Hometown: Worcester, PA
Current Location: King of Prussia, PA
Age: 29 (30 on Christmas!)
Occupation: Student / Army National Guard
College: Penn State
How long have you been a CrossFitter? It’s probably been about five years now, I still remember the first WOD I ever did…Fran…such a delightful way to be introduced to CrossFit. I was pretty hooked after that, even though I couldn’t breathe.
Did you ever play sports? Baseball was the only sport I ever formally played organized, we were a big baseball family so all my cousins played as well. Outside of baseball it was whatever the neighborhood was playing, football, basketball, ping pong…we were big ping pong kids. It’s a sport, I swear.
Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share? I like to think cooking can count as a hobby of mine. Growing up my family owned a little restaurant in Norristown and I was in there stirring sauce when I was a kid. It’s a little homecraft I can play around with at home and continue to build upon. I think my favorite dish I’ve made so far is homemade Gnocchi Bolognese.
Besides that, I’m a huge gamer. It’s probably something that isn’t obvious if you’re just meeting me, but I’m a big geek. I’ve enjoyed video games since I was a kid and here I am almost 30 and it hasn’t changed.
What has been your biggest achievement at CrossFit in general? I think for me personally, it’s being social with fitness. Before CrossFit, the routine was to pop on the headphones and ignore everyone in the gym while chasing the “pump”. It wasn’t the most exciting way to go about working out. Going to CrossFit classes created this different environment where I started looking forward to going to your regular class time and interacting with new and familiar faces.
What skill have you been working on during 2020? Ring Muscle Ups. These were my great white buffalo. It was a movement I always wanted to achieve but always dreaded workouts with it because I just wasn’t there yet. I think it was just a couple weeks ago where I was finally able to work in some single reps, so now the next task is to string them into sets.
Goals for the rest of this year? Staying consistent. I think for me, and maybe for a lot of us, 2020 has been the year of inconsistency. I know diet and fitness for me struggled during late spring early summer, so being able to finish the year strong and on track is encouraging.
What's your favorite WOD? Filthy Fifty and Fight Gone Bad are probably tied for me. They’re few of the workouts that put a smile on my face when I see them up on the whiteboard.
How about your favorite food/snacks? My favorite food is Sushi. No contest. And then my favorite snack would have to be a classic bowl of cereal.
What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done? So outside of CrossFit I’ve done some pretty silly “workouts” or “exercises”. The Army loves to ruck, and I hate to ruck. Rucking 12 miles is pretty much the standard, and you’ll see this at almost any school the Army offers. Now, if you think 12 miles is bad, try doing the Norwegian Foot March. A 30KM ruck. And then try doing a 30KM ruck in the middle of summer, in the middle of a desert when a cool day was 105 degrees.
What’s your least favorite WOD? Any workout that I’m currently trying to finish.
Favorite lift/movement? Bar Muscle Ups
What’s your least favorite lift/movement? Dumbbell Thrusters…Why?
Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear"? The gear that I use the most is knee sleeves, but my favorite is probably classic Nike wrist sweatbands. My hands are already clammy enough so the less sweat on them the better…also it makes me feel like I’m Matt Fraser…until I remember that I’m not
What would you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? I think gymnastic movements has been an area where I’ve personally improved a lot. Part of that may be contributed to good ole quarantine workouts and the absence of equipment, so a lot of calisthenics took place.
Who is your favorite coach? Keith’s dad jokes.
