Intro

Welcome to REST LATER. This is an official announcement of my new blog documenting my training.  Crossfit Globo has served me well, but after reading the main site FAQS, I realized that having “crossfit” in your URL without permission (affiliate) is a no-no.  Therefore, I’ve changed blogs and “Rest Later” is my new home.

This weekend is special; you see it marks the one-year anniversary of taking my fitness and health seriously.  It was late July 2007 when the Steve Nash Sports Club opened and I started training.  I spent the first few weeks like a deer caught in the headlights, and then followed with a two-week vacation.  It was Labour Day weekend when I finally got serious about a healthy lifestyle.  Fast-forward to today.  What a year it has been!

This will be a lengthy post.  (Sterling, that is your cue to hit the print button and retire to your office).  Stay with me, people, it will be worth the read, I’ve put some current pictures throughout the post, plus before and after pictures near the bottom.

This is my story of the journey from a lazy couch potato to a vibrant crossfiter!

My Story

I was twenty-nine years old in 2006 and i’d known for some time that I needed to start considering a more active life.  I have watched men in their twenties eat and do what they please without much consequence.  After turning thirty, they went downhill fast.  It’s something about your body that changes at that age.  I’m no doctor but I watched it firsthand and I didn’t want that to happen to me.  Naturally, I wasn’t about to start “Right away” as I had made a deal when I was twenty-five, that once I turned thirty I would have to do one of the following:

1.) Eat better and less

2.) Exercise A LOT

Now you have to understand something about me…..I LOVE FOOD!  So for me, this was an easy choice.  #2.  Exercise A LOT!

There was only one problem - mainly the oldest excuse in the book:

“I don’t have enough time to exercise”

I don’t do well in the mornings, and by the end of my workday, I am not thinking of going to the gym.  However, luck would have it that as I turned 30 in Feb of 2007, I spotted a sign for the “Steve Nash Sports Club” under construction and scheduled to open in the summer.  This facility is a whopping five minutes from my desk at work (and that includes the elevator ride).  Now, I’m smart enough to recognize a good deal when I find one, so I jumped at the opportunity and signed up, securing a crazy low membership rate plus the biggest bonus of all - CONVENIENCE.  I’m fortunate to work for an employer that encourages fitness.  I have the opportunity during my workday to hit the gym, and the convenience of a world-class facility five minutes away.

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Labour Day weekend came and went and then I discovered the Group X program at the Steve Nash.  Now, for all you crossfitters reading this please bear with me.  The crossfit stuff comes a bit later, but from September 2007 to January 2008, Lauren Hughes of the Steve Nash Sports club was my primary instructor.  Lauren and her staff (Rebecca gets a big shout out as well) helped me in those early pre-crossfit days.  I weighed 208 lbs at the time and my cardio system was in the toilet.  Sterling was starting this crazy thing called “crossfit” that I was scared as hell of and I wanted nothing to do with it.  I began attending spin classes as often as four and five times a week.  This was a new sport to me and my first experience with it resulted in near death.  Lauren and Rebecca were encouraging and awesome instructors.  After several torturous sessions, it was starting to hook me.  I kept going.  I watched the weight fall, week after week, pound by pound.  After each spin class I had a puddle of sweat on the ground.  Apparently, this burning calories thing really does work… who would have thought?

Do you remember the deal?  Eat right or exercise?  Well exercise was winning, and trust me… I continued to eat whatever I felt like.  That was my reason to exercise - eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight.  In fact, I was losing weight.  YAHOO! This is a good thing right?  Well… sort of.  It’s better than doing nothing, but I had forgotten one major thing: When you start to exercise and recognize the work that goes into burning 1000 calories, one of the side effects is that you start to become more aware of the food you consume.  Yes folks, the more I exercised, the more conscious I became of my diet.  I didn’t want to be careful with my food, trust me, I enjoyed eating whatever I wanted and not gaining weight but slowly my attitude changed.  I was becoming food conscious.

January 2008 rolled around and I had lost 20 lbs. At this point i’m down to 188lbs and dropped an impressive amount of body fat.  Lauren and Rebecca’s training has been amazing.  It was working.  I was in the best shape of my life (so far) and even though life was good, I needed to up my game.  What happened next changed my entire outlook on fitness and exercise.  I can sum it up in one word:

CROSSFIT

After carpooling and spending a few hours a day with Sterling, he finally got to me and convinced me to try crossfit.  I’m scared, real scared.  This is the real deal when it comes to training.  It’s not for the weak or for people who want an easy way out.  Show up and bring your game face because crossfit workout will push you to the edge.

For those reading that are not familiar with crossfit, it can be defined as follows:

“CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and homemakers have found their best fitness from the same regimen.” …….

Continue reading about What Crossfit is Here:  What is Crossfit

Since starting crossfit, I have gained strength in all aspects of my body.  I recall starting out in my early crossfit days and doing jumping pullups.  I couldn’t do one strict pullup, or the kip.  I even cheated on the jumping pullups using one of those BOSU balls under the bar and half jumping and springing up.  I could back squat 95#, and that wasn’t getting my butt down in the basement.  It was a half squat.

I think you get the point.  I was weak, and needed to gain strength.

Crossfit has brought me to personal heights.  I am currently fluctuating a healthy weight between 180 lbs - 184 lbs. My conditioning is simply the best it’s ever been, and I look forward to even better conditioning in the future.

Here are some of my numbers and accomplishments:

“Murph”   58:22

1 Mile Run
100 Pullups
200 Pushups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run
“Grace”  4:31

30 Clean & Jerks for Time
135 lbs

“Helen “  10:47

3 Rounds for time
400M Run
21 KB Swings (55lb)
12 pullups

“Angie” 30:20

100 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats

Crossfit Total: 760

Back Squat: 275#
Deadlift: 370#
Strict Press: 115#

These numbers aren’t stellar (ok they are terrible compared to some of the crossfit superstars), but they are a HUGE accomplishment for me.  To put it into perspective, look at these photos.  They will give you a good sense of where I came from to where I am today.  Can you imagine getting some of the times or weights posted above with the body on the left?  Simply put, it just isn’t going to happen!

Today I am stronger than I ever thought possible.  I can achieve results I never thought I could.  I walk tall and proud down the street.  The confidence I have in myself is much greater than one year ago.  To quote the title of this post.  “1-Year can Change your life” You only need a starting point.

Almost a month ago, Sterling Haglund and Jason Noel (my 2 training partners) decided to up their game and follow the .com main site WODS.  This meant that I had to up my game as well, if I was to continue training with them.  It has been only a short while following the .com WODS.  Let me tell you … this is the real thing.  Playing with the big boys, as they say.  I’m still near the bottom of the roster when it comes to these big boys, but to just play with them and do the same WODS is an amazing feeling!  I look forward to the next year, and forward to seeing my progress one year from now!

PUBLIC THANKS

I would like thank publicly a few people.  Without them, I would not have the results I have today:  (In no particular order)

Sterling Haglund:Where do I start, dude?  Your support, encouragement and guidance have been amazing!  You’ve stuck with me from day one, adopting me as your little “project”, teaching me and standing by my side during all those countless WODS.  Even in my pre-crossfit days, your never-ending support was a huge driving force to my continued fitness.  I owe you a great deal my friend and I look forward to many more years of fun together!  You underestimate the importance you played in this journey - your involvement has literally saved my life.  THANK YOU!

Lauren Hughes:Lauren, I have been absent from your classes the last 5 months, but I need you to know the extremely important role you and your staff played in my life this last year.  (Big kudos to Rebecca as well)  Although I’ve moved to crossfitting full-time, your encouragement, kind words, and excellent instruction in the spin room was second-to-none and I will never forget it.  I left almost 20 pounds of sweat in that room thanks to you and that is something that you should be extremely proud of.  Thank you.

Coach Clarke (Crossfit Langley):Coach, even though I don’t get to the box often, you and Mia have played a big part in my crossfit experience so far.  From my foundation classes, to the challenge, to the handful of classes I’ve made it to, your instruction on the lifts, and dedication to the sport of crossfit is amazing.  I have learned more from you than you realize and am grateful for everything!

Crossfit Langley Members:You have all played a big role in my journey with the support and encouragement I received from all of you.  Thanks for welcoming me into the family, even though I was only a part-timer at the box.  THANKS!

Thanks for reading, come back often to visit and see my progress throughout the year!

Jeff Bowser

Rest Later

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 6:06 am and is filed under Jeffs Posts.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.