March 2020 AOTM: Ben Davidson
We have so much love for our community, and love to highlight one athlete each month that exemplifies hard work. With a focus on consistency, Ben has made tremendous progress both inside and outside the gym. Get to know Ben here, and make sure you say hello and fist bump him next time you’re at the gym!
Q: How long have you been doing CrossFit? What changes have you seen in yourself (physically or mentally) since beginning CrossFit?
So I was actually the last person in my family to start doing CrossFit. My two older sisters started a few years ago. They managed to convince me to give it a shot and I’ve been doing CrossFit for just under a year and a half now. The biggest change I’ve seen is mainly just more energy throughout the day, even if I’m waking up for the 5am or 6am class. I’ve also noticed a big physical change since I’ve started and that’s finally showing in the numbers as I’ve lost around 10 pounds since New Years!
Q: How has CrossFit helped you outside the gym?
Like I said, it’s helped me have more energy throughout my days and that’s made a big difference in my productivity. I’m actually working an internship at an accounting firm right now while finishing up my senior year of undergrad. Some days seem so long and draining, but consistently being in the gym has helped me be able to mentally push myself more and prevent myself from being sluggish or exhausted throughout the day. I feel healthier and happier and I can really say that CrossFit has been the catalyst for a lot of that recently.
Q: Who inspires you at the gym, and how do they inspire you?
So many people honestly! The 6am class would have to be the main group of people though, especially some of the other guys in that class like Paulino, Joe, and Jon. Whether it’s Joe pushing me to get better with my olympic lifts, Paulino making sure I always do at least the same level as him, or Jon making me want to get faster aerobically and on the rig, there’s always someone pushing me in every workout. It’s honestly one of the best things about the Terminus community and something that I’ve come to look forward to every morning.
Q: What is something that we may not know about you?
I actually played soccer in college for a few years at Oglethorpe. In total, I played for about 16 years and it’s still something I love to do or watch in my free time on the weekends.
Q: Any advice for someone considering trying CrossFit for the first time?
I think that the best way for someone to really experience CrossFit and benefit from it is to try to immerse themselves in the culture. I really started seeing changes in myself when I became more involved and more consistent with Terminus.
Q: What are your top 3 memories in CrossFit?
Oh gosh, there’s a lot of good ones. The first would have to be actually running my fastest mile that I can honestly remember a few months ago. I remember feeling like absolute death after a super intense assault bike workout in May and I realized nothing will get worse than that. Also, Black Lung was by far one of my favorite workouts I’ve done at Terminus!
Q: What’s your proudest accomplishment?
When we did Crossfit Total and I got a PR on all three movements that day by at least 10 pounds each.
Q: Moving forward, do you have any short term or long term CrossFit goals?
A lot of my goals are more movement based but my main goal is to get more efficient at my gymnastics movements as it’s been one of my weaker areas in the gym. I would love to get at least one bar muscle up this year. For long term, I want to be able to compete in some type of competition whether by myself or with a team.
