Scott and I moved back to Maine Last year. Commitment to exercise had taken a back seat for quite a while, and I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I was looking for a place to “start back” with Spinning Class and wandered into CrossFit 321. Ginny was the first person I met. She said “no spinning, but you are welcome here”, and immediately made me feel like I belonged… I signed up for Fundamentals and CrossFit has been immersed in our lives for a year now.

My motivation for working out was to improve my health, mobility, and quality of life. I thought I knew how to get there on my own but never seemed to break the consistency barrier. I suffered from knee pain (after 5 surgeries), plantar fasciitis, lower back pain (as well as the aches and pains of an overweight 56-year-old). I never believed that my life was destined to continue the progressive health decline as I’ve witnessed for so many of my family members.

I retired from the Navy several years ago, where my last role was as a Company Commander (Drill Instructor) training recruits through Boot Camp. Back then, I was immersed in the traditional aerobic and bodybuilding programming. Unfortunately, with all that “experience” I couldn’t figure out how to put it all together, gain consistency, nor find the drive to follow through. I found that missing ingredient the day I met Ginny and the team at CrossFit 321.

I was motivated by my physical gains and didn’t want to waste that effort. Nutrition has been an interest of mine and I always ate what I thought was clean… but I began re-educating myself about food. I discovered “Forks over Knives”, and books like “Eat to Live” and “The China Study”… It changed how I view food, and now truly eating “clean” is ingrained in my daily, weekly, and monthly lifestyle. I’ve lost and kept off 30 pounds. I’m most excited to have dropped 2 sizes, and to be able to fit in clothes from the closet that I haven’t been into in years! I’m excited to be in a good place to continue working toward new goals.

I retired with 27 years from the Navy just one year earlier and was working full time ~45-50 hours per week. Life and professional responsibilities had taken priority over my own health for several years. I had crept up to 230 pounds, wearing a 36” waist, taking multiple GERD meds, and pre-hypertension was plaguing me.

I was winded when I walked the dogs on slight hills or while climbing the 4 flights of stairs at work. Sadly, even tying my shoes seemed more difficult. With degenerative/arthritic disks in my back and neck, arthritic hip, and nagging tendinosis & tendonitis from a bicep tear, forgotten was my weight training experience and days of being a certified Personal Trainer, and Navy Boot Camp Company Commander (Drill Instructor) in the 90’s.

So… Monica MAY have mentioned that I was putting on a few pounds. Considering my hours at work, I certainly didn’t’ have time to work out too. We only saw each other a few hours per day between the time I came home from work and went to bed. Normally that time was spent in front of the TV. She had been going to CrossFit for about 2 months and encouraged (dragged) me into one of the Saturday classes. The focus on functional movement gave me purpose though, and I signed up for Fundamentals the following class that was offered (and oh yeah…I was humbled).

The focus on physical abilities also motivated us to take a hard look at what we were putting into our bodies. Again, Monica led the way, we moved to a clean, nutrient dense, plant-based diet (primarily), and as of this month, I’ve lost 37 pounds. At 193 pounds, I am BACK to wearing the 32-inch waist that I haven’t seen since high school. More importantly, I’m off several meds now, BP is normal. My mobility has greatly improved. I have my health back.

My name is Dan, and this is my story.

A friend joined 321 and that was all she talked about from day one. The posts, the pictures, the WODs (workout of the day), the competitions, and all the crazy lift names. I was relentless in my harassing about being the best at exercising and all the other stigmas that CrossFit attracts, but it really caught my interest. It was a couple of years that she talked and I thought about trying it, but I had all the typical excuses lined up why I couldn’t, I don’t have time, I can’t afford it, I just bought bigger pants, etc.

Then one Saturday morning I was sitting in my recliner drinking coffee and watching the Rifleman when it dawned on me that I was only a couple months away from turning the big 4-0. I was carrying the Goodyear spare tire around, was close to single handily keeping Jack Daniels and Hostess in business and knew it was time for a change. So I reluctantly climbed out of my recliner, shook the moths out of my gym bag, ventured to the back of my wife’s walk-in closet and dug my gym shoes out from the bottom of the shoe pile where they had come to reside, and headed out to the free Saturday community class.

My social skills are about as strong as my willpower to not eat the second Twinkie, (Please refer to my previous comment), so I was nervous walking in, but a few minutes later I had signed a waiver (I don’t know what it said, I don’t read them and don’t lie, you don’t either) and joined in a coach led warmup. The group was friendly and inviting and I was on my way. That following week, even though I felt like I needed crutches to get around from that Saturday WOD, I signed up for fundamentals and made my home with the 5 am class. What makes CrossFit different from my other gym adventures is that every day is a different workout, and everyone in the class supports and pushes each other to succeed. Every class has a knowledgeable and friendly coach that will help you with proper form, motivation and how to properly scale movements so you can get the most out of the WOD.

I’m now over two years in and my list of scaled movements has dwindled, there’s still plenty and the only person that will judge you for scaling will be yourself. Double-unders are still on that list and I do not like them, not here, not there, not anywhere, but I still work at figuring them out. My 5am class has become much more than people I suffer with at the gym, we do stuff together away from the gym as well. Some fun, like dinners, and some not fun, like 5k’s, competitions and obstacle course races. I couldn’t imagine a better group to start my day with.

The moral to my short story is, CrossFit 321 has everything you need to be successful. The equipment, the coaches, and the members are all top notch. So dust off your sneakers, try a free class, sign up for fundamentals and get started.