Athlete of the MonthJanuary
How old / young are you? 36 What is your occupation? Land Planner When did you join Widespread CrossFit? August of 2015. Why did you decide to give CrossFit a try? My wife, (Jayme McBreen) who had just started at Widespread, coerced me into coming to one of Matt’s famous weekend “family fun” days. I got my butt kicked and decided it was kind of fun and the current exercise regime I was undertaking at the time wasn’t really doing anything for me. What was your athletic background before starting CrossFit? I did the typical high school athlete thing (football, basketball, and track) and have continued playing basketball as I got older. Also have always been active doing outdoor activities like hiking, hunting and biking but never to an extreme extent. What changes in your health, physique, and overall performance have you seen since starting CrossFit? I feel better all around. I’ve lost weight and fat and have more energy. Before CrossFit I never ran more than 1 mile consecutively (that was high school gym class!) I’ve already run my first organized 5K and now try to get out and run once a week (and now hopefully more since we just got a new jogging stroller) What advice would you give to someone with regards to starting CrossFit? Do it, if there is any inkling to try it, you should do it. It can be intimidating especially when you struggle to do movements or lift weights that others have mastered and make look easy. But you have to remember that everyone is there is to better themselves and the camaraderie is unlike most other workout situations; it’s like being on a team. What is your favorite and least favorite CrossFit exercises / movement? My least favorite movement is overhead squat; my shoulders don’t like flexing back as far as they should. I look forward to getting this figured out this year and overhead squatting more than a broomstick. For some reason the one I like the most is the sled pulls. I really have no idea why. What is your most memorable CrossFit moment so far? I wish I could say it the achievement of a goal, but I’m still working towards those. So I’ll have to go with an experience that my wife loves to remind about. It was during the nutrition challenge and I was trying to stay true to the paleo lifestyle (no sugar, no carbs) and we were just a couple weeks in and I was struggling with the new diet. I love my carbs; bread, beer, and the like. My energy levels were way down and working out and just going through the day was a struggle. It was a system shock. One morning I went to a 5:30 am class per my usual and Matt really worked us over that day and I was exhausted. I got home and I was walking upstairs to shower and get ready for work and apparently I was too tired to go on. My wife and kids found me curled up on the stairs sound asleep. What do you like to do outside of CrossFit? Spend time with my wife, Jayme and three kids Bryson (9), Kayleigh (6) and Sawyer (2). We do everything together and are always on the go camping, hiking, exploring and just being together. I love outdoor activities: camping, hiking, hunting and the like. What is your favorite “cheat” food or meal? Since the nutrition challenge has been over, I’ve really tried to continue eating well and while I still like my carbs every now and then nothing seems to satisfy that hole in my soul like a baked potato with lots of butter, a little cheddar cheese and some bacon bits. What is something people would be surprised to know about you? I think most know this already, but I do competition BBQ, our family spend weekends in the summers and early fall going around the state and country doing competitions. We’ve been fortunate to have some success and have competed in national and world championships. Who or what inspires you the most? My wife, she is my rock is awesome and inspires me daily. She is kicking butt at CrossFit, being an awesome mom to three kids and wife to me, and working hard and being successful at her job. She takes on every role, every day and never complains. The fact that she can do the juggling act is amazing. Her attitude and work ethic inspire me to be a better person and just try to keep up. Also my kids unending energy is an inspiration. I want to be able to keep up with them and they are one of the reasons I do CrossFit. What is one goal you would like to accomplish through CrossFit? I want to be healthy and live a healthy lifestyle for me and for my family.
