May Athlete of the Month: William Pearson!

Every morning, almost without fail, when the sky is still dark and most of the town is sleeping, our May “Athlete of the Month” wheels his bike through our doors, leans it against the wall in the back corner, unloads his gear, and gets ready to work. He is pretty hard to miss: standing tall at 6-foot-4, William Pearson towers above most at the gym. Another reason he’s hard to miss? He’s been on an absolute tear lately: hitting huge PRs on his clean and jerk, snatch, squat, and deadlift this month; completing his first WOD “Rx,” or  “as prescribed;” and continuing the remarkable consistency he has shown over the course of his past year with us. We can’t say enough about William and his hard work at the box, and it’s paying dividends as he transforms into the lean, mean machine he is today.

What’s your favorite thing about CrossFit?

Couple of things. 1) Anyone with time and a desire to challenge themselves physically and mentally can do CrossFit.   If a 46-year-old overweight guy who never did a pushup in his life can do it, anyone can. 2) Exercises can be performed anywhere and at any time – hotel room, at home, on vacation, or at your favorite box. For busy people, it’s so adaptable and very accommodating to time and place. 3) Three Cs – Coaches,  Camaraderie, and Competition.  If it was not for the coaches’ enthusiasm and personal desire to make everyone better, this would have been a short-lived experiment (big shoutout to all of you guys that make us better). Camaraderie – seeing the morning squad is one of the best parts about my day. It keeps me coming back for more. Seeing others improve is also extremely motivating.  Competition – both personal and against peers.  To get better, you must push yourself, and CrossFit is solidly built around pushing yourself by programming ways to get everything out of the tank.  Not wanting to be last amongst your peers is also hugely motivating.

What are your most satisfying accomplishments in the gym so far?

This is going to sound really vain, but for me it’s an improved physique. For my whole life, it was always the other guy that was skinny or looked tone and fit. It was never me. Now after 10 months of CrossFit, I fit into clothes I want to wear and friends that have not seen me in a while don’t even recognize me and say I look great. Such results have exponentially increased my self-confidence and have made me more energetic in everything I do.  As long as you show up, CrossFit is a catalyst that snowballs other positive aspects of your life both professionally and personally.  

What is your biggest goal going forward in 2017?

Being able to Rx WODs the majority of time. Feels like that is still a year + away.