The Stronger Revolution

Have you ever wanted to know more about the owner of Industrial Athletics, Matthew Becker? Here’s your chance. Athlete and member Kristen Perry takes over the Stronger Revolution and puts Matt on the hot seat.

Matt starts by talking about how he got into fitness from the beginning. Can you imagine him doing step aerobics? How about with his mom? Well, that’s how it happened. From step aerobics, Matt started lifting weights with a friend in High School and College. After his brother introduced him to CrossFit while Matt was in law school, Matt was hooked.

After law school, Matt saw a gap in the quality of CrossFit services offered in Pittsburgh. So, he decided to open his own gym. He wanted to bring CrossFit in a friendly way to the masses. Nine years later, his focus is still providing individualized attention to his members putting proper form and proper range of motion first!

Check out the full episode for more.

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The Athlete of the Month and latest guest on The Stronger Revolution Podcast was Cheryl Lowitzer. Cheryl has been CrossFitting for around 10 years, and was the perfect person to question about CrossFitting for longevity.

One of the popular goals we hear during our No Sweat Intros is trying to stay healthy longer in life, i.e. longevity. Multiple studies have shown how to fight chronic disease. You need a healthy diet and exercise. More and more studies are also concluding that high intensity workouts are better than running on a treadmill or using an elliptical. However, high intensity functional fitness is a newer area of fitness. Thus, we don’t have a lot of long term data showing the ability to do high intensity workouts over decades. So, instead, we have to look for individuals who have done it. That’s where Cheryl comes in.

Cheryl is 60 years old and has been CrossFitting for around 10 years. She is a prime example of someone who has been CrossFitting for a longer period of time and started later in life. She’s still going strong and still seeing progress in her fitness. So, can we conclude that it is possible to do high intensity functional fitness over a long period of time without breaking down our bodies? Only if we can duplicate the results. One example of success is not proof.

In this podcast episode, we sat down with Cheryl to ask just that. How did you manage to start CrossFit at 50 years old and do it for 10 years without any serious injuries or setbacks?

We aren’t going to give away all of her secrets here. That’s what the podcast is for. But, we can tell you that scaling, proper form, and sleep are some big ticket items. Scaling is when you modify the workout as written to your ability. Or, as Cheryl likes to say, scale to how you are feeling today. Proper form and proper range of motion will protect your joints and keep your muscles strong. Finally, GO TO BED. Sleep is necessary for recovery. Recovery is necessary for high levels of performance.

To learn more secrets, a little about Cheryl, check out the episode.

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Our Athlete of the Month for March 2022 is older than the average age at Industrial Athletics. So, we sat down with him in the most recent episode of The Stronger Revolution. We wanted to find out what made Ron decide at this point in his life to start a fitness program like CrossFit.

Ron has known about CrossFit for five or six years. However, he has a rather negative opinion of the program until about a year ago. That’s because he was introduced to CrossFit through a friend who complained that it was a bit exclusionary and elitist. Additionally, Ron heard all of the common misconceptions like CrossFit is only good for elite athletes and causes injuries. Understandably, he wasn’t super exited to give it a try.

However, that changed when Ron wanted to start a fitness program about a year ago. He started looking around and found Industrial Athletics near his neighborhood. The more and more he looked into it, the more his opinion about CrossFit started to change. Through the media content at Industrial Athletics, like our podcast, Ron decided that his first impression may have been wrong. Thus, he finally reached out and came to Industrial Athletics for a No Sweat Intro.

Since starting, Ron has become an advocate from CrossFit. With the help of proper coaching and nutrition counseling, Ron has seen his fitness improve dramatically. And, despite the naysayers, he has never once felt like he was in danger of an injury.

Check out the podcast episode for our full interview with Ron. Since recording, we learned the Ron was recently taken off of his diabetes medication. While CrossFit hasn’t cured him, he no longer needs the help of drugs to manage.

The post Never Too Late To Start appeared first on Pittsburgh Crossfit | Industrial Athletics.

In our latest episode of the Stronger Revolution, we sat down with our Athlete of the Month for February 2022. We started our conversation with Kristen Perry learning more about where she was from and what brought her to Pittsburgh. However, we soon learned that Kristen has a passion for photography. As a side hustle, Kristen has done all kinds of photography: weddings, engagement, sporting events, etc. While she loves taking pictures of all kinds, however, her true passion lies in a type of photography you may not know much about. Kristen loves Boudoir photography.

Throughout our interview, Kristen talks about this niche of hers and why she loves it. She found that she loves the process of helping people find their inner confidence. A common misconception about Boudoir photography is that you only do it to give the pictures to someone else to enjoy. Quite the contrary, Kristen says, many of her clients do it for themselves.

As a podcast dedicated to improving our lives by 1% everyday, we love hearing stories like this. Kristen has found a passion in her life. It is an art that she works toward betterment everyday. It is a skill through which she can give back to help others improve their lives.

We closed our interview talking with Kristen about her fitness. As one of our hybrid clients, Kristen participates both in private training sessions and small group classes. Through her private training, she has worked toward her goals and has learned much more about herself than she ever imagined.

To learn more about Kristen, check out the full episode of the Stronger Revolution.

The post Finding Her Passion appeared first on Pittsburgh Crossfit | Industrial Athletics.

Recently, we sat down with our Athlete of the Month for January 2022: Thom Harr. He is a relatively new member at Industrial Athletics, joining in February 2021. During our interview, we talked with Thom not only about why he joined, but also why he’s stayed.

Thom has been active his entire life. Before joining Industrial Athletics, he sports of choice were running and riding his bike. However, he kept hearing about CrossFit from his fiends. He also watched as many of his friend joined CrossFit gyms and started seeing massive gains in their fitness. So, he finally took the leap.

When he walked into Industrial Athletics for his initial meeting with the owner, Thom said the “Safe Space” sign on the desk made him feel at ease, almost instantly. He knew that he was in an environment that supported him as an individual and wouldn’t judge him. However, the biggest factor in falling in love with IA came a couple of months later.

In the Spring of 2021, we were losing one of our coaches. She decided to move to Colorado to pursue the next step in her career. The IA Community came together to throw her a going away party. Thom, still new, decided to come check it out. He also brought his son. As he talks more about on the Podcast, the IA Community shocked him. He talks about how the Community instantly made his son feel right at home. Thom started to relax and realized his son was in safe, and fun, hands. He was able to relax, have fun, and really enjoy himself.

Thom’s experience with the IA Community echos sentiments we here a lot. Yes, you will be fitter than ever before after you join Industrial Athletics. But, it is the supportive environment that will keep you coming back for more. We don’t care whether you are in shape or starting from the beginning. We focus on you, where you are today, and help you find your best.

The post It’s All About The Environment appeared first on Pittsburgh Crossfit | Industrial Athletics.

Every month, the coaches at Industrial Athletics nominate the Athlete of the Month. Then, in December, the Athletes of the Month for that past year vote on the Athlete of the Year. This person is considered the liaison member of IA.

This year, the Athletes of the Month for 2021 voted for Nancy Harhai. They chose her because of her consistent dedication to health and fitness. So, we sat down with Nancy to ask questions about her consistency to share with you on The Stronger Revolution Podcast.

During out conversation, Nancy talked about how fitness has been a part of her life for a long time. However, in 2021, she made two big changes. First, she really started to focus on her form. She worked with our coaches in group class to watch her move. She brought new focus to her weaknesses in our Coach’s Corner Program and completed extra homework weekly to address things like tight ankles, a weak upper back, and pullups. And, she had two months of private training sessions to address form and weakness with her major barbell movements.

Second, Nancy started bringing more focus to her diet. Through working with our nutrition coaches, she discovered that her daily protein was too low to support her daily activity. She always thought she ate healthfully, but she didn’t realize how much room she had to grow.

In 2022, Nancy has one goal, to get a pullup. If her dedication in 2021 has demonstrated anything, we are sure she will get it in no time. Also, did you know she was hit by a bus? No, well you will have to listen to the podcast then . . . Also, find out why she says to get out and start your new fitness journey NOW!

The post No Time Like The Present appeared first on Pittsburgh Crossfit | Industrial Athletics.

Work/life balance is a hit topic these days. As work gets more and more mobile, separating ourselves becomes harder and harder. Gone are the days of 9am-5pm jobs that you can leave when you go home for the day. It is common today to wake up and check your phone for new texts or emails, always have your phone on your hip waiting for alerts all day, and processing a little work every night before bed. Add to all of this the work from home culture that has come with COVID. Separation from work is almost impossible. Thus, work/life balance isn’t getting any better.

In this episode of The Stronger Revolution, we sit down with our Athlete of the Month for November 2021. Nathan (“Miz”) Mizla talks to us about how burnout smacked him in the face in 2015 and he decided he really needed to make a change. He read about at motivational speaker that asked, “If your 40 year old self could tell your 30 year old self to make one change in your life, what would it be?” Miz knew instantly. He needed to make room for health and wellness in his life. He didn’t want to turn 40 in worse shape than when he turned 30. So, he started to make space.

At first, Miz said it was hard. He would take his running clothes to work in the beginning. Before he had a chance to go home, he would head out after getting off of work and run around downtown Pittsburgh. For a while, that worked great. However, he discovered, as any recreational runner does, that plateaus come quickly. He either had to increase his pace or increase his time. At the same time, a co-worker of his started talking about CrossFit at Industrial Athletics. The one hour classes scheduled after work fit within his running window, so he decided to give it a try. He’s never looked back since.

After being at Industrial Athletics for a few years, Miz decided recently to take it to the next lever. He started dialing in his diet, adding work to increase his endurance, and adding in barbell work for his strength. He comes to CrossFit around five times a week and is part of our Coach’s Corner program to help him meet his individual goals. The process has been a long one. But, he has successfully designed a healthy work/life balance. He still works hard every day, and he puts time in to make sure he is healthier at 40 than he was at 30. He started small and let it grow.

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Sometimes in life, we need a little kick in the butt to help bring us back to reality. This is especially true for those of us to spend out life trying to help other people. Every so often, we need to take a break and treat ourselves. Here are two principles you can use to check in with you own personal self-care.

First, treat yourself the way you would tell someone else to treat themselves. That sentence is a mouthful, so let it sink in for a moment. This is different than treat others the way you want to be treated. What we mean is think of the advice you would give someone else. Then, consider whether you live by, or should live by, that advice. If your mother is sick, you would tell her to go to the doctor. What would you do if you were sick? Would you go to the doctor? If not, why not? Why don’t you hold yourself to the same level of care that you hold your mother?

Admit it, you are better at taking care of someone else than you are at taking care of yourself. We all are. Perhaps worse, we are better at telling someone else what to do to take care when we would never do it ourselves. Here’s an easy gym-related example. We all know we should do mobility/recovery work. We are quick to tell someone else that they should do mobility/recovery work. However, we rarely do it ourselves. The same can be said for diet and nutrition. We know what we shouldn’t eat, like that piece of cake. It is easy for us to tell someone else to avoid the cake. However, then we go grab the cake ourselves. Why don’t we hold ourselves to the same standard?

Second, stop comparing yourself to others. Instead, compare yourself only to an earlier version of yourself. Comparison is the theft of all joy. Why? Because you will never be a good as you think someone else is. In this world of social media, everyone looks perfect all the time. When, in reality, they spent hours doing it over and over again, checking that everything was perfect, just to record a 1 minute video. You think your friend’s marriage is better than yours. However, you never see what happens when you aren’t around. You think an fellow member is so much stronger than you. But, you don’t consider how long they’ve been focused on building strength through extra work.

To avoid this, track your life and compare yourself only to earlier versions of yourself. Then, you will know where you have improved and where you need to put more effort. This is what we do with CrossFit training at IA. We record all of our workouts, our times, our rounds, our weights. When the same, or similar, workout comes up again, we have data for comparison to earlier versions of ourselves, no others.

For more information on these two principles, check out our latest episode of The Stronger Revolution, “Treat Yourself with Care.”

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In the latest episode of The Stronger Revolution, we sat down with our Athlete of the Month for October 2021. We started our conversation with Brandon Mohr about his occupation as an attorney. We painstakingly worked through the legal landscape of insurance law and what he does on a day-to-day basis.

Then, we jumped into the juicy stuff about Brandon’s fitness. Before CrossFit, Brandon was a runner. He’s completed multiple full marathons and returned to running during the COVID shutdowns of 2020. Brandon told us about how he found CrossFit through a fellow attorney when he was working in New York. He and his coworker would go to CrossFit at night after getting off work, and he fell in love with it quickly. After moving to Pittsburgh with his wife and two children, he found his way to Industrial Athletics, and has been with us ever since. While he started at IA attending the evening classes, these days he primarily attends the 7:15am class before heading to work.

Throughout our conversation with Brandon about his history in fitness, there was one underlying theme. Time is not on Brandon’s side, but he makes his health a priority. Brandon has every excuse to skip the gym. He works full-time, his spouse works full-time, and he has two young kids at home. The only place he can squeeze in a workout during his day is at 7:15am, a time he admits he doesn’t like. It’s not about finding the time, Brandon agrees, it is about setting your priorities.

Check out the full episode to hear our full interview with Brandon Mohr.

The post Making Health a Priority appeared first on Pittsburgh Crossfit | Industrial Athletics.

Recently, we sat down with our Athlete of the Month for September 2021, Sophie Egerter. We talked about how she found CrossFit and why she decided to join Industrial Athletics. We also talked about her challenges as a stay at home mother trying to stay fit.

As a sole provider, Sophie’s husband is incredibly busy. He is a local fireman, an electrician, and he owns various rental properties around town. With three kids at home, Sophie has a hard enough time managing the household, let alone keeping focus on her diet and fitness. However, she’s been a member at Industrial Athletics for a number of years. She’s seen dramatic improvement in her physical and mental strength.

For her, working out is more than a way to stay physically strong. She also relies on her time at Industrial Athletics to keep her mentally strong. When life gets hard, she gets to the gym and literally works it out. Recently, when one of her young children broke his leg, she used the gym to provide some separation from the stress at home. This allowed her to stay strong and positive around her family.

So, how does she do it? How does Sophie stay so dedicated to her fitness program? How does she maintain a healthy diet that she prepares? Well, for the full answer, you will have to listen to the podcast interview with her. But, here is a hit: it’s not enough to have a goal. You need a plan to follow to reach that goal. Check out her interview to learn how she and her husband use planning to stay on track.

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