Michael Aaron

CrossFit Midtown is very excited to announce our October and November Member of the Month, Mohammed Hassan! Mohammed has been a member for a little over 1 year, has seen awesome gains, and competed in his first CrossFit competition this past month! Read on to learn more about Mohammed and his CrossFit journey. Thank you for being such an outstanding member of the CFM community!

Name: Mohammed Hassan
Nickname: People here sometimes call me Mo (like Mo Salah)
Age: 29
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt

How did you get exposed to CrossFit?
Last year, after graduating from Georgia Tech, I was looking to get back in shape. A close friend of mine recommended CrossFit as an all-inclusive fitness program.

What brought you to CrossFit Midtown:
Location primarily. CFM is walking distance from both home and work.

What was your very first day at CrossFit Midtown like?
Very tiring. I signed up for the introductory class. It felt like a brutal workout. I was on the floor after for a good ten minutes struggling to breathe. But, it was also then that I decided I wanted to come back and I signed up for foundation with Mike.

What changes have you seen in your overall health and fitness level since starting CrossFit?
So many changes! From the very beginning, Mike emphasized the importance of nutrition and that it is the base of CrossFit. I decided to clean up my diet and surprisingly, it was not that hard at all. I started cooking more, and stopped eating junk food and drinking soda. I am/look/feel much healthier. Also, my performance in the WODs improved by orders of magnitude over the past year. I am stronger, faster and fitter than ever.

What kind of changes have you you experienced since starting CrossFit that were completely unexpected?
I used to think that working out would be like an ‘add-on’ to my routine. One hour a day, three times a week and then I am back to where I was. But, CrossFit was not like that. There was the healthier lifestyle aspect where I had to make time for grocery shopping, meal prepping, cooking, etc. But then more unexpectedly, there was the community/family aspect. I did not think I would get to make that many friends at a ‘gym’. I am not sure if that is the case in every CrossFit box, but I felt that coaches and athletes at CFM really cared about me as an athlete and a person. So many fun events and memories in and out of the box! I greatly cherish the many friendships I formed at CFM over the past year.

Favorite WOD
Anything with Olympic weightlifting.

Least favorite WOD
I do not necessarily have one. There are certainly movements that I need to work on (like rowing and burpees). But, I consider WODs that include those movements as an opportunity for improvement.

Favorite CrossFit Midtown moment
The 2018 Graveyard Games! This was my first CrossFit competition and it could not have gone any better. We finished on the podium and got to spend the whole day with the CFM family. It was an awesome experience! Also, I really enjoyed Friday Night Lights earlier this year, although I did not participate in the 2018 Open. It was great to hang out with the CFM athletes and cheer them on. It was also a good opportunity for me to meet the ‘morning’ CFM people that I do not usually see. 31 Heroes was another great event that I enjoyed (I did participate in that one). Last, but certainly not least, I love when Emmie and Nico are around 🙂

Hobbies, Talents and or Interests Outside of CrossFit:
I play and watch soccer regularly.

Advice for new CrossFitters
Patience. Take your time to learn and be coached. Competition is important; it is good to have a friend/person that pushes you and makes you perform better. But I think in the beginning, that friend/person should be you, not anyone else in the box. Focus on working on your technique and constantly improving your performance. With time and hard work, you will be crushing WODs and PRs. And of course, don’t forget about your nutrition!