MEMBER OF THE MONTH : Michael Murray

  1. How did you get started with CrossFit (in general)?

I’ve known about Crossfit for quite some time, but hesitated to give it a shot for 4 or 5 years. Pat Hopkins, who I’ve known going on 10 years now, told me about Avalon and got me interested since it was so close to my house. Finally gave it a test run in May 2016 and was sold on it immediately.

  1. What did you do before CF for physical fitness?

In college, I was your typical gym goer: Lift weights for an hour and cardio for about 30 minutes. Repeat daily. I ended up getting sick of it though and didn’t pick up any weights for about 2 years prior to signing up last May. I also tried boxing for a bit, but I hated it. I couldn’t get any satisfaction out of the work regardless of how hard I would push myself.

  1. Was CrossFit Lando your first experience with CrossFit? If no please share where you were before you came to us.

Crossfit Avalon (now CFL Charlestown) was my first experience. I signed up for a Saturday intro class in late May 2016 and that’s when I met Coach Jackson. I was so out of shape I almost died just doing the testing. Every now and then me and Jackson have a good laugh about it – I’m sure he’d love to tell that story to anyone that wants to hear. In a nutshell, my advice would be don’t drink margaritas and eat large quantities of Mexican food the day before you’re looking to work out again for the first time in years.

  1. Favorite lift/movement/wod?

Squats. I love squats. It’s like Christmas day when they are programmed.

If we’re talking about movements that I’ve been introduced to since starting Crossfit, I would say it would have to be the Snatch. Such a demanding movement, but rewarding when you execute it with good technique. Feels like there isn’t even weight on the bar.

As for a wod, I’ve grown to love chippers. So much strategy can go into how you approach them.

  1. Least favorite lift/movement/wod?

Ring dips are by far my least favorite thing. Throw pushups in there while we’re at it. I just suck at both haha. One of my goals this year is to get better with anything relying on chest/tricep strength.

  1. What is your biggest/proudest CF accomplishment/moment?

Developing the mental toughness to get through a lot of these workouts. I think it is amazing to see how far you can push yourself, even when you think you don’t have any gas left in tank. This has by far been the most rewarding achievement because it translates into so many different facets of life.

From a physical perspective, either getting my first bar muscle up or cleaning 300 lbs just after Christmas.

7. How did you find CFL?

My initial discovery of Crossfit Lando was from Erik Akhtar, a member at the Woburn location. We met in business school and he pitched me on going, but it was too far from Boston for me to commit enough time to given my schedule. As I mentioned above, I ended up signing on at Avalon in Charlestown and became a part of the CFL community anyway so it’s been great.

PROFESSIONAL/FAMILY LIFE WITH OR WITHOUT LANDO

  1. Where are you from/born/grow up?

Born and raised in MA. I grew up in Fairhaven, which is a town located about an hour south of Boston, sandwiched nicely between Cape Cod and Providence/Newport, RI. I lived in that area my entire life until moving to Boston once I started working after undergrad.

  1. What is your current profession or major/desired profession after school?

I work at a software company in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston called LogMeIn where I am a Product Manager for our data platform. I basically make sure we have a strategy as to why we’re collecting certain data and what we’re doing with it to better serve our customers.

I’m also in an Evening MBA program at Boston University where I’ve just recently passed the half way mark to completing my coursework. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

  1. Where do you live now?

I live in Charlestown with my wife and two cats. Yep, I’m a cat dad.

  1. Tell us about your family in any way. Immediate (wife, kids) and/or parents/siblings.

My family has been in the commercial fishing industry in New Bedford for many generations and I am one of the few to not pursue that career path. I have a younger sister who lives down in Hyannis with her boyfriend.

I’ve been with my wife slightly over 6 years and coming up on 2 years of marriage. We grew up in the same area, but different towns, so we didn’t actually meet until shortly before we started dating.

  1. Anything about your job or family that you want to share?

If it weren’t for my wife, I’d probably be an unmotivated slug back home not doing much with my life. She keeps me going for sure. I probably don’t tell her that enough 

HOBBIES/INTERESTS/LIFESTYLE

  1. Do you play any sports outside of CrossFit? Do you do any other kind of training, for health and wellness or for events (Marathons, IronMan, etc.)?

I like to ski when I can and I traded golf for the beach in recent years. I don’t play nearly as much as I used to, but it’s nice to still get out there a few times a year.

  1. What other hobbies do you have non gym/fitness related?

I read a lot. Does that count? I like trying different restaurants in the area with friends when we have the time. Traveling has been great, too.

  1. What major lifestyle changes have you made (willingly or not) since you began CrossFit? Any accomplishments you would like to share(losing weight, stopping smoking, curing disease or improvements in disease related to wellness)?

I used to drink somewhere around 4 nights a week, but these days I’ll have a couple drinks a week if any. I also found myself wanting to eat cleaner so I can recover better and perform well in the workouts. I think I’m about 20 pounds down since the time I joined in May 2016. The biggest thing for me though is I feel so much healthier than I did in years past. It’s been a huge game changer in my life.

  1. What did you find hardest about becoming a CrossFit enthusiast at CrossFit Lando related to lifestyle? (food/diet changes, social changes, etc.). Everyone has a different experience day in and day out with CrossFit so be open and honest. Maybe someone can help if you are still struggling!

The biggest change was nutrition. I started to analyze if I was consuming the appropriate amount of food and more specifically the macros from that food. I used a daily nutrition tracker for a while to get an idea, but now I just do it based on feel since my daily eating habits don’t change all that much. Well…other than the occasional donut, ice cream, (insert sweet treat here).

The other piece is getting comfortable with failing in front of a group of people. When I used to go to the gym by myself or with a buddy, if I wasn’t feeling it that day I could just change the set scheme, the workout, or just call it quits. Knowing that everyone else in class is going through the same grind helps get me through the workouts. I think this is a huge factor in building a sense of community, which interestingly enough is the aspect that outsiders seem to hate on the most when it comes to Crossfit.

  1. Share as you feel comfortable one dream or desire you want to or wish you could pursue? Be as wild as you want!

I wish I could quit my job and go back to school to become a Doctor. I wanted to be an Anesthesiologist growing up, but decided to pursue a different career path. It’s always been a big regret of mine. Geeky, I know, but I’m a big geek.

RANDOM

  1. What is your favorite food?

The hardest to answer.Either an Italian sub from Monica’s in the North End or a big bowl or Pork Alentejana. That’s a Portuguese dish that’s common in restaurants where I grew up because of the large Portuguese community.

  1. Have you done a CrossFit competition before?

Only the in-house throw down in October. I’d like to try one out in the next year though!

  1. Olympic Lifting, Powerlifting, any other fitness competing?

Nope, nothing at all.

  1. What would you give your best friend in all the world as a vacation if money and time didn’t matter?

Big excursion starting in Ireland, through Europe all the way to Asia, finishing up in Japan hitting up a lot of food spots on my bucket list.

  1. What is your favorite car, either in general or that you have owned?

I used to have this old beater Volvo that I loved. I drove it all the way to Florida for spring break one year. We got rid of it a couple years back.

I’ve never been much of a car guy, but I’d probably go for a Land Rover if we’re talking new cars.

  1. If you won the lottery what is the first thing you would do/buy?

My wife Abbey is a big advocate against animal cruelty, so I’d buy her a huge piece of land where she could have the animal sanctuary she’s always wanted.

As for me, I’d buy a nice vacation home somewhere on the less visited side of Martha’s Vineyard. It’s like a different world on that side of the island.

  1. What would you tell your pre-CrossFit self that is about to take the first class you did back whenever you did.

This is going to be a humbling experience. Buckle in for the ride and have fun