Hi, my name is Dale Jonhstone and this is my CrossFit story. It’s summer 2007 and I’m in bad shape. My exercise is limited to yard work and walking the dog. I used to be a mountain biker, riding several times a week and doing a few races every summer, but that was a couple of years ago and at this point my bikes are just hanging on the wall, tires flat and covered in dust. I found a personal trainer (Chad) thinking he’d give me a little running, some bicep curls and that would get me back into shape quickly. Instead, he introduced me to CrossFit.
My first WOD was a modified Angie – 30 jupming pull ups, 30 knee push ups, 50 sit ups, 50 squats. At 19 minutes in I still wasn’t done the workout, but my body wasn’t going to take any more. Coach Chad pulled the plug on that workout. I kept doing (most) of what he programmed over the next year and when CrossFit Saskatoon opened up I was finally able to quit doing my WOD’s in a globo gym setting by myself. Once I got going with the group, a few things really took off for me finally getting my first pull ups (ever). And then Angie came up again. I scaled it again, but this time it was 75 pull ups (full), 75 push ups (full), 100 sit ups and 100 squats.. I finished it in just under 22 minutes.
I got into coaching at Synergy in the summer of 2009 and since then I’ve enjoyed watching people grow and progress more than I can express in words. And I’m not just referring to the physical performances in the gym, but how people make changes in their lifestyles and are passing those healthy habits on to their families and the people around them. I know, from my own experience, that what we’re all involved in here at Synergy changes lives. Inside the gym we get fitter, stronger, are challenged and do more than we ever thought we were capable of. We make friends, we learn how to eat and move better, we gain confidence, we just feel better. All of this increased performance inside the gym leads to amazing things outside in our daily lives. We do more, we
take on more, we lead by example, we inspire.
None of this comes easy for any of us. I’ve had, and have, injuries that have required me to change what I do in the gym. I’ve had to scale things back while I heal and have not been able to run, jump and play with the other girls and boys at CrossFit for too long now, but that doesn’t mean I’ve had to stop training. I’ve found ways to deal with it and focus on what I can do, not what I can’t. I understand how life gets in the way and how we all get off track now and then. I’m always willing to help people get moving forward again, the same way that others have helped me.
One of the things I love about CrossFit, and Synergy specifically, is the variety. We get to take a taste from a wide variety of sports I’d never been exposed to. Things I never would have gotten involved in like powerlifting, olympic weighlifting and the sport of CrossFit. We get that exposure, but more importantly we learn how to do it properly and safely. For those who want to take it further, the support to train to be competitive is there. Personally, I’m looking forward to healing up and getting into some strength sports in the next few years and competing in a future Bridge City Beat Down. I definitely have a lot of goals and things on my to-do list that are going to require my mind and body to be in great working order: strong, powerful, mobile and ready for any challenge I decide to throw at it for many years to come. And I’m in the right place with the right people to do that!
-Dale
