Congratulations to CrossFit Midtown’s very first Member of the Month! Keep reading to find out more about Patrick and his CrossFit Journey. Thanks for being such an outstanding member to the CFM community!
Name: Patrick Jones
Nickname: n/a
Age: 28
Hometown: Raised in Chicago, but in Atlanta for 15 years now
How did you get exposed to Crossfit? I first saw crossfit on ESPN a few years back and thought it looked like a lot of fun. I didn’t join right away but after years of boring workouts in traditional gyms and missing competitive sports I decided to give it a shot at a box over in Candler park back in 2013/2014.
What brought you to Crossfit Midtown? I have lived in Midtown for the better part of 9 or 10 years so the location was perfect for what I need. More importantly though I was looking for a box with a great community feel and people who really cared about what is going on. I also was looking for so something that I felt like I could become a part of so the size of CFM was appealing to me. Without naming names, my first box was pretty cold and uninviting so I was looking for the opposite of that and Crossfit Midtown has certainly delivered.
What was your first day at Crossfit Midtown like? A little intimidating but also exciting. Since I had a little bit of Crossfit experience coming into CFM I knew enough to know I was about to go through a really hard workout (I took a full year off from CrossFit and went back to a traditional gym after my first experience) but I was excited to dive in and commit to the program and ideology.
What changes have you seen in overall fitness level since starting Crossfit? I can honestly say I have never been in better shape before in my life. Not only has my endurance increased but at the same time I am stronger than I have ever been and I am doing lifts that I have never really been exposed to before nor had the confidence to attempt. I played basketball my whole life and lifting was never really apart of our training so its been awesome to see myself getting stronger. It’s the first time I feel genuinely well rounded in regards to fitness.
What kind of changes have you experienced since starting Crossfit that were completely unexpected? Definitely making new friends since I am used to the old way of working out; putting in your headphones at the gym and zoning out for an hour and half. Also confidence though that bleeds over into my professional life. I am in real estate which is a highly competitive field, especially at the luxury level, but when you know you are capable of doing these ridiculously hard workouts and seeing them through you start to bring that mentality with you in other areas. Finally I would say rediscovering having fun with fitness. When you’re buttoned up in a suit all day long its pretty awesome to come here and flip upside-down and try out handstand walks and jump on the rings and practice muscle ups.
Favorite WOD? I like anything that is long. Workouts that are 15-20 minutes in length and that involve either running or rowing mixed with wall balls or cleans and pullups. I like being tested in that capacity
Least Favorite WOD? Anything that involves overhead squats. It’s a weakness and I need to work out it but it is my least favorite movement hands down.
Favorite Crossfit Midtown moment? Probably either knocking out my first strict muscle up and kipping muscle since that seemed really unobtainable when I first started 8 or9 months ago or just finishing my first official class after the onboarding classes feeling like, “ok I got this”.
Advice for new Crossfitters? Keep showing up. No matter how you are feeling just keep coming because you always feel better after and are glad you did and it’s the only way to see progress which builds confidence. Also don’t cherry pick workouts, decide which days you are coming during the week and then come know matter what pops up on the white board.
