CrossFit Testimonial – Greg
When you look at a before and after photo, it’s easy to assume that the transformative process was linear: that person started out overweight with no idea what to eat or do at the gym, followed a magical, new fitness routine, and six weeks later they came out looking like a Greek statue. If you’ve ever tried a new fitness regimen, a new “diet,” or tried to pick up a new sport, you probably know that’s just not how real life works.
My journey ran into CrossFit seven years ago, after years of failed attempts to get fit after the “undergrad 35lbs” and some work stress had turned itself into increasing pant sizes (yep, that’s me at the time on the left). All the weight machines in the gym looked like medieval torture devices to me, so I’d run, or do spin classes, or something I thought would surely help and each time I’d manage to lose ~5lbs only to gain it right back. I’d all but given up when as a last ditch effort, I gave the coaching staff and community of CrossFit Brier Creek a shot. They welcomed me in like family, met me where I was, and started working with me from the very basics of nearly everything we did. I wish I could tell you that six weeks later I looked like a Greek statue version of myself. In reality, it took hard work, it took a lot of correcting bad habits, making mistakes, and then mustering up the courage to try again.
I still remember the first time I realized that CFBC’s training had actually worked: I went to the beach on a family trip and awkwardly took my shirt off on the first day out, having previously dreaded that moment most of my life because I couldn’t hide behind my clothes. Suddenly, my family started cat-calling me about how “ripped” I was. This turned into a picture (yep, that middle one) that then went on social media and got yet another round of cat calls from my equally surprised friends. I was a little embarrassed, but also a little proud that my hard work had actually paid off. I believe that this first “after” picture, and every “after” picture ever since would’ve never happened without those dedicated coaches and community members at CFBC that walked with me through victory and through discouragement, and helped me to persevere through all the ups and downs that truly yield the difference between the “before” and the “after.”
