David Lee

- 08/15/2008

After hearing about how intense CrossFit is, I was absolutely certain that I would never try it. I’m not a fit person nor did I care about being fit. I’m an academic person and that’s just who I am, why try to be something I’m not? I can live life, be successful and pass away without ever being fit as long as I excel at what I want to do. I only went to the gym to stretch my legs, do a few complacent bench presses and pat myself in the back for doing “exercise”.

However, that fateful day when Tony convinced me to try “Donkey Kong”, everything changed. My memory of that day is very hazy and I am unsure of what happened that day. I vaguely remember Tony ushering me in the door, showing me something and then my memory draws a blank. I still to this day do not remember how or why I went in that room. My memory comes back at the point where I passed out on a bench, threw up in a garbage bin and laid there helplessly as I suffered from muscle cramps and starting shaking uncontrollably. I was later told by Chris that people in the gym pointed and asked if I needed an ambulance. At that moment, I swore never to come see Tony, Chris and Elisha. I felt that Crossfit WoDs were practice for what damned souls would face in the deepest darkest depths of hell.

That was a few months ago. Now, Crossfit have become a part of my everyday regimen and has irreversibly changed my life. Through CrossFit, I have been able to discover my boundaries and to push past them every time. Each workout is like a new challenge, a new game to overcome obstacles and improve my speed, power and coordination. I have gotten in significantly good shape and the rigorous regimen has had a significant impact on my diet. I eat healthier, I breathe healthier and I live healthier.

But what stands out more than anything else in my short time here is the community that supported me through every burpee, pull-up or squat. I have never had this kind of support in my life. In 4th grade, when I joined a soccer team, my coaches only put me in when we were losing by double digits. In 10th grade, when I was testing for my red belt, I spinning-hook kicked the wooden board until my foot bled and all the parents sat mouths agape. My sabonim, embarrassed and disappointed, gave up on me and smashed the board against my foot as I was kicking for the 100th time.

My friends, coaches and family have placed limits on my abilities. They never believed I could be athletic (“It’s not in your genes!” my mom would always say) and always advised me to stick to the things I’m good at. Chris, Tony and Elisha did not give up when they realized that I had never lived an active lifestyle. Instead, they pushed me harder than they should have because they believed that I had the potential in me to improve and push past what I thought I was capable of. What seemed impossible a few months ago now became possible. Handstand push-ups, pull-ups and any run longer than 2 miles seemed impossible just a few months ago, but now these things are routine exercises shuffled into my weekly workout schedule.

In this way, I learned the valuable lesson that boundaries were meant to be broken. In my professional life, I will now prepare more, work harder, and push harder because I know that I am capable of more than I think I am. I learned that with the right support and the right preparation, I can push far beyond my limits and become the person that I want to be. I want to thank you for making me healthier, I want to thank you for believing in me, and I want to thank you, CrossFit Threshold, for showing me where my limits are and pushing me past them.

-David Lee

P.S. – You know that Timberlake/Madonna song that you guys always play during our WODs? It came on my iPod while in the library and my heart rate went up and I got that nervous pre-WoD feeling. I’ve been physically conditioned to react to that song.