September Athlete of the Month: Graham Hommel

If you come to any of our 6AM or Saturday morning classes you would be hard pressed not to find our September “Athlete of the Month”. Graham Hommel is the definition of consistency and hard work, and it certainly shows in the amazing progress he has made these past few weeks. He has been RXing WODs, and pushing himself to stick with the more difficult and technical movements – can we say Toes to Bar?!?! Don’t be fooled by his quiet nature, Graham is the first to encourage his fellow athletes and can often be found jamming to the music mid-WOD! Graham brings positivity and joy to not only the 6am class, but to the entire CrossFit Sausalito Community. Congratulations, Graham!!

CS: Tell us a little bit about the difference CrossFit has made in your fitness since you joined CrossFit Sausalito.  What are your most satisfying accomplishments in the gym so far?

Well, I think it’s fair to say I’m healthier and stronger than I’ve ever
been in my life, so that’s rad.  I sit behind a screen all day so I was
pretty happy with myself just making it in at 6:00am.  Then I was pretty
happy when that rare WOD came along that I could do Rx.  But once I was
coming in 3 or 4 times a week, small gains were more apparent so I think
now I get the most satisfaction from just making constant progress.  That
being said, I was probably disproportionately excited when I linked
toes-to-bars in a WOD for the first time.

CS: What’s your favorite part about coming to CrossFit class?

Without a doubt it’s the people; the coaches and the other athletes.
I do love that the format of CrossFit basically tells me what to do and
doesn’t give me a chance to overthink whether or not I can accomplish
it.  But it’s the people that make me *want* to push myself and that makes
you want to return the favor by encouraging them.  In other words, the
Kool-Aid is delicious. But yeah, there’s no way I’d work this hard if I
were doing this on my own, never mind actually look forward to it.

CS: What’s your best piece of advice for a brand new CrossFitter?

There are a lot of remarkably strong and fit people in class; it’s
inspiring to say the least.  But you’ve got nothing to prove to anyone so
don’t hurt yourself by trying to go big to match others.  Instead just
keep shooting for small gains every day.  Those are just as awesome. I
suppose that mindset won’t get me to the CrossFit Games (obviously the
only thing holding me back), but I’m okay with that.

That, and get a lacrosse ball for home; so worth it.