June's CrossFitter of the Month! Jeff Whitcombe!

                        Congratulations to Jeff Whitcombe for being our 

                             CrossFitter of the Month for June, 2016. 

Every month we like to recognize a member of CrossFit Silver Fox that is great role model in our growing community. This month we congratulate Jeff Whitcombe. Daily, Jeff will embody traits that we deem to be most important in making CrossFit Silver Fox such a special place. Jeff shows a strong commitment to the gym. Whatever schedule he is working, he makes time for the gym.  Jeff hits either an early morning WOD or Jen's 9am class. He helps make others around him better and is a lot of fun in the gym. Jeff is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He is a great member of CFSF and is always positive!!! Congrats Jeff!!!

Name:  Jeff Whitcombe

 Age: 41 

Occupation: Fire Lieutenant, City of Batavia Fire Department

City:   Batavia

       

•       When did you start CrossFit? October 2014, "Real" CrossFit March 2015

•       What do you do when you’re not here? Spend time with my family, work around the house       and coach my kids in hockey and soccer. 

•       What brought your to CrossFit Silver Fox? I have always been active but most recently I           was a member at a cross training gym that I felt wasn’t making me better. In fact it wasn’t doing anything for me. There was no instruction on Olympic lifts and the workouts were not very challenging. I came in for a workout and became a member of CrossFit Silver Fox the next day.

•       What keeps you at CrossFit Silver Fox? I really enjoy the workouts and look forward to going daily. The workouts are always different and can be as challenging as you make it. Also, recently the trainers have been really focusing on technique for movements and Olympic lifts. I believe i have become more efficient and technically better in the short time with this focus. I do not want to miss the training of these movement focuses. It is weird, it kinda becomes a sickness. Always wondering what tomorrows workout will be. I feel I gotta show up just to see. 

    

•  Now that you're hear, what was your biggest misconception? I cannot believe how supportive all the members are to each other. I have been a member of other gyms but at CFSF there is a community of support. I think its because we are all having the same struggle during the workouts.

•       Biggest Improvements/struggles with CrossFit? increased strength and aerobic capacity/ double unders!!!

•       How many days do you train at CrossFit Silver Fox? 5 days/week

• What makes your come in and train on days when you don’t want to?    I know if I show up I will walk out of there an hour later feeling better.

• What is your approach towards nutrition?  At first I lost 15 pounds and I thought I could just eat and drink the same way I always have and hit my weight loss goals because I was doing CrossFit and was seeing results. The reality is you cannot out train a bad diet. I plateued and tried to tweak my eating on my own through cutting this out or that out but none of that was working. I talked to Jason and he said he can help me with the nutrition. He provided me with a template for eating with food lists, when to eat and how much. I now meal prep for the week and it is working. I have lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks since starting the plan and the plateau is in the rear-view.

• Favorite workout? Cleans and Rowing         

• What is the most challenging part of your CrossFit journey?  Double unders! I practice them and can hit one here and there but can’t hit them with any consistency. It just frustrating! i will continue to practice and eventually they will happen.

• Super Power you would want most? Flying like Superman

•   Any advice for new comers? Stick with it. You will be sore at first but that goes away (not totally). It will only get easier if you allow it to. That’s what great about CrossFit, it can be as challenging as you want it to be for your goals.

•        Favorite activities outside of CrossFit? Coaching my kids in hockey and soccer, playing golf, going to the movies and working around my house.

•  Name something about yourself that is a little known fact. I went to college in Kentucky and lived above a fire station.

•  Accomplishments at the gym. PR’s, Weight Loss, etc? I believe my greatest accomplishment at the gym is becoming a better, well rounded athlete. 

•  Goals for the remainder of the year? Loose 8 more pounds to be under 200 pounds for the first time in a very, very long time.

•     Who inspires you? My wife. She is my best friend and makes me a better person.

May 2016 CrossFitters of the Month!!! T.J. & Meg Woodward!

May 2016's CrossFitter(s) of the Month.

CONGRATULATIONS T.J. & Meg Woodward

Every month we like to recognize a member or members of CrossFit Silver Fox that are great role models of our growing community. This month we have two!  T.J. & Meg Woodward!!! Both Meg & T.J. embody traits that we deem to be most important in making CrossFit Silver Fox such a special place. Meg shows a strong commitment to the gym by waking up so damn early and hitting the 5am class!  She helps make others around her better and is a lot of fun in the gym...even that early. T.J. is an afternoon CrossFitter and has shown incredible changes and progress since he has been there!  He is a great member of CFSF and is always positive!!! Congrats T.J. & Meg!

Here is more about T.J. 

·        Age: 36

·        Occupation: Funeral Director

·        City:   Batavia

·        When did you start CrossFit? July of 2015

·        What do you do when you’re not here? If I’m not working I’m normally home trying to spend as much time as I can with the family. Outside of that I’m probably hunting or at the golf course.

·        What brought you to CrossFit Silver Fox? My sister had been pushing me to get into it because she had and continues to do CrossFit in Atlanta. She knows that I needed something to motivate me and get back into shape. I chose Silver Fox after some research, finding out who owned it and realizing that it’s the only affiliated box in our area.

·        What keeps you at CrossFit Silver Fox? The first thing would be the gains and changes that I have seen in myself. Secondly you don’t have to motivate yourself, you just have to show up and be prepared to work. Athletics have always been a big part of my life and having great coaches like Jason and Jen makes doing the workouts seem like practice.

·        Now that you're here, what was your biggest misconception? That CrossFit causes injuries. I think a lot of the injuries caused at CrossFit just like any other gym are either caused by your ego or bad technique. If you don’t try to do too much weight right off the bat and Jason/Jen will make sure you have good technique you can avoid injuries for the most part in my opinion.

·        Biggest Improvements/struggles with CrossFit? My biggest improvement has been stamina, I really struggled to breathe when I first started. A lot of the cardio was overwhelming, it’s still a struggle but I have gotten a lot better.

·        How many days do you train at CrossFit Silver Fox? I always shoot for 4, occasionally because of work it’s only 3. Rarely if I get the chance I will do 5.

 

·        What makes your come in and train on days when you don’t want to? Seeing the changes in my body, energy level, physical feeling in general. Today is a perfect example, Saturday workout and I was very tired waking up at 6:20 but I’m so glad that I did it. I feel great now.

 

·        What is your approach towards nutrition? Lean meats, fruit, veggies, little whole grain and no sugar. 110oz’s of water a day, one cheat meal a week. That was my approach for the clean eating challenge and I’m doing my best to stick with it.

·          Favorite workout? I don’t really have one. I prefer the lifting to the cardio but my body needs the cardio more. I do like partner workouts though, it makes you work harder because you don’t want to let them down.

 

·          What is the most challenging part of your CrossFit journey? The eating and stretching. A lot of people immediately think it’s a diet. I’m trying to change my eating habits for life, not just for a few months or a year. I also need to spend more time stretching, I’m not 21 anymore.

 

·        Super Power you would want most? First thought is mind reading but I’m not so sure I’d want to know what everyone is thinking all the time so I choose flying.

 ·         Any advice for new comers? You have to get through the first month. It’s hard, very hard but if you can get through the first month you can do anything CrossFit throws at you. Give it a legit chance too, a lot of people that stop coming make a million excuses for themselves…Don’t be one of those people.

 ·         Favorite activities outside of CrossFit? Hunting and golfing. Obviously besides being with my family my favorite place to be is in a tree stand with a bow in early November.

·          Name something about yourself that is a little known fact. I shot a one eyed Opossum.

·         Accomplishments at the gym. PR’s, Weight Loss, etc? Since starting CrossFit I’ve lost 31 lbs. while adding muscle. Something else I’m very proud of is being able to do a few strict pull-ups, I couldn’t do one when I got here and it wasn’t even close.

·         Goals for the remainder of the year? Ideally I want to continue to lower my body fat %. That’s been my biggest goal and will continue to be.

·         Who inspires you? My wife, she works tirelessly at school and then comes home and takes care of the house and the kids. I am far from perfect but she has and continues to inspire me and make me a better man.

Here is a little about Meg!

• Age: 33
•  Occupation: First Grade Teacher

•  City:   Batavia
•       When did you start CrossFit?    July of 2015
•       What do you do when you’re not here? I do laundry, cook dinner, make school lunches, write lesson plans, do the dishes ,...oh-  and enjoy time with my family and friends! 
•       What brought you to CrossFit Silver Fox? T.J joined and enjoyed it so much that I had to check it out! 
•       What keeps you at CrossFit Silver Fox? There are so many reasons. The coaches are encouraging and knowledgeable, the people are kind, and I like that the workouts are challenging. 
•       Now that you're here, what was your biggest misconception? I didn't think I would be able to do the workouts or keep up. 
•       Biggest Improvements/struggles with CrossFit? I think my biggest improvement would be my strength. That happens to still be my struggle.  I'm always trying to be stronger. 
•       How many days do you train at CrossFit Silver Fox? 3 or 4
•       What makes you come in and train on days when you don’t want to? My workout buddy Stefanie Clark ! 
•       What is your approach towards nutrition? After completing the clean - eating challenge I've realized even more than ever, the importance of " you are what you eat". I try to choose the more natural/ healthy option. 
•         Favorite workout? I like any workout with running or an AMRAP. 
•         What is the most challenging part of your CrossFit journey? Mind over matter. Most of the time I just need to stop thinking and pick up the bar. 
•       Super Power you would want most? Time Travel - is that a super power? 
•        Any advice for new comers? Stick with it and don't give up! 
•        Favorite activities outside of CrossFit? Going to the park with my kids, going to the movies 
•         Name something about yourself that is a little known fact. I played violin in the Genesee Symphony Orchestra. 
•        Accomplishments at the gym. PR’s, Weight Loss, etc? I recently did some double - unders for the first time. 
•        Goals for the remainder of the year? Keep making improvements and try to go more often. 
•        Who inspires you? My husband T.J and all of the other people at Silver Fox! We all have families, commitments, jobs etc., but we choose to come in and work out for that hour with the coaches who continually cheer us on and challenge us.