Athlete of the Month: Erik Gary

It has taken a long time, but Erik has finally found himself as Athlete of the Month! Erik gets a lot of flak, but he seriously is one of the most committed and hardest working guys in the gym.

What made you decide to join the Riv?

1. I used to go to the gym a lot in college with my friends, but when I moved to Delaware I didn’t know anyone. I tried going to the Y when I could, but it just wasn’t the same. My sister had been doing CrossFit for about a year at this point, and she suggested I try it out. I used to bash CrossFit on a regular basis, but decided to give it a shot. I looked up gyms near me and the Riv came up. I remember the first person I saw was Chris Johnson. I never saw a man so large able to move so well (at least I thought so back then…j/k Chris). I wasn’t all about it at first, but then there was a WOD with overhead squats involved. I couldn’t even do the bar, which was extremely humbling. After that I was determined to break parallel for an OHS. Thus began the never ending journey to master the myriad amounts of movements that are CrossFit.

How has CrossFit Riverfront helped you reach some of your fitness goals?

2. CrossFit helped me actually create fitness goals. I never really had any when I first started. After becoming some what proficient in most of the movements I started writing down my goals and looking at them everyday. Month by month I started chipping away at the weights or the skills, and by the end of my second year in CrossFit I had accomplished almost everyone that I wrote down. That mindset has translated into my professional and personal life as well. I’ve never been more focused in my life than I am now with CrossFit as a large part of it.

What has been your favorite workout? What have you improved on most?

3. My favorite workout would be anything with ring MU’s, snatches, and heavy deadlifts (mainly because I can dominate Josh Reed in those movements). In all seriousness, ring MU’s are really fun. I remember seeing them for my first time and thought I’d never be able to do them. Snatches are the most technically difficult movement out there, so being able to move decently heavy weight for reps in that skill is satisfying.

What is your favorite part of the Riv?

4. The community is definitely my favorite part. I look forward to coming here almost everyday. This is the one place I can be myself and not be judged…for the most part. This place has really helped me become myself, and I don’t think I could be anymore grateful for it.

Categorised in: Athlete of the Month, Blog