NOW ZACH WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS:
In the spring of 2006 I went to a doctor and had a physical for the first time in several years. My health was good except for one glaring problem: at 5′10″ I weighed 255lbs, about 70lbs too heavy for a person my height. I decided right then and there to make a change. Little did I know one change would lead to many changes. All of the changes added up to one thing: a healthy life style.
The first change I made was to add daily exercise. I was always athletic and played sports all through school, so I wasn’t afraid of exercise, I was just lazy… ok ok, I was a huuuuuuuge stoner too. My life before my physical consisted of drugs and food. I would wake up and smoke pot, get an egg cheese hashbrown sandwich, go to class, smoke more pot, go to the deli for lunch, smoke more pot, go deliver pizzas while smoking pot and eat free pizza. That day, after my physical I went on a 3 mile walk all over Northport. I walked the same 3 mile route every single day for about 6 months. I dropped 25lbs in just a couple months, just from walking.
After 6 months I could really see the difference in my body, but I wanted more. Walking was getting boring and it took too long so I started to run. I could cover more ground running in shorter time than I did walking. Running melted the weight away pretty quickly and was getting into pretty good shape, but it wasn’t enough for me. I really wanted to see what kind of shape I could get into if I worked hard at, so I made some more changes. I quit pot and started watching what I ate. At that point I weighed about 215. After I quit pot and started to regulate my eating habits, 30lbs came off really quick.
So now I was in pretty good shape, or at least I thought I was. I was running 6-8 miles about 5 days a week. I was running in races – 5Ks and 10ks mostly. I was getting pretty good times too. But, I decided that I wanted to change up the routine a little and maybe add a little muscle to my body. A friend told me about CrossFit. I wasn’t immediately interested though. I figured, I’m in great shape anyway and I hated my past experiences at gyms. “Today is back and bi’s, or chest and tri’s, or just legs today.” That annoyed me so much but my friend explained that CrossFit was completely different. So, I called Chris and came in and did the orientation wod. As it turned out, I was in shape, runners shape, but thats it. The orientation wod was devastating. I left the gym completely exhausted. My eyes were so glazed over Chris and PJ asked if I would be ok to drive. Now, in my pre-physical days I would have left after that and Chris would never see me again, but I liked the challenge and wanted more. I signed up right there. I’ve been going for over a year and half now.
I owe a lot to my friend for turning me onto CrossFit. Now, I’m not training for anything in particular, CrossFit has taught me a tremendous amount about myself. The most important thing its taught me is that my mind is indeed stronger than my body. Its taught me to attack all challenges. Never turn your back on them. I’ve also met all of you amazing people that push me to dig a little deeper and get through all those grueling wods.
I know how hard it is to make such a huge change, or even lots of changes. It might be the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life so far, but it can be done. Anybody can make this change. I’m not saying to start off at CrossFit, but start off doing something. Don’t say you can’t, because you can. If a 255lb stoner fat kid can do it, anybody can. Get off the couch and learn something about yourself. Challenge yourself. “Just f–king do it”
Sorry for the length. I was really fat.
