Announcing another amazing person in our community. Father, Husband, and he will fail to mention the winner of the DogWood Canyon Trail Run two years running. It includes a 15k one day and 25 K Trail the next! Aaron you have inspired us in more ways than one. Thank you for being a part of JCCF! This interview is a good one. Enjoy!
Name: Aaron Atwood
Age: 47
Family: Wife Kim and 2 children, Grace 15 yrs and Alden 13 yrs
Age: 47
Family: Wife Kim and 2 children, Grace 15 yrs and Alden 13 yrs
When and how did you get started with us? Started Feb 2017. I chose Jeff City Crossfit for price and the availability of a 5am class.
How long have you been CrossFitting?: 1 year
What time do you come to WOD normally? 5am
Favorite Lift: Clean and Jerk- love grunting up out of the bottom of the clean and the quick explosion to push the weight overhead.
Favorite Workout: Kelly- she is long and unrelenting. She is almost exclusively legs which is my comfort zone. She requires the same mental fortitude that running an all out 5k race does. You go over your lactate threshold real quick and you have to maintain the physical effort thru the pain but don’t blow up. Very mental!! And I excel at being mental!!
Least Favorite Workout: Kelly- she is long and unrelenting. She is almost exclusively legs so no rest time for a muscle group. She requires mental fortitude which on some days I lack. You go over your lactate threshold real quick so the pain starts about minute 2. Your brain is screaming “Just lay down and quit already!!” for the whole 30 plus minutes
Favorite Meal: Blackened Chicken Alfredo- that oh-so-delicious white creamy cheesy sauce poured over spicy blackened chicken resting so gently on a bed of delicious pasta. Oh so good and oh so bad!!!
Favorite Beverage: Coke from the fountain at McDonalds
Funniest memory at the box: During hang power snatches, I noticed on youtube videos that some lifters pop or strike the bar just above their pubis bone and then begin their drop under the bar. I had been bruising myself in that area and wondered if that was normal or I was doing something wrong. I consulted one of our 5am trainers who will go unnamed (but she is sporting a sleek new haircut!) if she had the same issue. After doing a couple lifts, she informed me that she was much to calloused in that area to feel whether or not she bumped the bar. I shook her husband’s hand the next time I saw him at the box.
What class time do you usually attend and what is the favorite part about that class? 5am baby!! The best class time with the best hair- you can’t beat 5am hair!! We have the best group of people. Starts your day out right. Get that metabolism humming. No excuse not to make it to class.
What is the wallpaper on your phone right now? A long and completely empty crescent shaped beach on the north side of Cat Island, Bahamas. The picture reminds me of the beauty and peace of the beach. It also reminds me to never travel with a fellow Crossfitter (you know who you are J.C.) because they will talk you into things like paddling 9 miles across the open Caribbean ocean to “get to the Atlantic side of the island”
What is your favorite JCCFTradition/Community Event? Sweating
What is your favorite candy bar? Twix- crunchy and soft
If you won $10,000 Dollars what would be your first purchase? a trip to Alaska to climb Mt. Denali
If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be and why? Cheetah- they are sleek and fast, chasing down gazelles on the Serengeti then lounging in trees during the heat of the day
Tell us some about your journey, greatest accomplishments. I joined Crossfit to prevent the repetitive motion injuries common in running. I have run for most of my life and as I got older, I had more injuries. This meant less time running as I recovered. Since exercise is my Prozac, this wasn’t working so well. Crossfit has eliminated those injuries because I have grown to like it so much I have quit running. Not the outcome I had planned on but mission accomplished.
If you could give any advice for a person new to CrossFit, what would it be?: I have lots of advice. First- don’t eat Taco Hell the night before we do a one rep max back squat unless your pelvic floor is in outstanding shape. Nobody will say anything but we will know it was you!! 2- Scale, scale, scale. Always scale so you have a successful workout everyday. Don’t try to lift too much weight or do so many reps that you blow up and quit. That is very discouraging and decreases your motivation and may make you quit. 3- Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares how much weight you have on your bar or how many bands it takes you to do a pullup. That’s the cool thing about Crossfit. An out of shape Grandma can work out next to the best athlete at the box. Just lighter weights and fewer reps. 4- don’t do any weightlifting in the WOD’s fast. It is tempting to tear thru the deadlifts when working against the clock but your form is not yet perfected and you will hurt your back and then go to the doctor and then take pain pills and then get constipated and then ……. wow- getting too personal. Just take it easy until you know your form is good. 5- Once you know your all in, buy the funny looking shoes. They will really improve your weightlifting. 6- Don’t forget about your diet. If you want good performance, you need good fuel. Your body can’t tear thru a hero WOD being fueled by a Big Mac. Not sure which diet to follow? It’s easy. Don’t eat anything with an ingredients label. I’ll save the rest of my advice for the book.
Please list two future goals. 6 months and One year: Dare I say I will conquer those confounding double unders!! For someone who can dance as well as I can, it would seem like I could do double unders. Oh wait, maybe that’s why I can’t do them….
Favorite Quote: Favorite exercise quote- “Just keep moving” Me. I have many conversations with people about exercise. I have heard every excuse for not exercising. You don’t have to do Crossfit but do SOMETHING. That something will snowball into a sense of well being and contentment that can’t be achieved in any other way.
Next favorite quote: “Can’t do this at home” Anika Careaga. This phrase was coined while smoking Cuban cigars, drinking rum, and watching the sunset over the ocean. Every time I have heard or used this phrase, times have been good!!
Anything else you wish to share that your heart desires: Last bit of advice: Be careful, this can become addictive!! Nothing in the world like nailing a new weightlifting PR or tearing up a difficult WOD.