How I Got Interested In CrossFit: An Meathead’s Journey to Fitness

The truth is, I never understood what it meant to be fit until I discovered CrossFit.

I started lifting my freshman year of high school. For 4 years, I followed the same sort of programming; playing a sport, and supplementing it with bodybuilding and powerlifting. Then one day, I realized I needed to make a change.

Here’s how I got started with CrossFit and how it changed my life:

Cutting sports out of my life was a terrible idea.

I played sports all through high school. But once I got to college, I stopped. I focused on hitting the gym 5 to 6 times per week and I thought it would be enough.

Disclaimer: It wasn’t. Let me explain.

It was the summer before my junior year of college. I was playing in my first beach volleyball tournament of the summer.

Fast forward to the first game.

My lungs were on fire and my legs were cramping uncontrollably. I also noticed I had significant mobility restrictions on my shoulders. My partner shot me a glance that said “Dude. What the heck happened to you?”

I know what happened.

I stopped doing athletic things and now I was paying for it. My bodybuilding and powerlifting programs weren’t going to cut it if I wanted to be a competitive beach volleyball player. I needed to make a change.

So in the summer of 2018, I started doing CrossFit.

Well actually, the real story is I dropped into a class, was so intimidated by the whole CrossFit thing, and didn’t come back for two months. But that’s a story for another day.

Fast forward to today and I have been doing CrossFit for 5 years.

In that time span, I’ve deadlifted 555 lbs, ran a marathon, and placed in my first competitive beach volleyball tournament. I’ve never felt more confident in my physical abilities.

So my goal over the next year is:

To begin coaching CrossFit. I want to help other people experience the same transformation that I had.