WHEN DID YOU START AT
: May 2017FAVORITE WOD:
Murph
LEAST FAVORITE WOD:
Anything with Wall Balls
SPORTS & FITNESS BACKGROUND:
I played sports growing up, football, baseball, basketball, rowing. I played football in HS and in college. I coached football for a long time too at Holy Spirit and stayed relatively active during that time. Aside from when I was training for football in HS and college, I always tried to work out but usually only when I felt like it and I usually only worked the body parts I felt like doing which is no way to stay in shape and well rounded
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES/INTERESTS?
I love the beach, fishing, hanging with family, watching football, and torturing my daughter Halle. My family is pretty musically inclined. I'm 1 of 9 kids in my family and most of my brothers and sisters play an instrument. I even use to play guitar and sing at bars until I got married. My sister Patty Blee still does this. I also play the bagpipes.
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET EXPOSED TO CROSSFIT? Take us back to your first WOD.... what was it, anyhow did it feel?
Last spring my good friend Bill Walsh (Walshy's Warriors) was diagnosed with ALS. He is such an inspiration to so many people and is such a motivational guy. When I heard this news last spring it just crushed me. It really made me think about my own life and how I wasted many good years eating like crap, not exercising regularly, not taking care of myself, and just not appreciating the good health I have. At that moment I made a commitment to myself and, ultimately, to my family. If I was going to die someday, I was committed to making myself as hard as possible to kill. I didn't want to die of something that I could have prevented like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc., which are all things I can defeat. Since the Good Lord gave me my health, I owe it to myself and, more importantly, I owe it to my family to fight like a SOB for every day of this life because I know that this is what my friend Walshy has to do every day of his life. A few days after making this commitment, I ran into a former player that I coached at Holy Spirit and he told me he joined Crossfit Absecon and loved it. That was it, I was all in. The next day I emailed Frank and the rest is history.
My first WOD involved double unders, wallballs, and 1-armed DB snatches. I distinctly remember collapsing onto a bench at the end of it not even sure where I was or who I was for that matter. My body was in shock. I had never in my life expanded that much energy in any workout EVER. It didn't seem humanly possible to do what they were asking. But I was hooked at that moment. I knew that Crossfit Absecon was EXACTLY what I needed at EXACTLY the right time in my life. I signed up for the unlimited plan and haven't looked back since. I even convinced my daughter Halle to join and do crossfit workouts with my 2 sons at home. I can honestly say that at 44yrs old I am lighter, faster, and stronger than I have ever been in my life. I did a half marathon last October and got emotional crossing the finish thinking of how far I've come in a few months thanks to Crossfit Absecon and a commitment I made. Whenever I'm running or working out and I get tired or feel like quitting, I think of my friend Walshy and, knowing him as I do, I think of how much he would give just to be able to do what I'm doing simply because I'm healthy enough to do it. Enough said.
Before when I worked out by myself, I thought I was working hard but really I was pushing a little and then I rested. In crossfit, due to the community aspect of it (and the ego/pride aspect of it), I can’t stop like I used to. I have to constantly keep pushing myself regardless of how tired I am either because I want to beat someone (usually Rich) or because I don’t want to get embarrassed by someone else. So in crossfit I find that I am able to now push through workouts way better than I could before. I’m discovering more now that even when I’m exhausted, if I can just put my hands on the bar I can usually push through the rep. I’m also noticing that my legs are getting stronger. I’m RX’ing more leg workouts now than I ever could before.
I love when I PR something. I guess it reminds me of kindergarten when you get a sticker. Crazy to think that I’m 44 and am still motivated by gold star stickers. While destroying Coach Ryan in Murph this year was certainly a great Crossfit Absecon moment for me, my favorite moment would have to be doing a beach WOD with my daughter Halle last month.