September Athlete Spotlight: Wylie, Matt, and Miguel

A typical day in Wylie, Miguel, and Matt’s cube:

8:00 AM

Miguel walks into cube: “Hello gentlemen . . . ”  slight pause
” . . . and Matt”    another pause
“or based on your workout yesterday should I say, ‘Lord Weakness’?”

10:00 AM

Miguel:  “Hey Wylie.  You going to CrossFit today?”
Wylie:  “Yes”

10:05 AM

Miguel:  “Hey Wylie.  You going to CrossFit today?”
Wylie:  “You asked me five minutes ago and I told you I was.”

10:10 AM

Miguel:  “Hey Wylie.  You going to CrossFit today?”
Wylie (irritated):  “Yes”

10:15 AM

Miguel:  “Hey Wylie.  You going to CrossFit today?”
Wylie:  “I TOLD YOU!!!”
Miguel:  snickers uncontrollably

11:00 AM

Miguel:  “So Matt.  Are you going to CrossFit today?  Or are you too scared?”

12:00 PM

Miguel:  “Hey Wylie.  I called Phil and asked him if it’s okay if that I use that gym membership you bought but don’t use.  He’s fine with that . . . “

1:00 PM

Miguel:  “Hey Matt.  You going to 5:30 CrossFit?  Me too!  Now everyone will see that I’ve gone from just being stronger than you to being much stronger than you . . . “

2:00 PM

Miguel:  “Hey Matt and Wylie.  My grandpa is thinking about joining CrossFit and wants to know if they offer a senior citizen discount.  Being elderly I figured you two would know . . .”

3:00 PM

Wylie, Miguel, and Matt are talking about CrossFit . . . again.
Ben, the fourth member of our cube (who currently does not go to CrossFit, but we all know that’s only a matter of time): “Hey, do you guys ever talk about anything other than CrossFit?”

1.  How long have you been a member at CFD, and what made you want to get started?

Wylie: I started in October 2013. I was getting tired of my same old routine and as a result would take more time off than on. I had signed up for a Spartan race to help motivate myself to start working out again. When I learned about CrossFit I thought it would be a good way to prepare for the race. I was a bit naïve and thought I could just sign up and start working out right away.

Miguel: I began my journey on December 2016, that is when I did my one day introduction. I started Foundations on January 2017 and haven’t looked back since.
I began to take a healthy lifestyle very seriously a year ago, after making some progress working out on my own I felt I needed a more structured and motivating enviroment.

Matt: I started CrossFit January 2017.  Prior to that I bounced between a couple other gyms and working out at home, but I was both bored with the workouts and frustrated with the lack of results.  I wanted to do something different and was curious about CrossFit but also reluctant — CrossFit is considerably more intimidating than other gyms.  Sitting in the same cube as Wylie (who had been going to CrossFit for years already and frequently talked about how much he liked it) and Miguel (who went through Foundations with me) made the decision easier.

2.  What changes have you seen in yourself since your very first day?

Wylie: I’ve definitely noticed a change in my physique. Although I have never really been overweight I was getting more and more of the dad body every year. It didn’t take long before I could say with confidence that I was in the best shape of my life and that every day I felt I was in better shape than the previous day.
I’ve also had a lower back problem for about 15-20 years and although I’ve been working thru a lower back issue for the last year or so it is still better than it was before I started CrossFit. Prior to the recent issue though it was completely gone after the first few months.

Miguel: I believe that I have improved my body composition quite a bit since joining. However the biggest difference I have noticed is my ability to finish a workout with intensity, and my comfort level with the main muscle groups exercises.

Matt: About five years ago I went on a serious diet and lost a bunch of weight.  I remember at the time people congratulating me that I “looked thinner”.  I haven’t lost any weight since joining CrossFit (in fact I’ve gained a few pounds) but now I have people coming up to me to say that I “look stronger”.  I’ll take being stronger over looking thinner any day.

3.  What did you do for fitness prior to CFD, and what do you like most about CrossFit?

Wylie: Before CrossFit I would run, bike, play basketball, and lift weights. Nothing was ever really done at a high intensity though and every year I would take more and more time off. Just before I joined I was taking a lot more time off than I was working out. Missing a week could easily turn into several months off. Everything just seemed so boring.

Miguel: When I was younger I did the regular gym routine and played sports, I was always fairly active. As I got older the time for those things became more limited to the point where I was not exercising at all for long periods of time. Shortly before joining, I was lifting weights and doing low intensity cardio on a regular basis.

Matt: Until just a couple of years ago I didn’t exercise consistently.  I was unhappy with my weight and lack of fitness.  My wife was in a similar situation and so we made a decision to get healthier.  We started off with things we could do at home — walk around the neighborhood, treadmill, stationary bike, and exercise videos.  Eventually we “graduated” to going to various gyms but had a hard time staying motivated.  I’d say we were always derailed by the same two problems — boredom and very slow progress.  For me, CrossFit solves both of these problems — the workouts are switched up enough to stay fun and I have seen real results since I started.  In addition the coaching staff and community are great.

4.  What type(s) of workouts are your favorite?

Wylie: I like most EMOM’s and workouts with body weight and gymnastic movements

Miguel: I enjoy most A components, as far as B components, anything that targets my weak areas especially pulling movements.

Matt: Anything with bodyweight exercises — pullups, dips, box jumps (not burpees though).  I also like a workout that cycles through a number of movements.

5.  What type(s) of workouts do you least like to see come up?

Wylie: METCON’s that involve thrusters or squats

Miguel: Running, running, bike and running.

Matt: Barbell + moderate weight + high rep = grueling.  And I am horrible at squats, so I don’t like seeing squats or thrusters come up.  Oh, and the bike . . .  I can’t neglect to mention that I hate the bike.

6.  What are you goals going forward?

Wylie: To start making it to classes more consistently again. I haven’t been as consistent as I would like these last several months. I’d also like to improve my diet. In general I eat pretty good but I definitely consume far too many empty calories from the adult beverage food group. I’d also like to get better at double unders. I had them intermittently but have since gone backwards and rarely do them during workouts as a result.

Miguel: My goal for the next few years is to continue strenghtening overall and gain the ability to RX all workouts, I would like to improve my aerobic condition. In all reality I might get really ambitious in my goals after that.

Matt: Probably my main goal is to improve my body composition — gain muscle and lose fat.  And while like everyone I’d like to see my lifts go up, I think that improving my cardio endurance would benefit my workouts more.  There are also a number of movements I currently don’t have (especially double unders, handstand pushups, and bar muscle ups) that I would like to get.

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

Wylie: Listen to your body and listen to the coaches, especially on form and technique (really about everything). It’s exciting to PR on lifts every time you do them but at least in my case I think I would’ve benefited by listening more when the coaches said to go heavy but “with perfect form”. This would’ve helped to ensure my technique and core strength were sufficient and perhaps have avoided tweaking my back.

Miguel: I feel that CrossFit as a fitness direction and in particular CFD have plenty of positives like supportive coaching, a focus on safety and the education of proper technique, a profesional and deliberate trainning regime, overall a great and supportive group of people, and a addicting atmosphere. However, I feel that people only recognize most of these things once they are involved for a while, so the common spiel of give it a chance for 3 months would be something I would say. To go further, for someone that struggled with their commitment to health and fitness in the past, I would say that this is something that although hard, it would eliminate all the variables of you achieving a healthier and stronger version of yourself. All you need is a little nudge and the rest takes care of itself.

Matt: My second workout was HPC’s with coach Mike.  I don’t think it was a coincidence that when I went to grab plates he was standing there, arms folded across his chest, waiting for me.  I reached for 25’s, but he looked me straight in the eye and slowly shook his head “no”.  I pointed at 15’s.  Again, “no”.  So I started off with 10’s.  At the time this was humbling but it was certainly the right choice.  The point is, avoid the temptation to immediately load up the bar, that only hurts you when you are trying to learn a movement.  There’ll be plenty of workouts to come, so be patient.  Along the same lines, don’t be discouraged when others (maybe lots of others) are stronger and faster than you.  Keep doing the workouts and you’ll get better.

Not a member? Sign up for an Intro Class today!  The next Intro class takes place on 09SEP at 1000, and Foundations starts the next week (12SEP).
RSVP to the intro class here!