When I walked into CFRVA last June I was a much different person than
the one you see at the gym now. At that point, I was the
10-soda-a-day-John, who would often start his day with two Big Bites and a
package of Ho-Hos and then would top everything off with a Big Gulp.
I am sure you could guess from just my preferred breakfast that things
did not get any better as the day went on. I loved to eat and drink as
much as I could and none of it was healthy. For the first time in my
life I was almost 250lbs and my body was not happy with me at all.
After the realization that I was not getting any healthier just
sitting around the house, my fiancée Nikki O and I decided to give Crossfit a try. As anyone that
has tried Crossfit knows, the first time you walk into a Crossfit gym
it is like no other gym you have been to and it can be a bit
overwhelming. After our trial class a few things really impressed us
and we decided to sign up for two classes a week which quickly became
5 days a week.
From our first week till today the same two things always greet us at
the gym, great training and great people. When I first came to
Crossfit RVA I had very little experience with many of the lifts that
we perform everyday and even less experience with eating a healthy
diet. From the start I felt comfortable trying out new lifts and a
year later I still am learning each day. As for my diet many things
have changed since last June thanks to Crossfit RVA. I have gone from
a soda guy to a Paleo guy. After about a month or so of working out I
quickly realized that my old diet and Crossfit just did not mix. After
learning about the Paleo way of eating I slowly started to change my
diet and quickly saw results. Still I had room to improve and when the
nutrition challenge was announced I made up my mind and I changed to a
strict paleo diet and once again the results were amazing not only did
I lose weight but my performance and recovery improved
dramatically. I know everyone loves to hear what I like about Crossfit RVA, but
everyone wants results when they join a gym, so I am sure you are asking
what have all the changes in diet and great training done as far as
results. So here are the numbers that everyone wants to change when
they join a gym:
Starting weight last June – 247lbs
Current weight – 190
Along with my weight loss I am stronger and faster than I have ever
been. My pre-Crossfit 10k best was over 1 hour and 20 min my best time
this year so far has been 52:12. All my lifts have improved and
continue to improve.
As I said above two things have always stood out at Crossfit RVA and
other than the training the people have always been great. So I would
like to take some time to thank everyone that have made the last year
special. First without the encouragement of Jake, John, Brian and
Andrew during workouts and for taking the time whenever I had a
question about technique or diet. I don’t think the results I have
had would have been possible. Second I would like to thank all of the
other CrossFitters that I workout out with everyday. In almost a year
I have never had a WOD that someone has not cheered me on to finish or
congratulated me at the end. I also need to thank my friends
and family who have had to listen to my constant ramblings about
CrossFit and the crazy workouts or diet that I am trying. I cannot
leave out my fellow CrossFitter and future wife who has also put up
with my obsession, thanks for cheering me on and becoming my Paleo
chef.
Thanks to Crossfit RVA over the last year I have gained much more than
I have lost. I now have my health back and just don’t workout with
other people at a gym but workout with people I consider friends.