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Levels: Episode 4: The Three Cs of CrossFit with Michael Ini Abasi
7 Plays7 months ago
A conversation with Michael Ini Abasi about finding the fountain of youth and the three Cs of CrossFit!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Levels Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Okay, welcome to Levels, the podcast where we explore the people and the stories that make up our amazing community here at All Level CrossFit.
Michael's Background and Journey to Windsor
00:00:08
Speaker
Today, as my guest, I have Michael Inni Abasi with me.
00:00:12
Speaker
He's been a member of the gym for about two years, three years, amazing.
00:00:18
Speaker
And we want to get to know Michael a little bit better and some of the things that his likes and dislikes, some of the things that make him tick.
00:00:25
Speaker
So sit back and enjoy the conversation.
00:00:28
Speaker
So Michael, tell me a little bit about yourself.
00:00:32
Speaker
Where were you born?
00:00:33
Speaker
Where did you grow up?
00:00:34
Speaker
Well, thank you, John.
00:00:36
Speaker
My name is Michael.
00:00:38
Speaker
I was born in Nigeria.
00:00:40
Speaker
I grew up mostly in Nigeria, but I also partly grew up in the States, in Michigan.
00:00:48
Speaker
And I moved to Windsor about 20 years ago, and it's been good.
00:00:53
Speaker
Awesome.
00:00:53
Speaker
So did you move from Nigeria to Michigan in the States?
00:00:58
Speaker
Yes, from Nigeria to Michigan, from Michigan to Windsor.
00:01:02
Speaker
Michigan to Windsor.
00:01:03
Speaker
Awesome.
Sports and Academic Achievements
00:01:04
Speaker
When you were growing up, either in Nigeria or in the States, did you play any sports?
00:01:08
Speaker
Did you play anything like that?
00:01:10
Speaker
Oh, the most popular sport, as you know, in Nigeria is soccer.
00:01:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:16
Speaker
So we call it football.
00:01:17
Speaker
So that's what I played.
00:01:19
Speaker
And I didn't make any teams, but we just played for fun.
00:01:24
Speaker
What's their team called?
00:01:25
Speaker
The Super Hawks?
00:01:26
Speaker
No.
00:01:27
Speaker
Super Eagles.
00:01:27
Speaker
Super Eagles.
00:01:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:28
Speaker
I'm sorry.
00:01:29
Speaker
My bad.
00:01:29
Speaker
Super Eagles.
00:01:30
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:31
Speaker
They've put out a lot of really, really high caliber football, soccer players.
00:01:36
Speaker
Oh, they have.
00:01:37
Speaker
They have been so good at some point.
00:01:40
Speaker
Maybe not anymore, but they were so good.
00:01:42
Speaker
They got to the Olympics once.
00:01:44
Speaker
And then they,
00:01:45
Speaker
They beat Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil in a stretch.
00:01:52
Speaker
Amazing.
00:01:52
Speaker
And got the gold.
00:01:53
Speaker
That was in Atlanta.
00:01:54
Speaker
They won the gold in Atlanta?
00:01:56
Speaker
They won the gold in Atlanta.
00:01:58
Speaker
So that was the peak.
00:01:59
Speaker
After that, not so good anymore.
00:02:02
Speaker
Yeah, I know that they've got a chance to qualify for the World Cup this year.
00:02:05
Speaker
So that'd be cool, too.
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah, fingers crossed.
00:02:07
Speaker
Yeah, fingers crossed.
00:02:08
Speaker
Okay, so moved to Windsor about 20 years ago.
00:02:12
Speaker
Tell us what you do for work.
00:02:14
Speaker
I am a computer scientist and an engineer.
00:02:18
Speaker
I basically build systems for e-learning and build messaging systems for those who do teaching and coaching online.
00:02:28
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:02:28
Speaker
And I've been doing that for a long time.
00:02:31
Speaker
Amazing.
00:02:31
Speaker
Someone told me you were dabbling in AI and machine learning.
00:02:37
Speaker
I actually have a PhD in artificial intelligence.
00:02:44
Speaker
from the industrial engineering perspective.
00:02:48
Speaker
And I use that in building the platforms that we build.
00:02:51
Speaker
Wow.
00:02:52
Speaker
So you have a PhD in artificial intelligence?
00:02:54
Speaker
Yes.
00:02:55
Speaker
Oh my goodness.
00:02:56
Speaker
That's amazing.
00:02:57
Speaker
I'm going to come to you when AI tries to take over the world then.
00:03:00
Speaker
Not so fast.
00:03:01
Speaker
Not so fast.
00:03:03
Speaker
Okay.
00:03:03
Speaker
So I know that now your work, is it mainly done remotely?
00:03:08
Speaker
I know you travel a fair bit for your work as well.
00:03:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:11
Speaker
All our teams are
00:03:13
Speaker
all over the place, you know, India, in Ukraine, you know, and all those places.
00:03:19
Speaker
So, but we do mostly remote work.
00:03:22
Speaker
Awesome.
00:03:22
Speaker
Yeah, remotely.
00:03:24
Speaker
I do visit them from time to time, but 90% of the time is remote.
00:03:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:29
Speaker
Okay.
00:03:29
Speaker
And tell me about, you've got a family as well.
00:03:31
Speaker
I know you have a daughter.
00:03:32
Speaker
Yeah, my daughter is in Los Angeles.
00:03:34
Speaker
She's doing a PhD and my wife is here.
00:03:39
Speaker
So we are quite a little small family, but
00:03:42
Speaker
Happy family.
00:03:44
Speaker
What is your daughter doing her PhD in?
00:03:47
Speaker
She's in biotechnology and its impact on society.
00:03:53
Speaker
And yeah, that's what she is.
00:03:55
Speaker
Wow.
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Speaker
Wow.
00:03:56
Speaker
The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, I guess, eh?
00:03:58
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:03:59
Speaker
Some smart people in the family.
00:04:01
Speaker
Is she smart enough to be cheering for the Blue Jays in LA?
00:04:04
Speaker
She better be.
00:04:06
Speaker
She better be smart enough.
00:04:08
Speaker
No comment.
00:04:09
Speaker
Oh, no.
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Speaker
No comment.
00:04:11
Speaker
Okay.
Discovering and Starting CrossFit
00:04:13
Speaker
How long have you been doing CrossFit?
00:04:16
Speaker
Wanted to ask you, because I know a little bit of your backstory, was there anything that prompted you to start CrossFit?
00:04:22
Speaker
Yeah, actually, some years ago, that was before COVID, I had this couple come to work in my house.
00:04:30
Speaker
The wife was very fit, the husband not so much.
00:04:34
Speaker
So I kind of tease the one that say, hey, how come the wife is so fit and the husband is not fit?
00:04:40
Speaker
So she says, oh, I go to CrossFit and every day at 5.30 I'm there and my husband is sleeping, doesn't want to wake up and come.
00:04:49
Speaker
So I said, wow, I have to find that place because I like the way you look.
00:04:54
Speaker
So one day I was driving by and I saw, actually it was you, John, you know, in Howard, the other location.
00:05:02
Speaker
Yeah, carrying these weights, walking around.
00:05:05
Speaker
And I looked, I said, man, you're supposed to be the guy.
00:05:08
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:08
Speaker
So I had it in mind to check it out.
00:05:10
Speaker
But, you know, life happens and I did not.
00:05:14
Speaker
During COVID, you know, not much happened.
00:05:16
Speaker
And after COVID, I told myself, I have to go back there and find those guys.
00:05:21
Speaker
So I got there and I didn't see the places.
00:05:23
Speaker
I didn't see them.
00:05:23
Speaker
I said, oh, they moved to Division.
00:05:26
Speaker
So I drove out to Division and I saw Steph the first day I came.
00:05:30
Speaker
Steph is a coach here.
00:05:32
Speaker
I said, hey, I want to start CrossFit.
00:05:34
Speaker
And she said, okay, come on over.
00:05:36
Speaker
And she gave me some exercises.
00:05:38
Speaker
I almost passed out.
00:05:40
Speaker
So she said, okay, you start coming tomorrow.
00:05:43
Speaker
And that's how I came.
00:05:44
Speaker
Amazing.
00:05:45
Speaker
Amazing.
00:05:45
Speaker
I'm glad that that's one of the benefits that when we get outside and run on the sidewalk or do stuff outside, people take notice.
00:05:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:53
Speaker
For our Halloween wad on Saturday, we're running down Provincial Road with pumpkins at 9 in the morning in costume.
00:05:59
Speaker
So people look and they're, what's going on there?
00:06:01
Speaker
But a lot of people, we've had quite a few people who said, we used to see you run up and down Howard, or we saw you running up and down Provincial Road.
00:06:08
Speaker
And then they kind of filed that away, and then they come back and they're like, okay, well, I kind of want to do the things that you guys do.
00:06:14
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:06:15
Speaker
You know, it might not happen immediately, but, you know, it gets in the memory and something triggers it one day and you're like, ah, you know those guys I saw?
00:06:23
Speaker
I better pay them a visit.
00:06:24
Speaker
Yeah, that's amazing.
00:06:25
Speaker
Now, I know from speaking to you also that, you know, you've had some conversation with your doctor and your doctor said, you know, whatever you're doing, keep on doing it.
00:06:34
Speaker
Yeah, so I go to see the doctor and he says to me, oh, you know, I'm looking at your stats here.
00:06:41
Speaker
You should actually be doing more exercises.
00:06:44
Speaker
I said, OK, I will.
00:06:46
Speaker
I do three times a week.
00:06:47
Speaker
And he goes, maybe you should do more.
00:06:49
Speaker
I said, all right, I'll do more.
00:06:51
Speaker
But I didn't, you know, and I kept coming a few days.
00:06:55
Speaker
three times a week until I traveled in September and I came back in the middle of September.
00:07:03
Speaker
I said, look, I should do my 12 days this month, but I'm running out of time.
00:07:09
Speaker
So I'd better catch up.
00:07:11
Speaker
So in trying to catch up, I ended up doing every day.
00:07:15
Speaker
At the end of the month, I felt so much better.
00:07:19
Speaker
And I go to see my doctor, he says, yeah, you should.
00:07:23
Speaker
You're doing something right, keep doing it.
00:07:24
Speaker
Keep doing it, yeah.
00:07:25
Speaker
So I know that, I know that,
00:07:27
Speaker
Prior to coming more often, you wanted to make sure you got 12 classes a month, which is what the minimum to make our committed club, right?
00:07:35
Speaker
And you're like, I'm coming three times a week, I'll make my 12 classes.
00:07:39
Speaker
But now you found the dose for you that seems to be effective.
00:07:42
Speaker
You feel good.
00:07:43
Speaker
The doctor says you look good.
00:07:45
Speaker
All your vitals are good.
00:07:46
Speaker
So, I mean, that works for you.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah, you know, actually, if you had told me, John, you said, hey, Michael, you should be coming to it five times a week.
00:07:55
Speaker
I would just say, yeah, I'll smile politely and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll try.
00:08:00
Speaker
But when I had to push myself to do that and I could see the difference, I said, look, this is really good for me.
00:08:08
Speaker
I wake up very early, even though I work so late at night and I wake up so early and I am sharp and I decided, look,
00:08:17
Speaker
I think I could make the morning classes.
00:08:19
Speaker
And that's when I started coming at 9.30.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome.
The Importance of Community and Routine in CrossFit
00:08:23
Speaker
I'm glad that you found the right number of times and the right time for you that works.
00:08:27
Speaker
And the 9.30 crew here now is amazing.
00:08:30
Speaker
We have a great little group here at 9.30 as well.
00:08:32
Speaker
Okay, cool.
00:08:35
Speaker
What else do we got to talk about?
00:08:36
Speaker
Okay, do you remember your first class?
00:08:38
Speaker
We kind of touched on it.
00:08:39
Speaker
Your first class was with Steph.
00:08:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:08:42
Speaker
She said she wanted me to do a couple of sit-ups.
00:08:45
Speaker
I could not.
00:08:46
Speaker
I couldn't do sit-ups.
00:08:47
Speaker
And so she brought this skipping rope.
00:08:51
Speaker
I fell down.
00:08:52
Speaker
And she says, oh, no problem.
00:08:54
Speaker
You do better.
00:08:56
Speaker
You know, keep going, keep going.
00:08:57
Speaker
You know, so I have to mention that because
00:09:01
Speaker
that encouragement was really key, motivating me to actually really start doing the three days a week.
00:09:09
Speaker
But over time I realized that the community is so important.
00:09:12
Speaker
You know, when I travel, I'm like somewhere and my phone rings and that's John's asking, Hey, Michael, we haven't seen in a while.
00:09:21
Speaker
Are you okay?
00:09:22
Speaker
That's a huge motivation.
00:09:24
Speaker
And that comes to the community aspect of it.
00:09:28
Speaker
So over the,
00:09:30
Speaker
Over the Thanksgiving, somebody asked me, why are you always going to CrossFit?
00:09:34
Speaker
I said, you know, I have to tell you that there is community there.
00:09:39
Speaker
And, you know, somebody looks out for you and they're like, hey, come over here.
00:09:43
Speaker
And then you come and then you see others struggling with something.
00:09:48
Speaker
So you kind of feel motivated to continue.
00:09:50
Speaker
So the second thing is the coaching.
00:09:52
Speaker
So I call it my three C's of CrossFit.
00:09:55
Speaker
The community is one.
00:09:56
Speaker
Then the coaching.
00:09:58
Speaker
Somebody is always watching over you.
00:09:59
Speaker
Before I came to CrossFit, I went to other gyms.
00:10:02
Speaker
I know what it cares whether you do it right, whether you do it wrong.
00:10:05
Speaker
But over here, there's a coach always looking out and saying, hey, this is the way to do it.
00:10:09
Speaker
This is the right way.
00:10:10
Speaker
This is the wrong way.
00:10:11
Speaker
You do it this way.
00:10:13
Speaker
And then they keep watching until you improve.
00:10:15
Speaker
That to me is a game changer.
00:10:17
Speaker
And of course, the last thing is the
00:10:19
Speaker
just show up, you know, I have a t-shirt here that says, just show up, you know.
00:10:23
Speaker
So the C is come, just come, you know, just come and that's it, you know.
00:10:30
Speaker
Don't put any pressure on yourself, just come.
00:10:32
Speaker
And then the rest will take over the community and the coaching and before you know it,
00:10:37
Speaker
you, you'd be making so much progress.
00:10:39
Speaker
I love, I love the three C's of CrossFit that you've got, the community, the coaching and, and just come, just show up because that's the one that we just tell people like, like you said, don't put pressure on yourself.
00:10:51
Speaker
You don't have to do what's written on the board.
00:10:53
Speaker
You don't have to use the weights, but 90% of the struggle is getting through the front door.
00:10:58
Speaker
And then once you do, we'll take care of you.
00:11:00
Speaker
We'll, we'll make suggestions.
00:11:02
Speaker
We'll scale workouts.
00:11:03
Speaker
We'll make modifications.
00:11:04
Speaker
You know, if you just want to ride the bike for,
00:11:06
Speaker
for 40 minutes, ride the bike for 40 minutes, but being in the environment and, and being part of the community, it's no one ever really had a workout where they're like, man, I wish I hadn't have gone and worked out today.
00:11:18
Speaker
Right.
00:11:18
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:11:19
Speaker
But getting to the gym can be, can be a struggle.
00:11:22
Speaker
I, as we all know, we've got priorities and life is busy.
00:11:24
Speaker
Right.
00:11:25
Speaker
But, but getting here,
00:11:27
Speaker
Just come.
00:11:28
Speaker
Just come.
00:11:28
Speaker
Just show up.
00:11:29
Speaker
And just so you know, when I'm out of town, I look for CrossFit.
00:11:34
Speaker
So when I'm in LA, I go to CrossFit called Brick.
00:11:38
Speaker
Very, very well designed, very well done and all that.
00:11:42
Speaker
Good community as well.
00:11:45
Speaker
But I found that maybe because I was new over there, that sense of community did not quite click as it does here.
00:11:52
Speaker
You know, so when I'm outside this place and I'm in a CrossFit or anywhere else, I don't quite feel that same sense of community.
00:12:01
Speaker
And, you know, there's been a lot of studies, you know, showing that if you do something in a group, in a community, you learn,
00:12:07
Speaker
you build better habits faster.
00:12:09
Speaker
You are motivated, you have accountability and all of that.
00:12:13
Speaker
So I find that to be a really good part of being part of CrossFit right here.
00:12:19
Speaker
The community and I know that people you kind of become friends with, you could have coffee with and all of that.
00:12:27
Speaker
And it just helps you to improve.
00:12:29
Speaker
It helps me actually.
00:12:30
Speaker
You know, I look at somebody that's doing something like dobs, and I'm like, man, how did you do that?
00:12:36
Speaker
He says, look, actually, I struggled for two years before I could do this.
00:12:39
Speaker
You know, I'm like, okay, I'm encouraged, so I could do it.
00:12:42
Speaker
The first day I did my dobs, I was screaming all over the gym, you know?
00:12:46
Speaker
I remember.
00:12:47
Speaker
No, that's a great point.
00:12:49
Speaker
Like, you know, they...
00:12:50
Speaker
the community is going to help lift you to heights that you can't get to by yourself.
00:12:54
Speaker
Motivation wanes.
00:12:56
Speaker
And, you know, having people who say, hey, am I going to see you tomorrow?
00:13:00
Speaker
I'll meet you here tomorrow.
00:13:01
Speaker
And then shooting you a text and saying, hey, do you want to go to CrossFit with me tomorrow?
00:13:05
Speaker
That's part of the motivation.
00:13:06
Speaker
And then, like you said, too, having people around who have
00:13:09
Speaker
been through the experience before and done the struggles before and still come out on the other side, you know, that gives you hope as well too, right?
00:13:16
Speaker
They're
Benefits of CrossFit on Health and Lifestyle
00:13:17
Speaker
like, this is my experience.
00:13:19
Speaker
And, you know, so it's not atypical for you not to have double unders already, you know, we're going to get there.
00:13:25
Speaker
So that's amazing.
00:13:28
Speaker
And there's also shared suffering builds bonds a little bit, right?
00:13:32
Speaker
You know, so being together and doing hard work,
00:13:35
Speaker
definitely builds bonds with each other.
00:13:37
Speaker
And that's part of the magic, I think, of CrossFit that doesn't get discussed.
00:13:40
Speaker
Like everyone looks at the workouts and they look at the intensity, but they don't talk about how the community is going to help push you to heights that you couldn't reach yourself.
00:13:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, actually, yeah.
00:13:53
Speaker
I think that's true.
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:55
Speaker
Okay.
00:13:57
Speaker
If you could give your day one CrossFit self some advice, what would you say?
00:14:02
Speaker
Oh, it's just coming.
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:05
Speaker
when you feel like coming, when you don't feel like coming, just keep coming.
00:14:09
Speaker
And to me, that's the key.
00:14:11
Speaker
Just keep coming.
00:14:13
Speaker
Even though you don't feel like it, just keep coming.
00:14:15
Speaker
That's what I would have told myself from day one.
00:14:18
Speaker
Because what I found was, you know, it's easy to kind of slide away and say, well, I'll do it tomorrow.
00:14:24
Speaker
I'll do it the day after.
00:14:25
Speaker
Before you know it, you're like not there for a week or two or three weeks.
00:14:31
Speaker
So that's what I would have told myself.
00:14:33
Speaker
Just show up.
00:14:34
Speaker
Just show up.
00:14:35
Speaker
I love it.
00:14:35
Speaker
All right.
00:14:36
Speaker
Is there an accomplishment or a PR or personal record in the gym that you're most proud of?
00:14:42
Speaker
I would just say, okay, when I came, I couldn't do any skipping.
00:14:48
Speaker
I couldn't skip.
00:14:48
Speaker
I couldn't squat.
00:14:53
Speaker
And then, you know, in my work for decades, all I do is sit in front of a computer screen.
00:14:59
Speaker
for decades, that's what I've been doing.
00:15:01
Speaker
And my posture, everything was out of whack.
00:15:07
Speaker
So I kind of felt that if I keep coming, all those things will take care of themselves.
00:15:18
Speaker
And that's what's been happening.
00:15:20
Speaker
So I can skip now.
00:15:21
Speaker
Once in a while, I can do double under.
00:15:26
Speaker
Then I can lift the weights that I could.
00:15:32
Speaker
I do like 200 once in a while.
00:15:37
Speaker
So consistency.
00:15:39
Speaker
That's it.
00:15:41
Speaker
So the greatest achievement is consistency.
00:15:44
Speaker
I think you can tell that
00:15:47
Speaker
for you coming more often is your greatest PR, your greatest achievement.
00:15:52
Speaker
And just as a little side note here, how old are you, Michael?
00:15:55
Speaker
I'm 64.
00:15:57
Speaker
64, right?
00:15:57
Speaker
So the stuff I see you do in the gym at the age of 64, again, that's like...
00:16:03
Speaker
That's inspirational.
00:16:04
Speaker
That gives us who are slightly younger than you, gives us a little bit of hope as we go forward because the stuff you can do at 64, right?
00:16:12
Speaker
It's not what people in the past used to think 64 year olds could do, right?
00:16:15
Speaker
It used to be, I'm too old to do that.
00:16:17
Speaker
I'm too old to do those things.
00:16:19
Speaker
But now like people like yourself and Gabe and other members, Lana in the gym are showing people that you can do all the things as you age.
00:16:28
Speaker
In fact, you need to do all the things as you age.
00:16:31
Speaker
You know, I travel home to Nigeria once in a while, a couple of times a year, and I meet a lot of people.
00:16:38
Speaker
They look so old, they cannot walk, they have all kinds of problems.
00:16:42
Speaker
So the other day, I'm saying, hey, are you never going to grow old?
00:16:45
Speaker
I say, yeah, because I have a secret.
00:16:47
Speaker
And the secret is continuous movement.
00:16:50
Speaker
Go to a gym, walk around, do something.
00:16:53
Speaker
Don't just sit down.
00:16:54
Speaker
You know, it's tempting at that age to kind of relax and
00:16:59
Speaker
allow life to, no, that's not it.
00:17:02
Speaker
Just go walk around, find a gym, do something.
00:17:06
Speaker
Otherwise you age so fast.
00:17:08
Speaker
I can look at some of them and I sort of say, look, if you don't do something,
00:17:16
Speaker
very fast, you'd be in trouble.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah, I know.
00:17:20
Speaker
I think that we've found the fountain of youth and it's exercise, right?
00:17:25
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:17:26
Speaker
That's what it is.
00:17:26
Speaker
People are searching for the fountain of youth when it's right there.
00:17:29
Speaker
It's a little bit of hard work.
00:17:30
Speaker
It's a little bit of high intensity, a little bit of exercise, and that's what's going to
00:17:33
Speaker
keep you young for as long as possible.
00:17:36
Speaker
Everything has a cost.
00:17:38
Speaker
So my doctor usually tells me when I need to lose weight, he says, lose 10 pounds.
00:17:43
Speaker
I say, sure, I can do that.
00:17:44
Speaker
No problem.
00:17:45
Speaker
There's CrossFit over there.
00:17:46
Speaker
I can do that.
00:17:47
Speaker
No problem at all.
00:17:48
Speaker
Then he goes, you know what?
00:17:51
Speaker
If you keep doing what you are doing, you would not be paying me a lot of visits.
00:17:56
Speaker
And I like that.
00:17:57
Speaker
That's what my doctor told me.
00:17:59
Speaker
And it's true.
00:18:01
Speaker
It's great to find a doctor like that who sees the value of exercise as kind of preventative medicine, right?
00:18:07
Speaker
So exercise is a way to stop yourself from being in the nursing home, stop yourself from being on medication, stop yourself from decrepitude.
00:18:16
Speaker
When a doctor sees that and sees the value of that, that's a good doctor.
00:18:19
Speaker
In my opinion, that's a good doctor.
00:18:20
Speaker
I think so too.
00:18:21
Speaker
Awesome.
00:18:22
Speaker
Okay.
00:18:23
Speaker
Can you give me a real world example of how CrossFit may have helped you in your daily life?
00:18:29
Speaker
Oh, well, it's easy because I usually go to bed around 2 a.m.
00:18:36
Speaker
in the morning because my teams, my global teams, like in India, they're coming to work around 1 a.m.
00:18:43
Speaker
here.
00:18:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:44
Speaker
So I have to sit around and have a couple of calls with them and all that.
00:18:48
Speaker
So before I started CrossFit, I would go to bed around two o'clock and then I wouldn't wake up till nine.
00:18:55
Speaker
But during CrossFit, even if I go to bed at 3 a.m., I'm up at 6, 7.
00:19:00
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:19:01
Speaker
You know, I just wake up.
00:19:03
Speaker
And then I'm like, no, I should go back to bed.
00:19:06
Speaker
I said, no, I should go to CrossFit.
00:19:09
Speaker
So that's the whole thing.
00:19:11
Speaker
Perfect, perfect, perfect.
00:19:12
Speaker
Okay, so you kind of touched on it there a little bit about the morning routine.
00:19:17
Speaker
So I didn't know that about you.
00:19:19
Speaker
I didn't know that you –
00:19:20
Speaker
you went to bed at like 2 a.m.
00:19:22
Speaker
because you've got teams all over the world.
00:19:23
Speaker
So your sleep schedule is a little bit different for most people, right?
00:19:26
Speaker
You go to bed quite late and maybe get up a little bit later.
00:19:30
Speaker
But in the morning, is there any non-negotiables?
00:19:34
Speaker
Do you have coffee?
00:19:35
Speaker
Do you have to... What do you do in the morning?
00:19:38
Speaker
Oh, the non-negotiable in the morning when I wake up is...
00:19:42
Speaker
I have a couple of exercises that I think it was Zach.
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:46
Speaker
That said I should do stretching exercises in the morning.
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:50
Speaker
getting up and stretching, the first thing I should do, I actually do is, you know, to kneel down and pray.
00:19:58
Speaker
I'm a person of faith.
00:20:00
Speaker
So right after the prayer, so I kind of walk in the stretches, the three stretching exercises right after the prayer so I don't miss it.
00:20:09
Speaker
And also it became a habit.
00:20:11
Speaker
So that's my morning routine.
00:20:12
Speaker
Then from there,
00:20:14
Speaker
I can now go read, study the Bible now, really actually go and pray and then start the day.
00:20:20
Speaker
I used to drink quite a few cups of coffee, but I've sort of caught down on it.
00:20:26
Speaker
I just find that my body, with more exercises, my body sort of self-regulates and doesn't need that coffee anymore.
00:20:34
Speaker
And I think I've only had coffee...
00:20:38
Speaker
Twice this year.
00:20:39
Speaker
Wow.
00:20:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:20:40
Speaker
So you've kind of like, you've replaced the caffeine kick with a higher energy level from exercise, basically.
00:20:47
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:20:48
Speaker
Awesome.
00:20:48
Speaker
And I love the way that you're kind of habit stacking.
00:20:51
Speaker
You know, you wake up, you do some prayer, then you add in your stretching, and then you go and do your Bible study.
00:20:57
Speaker
So it's sandwiched in the middle of two things you're not going to miss.
00:21:00
Speaker
So it becomes part of that routine, that habit stacking.
00:21:02
Speaker
That's great.
00:21:02
Speaker
It's amazing.
00:21:03
Speaker
Okay.
Diet and Lifestyle Choices
00:21:05
Speaker
Let's go a little bit rapid fire here now, Michael.
00:21:07
Speaker
So rapid fire, what is your favorite movement to do in the gym?
00:21:12
Speaker
Oh, it's push-ups.
00:21:17
Speaker
Push-ups?
00:21:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:21:18
Speaker
Nice.
00:21:19
Speaker
All right.
00:21:19
Speaker
I did a few of those today.
00:21:20
Speaker
What's your least favorite movement?
00:21:23
Speaker
Burpees.
00:21:24
Speaker
Burpees.
00:21:26
Speaker
Push-ups and burpees, such close cousins.
00:21:29
Speaker
But the hatred between the push-up and the burpee, right?
00:21:32
Speaker
It's much.
00:21:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:21:34
Speaker
Oh, man.
00:21:34
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:36
Speaker
Morning, afternoon, or evening class?
00:21:39
Speaker
I was doing evenings until I switched to five days, so now it's morning.
00:21:44
Speaker
Morning classes.
00:21:45
Speaker
Perfect, perfect.
00:21:45
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:47
Speaker
What is your favorite indulgent food?
00:21:51
Speaker
Like what's something that if you're going to say, you know what, I'm going to indulge a little bit, I'm going to have this.
00:21:57
Speaker
Actually, I don't have any.
00:21:58
Speaker
Nothing?
00:21:58
Speaker
Not like ice cream?
00:22:00
Speaker
No, no, no.
00:22:00
Speaker
I had to train myself and cut all of that away.
00:22:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:07
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:09
Speaker
I could be pretty disciplined when I want to.
00:22:10
Speaker
So I just cut it off.
00:22:12
Speaker
I say, I'm not doing this.
00:22:14
Speaker
So I haven't had ice cream in like forever, right?
00:22:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:17
Speaker
That's a man of discipline.
00:22:18
Speaker
I can appreciate that.
00:22:20
Speaker
I do that because I want my daughter to be disciplined.
00:22:24
Speaker
So when she sees me doing that, she's like, why are you doing that?
00:22:26
Speaker
I said, well, because I can.
00:22:28
Speaker
And so she kind of tries to take after that.
00:22:31
Speaker
That's a really, I think that's a really important lesson.
00:22:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:35
Speaker
as a parent myself, there's things that I want to do or maybe I used to do that I, because of that, my kids are always watching and they, and they're going to mimic what you do and they're going to take their cues from you, right?
00:22:48
Speaker
Like,
00:22:49
Speaker
I like a Diet Coke once in a while, but I don't want my kids to have pop or soda.
00:22:54
Speaker
So I don't have Diet Coke anymore because it's not fair for me to be having a Diet Coke or a soda in front of them and say, no, no, no, stuff's bad for you.
00:23:02
Speaker
Don't have it.
00:23:03
Speaker
Exactly.
00:23:04
Speaker
It's a great role model for your daughter.
00:23:06
Speaker
I love that.
00:23:06
Speaker
Thank you.
00:23:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:23:08
Speaker
What is your favorite healthy food?
00:23:10
Speaker
Oh, veggies.
00:23:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:12
Speaker
Favorite, but not that I like.
00:23:13
Speaker
I like it, but it's favorite.
00:23:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:15
Speaker
When I think healthy, it's veggies.
00:23:17
Speaker
You have a favorite vegetable?
00:23:20
Speaker
Not really.
00:23:20
Speaker
I just grab the ones in the store.
00:23:24
Speaker
Whatever's there, right?
00:23:25
Speaker
Okay.
00:23:26
Speaker
Do you have any workout?
00:23:28
Speaker
Do you have any food pre or post workout all the time?
00:23:30
Speaker
Like a routine in terms of that?
00:23:32
Speaker
Do you have anything before workout, after workout?
00:23:35
Speaker
No, nothing before and mostly nothing after.
00:23:39
Speaker
I just stick to my normal lunch, dinner.
00:23:44
Speaker
I don't eat breakfast.
00:23:46
Speaker
Lunch and dinner and
00:23:48
Speaker
My lunch is like quite heavy.
00:23:51
Speaker
Okay.
00:23:52
Speaker
Because I want to kind of compensate for the breakfast that I didn't have.
00:23:58
Speaker
So a bigger lunch.
00:23:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:59
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:00
Speaker
What's your favorite way to relax?
Music Preferences
00:24:03
Speaker
Listening to a lot of music.
00:24:06
Speaker
Music and just...
00:24:09
Speaker
lying there and doing nothing.
00:24:11
Speaker
You're listening to music.
00:24:12
Speaker
I know that you have a really big appreciation for music.
00:24:14
Speaker
We talk music once in a while in class.
00:24:17
Speaker
I know that you like some funk.
00:24:20
Speaker
You like some rock.
00:24:22
Speaker
I like classical, I like jazz, I like rock, I like, believe it or not, country.
00:24:27
Speaker
Everything mixed in there.
00:24:29
Speaker
Because when I grew up, we had to compete, you know, to know the most musicians, the most artists, who plays what guitar, who plays the drums, and so you had to have
00:24:39
Speaker
all of this in your head.
00:24:41
Speaker
And so I think the unfortunate thing is that I never learned to play any instrument, but I should have done that because I kind of can tell who's playing what, you know, when I listen to music.
00:24:50
Speaker
So I kind of carried it along.
00:24:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's never too late.
00:24:55
Speaker
Never too late.
00:24:57
Speaker
I've got a guitar in my house that's growing really dusty because I keep saying I'm going to learn it and then I try and it's really hard, but never too late.
00:25:05
Speaker
Never too late to learn something new.
00:25:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:07
Speaker
Those are all the questions I have for you today.
00:25:09
Speaker
Michael, thank you so much for joining us.
00:25:12
Speaker
Thank you.
00:25:12
Speaker
It's a pleasure talking to you.
00:25:14
Speaker
And I guess I'll see you at 9.30 tomorrow.
00:25:16
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:25:18
Speaker
And you've been a great encouragement as well.
00:25:21
Speaker
So I'm trying to drag.
00:25:23
Speaker
my family and people over here, you know, to come and see, because they actually say, hey, you look fit.
00:25:29
Speaker
But I say, hey, come over here and see what I do.
00:25:31
Speaker
And they're like, oh, no, thank you.
00:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, well, you know, I think a lot of people have a little, they have some, they have a little bit of, maybe not fear, but they're,
00:25:43
Speaker
to come in the gym because they have a little, they think that they might not be able to do the things or that it's going to be really, really hard and they're going to be embarrassed.
00:25:51
Speaker
But I think that's, that's the stigma that they have to get over is like, like you said, just show up, just come.
00:25:56
Speaker
We'll take care of you and we'll make sure that you get what you need, not what somebody else needs, right?
00:26:02
Speaker
Everyone's an individual.
00:26:04
Speaker
Great.
00:26:04
Speaker
Thank you so much, John.
00:26:05
Speaker
Thank you, sir.
00:26:06
Speaker
Have a good one.
00:26:07
Speaker
Yeah, you too.
00:26:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:08
Speaker
I'm going to grab that microphone off you.
00:26:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:14
Speaker
Let me get in here.