May Spotlight – Manning

How long have you been a member at CFD?

I started at CFD back in February of 2015 and had about one full week of preparation before the Open started. I wasn’t quite sure what the excitement was about, but I was game to give it a try. The first workout went great for maybe a minute. Toes to bar and 115 pound deadlifts weren’t too discouraging, but then the expectation was to be able to snatch that same weight. Wasn’t even certain what that was. It was an extremely long nine minutes. The Open that year wrapped up with a 27-21-15-9 thrusters and row for calories, which is still in my top five worst workouts I’ve participated in. Even with how terrible those five weeks were with those workouts, I remember hanging out after the Thursday night workouts with a couple of the other members and waiting for the announcements each week and listening to them strategize how to approach each workout. I knew Crossfit was a way to workout and train, but it was then that I really started to learn about Crossfit as a sport, and was introduced to the competitiveness of it, which is what keeps me coming back everyday………. Or every other depending on what Mike has programmed. 

My first competition came about four months after that in an in-house competition, and it was an absolute blast. My wife and I teamed up with two other individuals who we hadn’t even met prior to that day. It was another guy who had just joined maybe in the previous 2-3 months and the intern who had just started. We showed up that day, threw down as hard as we could, and took first in the scaled division. Not bad for a couple of rookies.  

What is your favorite gym music? 

My favorite gym music comes out once a year when we do Murph on Memorial Day. That first minute of silence when you are fighting through the mental clutter of the excitement and nervousness of the massive challenge you’re about to take on, followed closely by the directing of your mindset to remembering why you’re doing it and erasing any excuses you may have to not push it as hard as possible is where that entire workout is won. 

And as soon as that minute is up, it’s Team America, World Police. F#%& Yeah!

What did you do for fitness prior to joining CFD? 

Just a whole lot of running. I started Crossfit barely topping 130 pounds with no idea what I was doing as far as lifting. The bodyweight movements always came really natural to me, but being a smaller guy like I was made those Olympic lifts really difficult. The challenge of trying to perfect those movements and drilling each of those positions was something that has taken quite a bit of time, and some days still evades me. I learned pretty quick that if I was going to get anywhere with the lifts, that I was going to have to ask a hundred questions, which I still do, not just of the coaches, but of the other athletes as well. All the little cues are how the full lift comes together, and sometimes just hearing something in a slightly different manner either from a coach or another athlete can make all the difference. For the first time in the six years I’ve been at CFD, I can almost say that double unders make sense, and it was because of a suggestion that a classmate Morgan made that finally clicked. 

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen Lincoln wear?

Most ridiculous thing I’ve seen Lincoln wear would have to be the Barbells for Boobs pink tights, tutu, pink power ranger shirt, which was so tight I am guessing he had to have it cut off, and a rubber horse head. Of course, that was only the second most ridiculous outfit that night behind Coach Mike’s pink sweatpants with Juicy across the butt. 

What changes have you seen in yourself since you started?

The biggest change I have seen in myself since I started is obviously the physical side. I’ve put on 40 pounds of *mostly* muscle. Something that was always impossible for me outside of Crossfit. I like to think it’s from Crossfit at least. 

But I would actually have to say the bigger change would be my mental approach to challenges. Crossfit has taught me to stop putting that hard shit off and just do it. Transitioning between movements becomes a tempting place to slow down and breathe, but if you just immediately jump into that next task at hand without thinking, it takes all the dread out of starting. 
 What is the funniest thing you remember happening at CFD? “It just wasn’t your best performance.”

Have you ever chalked up to do something that didn’t require chalk? 

I can’t think of anything that doesn’t require chalk. 

Have you ever won the warmup? 

Kayla tried to mess with us one day by making us power walk a 200. I took it more at a slow meander than a power walk. I took so long getting back that she’s never tried doing that to us again, so I consider that a win. 

What are your goals going forward?

My main goal is to for once have everything moving together. I came into Crossfit being really strong at the bodyweight movements and long cardio chipper type workouts. Now I’ve moved to the other side of the spectrum and am more excelling at the faster workouts moving weight. If I can get that pendulum back to more center and get everything going together, I’d be pretty happy about that. 

What advice do you have for someone just starting out at CFD?

Ask questions. A lot of them. To anyone, coach or other athletes. All the questions might seem stupid in your head, but most movements aren’t as simple as they sound. There’s more to touching your toes to the bar than just lifting your feet, and more to cleaning than just lifting the bar up to your shoulders. We’ve all been stuck on one movement or another and no one is going to shy away from trying to help you out. I’ll guarantee you that if you stick around after class, there will be someone else there willing to give you some pointers on whatever. Even if it’s just on how poorly you match your shorts and shirt, and better ways to color coordinate. 

Hold each other accountable and push the hell out of each other. We all have our good and bad days, and that competition is what helps push you forward and makes you better, especially on the worst of days. Having the other athletes pick you up off the floor after you get smoked on a terrible workout is what makes Crossfit the best hour of the day. In the beginning, you’ll be getting picked up more often than doing the picking up, but with time, you’ll see it change. 

And if there is one piece of advice you can take from me, it’s that eye contact makes everything better. Lots of it. As much as possible with as little blinking as you can manage. Go ahead and give it a shot. The other athletes in class will love it. 

Interested to see if CFD is a good fit for you? Sign up for a free introductory class, or e-mail us if the available intro classes don’t work with your schedule!