My name is Erik. I was born in Texas way back in 1990. After moving several times to places such as Kansas, Louisiana, England, and Missouri, my family and I settled down in Madison, Alabama. I went a big high school in Alabama where I played hockey and was in the band.
Fitness
At the time, I found hockey to be a challenging and great method of fitness (little did I know). Upon arrival at the University of Alabama I joined the men’s rowing team, Alabama Crew, on a ‘try-something-new’ whim. The first practice for crew was a wake up call. We did a 1 mile warm up run and I couldn’t finish the run…I was the ONLY one who couldn’t finish the run. That was when I stepped back and did a serious life evaluation.
I went from the ‘hit the gym a few times a week’ workout schedule to a two-a-day workout schedule. The first was at 4:30am and the second was later in the afternoon. I started pushing myself further, getting stronger, seeing results, and feeling healthier. I started college weighing 260lbs and now weigh 199lbs. These changes led me do things I’d always wanted to do, join the Marines. I attended Marine Corps Officer Candidates School for 6 weeks during the summer of 2010 and get to go back for another 6 weeks in summer of 2011. Oorah.
This was yet ANOTHER life evaluation, I went to OCS in best shape of my life…and STILL wasn’t the fastest or strongest candidate at training. This has kept me motivated and determined to continue on my pursuit of fitness, which is where this blog comes in.
Update (2.2012):
It’s been over a year since I updated this page and things have kept moving. I left off talking about OCS. Well, I’m happy to say that I successfully graduated from OCS and I was in the top 10% of all competing candidates. It was huge landmark, personally, to make it through the evaluation process, but I had a blast doing it. I’m looking forward to commissioning on December 15th, 2012.
I’m still rowing, somewhat, on the Alabama Crew team. However, I have shifted my role in the team from athlete to Coach. Which has taken some adjusting. I’m still a competitive person, but in a new sport. CrossFit has become a very prominent part of my fitness regimen. I co-founded Alabama Crossfit in January of 2012 and the club is growing incredible fast. There’s big things in the future for the CrossFit club. I hope to begin competing in CrossFit competitions across the south east in the near future. But I’ll keep you updated.
