Athlete of the Month November 2011: Steve L.
Steve and I have been friends since the early 80's. In our wild, impetuous youth many late nights of "celebrating" with friends took place. We both grew up over the years and Steve came to CrossFit Jaguar before we were CrossFit about 6 years ago. He was tired, early health issues, on some meds, a little overweight and just didn't feel good. We bartered a month of private training for some electrical work. Steve couldn't do more than 3 push ups without stopping, a bodyweight squat was challenging and a 400 m run near impossible without stopping for air.
Well, that was just the beginning. After that first month, Steve didn't stop, he kept coming 3-4 times a week. He kept getting stronger, he began going longer on the runs without stopping, the weight started dropping off, his energy soared, he changed his diet, he got off the meds, he looked a lot more like the Steve I knew in the 80's.
Then along came CrossFit and Steve decided to give it a try--he had already changed his lifestyle. We needed to get rid of machines and fill the place up with functional equipment and finances were limited. Steve built us pull ups bars, he built racks for the balls, paralettes, dip stands and boxes, he hung rings--I don't know what we would have done without him. He helped on the weekends tearing down walls when we needed more room as we grew, he patched dry wall with all the holes we made in the fragile walls and hung plywood over them.
Through all of the years Steve's fitness level continued to evolve. He's hung through workouts that often crush those 2 decades his junior. He climbed 42 flights of stairs in under 12 min at the 2010 Fight for Air and his wife, 4 children and 2 grandchildren find keeping up with him difficult if not impossible. At 57 he has more energy and endurance than he did at 37. Long overdue my dear friend but CF Jaguar salutes you, Steve Lopez as November's AOM!
Steve and I have been friends since the early 80's. In our wild, impetuous youth many late nights of "celebrating" with friends took place. We both grew up over the years and Steve came to CrossFit Jaguar before we were CrossFit about 6 years ago. He was tired, early health issues, on some meds, a little overweight and just didn't feel good. We bartered a month of private training for some electrical work. Steve couldn't do more than 3 push ups without stopping, a bodyweight squat was challenging and a 400 m run near impossible without stopping for air.
Well, that was just the beginning. After that first month, Steve didn't stop, he kept coming 3-4 times a week. He kept getting stronger, he began going longer on the runs without stopping, the weight started dropping off, his energy soared, he changed his diet, he got off the meds, he looked a lot more like the Steve I knew in the 80's.
Then along came CrossFit and Steve decided to give it a try--he had already changed his lifestyle. We needed to get rid of machines and fill the place up with functional equipment and finances were limited. Steve built us pull ups bars, he built racks for the balls, paralettes, dip stands and boxes, he hung rings--I don't know what we would have done without him. He helped on the weekends tearing down walls when we needed more room as we grew, he patched dry wall with all the holes we made in the fragile walls and hung plywood over them.
Through all of the years Steve's fitness level continued to evolve. He's hung through workouts that often crush those 2 decades his junior. He climbed 42 flights of stairs in under 12 min at the 2010 Fight for Air and his wife, 4 children and 2 grandchildren find keeping up with him difficult if not impossible. At 57 he has more energy and endurance than he did at 37. Long overdue my dear friend but CF Jaguar salutes you, Steve Lopez as November's AOM!