Congratulations to John Humphrey for being being CFR’s February Member of the Month! He is an avid hiker/photographer, and a loyal member of our evening classes, mostly 5 and 6 PM.
1) What are your hobbies/interest/talents outside of CrossFit?
When I’m not at the gym or at work, you’ll most likely find me hiking in the mountains, combining my passion for photography and the outdoors. I spend a lot of weekends taking trips to the White Mountains, Adirondacks, and Catskills. This time of year I love to snowboard and recently started winter hiking/snowshoeing. I also enjoy a good craft beer and some of favorite breweries include Bissell Brothers, Night Shift, Tree House and Hermit Thrush. If you want to see some of my photos you can check out my photography account on Instagram Thedustyfootphotographer.
2) Share with us one thing that most people do NOT know about you?
I attended a CrossFit Level 1 certification where I got to meet and be coached by Ben Bergeron, his wife Heather, and James Hobart.
Editor’s Note: Ben is a world renowned CrossFit coach. He currently coaches men’s champ Matt Fraser, and two-time women’s champ Katrin Davidsdottir. His affiliate, CF New England, won the CF Games Affiliate Cup in 2011. He and his wife have both made the Games in the past, and James Hobart is a multi-time Games competitor both as an individual and team member.
3) How long have you been with us at CFR?
I started late 2010 and then took about a year off between 2013-14, so about 7 years.
4) Take us back to your first week here. How did you feel? Remember the workout?
I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot and asking myself if it was too late to bail as I had already made the commitment to come. I had recently lost 100 pounds, had never worked out a day in my life, and knew nothing about fitness. I was looking for a way to improve my health and wellness and my sister told me about CrossFit. I thought it was crazy but decided to try it anyways. The workout was Angie (100 pullups, pushups, situps & squats). I remember laughing to myself, thinking it was someone’s idea of a joke. I did it as scaled as humanly possible, I remember on the pull ups I was basically being airlifted to the bar and it still sucked. I was the last person done by a longshot; I could barely breathe and couldn’t comprehend what I had just done and why I had done it. On the car ride home I broke out into laughter from the endorphins, I was hooked.
5) What moment/achievement are you most proud of at CFR?
That’s a hard question, since over the years there have been so many. But the first time I got off of bands on pulls ups was great, considering I had done the entire cycle of bands. Lately, being able to start stringing toes to bar together has been huge.
6) Design your perfect workout?
For time:
1000 M row
30 hang power cleans
20 push press
10 front squats
1000 M row
(115/80lb)
7) What is your least favorite movement?
Pull ups, burpees, running and rope climbs jumped pretty high on the list recently… Basically anything body weight!
8) Summarize your lifestyle in 5 words or less.
Carpe Diem
9) Have you experienced any changes in your lifestyle now that you have been a CrossFit athlete?
Yes! I have experienced a 360 degree change since joining the gym. As I mentioned before I was extremely overweight for most of my life and was the definition of a couch potato. I would sit all day and play video games. While I was able to lose a bunch of weight by changing my diet, joining Relentless completely transformed my lifestyle. Before joining I had zero strength. Apparently sitting in a chair all day doesn’t promote muscle growth….who knew!? Before CrossFit I couldn’t do a pull up, maxed out my push-ups around three, and had never touched a barbell before. Since joining CrossFit I’ve gained an incredible amount of strength both physically and mentally. I actually know what living a healthy lifestyle means and have the tools and knowledge to do so on daily basis. If you had told me when I first started that I would be doing the things I am today both inside and outside of the gym, I would have never believed it. It’s been seven years and I continue to see growth & personal gains. I can safely say I’m the fittest I’ve ever been in my entire life.
10) What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking about joining or who has recently joined?
If you’ve been thinking about joining but haven’t done it, take the on-ramp. No matter your fitness level you will see improvement. If you don’t think you’re fit enough, every movement can be scaled. The CrossFit community is extremely welcoming, and you’ll soon make friends who will push you to show up and push you in the workout.
Stay focused on your own results and pay attention to your body. Everyone in the gym is at a different spot it’s easy to get competitive and use as much weight as quickly as possible. It took me awhile to pay attention to how my body was feeling and scale the weights appropriately.
The best advice I can give you is be consistent! If you show up consistently put in the time and effort the results will come. It really is that simple.