Congratulations to Bill Pratt for being CFR’s September Member of the Month. He is a loyal member of the 5 PM class!

1)      What are your hobbies/interest/talents outside of CrossFit?

I think most people who know me closely know that I love to cook. Often it doesn’t go hand in hand with CrossFit, such as the ice cream tear I went on this summer that ended in three different kinds of coffee ice cream, but I like taking a science/chemistry approach to cooking which can make usually bland meal prepping taste a lot better. Ask me sometime about how to make chicken breasts not dry and stringy. Just be prepared for me to talk your head off.

2)      Share with us one thing that most people do NOT know about you?

I did competitive powerlifting for about three years before I joined CFR. My all time PRs were a 520# high bar back squat, 380# bench (paused), and a 550# deadlift in the 275# weight class. While powerlifting did set me up for success with the majority of the strength movements within CrossFit, I had to work for the better part of a year towards changing my perspective on what kind of athlete I wanted to be; there’s so much more to CrossFit than loading as much weight as you can on the bar and letting it rip for 5-10 seconds.

3)      How long have you been with us at CFR?

I actually joined CFR back in September 2017, but only lasted a month before going back to my old gym; my reasons had to do with the perspective I mentioned earlier. My shoulders were incredibly stiff and immobile due to lots of bench pressing, I relied on Olympic lifting shoes to get around my calf mobility issues when squatting, and with all the stress I put on my shins from squatting and deadlifting, running at 260# gave me stress fractures in my shins. I ended up losing 30# of that through dieting over the summer, and rejoined in September 2018, albeit with the same mobility issues. It’ll take a long time to fix, but it is getting there!

4)      Take us back to your first week here. How did you feel? Remember the workout?

I have always been extroverted when it comes to the gym because between a busy work schedule and taking classes for my MBA (which I graduated with last December) I had to get my social fill at the gym. The first workout I did (after the on-ramp, which included not finishing short Nancy and getting destroyed by scaled Fran) had power snatches, v-ups, and calorie row, all movements that were brand new to me. I don’t remember how I did, but it can’t have been well.

5)      What moment/achievement are you most proud of at CFR?

Probably RX’ing Fran for this first time last week, and meeting the comp time requirement with time to spare. I’d been on a ketogenic diet (very low carb) for the better part of three months in an effort to get my bodyweight down to a competitive level for the high amount of gymnastics volume that the comp team has in their regular programming. The pull-ups finally started clicking right in time for Fran and going from over 11+ minutes with jumping pullups to under 4:30 Rx and knowing exactly what to work to do even better next year feels awesome. A big thanks to coach Emma Bond for coaching me through it!

6)      Design your perfect workout?

Something short and explosive:

3 rounds
5 Power Cleans at 185
10 Box Jumps @ 30”
15 Calories on the Assault Bike

7)      What is your least favorite movement?

V-Ups probably. I know everyone hates burpees but you can always do a burpee. Lunging at your feet with your legs bent, half cocked to one side, and coming up three inches short never feels good.

8)      Summarize your lifestyle in 5 words or less.

Good, Cheap, Fast. Pick Two.

9)      Have you experienced any changes in your lifestyle now that you have been a CrossFit athlete?

Wanting to get better at my biggest weakness, gymnastics, required losing a little bit of weight to make pullups, muscle-ups, and handstand push-ups easier. That required taking better control of my diet, because no amount of 6 classes a week or extra assault bike was going to make up for the junk food I was eating. Going from 260# to 230# last summer and then 240# to 215# this summer, both times I’ve noticed step changes in how well I sleep, my daily energy levels, and my recovery time from CrossFit.

10)   What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking about joining or who has recently joined?

You get out what you put in. Everyone ahead of you has likely been where you are today, and they’d love to help you get to where they are.