December 2011 was the beginning of my CrossFit story. I found CrossFit Brighton one evening while waiting for of all things, a pizza order at Hungry Howies. I heard music playing in the parking lot. I looked in the garage door window. What I saw was a group of crazy people jumping on boxes and hanging from a pull up bar. At no point did I ever think I was capable of doing something like this.

In my forties, I was fighting with the idea that I was getting old. At this point in my life, my mother had just passed away from Diabetes. I was the only person in my immediate family who wasn’t a Diabetic or at least fighting the symptoms. I was doing my best to try to live healthier, but was losing the battle. I had taken up running for a few years, but I always seemed to be hurt and honestly was just bored with it.

My son was a high school athlete and at this point the only reason I signed up for CrossFit was to give him something active to do during the winter. I figured I would have to drive him anyway, so I gave it a shot. Didn’t take long before my daughter wanted to do it. How many Dads get to stand across from their teenage kids, hear 3,2,1…go with Metallica playing in the background? The WOD is a topic of conversation in our house everyday. How great is that? That is one of the proudest moments in my life and I hope it never ends.

After the first 3-4 weeks of living on Motrin, my progression has gone from: • There is no way I can do that. • I think I just did that. • I can’t believe I finished that. • I just did RX. • I just finished first. Are you sure you counted correctly? Yes, ok, Sweet! • I just did more weight than MOB • Added it up again. Wasn’t even close. Maybe someday.

I could write a book telling you how good the trainers are. How supportive everyone is. What a great experience this has been, but anyone who has put in any time with this group knows this already. I now look at the white board and believe the harder the WOD the better.  I would like to say I feel 20 years younger, but I didn’t feel this great 20 years ago. If I can do this, anyone can.