Kris first heard about Crossfit in 2009 from a cousin of his whose husband is in the Air force. When she described it to Kris, he thought it sounded a little crazy, like something a green beret or navy seal would do. His cousin encouraged him to try it and see for himself. Kris started Fundamentals at FCCF in October 2010 as one of our first three new members. Before CrossFIT, Kris occasionally went for runs and did P90X, albeit inconsistently. Kris states “I was nervous about starting CrossFit. When I did start, I was at a point in my life where I was the most out of shape and the heaviest I have ever weighed. I was also intimidated by preconceived notions of “gyms” based on previous experiences.” Kris weighed 200 pounds when he started CrossFit and had no plans to participate in any endurance or performance races.
Fast forward one year later with Kris coming to CrossFit regularly for a year. In 2011 he has participated in a rowing event, many running events, a relay trail marathon, a bike ride event, and a triathlon (just to name a few). He has also competed in many fundraising events for charities as part of the FCCF CrossFit community including the Zoo Challenge, Fight Gone Bad, and the CF Rochester Games. He now weighs 167 pounds. Kris says that CrossFit has given him the confidence to go after anything. He never anticipated losing as much weight and as fast as he did, his cholesterol level has never been better, and he is the strongest he has been in since high school.
We asked Kris, “What do you like best about Flower City CrossFit?”
What I love best about Flower City Crossfit is without a doubt the people and confidence it has given me to push my personal goals. From the outset, I’ve never felt intimidated and I have always been given the right amount of encouragement, reassurance, and motivation to keep pushing myself. I’ve done basement workouts before but find it difficult to stay motivated. I have also joined gyms before but felt like they were not places for someone to get into shape, but rather for people already in shape. I also am not motivated by what I call the high school football coach mentality; a coach who believes in getting in your face and yelling profanities at you. Flower City Crossfit, and specifically Jeff Rice, has represented everything I need to be successful; trainers genuinely committed to your betterment, safety and Crossfit principles, an “anyone can do it, you just need to put in the work” attitude and friendships with people I never anticipated or imagined. I also never thought I could participate in such races as the Fleet Feet Sehgahunda Trail Marathon relay without extensive trail running experience.
Finally, we asked Kris, “What keeps you going? What gets you out of bed in the morning?”
Flower City Crossfit has become a lifestyle for me. There is something about the sharing of a hard workout with my fellow FCCFers that forms a family-like bond. I find myself happiest seeing others around me succeeding and hitting personal highs and not just taking stock of my own personal gains.