What brought you to Anthem in the first place?
I had taken a year off from the gym and working out after my son was born and I needed something to get me back into shape before I went full “dad bod.” Anthem was only like a half mile from my condo, proximity sometimes is half the battle!
What was your first impression of CrossFit? How has that changed?
I was introduced to CrossFit when I first started in the military in 2007 in Southern California, it was not a positive experience. Workouts were sprung on us when we were exhausted and there was little to no (mostly no) coaching. So I was very hesitant to willingly participate in CrossFit again until recently. What CrossFit is to me now is an extremely positive experience full of shared motivation and fun. I’m very glad I got to experience what an actual CrossFit gym is like and regret not giving it a fair chance sooner.
What was your first “bright spot” at Anthem?
The first bright spot would definitely be my first trial workout at Anthem, everyone was so welcoming and had so many positive things to say. It made me want to become part of the gym immediately.
How has being at Anthem benefitted you as an athlete?
Anthem has gotten me back to where my body is ready to push my limits and start to make noticeable strength and cardio gains again and it feels incredible!
Has your mindset changed since you’ve been at Anthem? If so, how?
Absolutely. I’m a lot more accepting of the fact that scaling is ok. It’s better to do less and do it better than push with bad form and potentially injure myself.
What are you working on now?
A little over a year ago I had a Multiple Sclerosis relapse that left me with a fairly substantial foot drop when my body gets tired or hot. I am currently working to fix it with regular gym time and additional ruck runs. My goal is to be able to do a sub 36 min 5k by the end of the Fall.
And most importantly: what is your favorite song for a lifting session and what is your favorite for a metcon? (include artist and song title)
My favorite song to lift to currently is Swamp Song by Tool
Is there anything else you want to share about your journey with us?
I just want to thank all the coaches at Anthem for all the work they put into making the gym such an amazing place to be! I’ve taken away a lot from each of them and the work they put into making the gym feel like somewhere I want to spend my time is exactly what makes Anthem so great!
