Aaron

I had bad asthma growing up so I was really limited with the sports that I could play and ended up playing tennis. I could play tennis intensely for short periods, as this gave me time to catch my breath in between points. In college, I decided to work on my asthma and breathing and became a long distance runner. Today I still do long runs, and coach tennis and track for Southern California Special Olympics.

Last January my cousin, Shaan told me about Crossfit. He told me it was something that could change my life and make me stronger both physically and mentally. Needless to say I was very doubtful, I mean sure a gym can make me stronger, but how could it make me stronger mentally or change my life? I told him I’d consider it, but kept putting it off. Lucky for me Shaan is pretty persistent and the rest is history.

I think my first WOD was Jackie, and it was absolutely terrible (probably that’s why it’s my least favorite WOD). I had been going to onramp classes and rowing clinic religiously, so I thought this was a workout I’d be decent at, boy was I wrong. Before the WOD, Alexi (rowing coach) told me to pace myself and I’d be fine…of course I did not listen. I tried to row the fastest 1K I’d ever rowed and pushed hard through the thrusters. I got to the pull-up part of the workout and felt like puking my guts out. After 10 pull-ups I did puke and got a DNF. It was one of the most disappointing workouts I’ve ever done, and very humbling. This workout made me want to get better, faster, and stronger but also taught me how important it is to listen to your body.

Since I started Crossfit I’ve seen a lot of changes in my body. First is I’ve put on about 13 pounds and had to get a new wardrobe. Before I started Crossfit, I didn’t really care about my diet and having pizza three days in a row wasn’t uncommon. I was also notorious for having a huge sweet tooth. This is no longer the case, I find myself being really careful about what I eat, much to the disappointment of my friends.

One of my proudest moments at Paradiso, was the day I rowed a 10K with Alexi. About two weeks after I had been going to rowing clinic, I told Alexi that I really wanted to do a long distance row by summer. Every Sunday, we’d do a workout that would help build up to this distance and work on my speed. At one of her last rowing clinics we did a 10K row together. It was such a great feeling that really gave me a lot of confidence for everything at Crossfit. Since then I’ve been setting little goals for strength and WOD’s, and trying my best to achieve them.

I hate to admit it, but Shaan was right about Crossfit, it has changed my life. I come in everyday knowing that I will push myself to new limits mentally and physically. It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I am to be part community where athletes and coaches from so many different backgrounds can come together, work together, and push each other. I’m really thankful and humbled to be part of this big family.