Have you met Jeff? If not, you should. Like right now! Jeff, one of the oldest members of CWCF, can be found wearing the ORIGINAL crossfit shoe, Converse Chuck Taylors (that’s legit, seriously). If you don’t know what those shoes look like, Jeff can be identified by his wide smile, his willingness to say hi to everyone at the gym, and his genuine interest in how his fellow crossfitters are doing that day. And if you STILL can’t figure out who Jeff is, he’s the one pushing himself a little further each WOD, stepping up his game to do Rx weights or the heavier wall ball, even if it means he’s the last one on the floor. It is truly inspirational to take a step back and watch Jeff push through a workout with grace and humility. But really, have you met Jeff? You should.

Nickname: 

Some past ones are “Corn” (my middle name is Cornelius), “JeffO”, and “Willow”, but no current nicknames in use.  Time to come up with a new one!

Hometown:

Chemsfid (phonectic spelling)

What brought you to CWCF? 

I’ve had a nagging running injury since my last marathon in 2008.  After doing yoga and other things for a while, someone mentioned this “crazy” thing called crossfit and it sounded great.

How long have you been Crossfitting?  

Getting close to two years.  I started with Brian at the church in the summer of 2011.

What do you do when you’re not making sweat angels? 

I’m a patent attorney and I work for Amazon in our new office in Kendall Square.  In my spare time, I also work on voting software (for fun, cf., high school question below) to promote the use of other voting techniques that provide a more democratic outcome.  You can see it at www.opavote.org.

Favorite Lift:

Overhead squats.  Especially, when we do them in the parking lot in the summer, and all the passerby gawk at how we are such bad asses.

Favorite WOD: 

Fight Gone Bad.

In high school were you a sport-o, motorhead, dweebie or a righteous dude? (see the link!)

Clearly a dweebie.  I was captain of the math team, a member of the calculus team, and traveled to the national computer science competition.

It’s your chance to brag…ready? Go!

Being a little guy, I love to gauge my performance in terms of body weight: more than body weight C+J, 2x body weight dead lift, and so close to body weight overhead squat.

What motivates/inspires you?

Seeing my own improvement and the improvement of everyone else at the box.  I love that I’m 42, clearly the strongest I have been in my entire life, and still breaking personal records every month.  Physical fitness is an important aspect of my life, and I love working out with a community of people who feel the same way.  We are not here because we want to look good (though that is a nice side benefit), but because we want strength, power, speed, and all of the other skills on the wall.

What’s next on the horizon for you in Crossfit? Goals, benchmark WODs, or other accomplishments?

Chest to bar pullups, getting my double under mojo back (I forgot how to do them!), and my first muscle up.

What’s your best tip for the new members?

Really take your time building up to heavy weights.  For many, many months, I didn’t try for any true one rep maxes.  Instead, I did “comfort-level” one rep maxes.  This was partially because of technique and partially to build up all the secondary stabilizing muscles that you haven’t used much.  In the beginning, I probably could have done a 115 C+J, but my technique would have been terrible.  Instead, I did a 95 C+J, and it felt pretty good.  Now, I know my true C+J 1RM, and I can do it without fear of hurting myself.

You are surrounded by 1^st graders and you just dropped a 45lb plate on your foot. What’s the first word out of your mouth? © CFNH

I’m not used to being surrounded by first graders so it would probably be a bad one. 

Anything else to add?

A huge thanks to Brian and all of our coaches making CWCF such a great place and important part of my life!