I love to play! I am a 42-year-old father of 5 awesome kids, and after many years of not being very active, I wanted to get “back into shape” so I could play with my children and keep up with their lives. I decided to start working out again and started running again and going to the gym. I got into a regular program using all the machines available and I went regularly and put in good effort. But I was not seeing much of a difference. When I played basketball, I still ran out of breath and I could hardly keep up with the rest of the guys. I could only run about 3 miles before my knees started to hurt. I tried physical therapy and modifying my workouts, but nothing improved.
My wife and I decided to go to one of the awesome Personal Trainers at the North Oakland Y and before long she suggested that I join the CrossFit group. I decided to give it a try. I got hooked immediately! I never went back to using the machines. Since then, I’ve seen huge improvement in overall fitness, strength and endurance. I play basketball with 20-somethings who always complain about my energy and making them run too much. CrossFit has been an awesome preparation for two 13-mile mud/obstacle races (Spartan and Tough Mudder), which seem easy compared to some of the workouts we’ve done at the gym (like “the longest mile”)! I feel the fittest I’ve ever been (and I used to run and average of 10-12 miles in my younger days) and love to be able to play hard with my children.
Another thing that I like about CrossFit is that anyone can do it. Everyone can go at their own pace and improve from wherever they are. There is an element of competition, and that makes it fun, but it is mostly competing against yourself. The camaraderie is awesome! CrossFit is the best thing I’ve done for fitness (and don’t forget healthy eating). You never really know your limits until you push past them and CrossFit helps you discover that you can do it a lot more than you ever thought possible. That is a great feeling!