Athlete Of The Month February 2012 – Wayne Smith

Welcome to our very first Athlete of the Month profile. These are a chance to get to know some of our members a little bit better and to celebrate their achievements. So without further ado, here’s Wayne:

Name: Wayne Smith

Age: 44

Occupation: Project Manager

What is your fitness background?

Not trained at a gym before – my fitness in my youth came from climbing, caving and hiking. I also snowboard and mountain bike. I’d train for climbing at indoor walls, but nothing other than that. About 10 years ago I started with a series of problems with my back. Over time, it got worse, and I couldn’t do most sports. This combined with a sedentary job, resulted in my strength and fitness falling through the floor.

How did you find out about CrossFit/CrossFit Tameside?

First exposure to anything Crossfit was Nicole doing 15 OH bodyweight squats on youtube. A friend (Ian) saw the video too, said he’d seen Crossfit whilst abroad, and that they’re all crazy. I did more research online and it looked like he was right. Crossfit Stockport opened up, and although I was interested, I was worried that it’d be like all the other gyms and I’d look like an idiot being so out of shape, and also that I wouldn’t be able to take part with history of back problems.

Ian did a Ski\Snowboard boot camp, and was suggesting I did it too. It sounded way too hard.

But the seed was sown, and eventually I decided to contact Crossfit Tameside to see if I’d be okay – and all was positive. Caroline, decided that she wanted to give it a try too, and so we booked on a Foundations course.

How long have you been CrossFitting?

8 months

Favourite WOD/movement:

WOD – probably Crossfit Total. Movement – barbell squat or deadlift.

Least favourite WOD/movement:

Dead heat between burpees, Turkish get up, inchworm.

Favourite workout tunes:

Anything rock.

How has CrossFit impacted your life/what changes have you seen in yourself since starting?

The Foundations course was an eye-opener as to how unfit I’d got. For 2 weeks it was agony. But the improvement it that short time was amazing – about a third off the benchmark test time.

So I decided to stick with it, despite the pain and the fear that it was only going to get harder.

8 months in and there are some obvious improvements

• I’m lifting double what I was at the start on pretty much all lifts.
• I couldn’t do box jumps at all – my PB is now 31”
• I couldn’t skip for toffee – now, I’m not brilliant, but I can complete sets (double unders next)
• I’ve never been able to do pull ups – even when I was climbing at my hardest level. I’m not there yet, but have progressed to the skinniest assist band.
• I struggled to complete runs in WODs initially, but can manage them now.
• In October, I switched to a largely paleo diet, and lost 2st (although Christmas has taken its toll).
• I very seldom have back pain which used to dog me day to day

What are some of your goals that you have for yourself in the next year?

Crossfit Total of 300kg or more
20 pull ups
Fran Rxd
Improved flexibility
Handstand push up

Tell us something we don’t know about you?

I’m scared of spiders