Doug Johnson
40 years young
When did you start CrossFit?
January 2012
What do you do outside of CrossFit? (Family, hobbies, work....)
I am in a 5 year Electrical Apprenticeship for Local Union 6 in San Francisco. I play in a softball league year round, try to cook as much as possible without talking in expletives like Gordon Ramsey when I don't follow recipes and burn stuff, Netflix marathons and learning about wine and then drinking it. When I'm not working on a construction site in San Francisco I'm trying to keep my wife happy, comfortable and assured that we are ready for our next major life event of having our first baby at the end of February 2016. Yes, we know it is going to be a girl and No, we don't have a name picked out. At least not a name we agree on yet.
What is your favorite/least favorite benchmark workout?
Upon arriving at the gym and finding out that the WOD is going to be a benchmark workout I almost immediately agree with me, myself and I that my favorite benchmark workout is not that one but the one the day before that I missed or most likely cherry picked in hopes that the day I do show up it will be one I'm good at. This logic of mine is flawed as I'm good at none of them. Ha, ha! All kidding aside I do actually like Helen. Probably because it was one of the first benchmark workouts I ever did RX and actually did well. Fun Fact: I met Reggie that day and he had just started CrossFit and was learning how to do a kipping pull up when I did this workout. I had the fastest time in the class that day. Annnnnnnnd now I can barely keep up with Reggie doing warm ups.
What is your favorite/least favorite movement or lift?
My favorite movement would have to be the good ole basic kettle bell swing. It always kicks my butt no matter what weight I'm swinging and saying pood just invigorates my inner childishness. I also have to say I like any of the Olympic lifts when my form is correct. Nothing feels better than moving heavy sh#%*! And feeling like I did it effortlessly. My least favorite movement are Double Unders because let's face it, I don't practice them. Even though I can feel Dusty silently judging me.
What was your workout routine before CrossFit?
Before CrossFit my workout routine was pretty much a daydream of what I remembered doing consistently twenty years ago and then sitting on my butt. About six months before I was introduced to CrossFit my wife and I had been struggling to find a routine we enjoyed and could enjoy doing together. It began as running, then p90x and then a few weeks of boredom with both routines. Then a friend of mine who had been an avid cross fitter for about eight years convinced my wife and I to try CrossFit. The rest is history!
What were your goals when you started CrossFit? Have you achieved them?
My goals when I started CrossFit were to find a routine that my wife and I could do together and enjoy, lose some weight, get back into shape like when I was in college and most importantly not have to create my own routine and spend a gahgillion hours a day doing it. Absolutely, I have achieved them!
Has CrossFit affected your life outside the gym?
CrossFit has proven to me that age is just a number and not an excuse to accept being out of shape. Without it I would have struggled with a career change into construction at 40 years old, continued eating what I thought was a healthy diet and lacked the energy to maintain the lifestyle I enjoy with my wife.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in CrossFit?
1) Leave your ego at the door 2) No matter how little weight you lift in comparison to someone else, remember it's all relative and you are both struggling to complete the same workout. 3) Form, Form, Form! If your form is bad stop, drop weight and roll on with your workout. 4) finally, Ass to Grass!
Who or what inspires you to keep moving?
The Reaper! I wanna live as long as possible and CrossFit is a way I know will help me with that. All kidding aside, I'm having a kid a little later in life and I wanna be the kind of dad that can keep up with and enjoy an active lifestyle with my child.