Meet Gary, our September Athlete of the Month!!
Gary has been a CFP member since the very beginning & has been CrossFitting now for over 2 years! He said calling himself an “athlete” is a bit of a stretch, but we don’t think so! At 60 years young, he’s lapping folks that are his junior! 😉 Gary has consistently attended 6am, weekend & Sunday Oly classes. He’s gotten stronger, better stability and range of motion as well as more confidence!
Gary participated in the CrossFit Games Open for the past 2 years in a row and showed big improvements! He’s not in CrossFit to make it to the Games, but he sees the benefits of staying in shape as he gets older. At this rate he’ll still be fishing, deadlifting & running when he’s 90 with his false teeth in 😉 Gary always walks in & out with a smile, cheers on his fellow athletes & works hard! We’re so glad to have you as a part of our amazing community!
Get to know Gary a little better below…
AOTM Profile
1. Tell us about yourself in a few sentences. I’m incredibly fortunate to be married to my wife, Toby, for 37+ years. We own two young adults, Corey (30 yrs old) who introduced me to CFP and Meredith (24 yrs old). Beside family, work and CrossFit, my wife and I like to hike in the NC mountains, Kayak and spend time at the beach. In addition, I love to fly fish. Have fished for Trout in the NC and Tennessee mountains, Arctic Grayling and Salmon in Alaska, and have caught Tarpon up to 120 lbs on the Florida Gulf coast.
2. What do you hope to achieve through CrossFit? My initial goals when I joined CrossFit Pineville over two years ago was to have a more well rounded fitness regimen. I had spent most of my adult life running (everything from 5k’s to marathons) and got tired of the monotony of training for long runs. CFP was the answer! As I’ve progressed with the help of the great coaches at CFP, I find that I’m stronger and more confident in my abilities. I would have never thought that I could do handstand push-ups and kipping pull-ups at 60 years old! (Still working on the DU’s). I’ve also recognized the benefits of working hard on mobility and the importance recovery time in achieving your goals. So for me, it’s about being able to squat to pick up my false teeth when I’m 90.
3. What is your favorite CrossFit exercise? Anything that involves squats, especially cleans, wallballs, sumo dead lift high pulls. Kinda getting to like kipping pull-ups also.
4. What CrossFit exercise do you least like? You know….the one everyone hates…Burpees! Not a big fan of the Air Assault bikes either.
5. What would you tell someone considering trying CFP? This is a pretty easy one. My attitude is that nothing worthwhile in life is easy. Whether it’s your marriage or relationship, raising kids or building a career it takes a lot of hard work to get the best out of it. Same is true around health and fitness. Work hard and smart, be committed and consistent in anything you do. This is exactly what CFP represents and it should integrate easily into anyone’s goals.
More importantly, I would tell them about the quality of coaching that we receive at CFP. I’ve visited a number of other CrossFit boxes in my travels and none of them seemed to have the knowledge or offer the encouragement that that our team of coaches provide. The coaches have also created a community that embraces all athlete’s regardless of skill level. I initially wasn’t sure that CrossFit was going to be “my thing” since most of the members are half my age, but I couldn’t feel more at home and really value the relationships with the other members. So, invite a senior citizen today!
Keep up the good work Gary, the best is yet to come!
