The Okumura Family – April Members Of The Month

It is with great pleasure that I get to announce our first multi-person Member of the Month award, as we chose to honor the entire Okamura Family! Shawn has been a stalwart of the 6 am class for years now and is a model athlete when it comes to consistency, focus, and hard work. We have watched Shawn make consistent progress month over month and year over year and with the current Shelter in Place order, he was able to convince his family to join him daily at noon for our Zoom workouts. There’s nothing we love more than watching our athlete’s significant others and children join them on their health and fitness journey and having the entire Okamura fam in class every day is as good as it gets. Congratulations on an awesome month Shawn, Dori, Joey, Jack, Jayden, and Jessie!

What are the names of each family member?
Dori (my wife), Joey (18 & senior at WGHS), Jack and Jayden (13 & 8th grade at WGMS), Jessie (11 & 5th grade at Booksin Elementary).

What’s the order of family in height, tallest to shortest?
I am the tallest (barely), then my son Jack (I pray he keeps growing… he sleeps so much lately that he had better be going through a growth spurt!), then Dori (barely) over middle daughter, Jayden, then Joey (our oldest daughter who hasn’t grown since her freshman year) and then Jessie.

What days and times do you usually join a Cróga OTB class?
Noon class, try to make it 2x/week. Aside from me, no one in our house is an early riser by choice. Noontime works best. We get a great workout in together and then enjoy lunch as a family. The 6 am class would be my first choice, but given we do it outside in our backyard, I don’t want to disturb our neighbors.

What is each kid’s favorite exercise?
It wouldn’t be accurate to describe any of the exercises as their “favorite”. However, they prefer the workouts with ab exercises. Mainly because they are not disciplined to do them on their own. Jayden (my middle daughter) struggled with situps in the beginning and is now proud that she can do a few good ones in a row ? Oh… and they like happy penguins. For whatever reason, they amuse themselves by creating their own version of “happy penguins”.

What is each kid’s least favorite exercise?
Joey and I were literally stiff-legged walking after the 1st week. One of the 1st classes w/ them was something like 50 burpees and 100 air squats. After that, they tell me “no leg workouts Dad, I want to be able to go for runs”.

Has anyone learned any new skills or gotten better at something during the Cróga OTB classes?
In all seriousness, I really appreciate the stretching before and after each workout. It has helped with their overall flexibility. 3 of the 4 play basketball and I believe the workouts are helping them tone and their increased flexibility and strength will help their game.

What are your biggest fitness goals for the rest of this year?
Hah! Like everyone else, we are just trying to get through the shelter in place! Ironically, the stay at home order has helped bring me back to Croga. I was on a 5-month “vacation” from Croga prior to April. Honestly, doing the Ignite workouts has already helped me achieve some goals: spending quality time together as a family and getting back into shape.

What’s your family’s favorite post-workout routine?
I’m not sure what my family’s favorite routine is, but I know mine is eating the lunch that my oldest, Joey, prepares for me after each workout!

Which family member is the funniest?
It depends on who is in the most pain during the workout. We tend to keep our Zoom attendance on mute. We don’t want everyone else to hear our groaning and (sometimes) the kids complaining. The kids do seem to get a kick out of me when I am really struggling… somehow they find it very amusing when I am in pain and struggling through the workout. That’s love for you, right?

What is each person’s favorite pizza topping?
Jessie loves artichokes on her pizza. All of them enjoy loading up on veggie (arugula and spinach) and meat toppings when we hit MOD pizza.

What words of advice do you have for people considering joining a CrógaOTB class?
Just show up… through all this craziness, it doesn’t matter as much how hard you go. What matters is that you show up, get some endorphins flowing, maintain some semblance of normalcy with a good workout, and connect with everyone else on the call.

Anything to add that we didn’t touch on yet?
I’m grateful to the Croga coaches and how they are showing up. Hailey and Cody have been awesome. While I am familiar with the exercises, my family is not. They take the time to demonstrate the moves and continue to encourage us (just like how it was in the actual class).

Rocky Q. Is The March Member Of The Month

Since Rocky showed up at Croga late last year, he has been Mr. Consistent and has been an incredibly positive force on our 7 am class that has helped take everyone that attends that class time to a whole new level. Rocky walks in the door every day with a big smile on his face, something fun to laugh about during the warm-up and then when it’s time to hit the WOD he’s all business. Then, when the workout is complete, he’s back to his fun-loving and hilarious self. And since we were all forced to shelter in place this last month, he has only taken his positivity and hard work to another level with his 7 am crew becoming even more consistent and crushing it daily with CJ and Annie on video.

Thanks for always working hard and having fun Rocky! We can’t wait to see you back at the box at 7 am in May!!!

When did you join Cróga?
Oct 2019

What were you doing before for fitness?
Bro workouts. Mostly weights, no cardio, no mobility. Chest day was the best day.

What was your first workout? First reaction to your first workout?
The first session had a load of wall balls. I thought I waited long enough between lunch and gym time. I thought wrong…anyhow, post-workout was great, the atmosphere was good, and I wanted more.

What improvements have you seen in the way you look, feel and perform?
Morning workouts @ Cróga are what sets the tone for the day, be it weekday or weekend. I look leaner, feel stronger, and come back wanting to get better each time. I’ve chosen to eat cleaner and reduce alcohol intake, mainly so I don’t feel so sluggish for the workouts. It’s been small habits that I’ve been changing for the long-term.

What days and times do you come to Cróga?
Most Days minus Sunday @ 7am. 7am solidarity crew.

What’s your favorite WOD?
DT, so far.

What’s your least favorite WOD?
WODs that contain wall balls and thrusters!

“The Rocky” WOD! What would it be?
Cal Rowing, Clean & Jerk and… I ran out of ideas.

What’s your favorite post-workout routine?
1. Drink protein shake
2. Drink some coffee
3. Probably not in that order. If it’s the weekend, I like getting the outside chores done immediately after coming back from the workout(s).

What’s been your favorite culinary discovery since joining Cróga?
I’ve relied on eggs, every which way, for meals throughout the day. The ease of making them and adding whatever I need, greens, other proteins, etc. Oh, and the air fryer is so useful!

What’s your biggest fitness goal for this year?
There’s a lot of goals, but one my bigger ones that I’ve focused on was getting under the bar for my Oly lifts. I realized I can’t power everything and avoid my weakness lol

What do you love about CrossFit?
1. Albeit, Cróga is my first CF gym, the camaraderie and sense of community is unreal. Iron sharpens iron.
2. The variety of workouts. If you have a strength, good. If you have a weakness, good. You’re in good company.

What words of advice do you have for new members or people considering joining Cróga?
Commit. Commit to showing up, and do the work. Your mind and body will appreciate it in the long run. Some days will be bad, some days will be good. Keep it positive.

Anything to add that we didn’t touch on yet?
During this shelter-in-place, I’ve seen the leadership of Cróga shine, from coaches to members. From Cróga adapting all workouts to virtual to the members loaning gear to one another and organizing workouts with others to keep each other motivated, these are the moments that I’ll remember for a long time. Proud to be part of this group of amazing people. Thank you to the Cróga coaches and members, current and former, and I look forward to our next workouts together.

There is no quit in this group, and I’m happy to have found Cróga.

Annie S. Is The February Member Of The Month

Annie came to us about 6 months ago as an experienced CrossFitter and every single day she’s in class at 7 am is an absolute pleasure. Despite years of experience, she listens intently, is open to feedback, and makes the necessary adjustments and because of this we’ve really seen her take her CrossFit game to a new level. And, on top of that, she started with us as a Croga Nutrition client a few months ago and has been absolutely killing it on her macros and in the gym because of it. A few weeks ago she told me that she hasn’t slept this soundly in years and she has a whole new level of energy in the mornings and throughout her day now that she’s being fueled correctly and I couldn’t be happier.

Annie is a wonderful athlete to honor as our Member of the Month because she is an incredible person to strive to be more like. She’s kind, fun, thoughtful, and dedicated to improving as a human daily. Congrats on your success so far at Croga, Annie! We can’t wait to see what the next 6 months and beyond hold for you.

When did you join Cróga?
September 2019, after almost 2 and a half years at another box.

What were you doing before for fitness?
16 years as a swimmer. And then quite a few more attempting to recover from that post-retirement 🙂

What was your first workout? First reaction to your first workout?
At Croga? I dropped into one of Coach Hailey’s classes for a DT like WOD. Think my feelings were something along the lines of “Yes, I’d like all of the barbell please…crap, that got heavy.” First ever Crossfit WOD? I definitely remember doing Fran for the first time during my on-ramp classes. “Well that was awful…When can we do it again?”

What improvements have you seen in the way you look, feel and perform?
The biggest improvement I’ve seen is in my general confidence, in and out of the gym. Not being afraid to get outside of my comfort zone (embracing it, actually). The PR’s along the way are a fun bonus too 🙂

What days and times do you come to Cróga?
Every weekday at 7am and Sundays!

What’s your favorite WOD?
Crossfit Total is fun. Or maybe DT. Who doesn’t love to lift all of the heavy things?

What’s your least favorite WOD?
Tommy Mac stole part of my soul.

“The Annie” WOD! What would it be?
Probably something with a gross amount of rowing or bike. Maybe a shoulder to overhead situation. Or a kettlebell. And not a burpee to be found.

What’s your favorite post-workout routine?
Sundays! Post-fitness coffee/breakfast bestie catch-up.

What’s been your favorite culinary discovery since joining Cróga?
It’s not exciting, but blending protein into my coffee in the morning before coming into the gym has been a game-changer. I’m also having fun experimenting with whatever I’ve got in my refrigerator.

What’s your biggest fitness goal for this year?
Gah! There are so many! All of the gymnastics, continuing to improve and get consistent with my double unders, I’d love to deadlift 300# (that’s probably more than a year goal…) Maybe the biggest one though is to refine my clean/snatch technique, especially squat cleans/snatches. I want to be more comfortable getting under a bar quickly.

What do you love about CrossFit?
The challenge!! Every day I know I’m going to do something that pushes me outside of my comfort zone either physically or mentally (most of the time, both). That is so empowering.

What words of advice do you have for new members or people considering joining Cróga?
Show up! ESPECIALLY on the days that you don’t want to and for the workouts that scare you. You’ll never regret it. Be prepared to try things that intimidate you, to fail, and to get back up when you do. And on the days that you’re not physically at your best, immerse yourself in lifting up someone else. You’ll be amazed at what it does for your mood (and your fitness!)

Croga Nutrition Journey – Aviv B

We asked Aviv for a testimonial and he wrote us a short story. Enjoy!

The first cut is the deepest: reflections on my 4 month 25 lb weight-loss journey with Croga Nutrition (powered by WAG)

My recollection from the initial few weeks of the cut was an overwhelming sense of relief. I was stuck in this cycle of “oh I’m so hungry, oh shoot I ate too much I’m such a slob let me eat less, oh man I’m so hungry…”. My hunger was compounded by the fact that I was training at Croga almost every day. In fact, I gained a bunch of weight during my first year of CrossFit. And I wasn’t trying to. I was trying to lose weight! I kept inexorably gaining weight no matter what I ate or did. It was like a train wreck that kept going on. In retrospect, after having quantified my intake very meticulously, I realize I was eating way too much fat and not enough protein (even though I thought I was). It was the least-clean bulk in the history of weightlifting. Sure, I gained a bunch of muscle. But what good is a bunch of muscle if it’s covered by even more fat? CrossFit was making me stronger but it sure as heck wasn’t making me any leaner. That’s where WAG nutrition came to the rescue. I was inspired to join after seeing some of the gains that other members who were on WAG were making. Losing fat, getting leaner and stronger.

Once I started the nutrition coaching, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. The responsibility of losing weight was now on someone else. All I had to do was hit my macros. I figured either it worked, and I’d get lean, or it didn’t in which case I’d complain to my coach. The beginning was a little rough. Not going to lie. I quickly learned that all those tips that you read about for losing weight (eat lots of small meals, don’t drink your macros), well, I needed to employ all of them to stay satiated. And even then, there were rough days here and there when I miscalculated how hungry I’d be after a workout and ended up shaky and starved. My coach put it plainly: you’re not going to lose weight without ever being hungry. It’s unavoidable, but it can be minimized. Somehow that made me feel better.

I learned never to leave the house without a snack. I started eating six times a day. I started planning my meals the night before. I had actually tried tracking my macros prior to WAG and I found it time-consuming and tedious. This time around I was proactively planning rather than retroactively logging, and it made all the difference. Planning my meals became like a game or an optimization problem: how can I eat the most on a fixed budget? Advance planning became a must for me. And, since I do most of the cooking in the house it also meant that I had to take everyone else’s needs into consideration. I started a weekly menu so that I could plan in advance what to prepare each day and have the ingredients ready rather than trying to frantically pull something together at 6 pm. My five-year-old saw me trying to put together a menu for the first week, looked at me, and then asked why don’t we just have the same thing for each day of the week and then you won’t have to make a new plan each week (duh)? We agreed that Mon would be Pizza, Tue Tacos, Wed Burgers and Broccoli, Thu Asian, and Fri Frittata. It’s held ever since. Obviously, sometimes we move things around but I love having that weekly plan. That way when I shop, I just have to worry about having the ingredients for those meals plus veggies and protein for myself.

Oh yeah, and I had another kid right about in the middle of my cut. To make things more interesting, my wife was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes in her second trimester and she was put on a special diet. This was initially pretty stressful for us, trying to manage two special diets until we realized that the low carb diet that was recommended to her wasn’t that different from what I was already eating. So I started making double portions of veggies and protein and she’d add some fat to it (avocado, sour cream). She was happy because she could keep her blood sugars down and she even lost a bit of weight in her last trimester which made her happy.

Now I’m eating much more protein than I ever thought was possible for a vegetarian. I think it makes a huge difference for my recoveries. I bounce back from workouts so much more quickly now, whereas before I was pretty much in a constant state of DOMS. Overall, nutrition coaching has transformed my relationship with food. From some kind of weird dependence to one of complete control: I eat what I want when I want, and I don’t let anything get in the way. I’ve become notorious for ignoring free food and not joining team lunches. I’m shameless in my obstinance. They can keep that greasy Chinese food. I’ll keep my abs.

What was it about the nutrition coaching that made it work so well for me? I don’t think that there was one single magic ingredient. Rather it was a combination of factors that increased my chances of success. A supportive community was one. Seeing people further down the same road that I had started on was encouraging. The other thing was my coach, Preston. He was crucial in providing encouragement and guidance as well as a sense of accountability. His answers to my questions at the weekly check-ins were always so well thought out and showed careful consideration. It made me feel good to know that there was someone tracking my progress carefully and making adjustments as needed. It was also someone I could share my progress with and who was wholeheartedly dedicated to my success.

I lost a bunch of fat but I’m not done yet. I’ve decided to keep going with WAG and continue on to a longer-term coaching relationship with Preston. I want to drop the last vestiges of my former fat self. And then I’m going to try to bulk again. Hopefully, do it right this time. Get back to moving more weight again. It’ll be fun. I’m confident I can do it.

John N. Is The January Member Of The Month

I do my best not to play favorites at the gym, but it’s pretty hard not to put a guy as kind and clever as John toward the top of the list of people you enjoy having as a member. He’s one of those people whose brain just always seems to be working faster than most and he’s always ready with some kind of quip or pun to interject into the conversation if you look his way, even when he’s close to death mid-WOD.

One of the first things I remember John telling me when he joined is that he’s never been much of an athlete, but over the last 5 years, it has been a pleasure to watch him grow as an athlete and improve month over month due to his dedication and consistency. It’s also a ton of fun for me every fall to talk to him every Sunday about how many push-ups he did the day before based on how many points Notre Dame put up against one of their weak ass scheduled opponents. I think in season 1 he struggled to make it out of the first quarter doing all the reps and now he crushes 100s each Saturday with ease.

Congrats on another great year, John! Keep up the good work and keep the laughs coming.

When did you join Cróga?
I joined in 2015 after seeing Coach Dave at Rookies & thinking, “Damn, that dude is built!” (I was having drinks with Kevin Sakai at the time, and he convinced me I wouldn’t literally die at CF.)

What were you doing before for fitness?
Mostly drinking Bailey’s, feeling bad, and running laps in my head. Well, that plus elliptical.

What was your first workout? First reaction to your first workout?
It was a 6 am class, and watching guys like Doug, Ben, and Kevin manhandle weights, I thought, “My God, what have I gotten myself into?” I still feel that way roughly half the time. 🙂 But Dave pointed out that “Cróga” means “Brave,” so I suck it up and do the work.

What improvements have you seen in the way you look, feel and perform?
Great question. I don’t do much to quantify my progress, but as long as my feeling around the pool remains “Not Actively Terrible,” I’m doing okay!

What days and times do you come to Cróga?
I’ve really gotten into Ignite classes, which are no joke despite their modest origins! I try to catch 2 or 3 per week, plus I really enjoy Saturday partner WODs. The community is what keeps me engaged & motivated, so I like sharing suffering + humor with friends.

What’s your favorite WOD?
Pretty much any partner stuff works for me, especially if I don’t have to watch comparatively humongous dudes throw around intimidating weight.

“The John” WOD! What would it be?
Let’s say 10 rounds of pistols, double unders, muscle ups, and handstand push-ups. Every time it would be programmed, I would simply walk into the ocean instead of trying any of it.

What’s your favorite post-workout routine?
To quote Eddie Murphy as James Brown, “HOT TUB!!”

What’s your biggest fitness goal for this year?
I’d most like to inspire my sons, helping them overcome their fear & lethargy. I want them to see that if I can get my uncoordinated carcass moving, anyone can!

What do you love about CrossFit?
Making people laugh (ideally more “with” than “at”), including via ironic posters & vids for the Open, etc.

What words of advice do you have for new members or people considering joining Cróga?
As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and you’re only competing with yourself—especially the version of you that’s still on the couch.

Meghan P Is The Cróga Member Of The Year!