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Nov 2017

Gary B. – Spotlight Athlete of the Month

Chris O'Brien Blog 0 Comments

 

 

Member name:  Gary Bednarz

Age: 33

Occupation: Emergency Nurse @ Brigham and Womens Hospital & Nursing instructor @ UMass Boston

How long have you been a member at CFM? 2+years CFM (4 years of crossfit)

How often do you CrossFit? About 4 times a week

Do you remember your first WOD? Looking back, how did it go?  I believe my first WOD consisted of pushups, pullups, and air squats. Basically, I remember struggling to do strict pullups, while watching another member cycle through butterfly pullups.  I remember thinking, “I’m in over my head.”

What is/are your favorite movement(s) to perform? Aside from rest periods, deadlifts and ring muscle ups are my favorite (I think ring muscle ups are my favorite, because it something I never thought I could or would do).  

What has been your biggest challenge to overcome so far? My biggest challenge is also my favorite part of crossfit.  There is always a new technique or movement to learn, a new weight to lift, or a new machine (the bike) to master.  It is always changing and/or challenging, it keeps you from getting stagnant.  

What sort of changes to your body, health & fitness have you seen since starting CrossFit?  Crossfit has improved all of the above 10 fold.  

What has been your biggest achievement thus far, and what do you believe has been critical to its success?  I think my love/addiction for CrossFit is the biggest achievement so far.  CrossFit has made working out a constant in my life.  I try and incorporate it whenever I can, whether at home or on vacation, I always look for local boxes or ways to workout.

What do you hope to achieve in the next 6 months, and how do you plan to get there? My hope is that before the next open I can do a pistol squat and consistently do a bar muscle-up. I just need to set time aside to practice.  I think I say this every year after the Crossfit Open, and then I don’t do it.  This year I am, I mean it is in writing now.  

Now that you’ve been CrossFitting for some time, are there any misconceptions you may have initially had coming into CrossFit that you now disagree with?  My biggest misconception is related to the weights.   I was under the assumption that all of these plates were 45lbs, I did not know that  5lb or 10lb plates existed in the same diameter as the typical 45lb plate.  Honestly, that was one of my biggest hesitations to starting crossfit, I did not think I could do it.

Any advice to new members getting started? Continuing on the answer above, crossfit really is for everyone and anyone.  You just have to be willing to challenge yourself and try new things. Though it may be odd, uncomfortable, and/or overwhelming at first, the community, the challenge, and I think most importantly the benefits, both physically and mentally, are truly what make crossfit a one of a kind workout routine.  There are a lot of “haters,” but anyone who steps foot in a box and tries it, is already getting a benefit.  I think I can speak for most members when we say “we have all been there,”  but as someone who has done it for 4 years, and was so nervous to try it, I  find each and every new member or even a veteran struggling with a new technique inspirational.  Everyone in a crossfit box is trying to improve themselves, it doesn’t matter what you can and can not do, it matters that you are trying.  (step off soapbox)

What are your hobbies outside of the CrossFit box?   Aside from long walks on the beach and refurbishing antiques, I enjoy traveling and exploring new places whenever I can.  I am also an avid skier, and just like being outside and trying new things

Tell us something most people do not know about you?  In middle school I convinced my grandmother to buy me a ventriloquist doll, I dabbled in ventriloquism for about a week. Now i just bring the dummy out at parties