5/5 Mark R. 2 years ago on Google
Fifty
years
ago
I
was
a
collegiate
wrestler
at
Furman
University.
Now,
at
68
years
of
age,
I
am
in
my
best
condition
since
those
happy
days,
thanks
a
great
deal
to
the
great
fitness
community
at
CrossFit
Local
in
Chapel
Hill.
My
resting
heart
rate
is
51
BPM
after
years
(decades!)
in
the
sixties.
I
can
bench
255
pounds,
clean
and
jerk
160,
and
I
can
do
unbroken
sets
of
64
pushups.
After
nine
months
of
working
out
at
CrossFit
Local,
I
placed
in
the
top
one
third
of
eleven
hundred
elderly…
um…
“masters”
athletes
worldwide
in
the
Open
competition
for
my
age
group.
Owners
Chad
and
Kelly
Edwards
have
built
a
wonderful
fitness-oriented
community.
During
special
events
such
as
a
skills
class
or
the
recent
CrossFit
Open,
they
provide
childcare
in
the
“club
house”
just
outside
the
gym.
Every
so
often,
Kelly
sets
up
and
facilitates
weight-loss
programs,
complete
with
prizes
for
accomplishments.
Chad
is
always
willing
to
provide
one-on-one
coaching.
You’ll
find
healthy
recipes
on
their
Facebook
site,
protein
and
pre-workout
supplements
in
the
lobby,
and
there
is
always
a
“Local
Hero”
working
out
when
you
enter
the
gym…
always
inspiring!
Differentiating
the
place
even
more
is
the
cadre
of
well
educated
and
certified
coaches,
always
eager
to
help.
All
have
patiently
entertained
my
questions
and
provided
super
insight.
I’ve
received
tips
from
Coach
Paul
on
power
lifting
and
from
Coach
Kevin
on
my
techniques
and
balance.
I’ve
discussed
the
cardiovascular
system
with
fabulous
distance
runner
Coach
Josh
(Hyden).
I’ve
learned
the
basics
of
handstand
pushups
and
wall
walks
from
Coach
Grace.
I
try
not
to
wonder
if
I
remind
Grace
of
her
grandfather…
I
don’t
mind
being
dad-age
to
the
rest
of
them!
And
oh
my,
the
“Local
Heroes!”
From
my
perch
on
a
rowing
machine,
I’ve
watched
Coach
Michael
do
sets
of
very
impressive
“muscle-ups”.
If
you
don’t
know
what
those
are,
Google
it
and
be
amazed!
Yes,
young
Grace
can
do
them
too!
I’ve
also
observed
Coach
Marc
load
up
a
barbell
with
multiple
heavy
plates
to
conquer
with
his
dead
lifts.
And
I
have
followed
on
Facebook
Coach
Kristin’s
successes
in
“strong
woman”
competitions
she
competes
in
around
the
state.
The
only
coach
I
don’t
know
is
Josh
Fox,
but
I
drew
him
as
a
judge
for
one
of
my
Open
workouts
and
he
was
kind
and
forgiving
of
my
poor
form,
not
giving
me
any
of
the
dreaded
“No-reps”.
I
am
sure
many
of
the
other
old
guys
were
also
getting
away
with
what
they
could,
so
I
don’t
feel
too
bad
about
it.
And
speaking
of
Local
Heroes,
Justin
Huckaby…
“Coach
Huck”
….
is
there
almost
every
evening,
working
out
in
preparation
for
the
CrossFit
competitions
and
teaching
the
rest
of
us
anything
we
ask
about.
I
just
checked
Justin’s
performance
in
the
2022
CF
open
and
he
is
in
the
top
4-5%
of
CrossFit
athletes
worldwide.
One
thing
I’ve
observed
about
Justin
is
that
each
day
he
comes
in
with
a
plan,
scrawls
it
on
a
little
white
board,
and
proceeds
methodically
through
the
exercises
and
lifts
he’s
determined
to
complete
for
the
day.
Several
times
I’ve
seen
him
accomplish
PR’s
as
he
progresses.
Not
to
mention
the
awe
of
watching
him
scamper
up
the
climbing
rope!
Finally,
there
is
Coach
Spenser
Smith.
Like
many
of
the
coaches
and
athletes
at
CrossFit
Local
here
in
academically
oriented
Chapel
Hill,
Spenser
is
highly
educated…
in
his
case,
Spenser
is
a
Doctor
of
Pharmacy.
I’ve
leveraged
his
knowledge
several
times
in
addition
to
taking
in
inspiration
by
watching
his
workouts.
As
an
example,
Spenser
taught
me
about
the
“three
energy
pathways”
employed
by
us
humans
to
keep
ourselves
going.
The
concept
is
the
key
to
why
the
“metabolic
conditioning”
techniques
emphasized
by
all
CrossFit
gyms
produce
the
best
conditioned
athletes
on
the
planet.
Mark
Rhodes
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