, excuses).
Slowly, I
began to put on
weight. It ended up being 7-10 lbs per year, culminating in a
bodyweight of
265 lbs. I didn’t give it much thought, but deep down I knew I was
getting very fat. I started avoiding mirrors, bought baggy clothes and
avoided
cameras like the plague. I was fat, unhealthy and unhappy with myself.
I
hadn't realized just how out of shape I’d become until I saw this photo
of me on vacation. This was the very photo that prompted me to do
something.
I tried
several programs,
some were effective and worked, but got boring and I would eventually
quit. I
figured that it would be just too hard to lose the 65-70 lbs that I had
gained.
Then I found CrossFit. My wife worked at a gym and told me about a site
that
the trainers were visiting to get ideas for their clients. I checked
it out. The
program, at a
glance, looked a bit crazy at first but after reading the free CF
journal
article on “what is fitness” things made sense.
I started
CrossFitting on my
own, did what I could, learning from the journal and YouTube. I was
subbing a
great deal of the exercises due to lack of equipment or lack of
training, but
I
was doing it and having a BLAST. I did this for about a year, and while
I
certainly saw drastic physical results, I realized that something was
missing.I decided
to seek out a CF
gym. I found that Crossfit St .
Charles was holding a local friendly competition and decided to attend.
I had
a blast! It was just what I was looking for. Everyone was so welcoming
and
helpful, nobody judged me on my abilities (though I did find that my
range of
motion was less than desirable on most squatting exercises). CFSTC was
still a
bit far for me to travel so Kim and Ingrid introduced me to Rochelle and
Jeff
at CFTNT. They invited me to their Rehab Saturday and from that point,
it was
ON! Since beginning CrossFit and joining TNT, I have accomplished so
much more
than I ever thought I could. Not only have I improved in my overall
performance, abilities and knowledge of CrossFit, but my quality of life
has
improved as well. I am happier, more confident in all aspects of my
personal
and professional life, and I am healthier. I no longer take high blood
pressure or cholesterol medications and I feel great!
The
experience doesn’t
stop there. I caught the competition bug and so far, I have competed in
two local
affiliate cup competitions, and most recently, I participated in the
Midwest
Sectionals Qualifiers where I qualified for the Rocky Mountain Regional
Qualifiers for the 2010 Crossfit Games.
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