October Athlete of the Month – Christian Knaak
Christian has been a CFRR member for going on 8 years and is one of CFRR’s longest-running members to date! He is a husband, father of 3, and has a full-time job so making time and prioritizing fitness is something that he has to schedule out.
Christian joined CFRR, like most do, out of convenience and after a few years, he and his family moved out of the area and the drive didn’t make a lot of sense anymore. Or so he thought:-) after a brief stinky at another CrossFit box, he decided the drive to CFRR was worth and jumped back in!
Since then, his consistency has been top-notch, his movement and range of motion has made tons of improvement and his fitness goals are now insight more than ever. We can’t say enough great things about this dude so we’ll just say how proud of him we are and how glad we are that he’s a part of the CFRR family! Here’s a little more insight into what makes Christian tick.
1) What is your biggest motivation?
With my 40th Birthday approaching, I’m motivated to to continue down a path to stay physically fit and energetic for my kids and family.
2) Your favorite quote or words to live by?
“THE ONLY PERSON YOU ARE DESTINED TO BECOME IS THE PERSON YOU DECIDE TO BE.”
3) What is your current training goals/PRs?
working towards dropping weight and improving Wod performancce
4) Take us back to your first day of CrossFit… How did you feel? How do you compare it to workouts today?
My first day of Crossfit at CFRR was Dec of 2010. We had just had our first kid and I hadn’t been in a gym in about 2 years. I was feeling terrible about my overall physical condition and was motivated to get into shape for my daughter. The first class was shocking. I was overwhelmed by the movements. If I remember correctly, the WOD was a combination of handstand pushups, box jumps, situps, and a mile run. I did terrible but knew if I could keep it up I would be able to get into great shape. After 9 years of progress and setbacks Im in a nice balance. WODs are still challenging and interesting but its become abundantly clear that keeping my nutrition in balance greatly impacts my performance in the gym and how i feel.
5) What advice do you have for new athletes just starting out in CrossFit?
Be open minded, check your ego at the door, trust your coaches, be a party of the community, and have fun.
6) Tell us about a moment you felt most proud of yourself during a workout?
I’ve had a number of these moments over the years but in general, I feel most proud and satisfied when I’ve been working towards a goal and can see the impact of that effort. Most recently, I shaved over a 1:30 off a WOD that was directly a result of the weight I’ve been cutting and the increased stamina from my current eating plan. Days like this really give you that push to keep going.
7) What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
Family gets the majority of my attention. My wife, Lynn, and I have 3 wonderful kids(Carson 9, Colin, 4, and Cooper, 2) and they give us all the excitement we can handle at this stage of our life. Outside of family, I’m a huge car nut. At any given time I have some sort of car project/restoration I’m working on.
8) What’s your favorite part of CrossFit Round Rock?
The people hands down. From the coaches to my fellow classmates at 8:30 and noon, they are what makes CFRR so special.
9) If you could create a WOD and name it for yourself, what would it be?
Easy..”Knaak Attack”…not sure the flow or reps but there’s got to be some heavy Barbell movements like Deadlifts and/or Cleans. Maybe some Wallballs but not high reps(maybe 20 per round), sprinkle in a 500M Row somewhere. Those are some movements I usually look forward too.
10) How has your diet changed since starting CrossFit (if it has), and what foods do you rely on most?
Its been a roller-coaster. I’ve had great success in the past but never maintained something consistently long term. Some of this has been because I wasn’t fully ready to change. Other times I’ve been sidelined with injury which has thrown me off. Net Net, Its taken me a couple years to get recommitted to a plan that will work for me and I look forward to maintaining this current plan for the foreseeable future.