Congrats May Member of the Month: Jared Craig!

Member Since: September 3rd 2024

“Coaching Jared is always a treat! He LOVES being Coached .. meaning he is always looking for the feedback and cueing – not to mention he says “THANK YOU” every time we teach him! He’s a HAPPY and amazingly KIND human being – something I know I strive to be like every day. The sky is the limit here with Jared, and I’m so excited to watch him continue to get stronger and progress towards his goals!! I’m lucky to be able to Coach him on Thursday mornings.” – Coach Amanda

Meet Jared! I’m an actor and stay at home dad. I volunteer a lot around town and am especially proud of my involvement with the MRPAC as the president of the board of directors. I think we’re doing a lot of great stuff there and growing really fast. I started the FoxTales storytelling program – which is sort of like The Moth, if you’re familiar with that. As an actor, I have been lucky enough to work abroad touring a lot of France and performing at the national theaters of Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. As a dad, I’m super proud of my 3 kids and absolutely love family time on vacation or skiing in New Hampshire with them. My partner, Katie (also a Torque member) is so supportive of my career and super successful! She always includes me in her work success, and it truly feels like we are a TEAM together. I’m genuinely living my best life!!

Why did I join Torque? We tried a bunch of fitness and diet trends and none of them worked for us. Katie’s brother is a CrossFit Coach and he speaks very highly of it. I like the idea of being accountable to someone besides myself. I like that CrossFit seems to be about the whole athlete, not just fitness or diet, but whole-body health.

What keeps me coming back? The vibes! Seriously though, I do love the 6am crew and feel a genuine connection with so many people. Pam M. will sometimes say, “Are you guys coming tomorrow?” And if we say yes – now we have to go because it’s FOR PAM! So the group motivation helps me a lot!

Some of my accomplishments: I have always been nervous about weight training because I’m terrified of injuring myself and being unable to do some of the everyday tasks. I have been shocked that I’ve been able to safely lift weights without hurting myself. In fact, I had a back issue BEFORE I started CrossFit Torque. It has almost completely gone away! So every time I lift a barbell (especially if it’s over my head) is a proud moment!

Some of my challenges: My biggest challenge is trying to keep up with the folks who have been doing this for years. I’m constantly looking side to side and trying to compete with the other Torque athletes and finding that I’m doing much less weight or going much slower. So I’m trying to focus on my personal best and not compare myself as much. But I’m stubborn and competitive.

My favorite moment: My favorite moment happens a few times a week when the 6am crew cheers each other on. When I’m struggling sometimes a little encouragement from a neighbor or coach pushes me through. I try to do the same, now that I know a lot of names! I’m still working on that!!

Advice for anyone that is hesitant to start CrossFit: My advice would be to take it slow and focus on form and the rest will come! Coach Sara is really good at coaching form! I always appreciate when anyone coaches me and love that the class size is not too large so we all have an opportunity to get some personalized coaching. As an actor, I love getting direction so I’m so appreciative of any help any of the coaches will give me when I’m short of the mark! I still feel like I have a ton to learn!

What would be my ideal superpower? My super power of choice would be flying. My favorite parts of the Superman movies were always when he was flying! I’m terrified of heights and flying in planes. So I’d rather have that than almost any other power. I would fly everywhere!