Member Spotlight: Michael Jolley

June 1st, 2021 marked my one-year anniversary as a member of Crossfit Bexley. When I joined the gym a year ago I truly thought that I was in good shape. Boy was I mistaken! Fortunately for me, I picked wisely when choosing my new Crossfit gym. In the last year, I've improved my strength and Crossfit skills in a big way.

There are 2 reasons for my personal success. The first is that I just keep showing up! It sounds like a t-shirt slogan but it is true. Practice makes perfect and coming to the gym is a practice session. The second reason for my success is training with so many outstanding athletes along with excellent instructors. I've learned quite a bit from both groups. When you start to get to know these folks you will discover an incredible diversity of past sports and occupations. Every major sport at every level, including past and present professionals, is represented at CFB. As I previously mentioned, I've learned some key things from these people. How did I do that? It was easy I just asked! Everyone is more than willing to happily share their knowledge. One critical conversation in December 2020 changed my whole philosophy on scaling workouts. At the time, I didn't completely scale my workouts if I couldn't do a complete RX. After that small discussion I scale the whole thing not just portions. That one change has made the biggest impact on my performance.

Let me back up and give some background. My entire life has been spent on the East side of Columbus. My childhood home was in South Eastmoor and I went to Christ the King for elementary school and Eastmoor Senior High school. My college years were spent at The Ohio State University where I graduated from Dental Hygiene school in June 1993. I'm married to my college sweethart and we have two teenage children. We currently reside in Gahanna after 25 years in Berwick. June will mark the start of my 28th year in private practice. I discovered CrossFit 12 years ago. At the time, I was doing something called Krav Maga which was a great cardio workout and a great skill to learn. However, it was lacking in strength training. At the Krav Maga gym, they were also doing CrossFit. At the time I had no idea what Crossfit was all about. I was invited to try Crossfit out after a Krav work out and I was instantly hooked. I trained for 2 years at the Krav gym doing Crossfit. It was a great experience but the coaching was lacking. My children were also young and becoming more involved in their own activities took priority so I had to stop going to the gym and work out from home. I was inconsistent with those workouts. As the kids got into high school I was able to get back to going to the CrossFit gym. It was a necessity brought on by injuries to my back and neck from years of practicing dentistry and just getting old. I needed to get back in shape especially in my core. So I joined the Crossfit gym around the corner and trained there for 2 years. I made great progress for the first year but stagnated in the second year. Our trainer quit and was never replaced. I should have changed gyms immediately but I enjoyed working out with the folks at the old place and held on longer than I should have. Not having a trainer would have negative effects that I would soon discover. The pandemic bankrupted the old gym and forced the change. It has worked out great for me. My improvements in the last year include lowering of my blood pressure, my core tightening to the point that I have the starts of a six pack, and my constant back and neck pain have almost completely subsided. Skills wise I can now do T2B, many sets of strict pull ups, front squats, and run mostly pain free. Huge gains!!

Some essential equipment has helped out so let me mention some of that stuff. I've had the basics like a water bottle, towel, lifting shoes, and a good lifting belt. Some things I was lacking have made a huge difference in my performance and comfort. Wrist wraps have made a giant difference in my Olympic lifts. My front squats have always been awful because of wrist pain and inflexibility, but wrist wraps changed all that and my front squats are improving. One of my training partners suggested I try his out and it was an epiphany. From a comfort standpoint headbands have also been huge. No sweat in my eyes. No brainer! For running Hoka shoes have turned back the clock. They look weird but who cares when it doesn't hurt to run anymore!

In closing, Crossfit is a great addition to my life. The people I train with are great. The workouts are challenging and motivating and the physical gains make life bearable. Give it a try.