April Member of the Month

Brian Yolitz

Preferred Name:  Brian 

Age: 56 

Where did you grow up?
Wisconsin/Minnesota, call Eau Claire, WI. home.   

When did you become a member of Mi5 Fitness? 
Nov/Dec 2012 

What do you do when you are not at Mi5? (occupation, hobbies, etc.)  
I work for the Minnesota State system of state universities and community and technical colleges doing campus planning, facilities design and construction and campus safety and security work.  I enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, and shooting sporting clays.       

How did you find out about Mi5? 
Drove by and kept seeing the sign on the way to/from work and around the neighborhood.   

When/How did you realize CrossFit/Mi5 was the right fit for you? 
Coaches...Andrew and Chris...took time to fix and adjust my movements and point out and encourage incremental progress. The Community...great folks with positive outlooks on challenging and improving themselves is infectious and makes you want to do the same.    

What is your favorite WOD/movement? 
Hero WODs when we take time to understand the person and story behind the workout.  Favorite movements right now are Clean and Jerk / Front and Overhead Squats  

What is your least favorite WOD/movement? 
Any high rep/cycling snatches...and T2B  

What would your perfect WOD look like? 
Something with moderately heavy weights...DL, FS, Clean, coupled some aerobic task...hate to say it, but the Assault Bike is an interesting challenge...kinda like a moth drawn to a flame...we know how that ends up.        
What is one thing you have been able to accomplish since starting at Mi5 that you never thought you'd be able to do? 
I recall not being able to overhead squat an empty bar.  Never thought I'd be able to, let alone do more than my body weight.  

What motivates you to stay fit?   
I'm interested in seeing what I'm capable of if I carefully push myself...and I want to have fun and be able do and see as much as I can and not be limited by my body or fitness.     

What is something about you that Mi5 members do not yet know? 
Lived in Alaska for 3-1/2 years. 

What advice would you give to someone just getting started at Mi5?  
- Work on moving first
- Stick with it, be consistent and patient...it pays off 
- Don't compare yourself against anyone else...aspire to be like someone or their attributes, but you're not competing against them...it's really just you against who you used to be
- Do what you can do and push that just a bit
- Ask questions
- Have fun