December Athlete of the Month

Congratulations Sam B!

 

Hometown: Wilton, CT

Current Location: I live in Center City Philadelphia but work out on the main line.

Age: 36 Occupation: Mezzanine Lender - basically I lend money to cash flow positive companies and take a small ownership position.

College: Brown University undergrad, Wharton MBA

How long have you been a Crossfitter? I think I officially became a Crossfitter when I joined KOP in September 2009 – my baseline was on one of the last days at Transaxle. Before KOP, I spent about a year or so playing around with Crossfit wods at my globo gym. One of my friends had been bugging me for years to give Crossfit a try.

 Did you ever play sports? I always played sports growing up – once I got to high school and college I focused on lacrosse. After college, my athletic career dried up – I spent too much time working and when I did make it to the gym it was mostly for the bicep curls and bench pressing.

What is your biggest achievement at Crossfit? If I had to say one thing it would be that I’m still hitting PRs three years after starting joining KOP. They may not happen as easily or in big leaps but with some hard work they still come.

What do you feel that you still need to work on? My list of things to work on is long but some of the highlights are… Strength – I need to get to the strength classes regularly and Overhead Flexibility – to say that my OHS form is poor would be a kind assessment.

 Goals for the rest of this year? Since the year is almost over, I am going to take some liberties with this question and make it about 2013. My goals for 2013 are i) continue to have fun with Crossfit ii) stay healthy and iii) contribute some scores to the team during the open.

What's your favorite WOD? I think the hero wods are awesome, not just because they are above and beyond the normal wod but I think the idea of remembering someone who sacrificed their life in service to our country is pretty powerful. Murph would be tops on my list.

What is the craziest insane workout outside of CF you have ever done? I save most of my workout insanity for Crossfit but I have gone on some pretty cool hikes – Mt. Whitney (CA – 14,505 ft elevation), Kings Peak (UT – 13,528 ft), Mt. Elbert (CO – 14,433 ft), Grand Canyon.

What’s your least favorite WOD? Probably Karen (150 wall balls for time) – I’m not sure how this wod was invented but most likely it was created during a late night bet between two drunk Crossfitters who picked a terrible movement and some silly number of reps to prove their machismo (in case you are wondering, this story may have been inspired by Vinny and Keith). Needless to say, I wasn’t too excited when Open wod 12.4 popped up (Karen + 90 DU + MU).

What’s your favorite lift? Power Cleans

What’s your least favorite lift? OHS – I’m envious of people who make these look so easy.

What skill do you want to work on in 2013 the most ? I’m usually playing around with a few gymnastic moves (planche push up is on my to do list) but I know I would benefit more from getting my form tighter on Olympic lifts and OHS.

What's your favorite foods, and snacks? I enjoy cooking so most of my meals I prepare myself. I don’t really follow one diet in particular (some paleo and some zone) but I focus more on eating cleanly and staying away from processed foods. I’m a big fan of cow shares so that usually means grass fed steak or burgers are on the menu. If I had to pick a last meal, it would be a Blendini from Rita’s Water Ice and a roast pork sandwich from Tony Lukes.

Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear"? My weight belt What you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? When I first started coming to KOP I found myself focusing on comparing my results against other people. I think it’s a natural instinct in the beginning when you walk in and see the whiteboards covered with all these crazy times and max lifts. Over time, that’s become way less of a focus for me – I try to do the best that I can, have fun and hopefully the rest falls in place. I have found that there is no point in me wasting time on things outside of my control – it’s much more productive to focus on my own performance.

Who is your favorite coach? I’m going to go with Tim Pappas. I think he always does a great job of breaking down the movements and providing cues that stick in my head. He also coaches the CF endurance classes which are great – if you haven’t made it to one, you should.

Prs to mention…
Lynne – 221 reps
1 mile time trial on track – 5:37
Chelsea – rx+2 (19 rounds of every min. on the min./7 rounds for remaining time)
C&J – 235lbs

Goals Reached…
Sub 3 minute Fran
My mile time is faster than when I was in college

Thanks for the recognition as the Athlete of the Month. KOP is a pretty unique place – the box, Aimee and Jason, the coaches, the community and the events are all awesome. It’s a pleasure to be part of it.