Athlete of the Month

Congratulations John M....aka...Mr. Intensity


Hometown: Havertown

Current Location: Havertown
Age: 47
Occupation: Landscape Contractor
College: Widener University

How long have you been a CrossFitter? 1 year and 9 months

Did you ever play sports? I played high school football.

Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share?  Trail running, listening to 80s music, and reading historical biographies (especially military history)

What is your biggest achievement at Cross Fit?  In the beginning, I walked into a WOD and saw people climbing a rope and I said to myself - I'll never be able to do that. Now, I can. 

What do you feel that you still need to work on? I still need to work on Kipping pull ups and Double Unders. Snatch always needs improvement.

Goals for the rest of this year?  I want to break 300 in the squat at a real depth below parallel. I'd like to get ten dead hang pull-ups within the year.

What's your favorite WOD? I love crossfit, but I haven't memorized all the names yet. But, I do like Fight Gone Bad.

How about your favorite food/snacks? Wawa coffee and any cookie ever made

What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done?  A friend of mine convinced me to do the Megatransect trail run. I've done it three times and last year they increased the distance to 28 miles.

What’s your least favorite WOD? Fran - anything with thrusters scares me!

Favorite lift/movement? My favorite movement is the back squat and pulling a sled or pushing a prowler.
What’s your least favorite lift/movement? My least favorite movement is the thruster.

What skill re you planning working on in the new year 2015 the most? I am going to work on the handstand push up.

What's your favorite piece of workout "gear"? My Rebok comfy sweats that I wear everyday are definitely my favorite.

What do you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? I feel more coordinated and my strength has improved.

Who is your favorite coach? I can't single out one over the other - we have the A team here. I'd like to thank each coach individually and some of our members as well for helping me. I'd like to thank Aimee for always observing my lack of depth in the squat and catching my weak push ups. It is amazing that she is so observant of every individual in the class. I'd like to thank Paul for making me feel that I can lift more and reminding me of Seshu's numbers. I can't forget Tim McCann for introducing me to mobility because I am the least mobile person in the box. It's a constant struggle. I'd like to thank Keith for all his pre-WOD tutorials - they're the best. A special shout-out to my Bridgeport Barbell coaches - Steph and Jim and Gene - thanks for your patience!

PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?  PRs - I was pretty happy with my 185 clean in performance class, but I still didn't jerk it. Goals Reached - Still working on the three hundo squat. I must beat Brittany. Nutrition Highlights - I tried Zone-ish and I liked it. But, for me just getting rid of the sweets and cutting down on sugar is my struggle.