Q: How did you find out about Ballston CrossFit and what about it convinced you to join?
I was doing volunteer work in Florida last December and was partnered with a person who was a CrossFit trainer in Texas. No idea how we got on the subject, but I was impressed by how he described the program and what to look for in a local CrossFit program – so I decided to give it a go. With COVID and working from home it made it next to impossible to make it to the gym in my office building, Ballston CrossFit checked off the boxes for me – it got me into the gym, on a great exercise regimen, with excellent coaching.
Q: What stopped you from coming in sooner?
I pretty much signed up for Foundations the next month – I’m not young (58) and not getting any younger – I wanted to get right into it.
Q: When did you start at BCF and what were your goals going into it?
I started in Foundations last January. I’ve always participated in sports and generally exercised intermittently – office gym, distance running etc. I was really looking for a program that would give me total body fitness – who knows how effective whatever I was doing on my own actually was? I wanted coaches that would push me combined with coaching that ensured I was doing the exercises correctly. And I wanted to be motivated and kept on a schedule that I couldn’t just blow off.
Q: What has helped you achieve success at BCF?
More than anything, the attitude of the entire community from both coaches and members. Everyone has been great since day one. The coaches are engaging and motivating and my classmates are supportive, personable and just fun to be around. The biggest piece of advice from my colleague was about the coaches – make sure they are more worried about form than anything. That’s never been an issue here. Q: What advice can you give to others that are new to CrossFit?
Check your anxieties at the door. CrossFit can seem intimidating, especially if you haven’t done organized exercise before or if you are just starting to exercise. It’s loud and frenetic and looks pretty chaotic from the outside, but everyone is accepting and helpful and no one cares if you lift five pounds or five hundred. Put the effort in and ask questions – there are no stupid questions given the complexity of some of our exercises, especially the olympic lifting.
Q: Besides working out, what other lifestyle changes did you make outside of the gym to achieve your goals?
I believe that I’ve always ‘eaten well,’ but I think that CrossFit has led me to pay even more attention to what I put in my body and what I should not. Although nothing will cure my love for craft beer!
Q: What benefits have you noticed since starting CrossFit both in or out of the gym?
I am definitely stronger than I was when I started. I just coincidentally got on the subject of hockey with a colleague in a volunteer organization who put me on to playing ice hockey again. Being in CrossFit shape has given me more confidence that I can keep up with younger players (or not fall as far behind) and it’s so much fun to be playing hockey at full throttle again.
Q: What has been your favorite thing about Ballston CrossFit?
I already mentioned the community, but it has also made exercise fun again. Nothing brings people together better than shared misery, but I look forward to the classes more than I ever did to any exercise regimen I was ever under before.
