6.01.2012

Congratulations Jay E!


...our June athlete of the month!
Get to Know Jay E. – Q and A:
Hometown: Worcester, PA

Current Location: West Conshohocken, PA

Age: 36

Occupation: Sales Operations Manager

College: Cabrini College

How long have you been a CrossFitter?  
Since Jan 2010 about 2 1/2 years

Did you ever play sports? 
I primarily played Baseball through out High School

What is your biggest achievement at CrossFit? 
I would have to say, running a mile without walking, C2B pull-ups are a close second.

What do you feel that you still need to work on? Running, Pistols, D/U's, Olympic lifts and everything else in which brute force cannot be used.
Goals for the rest of this year? 
I would like to place top 5 in the King & Queen.  I would also like to get down to a body weight of 205.  
What's your favorite WOD? 
I love anything ground to overhead, Isabel, Grace, Isa-grace, Randy, DT and so on.  Diane is pretty cool too.

What is the craziest insane workout outside of CF you have ever done?
There is a work-out called "Quadzilla", it's actually 3 work-outs with the second being, 20,19, 18, 17.....3,2,1 of Back Squats.  I started @ 135 and increased the weight each time to a 1RM Max of 515.  Walking was a challenge for a full week.

What’s your least favorite WOD?
EVA, she's quite deceptive, evil and twisted.

What’s your favorite lift?
All 3 of the crossfit total (Squat, Press and Deadlift) are tied at this point.

What’s your least favorite lift?
The Squat Clean, mostly because my technique and form are bad.  

What skill do you want to work on in 2012 the most ?
Pistols and Muscle ups, both require a lot of practice and patience.


What's your favorite foods, and snacks?
I truly enjoy most foods, Bacon and Beef Jerky top the list, followed by The rest of the meat group.

Whats your favorite piece of workout gear?
I am a fan of Chuck Taylor's.  I have set every squat, press, DL, snatch and C&J PR in them.  I am only on my second pair since 2006.  

What you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF?
I would say my endurance.  When I was only power lifting, I would be winded just walking up steps.  Today, I am still seeing continuous improvement, every month I am a little better than the previous.  

Who is your favorite coach?
Hard to decide on a favorite.  Since I am here 4-5 mornings a week, I get to experience a wide variety of coaches and styles.  Each coach brings a different strength and motivation that really helps your skills and performance.  I have learned something from just about all of them.  Aimee taught me how to kip, Jason & P have given me several lessons on Olympic lifts.  Tim, has helped my running and endurance substantially, Laura continuously has the challenge of reminding me to hook grip and not round my back, Vinny for continuing to let me know when my form/technique is off and what I need to do better or different. Steph's warm-ups are very creative especially for early morning when the brain is not really functioning.  She also brings a lot good scales, I am closer to getting pistols by using her band method. Donkey, two words "West Side".   Someday I'll get to take a class with Mel or Cate, I hear they have awesome classes.  

Why are you the reigning King of the 6am Time Slot? 
I think I have more fun as the jester than the king but seriously, you really have to adapt to rolling out of bed and "bringing it".  I really struggled when I first started going to the morning classes, Jason explained to me that everyone has ideal or optimal conditions for their training and the more we train outside of those conditions the better we will be because part of CrossFit is being ready for anything at anytime.  There are 2 additional factors, one, the people at the morning classes are awesome, everyone is always encouraging and pushing each other to do better. I know this happens in all classes so I do not intend to offend or exclude, I think it comes down to, the more you are with a group, you start to learn each others strengths and weaknesses as well as their motivators.  Second, Danny is not a morning person.  

PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?...
I have been really working on diet and nutrition lately, I have been in the middle of a weight loss competition in my office.  I am down 22lbs in 11 weeks with one week to go.  I am always concerned with losing too much to fast and jeopardizing my numbers, so I have been focusing on fat loss as opposed to weight loss and it's going well. We just did CrossFit total and I hit the same total number weighing 20lbs less.  I also hit a 205 snatch with decent form. 

37 comments:

Joy N said...

Congratulations Jay! I am always amazed when I look at your loaded bars, that an actual human can lift them.

Gina S. said...

Could not think of a more awesome ninja turtle to get June AOM. Jay is always encouraging, motivating and helping every single person at the 6am class. There are countless WOD's were he has helped improve my form and performance. Also we have fun PVC fighting before WOD's. Congrats Jay!!

Sam B. said...

Jay-E

Nice work on the AOTM - your numbers are always ridiculous!

Nicole S said...

Now this is well deserved! Jay is not only awesome but he always gives 100% whether he loves or hates the wod! Congrats!!!

Mike P said...

Woot! Woot! Congrats Jay E!

Peterson said...

Keep kicking ass Jay. Miss you since I've been avoiding the morning workouts.

Nina said...

Congrats Jay E, Your awesome and an amazing motivator.. Always enjoy your presence in the morning, your always making everyone laugh. Good times!

Tidmore said...

Congrats - even though you threw a medicine ball at my nuts this morning.

I am always impressed by the fact that you constantly show up for the workouts that you hate.

Kristin T. said...

yay Jay E! Congrats on all of your accomplishments! I agree that we have a pretty AWESOME early morning crew and it wouldn't be complete without you! Thanks for bringing so much fun and laughter to the class! Also, you have some great coaching tips...and I always appreciate your support! Keep up the good work! You are looking so slim lately!

Kim G said...

Absolutely awesome, Jay! You are always positive and motivating.

Congrats and keep kicking ass!

King said...

Jay E - - 6am would not be the same without you - You definitely make me laugh and inspire me to try to lift heavier shit than I should!

Wax said...

Jay E is the man - not only does he impress with his superman-like power, but he teaches at the same time. I agree with Gina that there isn't a more deserving Ninja Turtle than Jay and with KT & King that you're definitely an ASSet to the 6am class. Congrats buddy... now go lift a mini-cooper or something.

BTW - It was pretty funny when he hit Tidmore in the nuts this morning, I gotta admit.

steph said...

congrats Jay E! I haven't worked out with you often but your inspiration (especially to lift heavy) is well-known at the box, whether you're present or not. hope to see you at 6am some time :)

Melanie said...

Jay E, you make everyone around you feel awesome and give them the confidence to accomplish things! Your style and enthusiasm is infectious!! Our box would not be complete if people like you weren't a part of our family! Congratulations on AOTM!!!

Mark C said...

Congrats, Jay! One of the most memorable efforts I've ever seen at KofP was you doing some ridiculous number of DUs. I thought you were going to kill yourself grinding out every last one. (And you jumped about 2 ft high on every one!) You RXd the WOD, then collapsed on the floor a happy, but quivering mass of flesh and bone with nothing left to give. It was truly an awesome effort, and I think about it sometimes when I need to find a way to motivate myself to push harder through a workout.

Jeff said...

Congratulations Jay, well deserved! You always bring your "A" game and are a fantastic WOD partner and an inspiration. Keep up the great work!

Mike S said...

Jay E, I'm really glad to see you recognized as athlete of the month. It is inspiring to see you working so hard to improve your form and endurance so that they complement your awesome strength. I've learned a ton from you, and when I'm laboring to finish a WOD, you're always right there encouraging me through it. Many thanks, and looking forward to more 6 AM WODs with you.

Joe A said...

Congrats Jay E!

Even though you lack physical strength you make up for it in personality and presence you ooze intensity. j/k

Jay E said...

Thanks Everybody, I can't think of any where I'd rather be or anything I'd rather be doing. The community here in KoP is awesome.

Jay E said...

and Tidmore, sorry about the ball to balls incident, bad timing.

Todd said...

Hey boss, congratulations, you are a beast. I am proud of you!
Buzz

Stephanie Vincent said...

I'll never forget how fun it was to compete with you at the south Philly rumble. There is NO ONE better to lift heavy shit with than Jay. You are an amazing person, so glad to have you and your family in my life!

I wish there was video of jay, wax and tidmore holding hands and squating and three person jump roping this morning. The 6am crew makes mornings like happy hour.

Ken Blackwell said...

Congrats Jay!

Ken Blackwell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris P. said...

Jay,
It doesn't even matter that you can lift crazy ish...the best parts about you are things people have already said: you face your fears and weaknesses, and you are so supportive of others. These are things that the CrossFit community embraces and things that further validate the decision to have you as Athlete of the Month. congrats!

Shoeless said...

Congrats Jay! I love how as excited you are to show up on the heavy lifting days when you lift the most in the gym, you're equally excited for the wods that involve the exercises you are not as good at and want to get better at. It's been great watching your improvement resulting from that this year, nailing down C2B and HSPU. It will be awesome watching your performance in the K&Q. The community would not be the same without your constant enthusiasm!

Jen Naspinski said...

Jay E - not only do I find myself cheering you on when I have the lucky chance to WOD with you, but I admire what you can do and do with such humility. Thank you for all the times you gave me tips about lifting and encouragement. This is what makes you such a special part of the box - you ARE community and your love of crossfit just oozes out of you every time you show up. Congrats!!! JNa

Unknown said...

Congrats Jay! Love watching you lift heavy sh*t!

Drew said...

Congrats Jay!

Byrnsey said...

Jay
Well deserved! Great guy and a beast is a really good combination!
Byrnsey

donkey said...

Jay E: I am SO SO happy to see your name as this month's AOTM. As many others have said, your spirit, incredible willingness to help out, and the totally fucking awesome way you approach the bar (and coach others too) is the bomb. Love working out with you--always learn something. And let it be known that Jay has been a HUGE help with the Westside programming, even bringing in bars for us to use.

Put simply, you rock. Congrats.

Kathleen said...

Congrats Jay!!! You are an inspiration to so many of us & I love watching you lift!

mikefab said...

Congrats Jay. I always look at your 6 am results to give me something to shoot for. Thanks for pushing and motivating me without even knowing it. Us Endomorphs have to show the rest of the mesomorphs that we can hang too.

Howard said...

Congrats Jay!

Mike and Sarah Worth said...

Congratulations, Jay! Keep on rocking it!

Rebecca S. said...

Congrats, Jay! Well deserved! As so many others have said, I always appreciate and look forward to the humor, inspiration, and helpfulness you bring to the 6a.m. classes. Your enthusiasm and determination is unmatched and I love how you tackle your weaknesses head-on (I'm thinking of the DUs here...). You rock!

Laura Pappas said...

Congrats Jay, you are a great asset to the gym, thanks for your constant positive attuditude, commitment to working on your weaknesses (coming to Crossfit Endurance classes, doing full run for Murph, etc). Also thanks for making the morning classes fun to teach!