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November Athlete Focus: Ken S
“Congrats to Ken S. for being November 2017 Athlete Focus!”
– Coach Jake
Member since: May 30th, 2017
I work in the big data space – I work for ITT Corporation and have responsibilities for the analytics and reporting worldwide and manage all the enterprise IT and COE functions. I love to read and cook and being in my gardens. I am hoping to increase my time skiing this year and am an avid hockey fan – love hockey – both kids play. Personal aspirations at this time – hmm, my main focus is to being a better person each day and a good father and husband. I would also like to get back down to 200 lbs – I am about 217 now (was almost 260 3 years ago) – so I guess I would say to be healthier and fitter by my birthday next year (June) and being able to complete “Murph” on Memorial Day. My favorite book was the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings growing up – I really connected to Samwise Gamgee. I grew up very poor and was homeless on a periodic basis when I was young – so I just feel very blessed for what I have in life and I try to enjoy as much of each day as I can.
What was it about CrossFit Torque that made you want to join?
A funny story really. I had always thought about trying CrossFit for a few years – but it was my daughters (Madeleine and Hannah) who got me to go – one day I promised that I would go with them and we could try it together – and about 3 months later they called me out. So, I looked and asked around and we decided to try it at Tourque – I spoke to Amanda on the phone and she was very nice and wonderful – so I thought – hmm – should be good – got nice people – that’s a plus. So we signed up (me and my daughters) for the on-ramp program – where we met Jake and Carey – who are both just simply awesome – Carey was kinda scary though J – but is super great – we had a great time and loved it from the beginning. Plus, I get to be with my daughters working out and having fun.
The funny part, was I said to myself, no more of these promises to my kids and nieces, nephews – last time I made a promise, my nephew, Maxwell, had me jumping off a 40 foot cliff. And then…. I make another promise of going to CrossFit – which now, I am very glad I did. Plus jumping off the cliffs was fun.
What has kept you coming back to Torque, day after day??
The workouts really, but first, the coaches; from Amanda to Jake, Alex, Charley, Carey, Michael, etc – they really make the workouts great – fun and challenging – with a lot of advice and coaching – which I need – I actually, on occasion have asked Alex’s wife for “coaching” in the am classes sometimes J – I also love the high energy and intensity of the workouts – love the people and energy of the gym. And I love the workouts by the clock – it makes me work at such a higher rate and intensity. And, I am a very outgoing, positive guy – but stress builds up – I can honestly say, the hard workouts have made me a much calmer person, and have improved my overall health – it’s becoming a needed element to maintain a more peaceful disposition, and to improve my overall health – someone said – you have to grow old – we all do – but you don’t need to get weak.
What is your favorite thing about working out at Torque?
The people. I love coming to the gym. And I love working out with my daughters – when they come with me – I am just so excited and pumped. It’s hard to get teenage girls to hang out with boring, old dad – so it’s a good day when they can fit into their schedule. Also, I never say “damn, I regret doing that workout” so I know when I come to the gym it’s going to be a good day.
What is your proudest accomplishment thus far?
Hmmm… not sure really. I guess I could say my PRs – but really – the proudest is that at the beginning it was very hard to go all out for each workout – I was out of shape and mentally just not there yet – but now – I go to the “buzzer” and have actually RX’ed one workout so far. So, it would be getting over the mental challenge of going harder then I think I can. It’s easy to be inspired by the coaches, but really, everyone is working so hard, that it just picks my pace up and makes me push harder.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Lack of core strength – this limits me in a lot of movements – I was never big into core workouts and doing sit-ups – I have had 4 lower abdominal surgeries and with lack of focus on the core it’s gotten quite weak – so – I do a lot of extra core exercises at home and sit-ups. It’s been frustrating at times, sometimes very frustrating – but just knowing it’s a process and to focus on the process of improvement has made it easier to accept some limitations.
What is your favorite CF movement to do?
The Clean and jerk.
What piece of advice would you give to someone who is looking to start CrossFit but hasn’t yet?
Being healthy is a choice and it’s very hard to make that choice – but just sometimes you have to apply the quote from Risky Business and say “What the F*&K, make your move, Joel, what do you have to lose, every now and then saying “What the F*&k brings a certain kind of freedom” – and just decide to make a change – and ask if the juice is worth the squeeze – I can guarantee you – it is most definitely worth it. Just focus on the improvement process and take the first step – commit to say doing 2x per week for 4 weeks – no matter what – you will make it a priority and then reevaluate at the end of 30 days[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”22626,22625,22624″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
