I started Crossfit in June 2010. I was a competitive swimmer
swimming year round at club teams starting at the age of 8. I swam all
throughout high school and I even qualified for Far Westerns (prestigious swim
meet on the West Coast) at the age of 13. I swam for the Varsity swim team and
played water polo as well. I ate whatever I wanted and had no notion of what
“bad” food was. Enter college years. You know how they say “Freshman 15?” I
beat that. It was “Freshman 25” for me. Holy crap did I gain weight as soon as
I stopped swimming. I remember taking a picture with my sister for her high
school graduation in 2003. I saw myself in that picture and was entirely
disgusted. From then on, I started scoured the net for diet programs and
exercise regimens to cut weight. I even did the Ab Belt where it “shakes the
fat away” as you watch TV (They tricked me). I cut a lot of weight mainly
because I was eating nothing. Long story short, from 2003-2010, I was mainly
focused on my physique. I didn’t care how strong or “fit” I was. I only wanted
to look good, get chiseled arms, and wash my clothes on my abs. I never was
able to obtain my goal because: 1) my diet didn’t contribute to my goal, and 2)
my workouts were not intense at all. How do you get an intense workout only
benching and doing curls? (Sorry Tuanson & Dal).
One of my friends, Joey Warren (games competitor), had been
doing Crossfit since 2008. He would post on his facebook and I saw his pictures
and I was floored at how buff and cut he was. When I finally had some time in
2010, I decided to check out Crossfit. I went to www.crossfit.com and I read an article that
changed the way I viewed fitness for the rest of my life and those words went
something like this (I apologize if I butcher the message), “…focus on strength
and getting fit first and your physique will come automatically.” Wow. So I was
going about it BACKWARDS the whole time?? This one message changed how I viewed
exercising completely! I have never looked back to any form of training other
than Crossfit. Want to know why? Because Crossfit works. Period.
I had a goal in mind. To
get buff. I figured I’d perform the Crossfit philosophy of “Constantly varied,
functional movements executed at high intensity.” It’s been 2 years now and you
know what? Getting buff is not my priority anymore. My priority now is getting
stronger physically and mentally, getting faster, getting more efficient,
getting more mobile, and getting happier. I’ve tossed my desire of getting buff
and now I want to become a better athlete because that’s what I was when I was
8 years old.
Profession: Engineer/App Developer/Fund Manager
Favorite/least favorite WOD, why:
My
least favorite WOD has to be a toss-up between Air Force WOD or when Austin had
us submit our times for 30 Squat Clean and Jerks @ 155#. Air Force WOD is a
mental killer. All the movements are do-able as crossfitters. What ultimately
gets you are those burpees at the top of the minute. Not only does it take time
away from the minute of work you need to do, it eats away at you mentally
because it’s living in a bad dream where you’re trying to run but you’re
running in place. The 30 SC&J’s were also a least favorite WOD because it’s
the first time I EVER felt like I wanted to DNF (Did Not Finish).
My
personal favorite WOD will have to be when the Guys (Bro’s) beat the Girls
(Ho’s). Just that whole series was fun and I would love to do it again.
Speaking of which, the losers still need to pay up.
Diet:
I’ve done diets such as 40/30/30, South Beach Diet, counting
calories, etc. I’ve done things in my diets that I am not proud of like taking
a spoon full of oil to get my fat intake, or eat raw eggs in my orange juice,
or measure how many Wheat Thins it would take to get 33.2 grams of carbs. I’ll
tell you that not a SINGLE diet helped me keep my weight consistent. Not any of
those diets helped me perform at peak level, until I found out about Paleo.
I’ve been on Paleo since January of 2011.The reason why I
follow Paleo is because I believe in the science behind this diet after reading
Robb Wolf’s book “The Paleo Solution”. Everyone should read this book. My
friends have been making fun of me for not eating bread, rice, pasta, drinking
juice, etc. I don’t care. When I go out with my friends, I am the only one
making conscious diet choices by setting aside the bread and ordering
gluten-free when possible. When I order the Carl’s Jr. “Guacamole Bacon Six
Dollar Burger, Lo-Carb Style with an extra patty” the cashier gives me the
stupidest look like, “So you’re watching your diet and you’re getting
guacamole, bacon, AND an extra patty?” When I go eat Thai food and tell the
waiter I want Red Curry Beef with coconut milk but sub the rice for steamed
vegetables, the waiter looks at me like, “So you want to watch your weight by
eating vegetables, but you’re eating coconut milk?” All of these things are
hilarious to me because you know why? The blood doesn’t lie. My triglycerides
are absurdly low. My LDL levels are extremely low. My HDL is immensely high. So
all the skeptics out there, you can think what you want but Paleo works.
Food for thought: Would you put 87 octane gas in your Cherry
Red Ferrari? Treat your body like a temple and it will take care of you for the
rest of your life.
Little
known fact about you:
I went to Chinese school from 1st grade till 11th
grade. I sacrificed every single one of my Fridays from 7-9pm to learn Chinese.
Best
moment at CFM:
Coming to the gym and being amongst friends. Best thing ever.
It gives me a reason to train.
