28
Oct
Ed Mengel
| Q: How did you find out about Ballston CrossFit and what about it convinced you to join? I found it on Google Maps. I really liked the schedule. I work west coast hours, so I love the 9:30am and the 8:30pm classes. My last gym had no classes after 6:30pm, and by Friday night all four weekend classes would be full. At BCF, I love being able to sign up for the 1pm Saturday class 20 minutes in advance! Q: What stopped you from coming in sooner? Rhabdo! Well more specifically for CrossFit there’s so many haters on the internet spreading tales of unsafe workouts, meathead gym members, people getting Rhabdomyolysis, and gyms putting “Pukey the clown” posters on their walls as a badge of honor. I workout to get more healthy, not to risk injury and damage. I’ve been blown away by how wrong the internet can be in that BCF (and almost every CrossFit gym I’ve been to) places such a great emphasis on mobility, a proper warm up (that’s related to the current WOD), proper scaling & technique, and has just really nice people. Haters gonna hate. Q:When did you start at BCF and what were your goals going into it? I think I started Jan 2023. I wanted to lose a little weight, gain a little muscle, and learn a few “human party tricks” along the way. More importantly though, is feeling like I crushed a tough workout. I set up a home gym when I moved to Virginia and during Covid, but it was so hard to get motivated and get myself to do a killer workout like a metcon. Being around others gives me a lot of energy and makes it so much easier to put everything into the workout. Q: What has helped you achieve success at BCF? Mobility! I love the great warmups and mobility exercises, so many great things to do. Unlocking my shoulders has helped chest to bar pull ups and toes to bar. Hip mobility has helped with knee pain. It all really helps with injury prevention. Q:What advice can you give to others that are new to CrossFit? Scaling and mobility. Scale aggressively and scale a little less each time. Big jumps lead to injury and set you back in training, especially after 40. This is even more applicable if you used to be able to do something back when you were younger and cooler. Really hit the in-WOD mobility and add pre and post-WOD mobility and accessory work any time your schedule allows. If you’re already mobile, unlike me, it’s a great time to work on skill work or drills. Q: Besides working out, what other lifestyle changes did you make outside of the gym to achieve your goals? I’ve been making a few diet changes. I’ve recently been convinced ultra processed foods and seed oils are the devil, so I have been trying to aggressively reduce those along with sugar and sodium, and replace them with more meat, protein, and fruit. Q: What is the biggest benefit you have noticed since starting CrossFit both in or out of the gym? As a person who typically worked out in the evenings most of my life, I love knocking out a really hard workout first thing in the morning. It makes me feel like I’ve already accomplished the hardest thing I’m going to do all day. That just gives me a great sense of accomplishment, which helps me relax and conquer my day. It’s one less thing to stress about. Q: What has been your favorite thing about Ballston CrossFit? The schedule, there’s almost always a class going on, and I love that there is an official Fx option. Most gyms don’t even list scaling options on their apps. It’s Rx or bust. But honorable mention to the coaches who are all so friendly and knowledgeable. Q: What has your favorite memory related to CrossFit been? Suggesting to Kris that he should rent the empty space next door and call it “KrisFit”. Then Tucker can buy him out and the merged mega gym will be called “KrisCross Fit”. The marketing writes itself. |