First Name & Last Initial (ex. Andy P)
Michael M
Hometown
Gainesville, TX
Age
27
Occupation
Quality Engineer
Married, Significant Other, Single, Dating, Looking?!
Engaged to fellow CrossFitter Megan C!
When did you first start CrossFitting? (ex. January 2013)
May 2011
When did you first start training at CrossFit Equality (CFE)?
January 2013
Tell us about your sports & fitness background.
I’d gone to big box gyms occasionally in the past but nothing consistently and hadn’t really participated in sports.
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit Equality? Take us back to your first WOD… what was it, and how did it feel?
My first WOD was a wake-up call for just how out of shape I’d gotten. I’d been active in another box in 2011 but had stopped for all of 2012 and it was like being back in my first WOD all over again. I was exhausted and more sore than I’d ever been the next day. I came close to blacking out at times and had to take everything slowly. But all that just showed me how much harder I needed to work.
What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CrossFit? (before / after)
I am in a lot better shape even if the scale hasn’t changed as much as I’d like. I can run further, lift more and work harder than I could before. The WODs aren’t as miserable and I’ve started to be able to hit RX on a couple. It’s the incremental improvements that keep me coming back.
What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected?
You do a lot more than you think you can. I never look at the WODs online but sometimes I’ll walk in and laugh because I think there’s no way I can finish. But, if I just get in there and start working and focus on each motion or challenge that comes along I haven’t hit a WOD yet that I haven’t gotten through.
Favorite thing about CrossFit?
The group at CrossFit Equality is great, they push everyone but only to do their best. I think they really try to make it so it’s not a contest between everyone but only against yourself.
Favorite WOD or Movements?
I have really enjoyed the weightlifting aspects, it happens to be what I’m best at but it also brings together a lot of the other things we do. The flexibility and explosiveness that we build in our other areas of training really come through in the weightlifting motions.
Least Favorite WOD or Movements?
Has to be Fight Gone Bad, I was fighting puking for every round after the first. I may have gotten the lowest score but I hit RX and I was proud of pushing through.
Any advice for people just getting started?
The advice on the wall, “You can’t out train a bad diet.” It’s true even when I was hitting CrossFit 3 times a week and biking for an hour on the off nights I wasn’t losing any weight until I attacked my diet.
What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
Biking, Golfing, Homebrewing, and CrossFit keep me pretty busy!