June Athlete of the Month: Sean Finlay

 

Hometown: Bell Bell

Current Location: Blue Bell

Age: 22

Occupation: Client Service Rep

College: Fordham University

How long have you been a CrossFitter? Technically about a year but I used to do Crossfit on my own during swim season in college to mix up the training.

Did you ever play sports? I swam and played water polo in high school, and swam in college

Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share? I love cooking, making sourdough, woodworking, gardening, nature walks, and anything that involves exercise. I also like to travel and, if there is no traffic, driving to places with family/friends. An uncool hobby would be crossfit.

What has been your biggest achievement at CrossFit in general? I love seeing consistency and hard work pay off. It is always nice to set a goal and reach it, but I still enjoy hitting the small milestones along the way as well to show progression and the work paying off bit by bit.

What skill have you been working on during 2021? A lot of gymnastics, double under capacity, and trying be more confident going for a heavy lift. I have always psyched myself out going for something like a 1RM, but have been working to stop thinking so much and just go for it and trust my training.

Goals for the rest of this year? 275 snatch and 350 clean and jerk.

What's your favorite WOD? My favorite are hero WODs in general. They are always the harder workouts but I think the purpose and the message of honoring a fallen hero makes them special and helps to put a lot of things into perspective.

How about your favorite food/snacks? I like trying new food and experimenting, but my favorite is any Asian food like curries and stir fries. Favorite snacks would be fruits of any kind.

What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done? 20x100 freestyle sprints on the 3:00 from the blocks. It was a high school tradition over Christmas training and I dreaded it every year.

What’s your least favorite WOD? I have never done it, but I have a good feeling Chad would be my least favorite.

Favorite lift/movement? Snatches, thrusters, and going back and forth with Sam Bo on overhead squats.

What’s your least favorite lift/movement? GHD sit ups, the type of sit ups where you put your feet in between two pads and then lean back and touch the ground and then sit up and touch the pads, and GHDs.

What’s your favorite piece of workout "gear"? Probably a box. It changes up workouts and I think adds a fun twist to things.

What would you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF? Get mentally tougher and embracing the suck.  Something I try to tell myself before most WODs is “this is going to suck”. When I first started Crossfit I would get anxious about hard workouts, and while I still definitely do, it has helped to just accept the fact that its going to hurt.  I am as positive as I can be but at the end of the day positive thinking isn’t going to make an isa-grace or a murph not hurt. Embrace the suck, push through, and get a reward for it.

Who is your favorite coach? It depends what day it is.  Usually it is Manisha on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Jenna on Tuesday and Thursdays. Keith on Saturdays.

PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?

Back squatting 405 for 3 reps during the test day a couple months ago was a PR. It was a couple weeks after coming back to the gym after taking a few weeks off from a nagging disc injury from last summer. I had only been able to squat or do any pulling a couple times a month for a few months and was limited mainly to lighter lunges, quad extensions, and hamstring curls for any strength training for my legs. I was really happy about still getting stronger in the squat without having squatted for a while and realizing the importance of accessories.