Athlete of the Month: Frank M.
What motivated me to join Strong Together Hackettstown CrossFit?
Glad you asked, I was fat. LOL.
When Cleia and I moved into our new home in January of 2017, I was trying to close the garage door and run out. It’s a small garage and it’s a simple task but I had gotten too out of shape to beat a garage door to a close. As strange as that sounds it was the moment I realized I was in the worst shape of my life. I was around 335lbs and knew I needed to spark a change. I didn’t want to be the guy on, “My 600-pound life”.
February 27, 2017, my first weigh-in to start a 21 day challenge I was 318. My July 2018 “Baseline” workout I weighed in at 248lbs. Going from a size 44/46 waste to a 38/36 is a huge change. I never did a pull-up in 33 years and I’ve finally done one. Those were my 2 goals; do a pull-up and be 250 pounds again. The last time I was 250 I was 15 years old. That’s 18 years I’ve been walking around with that on my body. 
What do I like best about this program? Well, all the complements about how damn good I look. Besides the fact that I’m no longer paying extra for plus sizes! It’s crazy I can walk into ANY STORE, walk to the rack, and just buy something. I’ve always been big, so besides mesh shorts and T-shirt’s in high school, I would have to wear clothes for older men. Then I had to start going to the big and tall stores. It was always a depressing trip for me to go to the mall or try on a suit, knowing that, inevitably, nothing was going to fit. I haven’t rebuilt my wardrobe entirely yet, but it has been such an amazing feeling just going to Macy’s and Marshall’s and seeing how many things I can buy and fit into. I don’t just skip to the back of a rack and shrug my head, while secretly hoping no one would notice I was looking for the biggest size, and it didn’t exist. I was always confident, but my results have made me happy and confident. When you’re bigger 
you say, “it doesn’t matter”, but it does, and when you lose the weight you realize that it does.
What would I tell someone on the fence about joining? Do it! I’ve done all the other gyms and diets and it didn’t last. I would get results for a short time then fall off the wagon. You can’t get results without the community helping you get there. Coaches (Liz especially) always just taking a minute to chat nutrition with you, giving ideas and starting points is SO helpful. Every class at STF is like having a personal trainer. The coaches know your body, your limits, your ailments, they’ll always have a modification ready for you. Making friends who will push you to go harder than you would push yourself. It’s truly been one of the greatest experiences of my life. It’s become more then a gym, it’s become a family... I literally say “gym fam” all the time. When you walk into a class it’s never the same thing, coaches bring energy and fun to each workout, there’s always music playing, great community events, just everything you could want in an environment. I’ve done more and challenged myself physically and mentally more than I thought I could.
Additional I would like to just thank all the coaches and the entire gym family for helping me on my journey. Thank you.-Frank M.
