07/12/2026
Member highlight and owner of the Captain America barbell!đşđ¸ take a moment and meet Steve!
I was first introduced to CrossFit in 2009. The challenge and intensity just lit a fire in me to want to pursue it. Prior to that, I had been doing traditional lifting where you focus on a specific body part each day of the week, and I would run a couple days a week, but it was never exciting.
I joined CrossFit Fuquay Varina in 2021 after moving to North Carolina. I dropped in at every local gym at the time, but CFFV was the best fit!
The first workout I ever did at an affiliate was the âBear Complex.â It consists of Power Clean â Front Squat â Push Press â Back Squat â Push Press @ 135 lb and you do the complex 7 times. The difficult part is, every round has to be unbroken, without dropping the bar. At the time my max back squat and deadlift were 135 lb. Needless to say I was there for a very long time and started the workout over numerous times.
The goal I am most proud of is the foundational fitness I have developed. It has allowed me to participate in a variety of fitness competitions, play sports with my kids even as they get older, and take on numerous outside activities with friends and family with little or no advanced notice. I rarely train for any specific event, or turn down an adventure with friends and family because training consistently for decades has given me the ability to take on almost anything physically. I have made some wonderful memories with friends and family attending races, hikes, CrossFit completions, 50+ mile rucks and other cool fitness events.
Most disliked movement. Probably the most common answerâŚBurpees. The way I overcame my dread was to force myself to do them. I have been tracking my workouts since 2013 and I have completed 14,387 burpees, 647 burpees over bar, 482 burpees over dumbbell, 53 burpees over kettlebell, 347 burpees over a sandbag, 1,970 lateral burpees over a bar, and 880 burpees to a target. The moral of the story is if you donât like a movement, keep going until you have mentally defeated it and you own it, not the other way around.
Discipline keeps me coming back. Inspiration comes and goes. Motivation varies from day to day. I donât negotiate with myself if Iâm going to go to the gym that day - that decision was made a long time ago. I ignore the fact Iâm tired, sore, hungry, or stressed (or any other weak excuse) before a workout because I know afterwards I will feel better and be able to manage the rest of the day with more energy.
CrossFit has allowed me to make great friends and meet like-minded, goal oriented people. It has given me the foundation to participate in numerous fitness endeavors and accomplish goals I did not think possible. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and shown me I can accomplish some very challenging endeavors. It has also allowed me to share my passion for fitness with others, including my family and friends.
Murph is my favorite workout! I love the community aspect of it and everything it stands for.
I have belonged to different gyms over the years both as a coach and/or a member and the people that always inspire me the most are those that show up each day, donât complain and get the work done. Iâve seen a lot of people come in motivated and then leave after a month or two. However, the foundation of the community are those people who consistently come in day after day, month after month, and year after year. The list of individuals who are like this at CFFV would be too long to write, but they know who they are!
Comparison is the thief of joy! Oftentimes people are nervous because they seem a really challenging workout or they see other people who look very fit then they say to themselves âI canât do that,â or âI donât look like that!â However, the truth is we all started from square one and we all have different goals. I would tell everyone to come in, start slow, LISTEN to the coaches and show up everyday. If you are stacking days and putting in the workout, it will change your physical and mental health.
My dream WOD would be something just as mentally challenging as physically challenging. It would have to be a really long chipper 45+ minutes, have a running component, have a push component (thruster), a pull component (power clean), and then something that shatters you mentally like a 400 meter beer crawl!
Fun fact: Iâve met Shaquille OâNeal before!
