The Member Spotlight goes to someone who demonstrates the characteristics necessary for success, both in and out of the gym. Garrett started here at CFIS in 2016 as part of a 6-week challenge and had made tremendous progress. We asked him some questions about his fitness journey and his experiences here at the gym so far:
I didn’t find CrossFit; I was hunted down through targeted Facebook advertising for a six-week fitness challenge. I was just another resolutioner starting off 2016, so I went into the program with the belief that it probably wouldn’t stick. I didn’t know it was CrossFit until I showed up for the first day. I always had too much pride to think that I needed a class setting or a coach to hold myself accountable, but after years of failed solo ventures, I gave it a try. As can be expected, those first six weeks of actually working out produced amazing results…so I drank the CrossFit Kool-Aid and the rest is history. My favorite aspect of CrossFit is the scalability—that there is always a way to make the workout something you can do, and also that there is always something more challenging to aspire to. I’m driven by achievement, and the “get your first muscle up” philosophy in this sport aligns with that drive. Though I’ve experienced many bumps along the way—a fractured wrist, strained ACL, and currently a torn rotator cuff—CrossFit has been the only thing that has ever stuck. After more than 2 ½ years, I think I’ll keep comin’ around.
The first week I started CrossFit, two things happened: we took a ‘before’ picture, and we learned and worked up to a heavy deadlift. The photo showed some tiny arms, no definition, and some extra weight that I wasn’t proud of. The heavy deadlift was 205 pounds; you wouldn’t believe how proud I was to pass the 200 mark. 2 ½ years later, the ‘after’ photo is a different sight: much larger, more built, arms that are larger (though still my biggest weakness) and, yes, still some extra weight that I’m carrying around…what can I say, I love me some Raising Cane’s. Lift-wise, I’m pushing 400 pounds for my deadlift and recently PR’d my clean and jerk at 225 pounds. I never thought I’d lift anywhere near this much…and if you ask anyone who has known me for a while, it’s definitely the most impressive and noticeable change from where I was.
My favorite exercise—no shock here—is handstand walks. It’s my opportunity to be a shark instead of just another fish in the sea. My least favorite exercise is the deadlift. I feel like it can be a recipe for injury if you’re not careful, so I always approach it conservatively. If I could program a workout, it would be a couplet of cleans and handstand walks*Stay tuned Garrett; you may just get your wish this month!
I’m an international adrenaline junkie with not-the-greatest luck sometimes. I’ve bungee jumped in Zimbabwe, dove with great white sharks in Australia, and, at the beginning of September, will be ATVing on the edge of glaciers in Iceland. But…I’ve also broken my arm flipping out of a tree, tore up my hands and fell to the jungle floor trying to swing from a vine, been charged at by a wild hippo, and nearly dislocated my shoulder after slamming into a rock while rafting the Tully River.
I’m an insane goals person. I set 20 CrossFit goals for the year and I’ve checked off 8 of them—most recent being the aforementioned 225-pound clean and jerk, which checked off my goals of a 200-pound clean and a 200-pound jerk. My top three goals for the remainder of the year are: 1) 150# snatch 2) 30m handstand walk 3) 15 unbroken pull-ups. Bring. It. On.
