Thursday, September 7 2017

After having some time to process and unwind from the CrossFit Games, I have felt the desire to share a message with all of you who have so consistently supported me along this journey.



I am so blessed to serve the BEST dentists of Huntsville and Madison. I cannot tell you how supportive they have been of me. It obviously takes a significant amount of time and effort to train, and my dentists have been flexible in allowing me to continue serving them.



This effort to get to the Games has been nothing less than a team effort. There have been so many people involved in my life to make this happen. And I believe this is what made the process so enjoyable.



I want to thank Matt Miller for getting my mind right. #ttptb Matt has helped me so much on my journey. He has molded my mind and shaped the way I think about things both on the competition floor and off. I truly believe this gave me an edge when I came up short physically to other competitors.



Next, I want to Jonathon. He has worked out with me every day this last year and pushed me to the limit. I could not have had a better partner to workout with. We have had so much fun working out and that is what keeps me going.



Now, I want to tell CrossFit Huntsville that Mandee and Nathaniel Stearns are THE BEST. I love and trust them 100%.



Mandee and Nate not only have coached me in the gym, but they also took time out of their lives to travel with me to the Games. Mandee even volunteers to guide me through the entire CrossFit Games so that I can focus purely on my performance. Here is some insight into what that looks like.. When we are at the Games it is all business. The alarm goes off at 5:45am and we do not get back to the room until 8:00pm. It is a very long day. I am back with the other athletes and my coach is sitting in the warm up area waiting on me. She goes over every workout with me in detail and tells me where I need to push and where I need to be smart. For example, one of my weakest movements is front squats, and of course one of the events was a two-rep front squat max. We had already practiced this event in in Huntsville, and in that practice I ranged between 225lbs and 245lbs. My one rep max had previously been 260lbs. I failed 250 at practice and Mandee encouraged me saying, “we know what you can do.”



Flash forward to the Games, I am warming up and Mandee has been cueing me while discreetly observing the other athletes weights. She knew my ability, so she was able to narrow down the list of athletes I had a chance to beat to five or six. When we go out on the floor, the first thing I do is locate Mandee in the crowd. I do exactly as she told me in warm-ups, putting half pound plates on first, then two 45 pound plates on over top. My rep scheme starts at 226, I then jump to 246, then 256. As soon as I rack my bar, I look for Mandee. She is holding up 2 fingers which indicate I need to put 2 more pounds on my bar and get that lift in, which would enable me to leap a couple other competitors without risking the inability to complete the lift. So, I put on two more pounds and complete the lift as time expires. I finish 15th in that workout and feel like I won the event. Three people were tied at 257lbs and I hit 258. Situations like this make a huge difference at the Games from a points perspective as well as a mental perspective.



Mandee is nothing short of amazing. She was by my side during every single workout for three weeks leading up to the Games, and I took something away from her coaching every single day. I remember one day during a workout. I was beat down and I wanted to quit. I asked Mandee in the workout is that good enough. She said NO. I don’t remember much after that but I didn’t quit and its all because of her.



I don't know if I will ever make it back to the Games. It simply requires so much hard work and along with a fair amount of luck. I do know that I will always cherish the moments and the people that have helped me reach these past two.



This video I'm sharing is from this years games in Wisconsin. My daughter made it for me and included a lot of family moments to commemorate our trip, I did not want to share this with all of Facebook but I feel like everyone in this group is family. I hope you enjoy it!



I want to preface this. The video has a lot of me in it (haha) but you can see a lot of the events and behind the scenes in these videos.



Again, I want thank all of you for your support these past two years. It is truly humbling.







Madison Wisconsin video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ncO_8fUfnI

Paul, thanks so much for your testimony and, as usual, giving all the credit to others. We all love Mandee, Nate, Jonathon, and Matt for supporting you on this awesome journey - but you have to know we all look up to you for putting in the work and making it to the Games twice in consecutive years.

I don't normally post on here, but your note was uplifting and special to me.

It's an honor to know you and we are all so proud of you. Cheers brother!

Your post brought me to tears & the video had me smiling so much my cheeks hurt! Thank you Paul. Thank you for allowing us at CFHSV to follow you on your journey & support you every step of the way.Thank you for always being nice, humble & genuine. Thank you for proving to us that with the right team, you can achieve anything! ?

What a great peek into your days at the games! The reason you have such a fantastic group of people/ family/ coaches supporting you is because of you! You are hard working and humble (except when talking about du's!!?) and you quietly put in your work with a mental mindset like no other!
Honored to know you and learn from you. Congrats on your stellar performance!

Thanks for sharing Paul. I am proud to call you my friend. CFHSV coaches and athletes are the best. ❤️

No better representation of CFHSV than to send forth a man of Integrity, Morals, Humbleness, Work Ethic, kindness, and Generosity. Paul, we are so proud of you for your accomplishments but more for being the man that you are day in and day out.

Thank you Paul, you rock

Awesome video of you Paul, your family and CrossFit Huntsville leadership and coaching team. It really does takes a village and CFHSV proves that every day with the athletes it produces. Proud of YOU and our COACHES...PROUD to be a part of this family.

Best video EVER!!!! Made me all happy inside. Thank you for sharing & being an inspiration to all of us!!!

Thank you for sharing your story and your perspective. I loved your story about Mandee's guidance in the front squat. CFHSV is a very special group, there is none like it. To you, your fam, Mandee, Nate, Matt, Jonathon, and heck, all dentists in the county: Bravo!

Paul we are all truly proud of you. Giving everyone else the credit but you are the one who put in the work. You are a great example of living out and treating others as Christ would. Keep on keeping on brother

A. 225-240-260-265-285PR
B. 6:35 RX

Paul, you exemplify everything that is so great about CFHSV. I'm still blown away by the composure you had during the interview right after you finished that event. We couldn't ask for better coaches; Mandee truly does believe in all of us, even when we aren't feeling confident in ourselves. Awesome work at the Games, 2 years in a row!

Sounds like an amazing journey. CFHuntsville certainly has great leadership.

A. 275 x 5, 315 x 3, 345 x 1, 365 x 1

B. 10:02 @ 115, scaled to 30 singles per round

Great job today T.J. , I'm coming for you "Hilltopper"!!

You strong Cuz!

Paul, thanks for sharing. I'm on the opposite end of the crossfit spectrum from you, still have a lot of learning (physical and mental) to do, but it seems wherever we are on our journey one thing is constant: we have great coaches and a great community. Grateful to have landed here, and congrats on your accomplishments.

Moving and emotional testimony Paul! And I appreciate the detail, most of us will never know what that perspective is, and how cool it is to know first hand the level of dedication our coaching staff and others gave you. Thank you for sharing your journey!!!

Thank you so much for sharing this, Paul. We are so proud of your accomplishments over the past 2 years, your dedication and the dedication of Mandee, Nate, Matt, Jonathon and your family to see you through it all every step of the way! You are an inspiration to us all!!

Just finished watching Paul's family's awesome games video and all I could think about was the "Bar Fight" workout from the games...we did it the other day and destroyed so many of us...Paul is an awesome competitor and a great inspiration!

You and your double unders are truly an inspiration, Paul. Way to be a testament to hard work paying off! I'll let you lift with me anytime.

Awesome story and awesome video! Thank you for sharing! Honored to be a part of CFHSV with you ???? Thank you for showing that hard work can truly pay off!!
A.) 305(5) - 325(3) - 342(2) - 342(2) - 360(1)
B.) 5:06 Rx+ 1:34 - 1:33 - 1:59

6:54 Rx+

Paul you are a legend. It was awesome watching you represent CFHSV at the games and crush it!? Awesome work!

225, 235, 250, 265, 275

7:07rx

Congrats to Paul, such a great person to represent CFHSV.

240-255-275-275-295
7:58 rx+

That is a great video Paul. Awesome to watch you in the games again. Time to start getting ready to do it again next year.

Awesome job, and awesome video, Paul. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.