High School Strong: Matt Whitman
13 Sep
Matt Whitman has changed. He took Before photos in February and After photos last week. It’s not just the obvious aesthetic transformation but what’s more impressive is the leap in his fitness!
On the benchmark retest he jumped in 3 categories, most notably the 10 Min Cindy-Row part, from a score of 251 (8 Rounds of Cindy + 6 pushups) to 340! That’s on the rower and killing it.
This next photo is so unbelievable I would accuse myself of photoshopping it!
From Matt –
Several months ago I found myself weighing about 185 (currently 162), and having weird random knee pain when I tried to run.
I’ve never been truly “doughy” thanks to my daily bike commute, but around Christmas 2010 I realized that I will be in my mid-fifties when my sons (ages 5 and 2 now) are teenagers. I figured I needed to take better care of myself now in order to keep up with them later.
So I did three things: first, I read up on “barefoot running,” got rid of my super-control anti-pronation Brooks running boats, and started training myself to have better foot strike. That solved the knee pain issue.
Second, I started a high-protein low-carb diet (Tim Ferriss’s from the 4-Hour Body, if it matters).
And third, I started looking for a fitness program. I read an article on slate.com talking about CrossFit and started doing more research, which largely meant watching YouTube videos of Chris Spealler and OPT destroying standard benchmark WODs. I said, “I want to do that.”
By my second 101 class it was clear that CrossFit speaks directly to how my brain is wired. I love being in competition with my own previous performance, and watching my own improvement. I love workouts “for time.” I love going at a WOD so hard that I collapse panting for a few minutes. So I immediately knew that this was something that I enjoyed as an activity, as distinct from seeing a transformation.
But once I started seeing real results, which was within two weeks, I knew I was hooked.
I distinctly remember thinking that kipping pull-ups were impossible and that I would never be able to do a single one. (I could do a dead hang, but not a kip.) Since I did 121 KPUs last week doing “Chelsea”, I was obviously wrong.
My greatest joy at the gym is being surprised about my own capabilities. I started at CFPDX in February 2011 — if you told me then what I would be able to do now, I would have laughed in disbelief. One WOD a couple of months ago called for HSPUs, and I was SHOCKED that I could do one, much less nine.
Right now I’m working on getting my first muscle-up — but now there’s no doubt.
I’m not a great workout logger. But some easy ones:
| Exercise | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Pushups | 15 | 55 |
| Kipping Pullups | 0 | 20 |
| 4.1 Mile, Regular Loop | 30:21 | 26:14 |
The 4.1 mile loop improvement blows me away when I type it.
And just a few weeks ago I cleaned 195, which I did exactly once as a 17-year-old, after two years of daily weight training under Jerry Vellutini, who was a legendary strength and football coach in the Willamette Valley.
I bought a nice new suit November 2010; it’s now so big on me (4 waist sizes) that I can’t even have it altered to fit. My wife says my “body by CrossFit” is preposterous and bemoans the loss of my love handles.
I talked to my mom on my 40th birthday and she commented on what great shape I’m in. My MOM. I literally am in better shape than I have been since high school.
I turned 40 last week. I feel great, and people tell me I look great. But I look at the twentysomethings I work out with at the gym and I think, “God, I wish I started this at their age.”
Matt, you killed Chelsea, and rowed all over her. Awesome performance!
Wow. Awesome transformation Matt!
And what I should have made more clear is that I still consider myself an utter novice. I am pretty lame at about every “skill” exercise we do, including the Oly lifts. There is so much room for improvement…
Matt, your energy and enthusiasm is contagious! And all I can say about those pics is WOW…WOW…WOW!!!
Happy belated birthday! I am so proud of you! You are my hero! Now excuse me, while I go find a tissue.
Matt, your transformation is inspiring. It’s amazing to see how much you’ve changed in such a short period of time! Good work, and keep it up!
Incredible, Matt!
It was great to see you kill your benchmarks on Saturday.
Way to get after it Matt!
Very inspiring for us who just started this summer. Awesome.