| Name: Michael Eustice Age: 35 Place of Birth: Annapolis, MD Career: Engineering Manager, Mechanical Fun fact about yourself: I collect and play European and non-mainstream board games. Yes, there are conventions for this. How long you’ve been CrossFitting: Just over two-and-a-half years. How long you've been CrossFitting at Apex: Started at Apex (2.5 yrs) Favorite WOD: Fran Least favorite WOD: Badger Favorite lift or exercise: Cleans Least favorite lift or exercise: Squats Biggest accomplishment (In or out of CrossFit): My biggest accomplishment would probably be the passing of the professional engineering exam. It is a painful 8 hour exam that can only be attempted after passing a previously held 8 hr exam, getting a bachelor's degree in engineering, performing a minimum of 4 years of accrued field experience, and studying for several months after work. It allows me to stamp and seal engineering designs, and verify on behalf of the state that the client's best interests (such as safety) are upheld. CrossFit goal: I would like to get 20 rounds in the Cindy wod. I need to get better at push-ups in order to do this, but I am working on it. Favorite APEX memory: I don't know if this is my most favorite or my least favorite,.. it's the one I'll never forget though. My first day. Prior to showing up I was fairly consistently doing 20 to 30 minute sessions of biking (stationary) or working on a elliptical for over a year. My brother-in-law was blabbing all about Crossfit, and I was looking for something new since the stationary biking was getting old. He said crossfit was tough but I figured he was probably just not aware of how much biking I was doing. I showed up at Apex and wasn't even sure if I was at the right place. I was at someone's house and I saw some weights out by the garage. I nearly turned around but ended up talking to Josh. Apparently, this was the right place and yes, we are going to be working out in this dude's garage. There were some other new people there too so that made me feel better about being at this bizarro place. After some training by Josh on jerks, box jumps, and crossfit goals I felt ready for my first workout. I think it was something like 5 rds of 10 jerks, 15 box jumps, and 400m run. Didn't sound so hard. Josh said something that made zero sense to me when he was explaining the wod; "The run is where you'll catch your breath." What? Runs aren't for catching breath. This guy can't be serious. Anyway, 3,2,1, go. I felt good out of the gates but by round 3 something wasn't right. My body never felt this way before. This pain was new. My lungs started screaming and my entire body felt inadequate. What was happening? I knew I was in shape,.. look at all the biking I did for months! It took everything I had to finish but I finally did. After several minutes I was able to peal myself of the ground into a sitting position. I felt sick. I didn't want to throw up in front of everyone. I convinced myself I had to get out. I did not even care to say goodbye. I did not trust my mouth to talk. If I talked there was a chance I would barf. I got in my car and successfully left without having to speak to anyone. I started the car without too much trouble but I couldn't feel the pedals. Once I got it on the road I solved the pedal issue by putting my car in cruise control and setting it for 30 mph. I hoped that there would be no red lights because I could not guarantee that my foot was capable of pressing the brake pedal. Once home, I texted my brother-in-law to tell him my opinion of him, ate half my pantry, and went to bed. I spent the next few days more sore than I've ever been, in not normal areas. Steps were a new enemy. But I could not stop thinking about what it all meant. How could this one, less than 20 minute exercise routine make me feel this way, after all of the exercising I've been doing? This crossfit thing obviously exposed many flaws in my fitness routine. I knew that if I could stick with it and regularly complete workouts in that fashion, I would be healthier than I could ever be otherwise. I was hooked. As soon as I could navigate steps again without wincing, I was back to Josh and Tanya's garage for more. Now I am happy to say I understand how to "catch your breath on the run." |
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