I’ve always been active, and my family played every sport under the sun except for hockey, and naturally, that’s pretty much the only sport I’ve ever played. Playing hockey, I felt like I could forge my own path, with the added benefit that my family couldn’t tell me what to do! For a really long time, I felt like hockey was my calling and stuck with it through high school, into college, winning a gold medal with Team USA, and through the minor leagues. But when I was introduced to CrossFit, things started to change.
Back in college, one of my hockey buddies (big surprise!) was really into CrossFit. Now, I was really into the ‘old ways’ of circuit training, and we were really fit guys, so I thought it would be a cinch. I humored him, and we started to do one CrossFit workout a week. I learned my lesson fast! The CrossFit sessions were always the hardest workouts of the week. I remember one day in particular when we decided we’d do two sessions (1/4 mile runs, 20 burpees and then “Fran”… I had no idea what I was doing!). It was really bad at the end I was miserable! But it was a real wake-up call for me; something that was so difficult for me (this really fit guy), others around me were doing in minutes.
I thought I would stick with it, but lost touch with CrossFit after college and only came back to it a couple of years ago. When you’re feeling like things are just too much for you, or you’re just starting out with CrossFit, remember this: When I first started here, I thought that I was going to walk in and blow the roof off the place (I’m Team USA, right?), but I was totally humbled. At the same time, the people I met were so supportive and helped teach me so much, that within a year, I had achieved the results I’d been working for throughout my entire fitness career.
Trying CrossFit in college and my time playing hockey were the driving factors pushing me to be a coach. When I had mastered a skill that I was able to pass on to a teammate, their excitement at being able to do something that they couldn’t do before was always an amazing feeling. I felt like I was contributing to someone’s life in a positive way and I honestly can’t think of a better thing that I could be doing right now. I help people maintain their fitness, and their bodies. After all, you’re only given one, and it’s so important to take care of throughout your life CrossFit the best way I know of to do it. Coaching doesn’t come without its challenges though! There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits all approach in this box and I try really hard to get through to the people I work with. It’s a process of trying to understand how people learn best and being able to read students to give them the guidance they need. I learn almost as much from my students as I teach them! With such a positive atmosphere, it’s addicting!
-John
Workout of the Day
ME Lower Body