Name: Cody Wainer Age: 26 From: Portage, MI
How long have you been with CrossFit Torrent and what made you decide to start?
I have been with Crossfit Torrent for about 4 ½ Months (started on Dec 13th, 2018). Felipe had invited Dave Buick and I to a “bring a friend” Thursday, and I just loved it. Honestly, the big things that won me over are the awesome community, functional fitness component, high intensity in a short period of time, strategy, competition, and the technical movements incorporated in WODs, to say the least. I had been exercising at Bronson Athletic Club for the past few years and grew tired of doing the same thing every day, throwing on the headphones and never really talking to anyone, and never achieving the results I strived for. After my first day at Crossfit Torrent; I came back the next morning and started my membership as well as quit my membership to Bronson Athletic Club.
What do you do when you’re not at CFT?
On a normal weekday, I go to my full-time job with Consumers Energy. I am a Circuit Engineer that mainly does Power Flow studies and Protective Device Analysis for our low voltage electric distribution system (the poles and wires you see outside your house). I am also a 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and serve as a Platoon Leader for a Signal Unit out of Kalamazoo, MI (B Co 156 ESB). In my free time, I love to spend time with my family. I also love to grow and develop myself. I love to learn. I get so motivated when I see results. Fun fact about me, I used to be about 80 lbs heavier than I currently am now, and have made many fitness/life changes since then. With that being said, I am very empathetic towards individuals who are overweight and go through the struggle of losing weight. I know the grind and how hard it can be, and nothing motivates me more than seeing someone who is overweight and working hard to better themselves and change their life. One of my favorite quotes that I live by is by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, he says “Be Humble, Be Hungry, And Always be the Hardest Worker in the Room.
When did you realize that CrossFit is right for you?
I realized it was right for me after my first WOD. I decided to jump in with both feet. I learned that there is more to fitness than how “strong” you are and how much you can lift. I absolutely love the technical movements (clean, snatch, double under, gymnastics, etc.) and I also really enjoy the aspect of functional fitness and relating these movements to things people do in everyday life, like picking up a bag of mulch or carrying buckets, etc.
What were your thoughts after your first WOD?
I just checked Wodify, and my first WOD with CFT was on Dec. 13th, 2018
“Round Trip”
6 Rounds, On the 3:00:
20/14 Calorie Row
40 Double Unders
5-5-4-4-3-3 Hang Squat Cleans
I honestly don’t remember doing much of the workout, but what I do remember is that I was terrible at performing all the movements (as they were all foreign to me at the time) but I had a very strong desire to get move more efficiently and get better.
What is your favorite or least favorite WOD/movement?
My favorite WOD movements currently are muscle ups, chest to bar, snatch, toes to bar, pull-ups (kipping/butterfly) because I currently can’t do most of them/perform them well, and I see that as a challenge to strive to learn these movements and get better at them.
What is the one thing you have done at CFT that you never thought you would do?
I never thought I would learn as many gymnastic movements as I am currently learning to do.
What motivates you during a tough workout?
Some things that give me a pump are seeing others work hard and push themselves to their limits. I also really enjoy faster tempo music (Sorry, I enjoy typical country or slower tempo songs, just not while working out). The biggest thing that drives me is knowing where I am and how I can push that limit to get better. It is a love/hate relationship when I am in that dark place while grinding, it’s a battle to stay there and keep pushing yourself, but later on, in the day I get hungry and crave getting back to and exceeding that point.
What’s your favorite thing about CrossFit?
Amazing community, functional fitness component, high intensity in a short period of time, strategy, competition, and the technical movements incorporated in WODs,
What are your short term and long term goals?
My current goal is to get 1 bar muscle up by Murph (which I have been spending pretty much every day working on post-WOD) and some long term goal is to move more efficiently overall in the gymnastic component, improve my snatch, and just become a more well-rounded athlete.
How have you seen yourself change- mentally and physically since joining Torrent? What impact has CFT had on you in and out of the gym?
Yes, I have seen myself change. One of the biggest things that I am slowly learning is the strategy/pacing component. As most of you know I am usually a “0 or 100” person, and sometimes I can go too hard in the beginning and my overall performance suffers. I think mentally I have become more determined to get better at the many aspects of Crossfit that I enjoy. I definitely have grown stronger and am still becoming more comfortable in various movements that were very foreign to me at the beginning of this journey.
Do you have any advice for people just getting started at CFT?
- Leave your pride at home.
- Be a friend/teacher and help someone out if you see they are not doing it right.
- Encourage and motivate others
- Be open to trying new things, be teachable and have a willingness to learn.
- Don’t be satisfied and settle where you are at, you can always get better.
- Be humble/Stay hungry.
- Always be the hardest worker in the room.
- Have fun and enjoy each step of your fitness journey
Quick Questions
Favorite Cheat Meal:
Anything ooy gooy cheezy mozzy goodness. Stuffed crust pizza, fresh pillowy cheesy garlicky breadsticks, homemade lasagna. But I can’t leave out the staples every man enjoys which is mountains of bacon (or anything incorporated with it), smoked meat, baked beans, brisket, haha too many cheat meals to list. I also have a sweet tooth and enjoy so Sour Patch Kids, Sour Skittles, and don’t get me started with Swedish fish (I banned myself from buying the 5lb bag from Amazon Prime….).
Favorite Musician/Band:
Don’t really have a “favorite”.
Favorite Sports Team:
Honestly not really a follower of sports, I cheer for the winning team, but I get pumped when the underdog comes back and wins.
Favorite Tv Show/ Movie:
Currently enjoying Game of Thrones and all Marvel movies.
Favorite CrossFit Athlete:
Mat Fraser, like most people, he is a big name and one of the first professional CrossFit athletes that I knew of, but after watching documentaries and learning his story and how hungry he is to better himself and how driven he is, there are a lot of parallels that resonate with me.
Coach’s comment:
I don’t think anyone is surprised by this. Cody was all in on day one and has been in the running for ATOM for a long time. He is always positive, always gives 300% and supports and encourages all his fellow athletes. When we were talking about selecting Cody as athlete of the month every coach said: “I don’t know, he just loves being in the pain cave.” Cody came into CrossFit with a lot of strength and decent conditioning but lacked a lot of technical skills that separated him from being okay to good. We just recently did a benchmark workout from when he first started and he improved by 9 minutes…that is a testament to the work he puts into getting better every day! If there is something Cody doesn’t do as well as he thinks he should he will spend an hour after every class working on skills to get him to the movement! He listens to the coaches and takes in every cue, strategy, or target stimulus given to him to improve. He is also the first person to cheer someone on if he sees they are struggling or really pushing hard to finish up their metcon. Cody is also known for being able to chat with anyone about anything, making them feel comfortable, ripping his hands opening his water bottle and he is the gym chalk monster. Keep working hard Cody & Congratulations!!!