by Phil Molnar
In this century and the last, the typical American newspaper journalist has fairly predictable behaviors. Despite advances in medicine and knowledge, most of us still drink heavily, smoke cigarettes, eat too much fast food and avoid exercise. I’ve worked in four newsrooms in four states and witnessed some reporters that are worse than others, but never met one that was any type of exercise enthusiast. | |
For myself, the mix of financial insecurity and pressure from readers were my biggest triggers for bad behaviors that only ever seemed to make my job harder.Last year, the Monterey newspaper I was employed at moved to Garden Road where, as fate would have it, First City CrossFit was. It took me a few months to get around to it, but when I finally got motivated enough, I signed up. | |
I figured that it was time to try something extreme because whenever I had gym memberships I would be too easy on myself and somehow manage to gain weight while there. I remember frequently eating at Wendy’s next to LA Fitness in Easton, Pennsylvania, because I “deserved it” after a workout. | |
My first impression of CrossFit was that it was like boot camp and I better lift as much as everyone in my classes so they would not think poorly of me. That was my first mistake. I played a lot of sports growing but I had no idea how to do any of the movements. I spent most of the first month with ice packs at places they probably shouldn’t be. If I could have started over, I would have just done everything with a PVC pipe for a month before I even tried weights. I struggled with just about every movement, but after time, I started doing things I didn’t think I was capable of, like handstand push-ups, kettlebell swings and the push press. It felt good and my self-confidence in the box greatly improved. It took about three months before I noticed a difference in the mirror. I figured I would have been ripped after a week, but it turns out I had a long way to go based on my previous lifestyle. There are still a few movements I just can’t seem to get right. I seriously doubt I’ll ever do a hang clean correctly and, even though it seems basic, I have some sort of mental block on kipping pull-ups that I cannot shake. My ideal workout would involve box jumps, handstand pushups, rowing, jumping pull ups and Russian kettlebell swings (I get worried I’ll drop it on my head when we do American). I’ve noticed music makes a big difference in motivating me when I want to give up. I like celtic rock bands Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. We had a coach once that played Limp Bizkit all week and it was horrible. I used to listen to that band in high school a lot when I was depressed and it got in my head while working out. It is ironic that I am writing the first member profile for FirstCity Crossfit. On good weeks, I make it to the box four days, but it usually ends up being three. There are people that I think live there so it will be good to hear from them in the future. | |
I know CrossFit’s moto is “forging elite fitness” but, for me, it is more like, “stay out of trouble for a couple hours.” I have no aspirations to win a CrossFit tournament but it’s fair to say this is the best workout program I’ve ever done and the most productive way I’ve found as a journalist to burn off steam.- Phil M. | |