Steve Mosher

Congratulations! The fact that you are reading this means you have decided that you need a lifestyle change and are looking for answers. Your search is over! You have come to the right place! I too was once in your shoes, looking for answers. At 41 years old my doc informed me of my
health situation. He said I was obese and had high blood pressure. He also warned me that I was heading for heart disease, fatty liver disease, and diabetes, if I didn't change my health habits. I was at my all time high for weight, 271 lbs. My pants and shirts were all starting to fit too tight, I was dreading the thought of buying bigger clothes. A friend commented that I was wheezing when we were walking through a store. I was also starting to have a pain in my knees.

I realized I needed to make changes to my health, and fast! My main goal was weight loss. All I could think about was how much healthier I would be if I could lose some weight. How was I going to do that? There was this “diet” going around where you pay like $400 a month and have packaged foods delivered to your house. The idea was that you eat these foods and lose weight. This seemed to be working for some coworkers and I thought maybe I should try that? Ok, so let's say I try this diet and it works, I lose weight, then what? Keep eating those $400 a month foods forever? If I go off the diet, I'll be right back where I started. What other options do I have? I have not worked out in over 20 years other than once I tried a 24/7 gym for 3 months. I had no idea what I was doing at the gym and I didn't get anything from it, so that isn't going to work either.

My sister mentioned something about CrossFit Beloit. She and her husband go to a CrossFit in their hometown and she said I should try out Crossfit and that it would be good for me. I remembered that an old schoolmate posted on facebook that he goes to CrossFit Beloit, so I asked him about it and he told me the same things that my sister said.

My wife and I both come from large families and we have 5 kids. This family life keeps us busy, with little time to socialize and meet other people. Believe me when I tell you that I was not a very social or outgoing person. The thought of joining a gym and working out in a group with strangers was very
intimidating for me. I imagined that everyone there was physically fit and I would be this out of shape
old guy trying to fit in.

Considering my health at the time and what was at stake, I decided, why not? Give it a try, there's nothing to lose! If this doesn't work, then I will try the $400 a month diet. So I emailed Coach Scott and set up a baseline workout. It was a Saturday morning and I was nervous. I show up at the gym
and was greeted by Oscar, CrossFit Beloit's mascot. Coach Scott and I greeted each other and we talked about why I decided to try CrossFit and what my goals were. I told him my concerns with my knees and that I was worried about throwing out my back. He assured me we would work on some basic exercises and movements to get an idea of where I was at physically. To give you and idea of where I was at, 1 pushup and zero pullups, LOL. Coach Scott worked with me on some basics and put all these new movements together into a WOD (Workout of the Day). I think the workout was only like 5 minutes, but it kicked my ass! I was slamming water and sweating like crazy.  After the workout I signed up for the elements classes and left the gym. I slowly made my way to my truck in the parking lot, my legs were heavy!

I realized I was not going to be able to safely drive my stick shift truck all the way home. I called my wife to come pick me up! While waiting for my ride, I puked in the parking lot from all the water I slammed. I starting thinking long and hard about this last hour. All I did was this short little workout and here I am barely able to walk, unable to drive, and puking in the parking lot. You are probably thinking I would never go back there again, right? WRONG! I was thinking the exact opposite! That one hour at Crossfit Beloit changed my life. That one hour proved how out of shape I was and how badly I needed this. Over the next three days, I was sore everywhere. Stairs? yeah right, sideways and one at a time with both hands on the railings. None of this
scared me away, it only made me want to go back even more. To think that a 5 minute workout could put me out of commission for three days? Not anymore, I needed CrossFit. 

I attended the elements classes with Coach Katie. She trained me on the CrossFit basics and terminology. She did an excellent job working with me 1 on 1 during the workouts, scaling them to my ability level. Don't let all of the moves and terminology scare you, you will pick this up as you go.  Before I knew it, I was part of the regular classes. Nobody was judging me, in fact, the other members were cheering me on during the workouts! This is an amazing feeling! To have a coach and other members cheer you on, too keep you motivated to work hard and finish the workout. The coaches will scale your workouts based on your current abilities, just enough to be challenging for you. Speaking of coaches, you will be able to tell after just one class with each coach that they are all dedicated and passionate about your successes at CrossFit. They all will challenge you during a workout, but always safety first.
 
In no time at all you will notice the changes with your body. You will recover faster after the workouts. You will get stronger and faster. Your family, friends and coworkers will notice and ask what you have been doing. The Coaches and other members will also notice and compliment you on your
gains, giving you even more motivation to keep going. About the other members, they're great! After all, they are there for the same reasons you are. All ages and all skill levels are represented at CrossFit Beloit. You will not feel out of place regardless of your abilities. There are always some other members close to the same skill level as you. You will find everyone has strengths and also weaknesses to work on. Naturally, this may lead to a little friendly competition during some of the workouts. I feel this fuels the motivation even more.

One year later, 45 lb weight loss! But that's not all folks, there are way more benefits from CrossFit than just weight loss. I started to eat healthier, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I just felt better eating good foods to go along with the exercising. Stronger? You betcha! Pullups and
pushups? Absolutely. Of course, there are all the other gains on the rest of the CrossFit movements as well. I recently had another checkup with my doctor, all my numbers were now in healthy ranges! Did I end up having to get new sizes of clothes after all? Yes! Smaller ones! I ran out of holes on my belt, time for a smaller one! Remember my concerns about my knees and back? ZERO issues the entire time at
Crossfit Beloit. The coaches make sure to teach proper form when working with weights. Remember my backup plan of starting a $400 a month “diet”? Nope...I don't need that garbage! Now my wife and kids go to CrossFit too! We love our CrossFit Beloit family! Thank you Coach Scott and Katie! You were key inspirations to my beginnings at CrossFit! Also thank you to the other coaches I have worked with thus
far on my CrossFit journey, Alison, Kortney, Cassia, Mike, Matt, and Jamie!
 

What are you doing? Send that email right now and get signed up for your baseline workout! You have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain! See you in the next WOD!