Eric Matlock's 1 year Anniversary at CrossFit Off The Grid
This is one of Eric's first pics with us.
Brett, Kyle, and his son Brandon accompany us.
From OTG:
Eric has been a great asset to our gym, community and family. He has contributed countless hours to our gym without thought or question. We really appreciate all Eric has done for us and we are grateful to have him as a student/friend/trainer.
Eric's testimonial:
This time last year I was assigned to the local Police Academy, at my age I was looking for a way to keep up (and leave behind) the guys and girls in their 20's. Don't get me wrong, in my eyes, I
was the picture of health and fitness. I have been weight training for close to 15 years and even got into some powerlifting. I was on the Internet, on one of those police blogs and had looked up this Crossfit thing in the past, looking at some of these guys, thinking their out of their minds. Sure their fit but they really don't look strong and in my world, it's all about strength.
was the picture of health and fitness. I have been weight training for close to 15 years and even got into some powerlifting. I was on the Internet, on one of those police blogs and had looked up this Crossfit thing in the past, looking at some of these guys, thinking their out of their minds. Sure their fit but they really don't look strong and in my world, it's all about strength.So once again I start looking into this "Crossfit" thing, all the places I found are in North Jersey, and then there it was, OTG in Williamstown NJ, since I live in Millville, it's not that far. So I shot this guy (Nick) an e-mail, making sure to tell him that I am already in good shape and looking for a couple of new things to add to my program. Nick replied with some questions and next thing I knew, I went to my one-on-one with my older 
son Brandon. Now don't take this the wrong way, I walked in and saw Mark and Nick, two really great guys, the only problem is they looked "small", both around 160 - 170 lbs. What can they teach me? Well they showed me some exercises and ran me through a mini-Cindy. 10 minutes of work later, I was on my back thinking, "what the hell was that?" It was a great workout that put me in my place and showed me I was no where close to fit or even "in shape." But I still wasn't sold, I assured them that I was only looking to join for about three months and then I would move on.
son Brandon. Now don't take this the wrong way, I walked in and saw Mark and Nick, two really great guys, the only problem is they looked "small", both around 160 - 170 lbs. What can they teach me? Well they showed me some exercises and ran me through a mini-Cindy. 10 minutes of work later, I was on my back thinking, "what the hell was that?" It was a great workout that put me in my place and showed me I was no where close to fit or even "in shape." But I still wasn't sold, I assured them that I was only looking to join for about three months and then I would move on. 
Well that was one year ago, the guys and girls at OTG have become family. Those skinny guys Mark and Nick are like brothers to me and I would trust them with my life. It did take a while but after the level one cert at Fort Dix, I am now a Crossfitter for life. You will never catch me doing any more calf raises or arm curls. My wife is now a member of the gym, also level one certified and she never liked to work out with me (I'll let her tell that story when she reaches one year). For the line of work that I am in, Crossfit is the best way to prepare for the unknowing and unknowable, and that's what we face every day. I would like to thank Nick and Mark for sticking with me, I may not be the easiest person to train but you have made it a blast!
Sgt. E.C. Matlock
Sgt. E.C. Matlock
*1
A.C.E.R.T. District #3
Atlantic Co. Dept. of Public Safety
Posts
7 comments:
Congrats E, you're an animal, look forward to continuing to lift with ya for ever man.
Way to go Eric! It's great working with you, thanks for the help.
P.S., I haven't done calf raises or curls in a while either ;)
How come I really want to do this workout? Anyone else in?
I can't do the L-pullups, but standard pullups. I may have to do the HSPUs in the private room at the gym to keep people from laughing at me.
"Twins"
Two rounds, of each couplet, for time of:
750 meter Row
20 Handstand Push-ups
115 pound Thruster, 20 reps
20 L-Pull-ups
Congratulations Eric! OTG wouldn't be the same without you or your family. Thanks for all your help and hard work.
Good Luck to everyone competing this weekend. All of you are amazing crossfitters and I am proud to say I am a member of OTG!
Get Some:-)
When Emily and I joined in December, my wife said, "that guy Eric is way too big for me to work out with him. He'll squash me like a bug". Now she comes back from the gym and says "I really love working out with Eric!" Congrats dude.
Ok, so I found out today that there is no way I can do 20 HSPUs. In my first set, I started failing at 10, I struggled to 12 and figured that was a nice round number. In hindsight, I should have done 3 rounds of 10 instead.
115lb thrusters right on the heels of the HSPUs sucked...hard. My shoulders were fried, no problem on the squat and thrust, that final portion where you need shoulder power wasn't there. I knocked them down to 12s as well as the pullups. In hindsight, this also would have been better with 3 rounds of 10.
Finished 21:25
"Twins"
Two rounds, of each couplet, for time of:
750 meter Row
12 Handstand Push-ups
115 pound Thruster, 12 reps
12 Pull-ups
One year down and many to go, just waiting for the wife to finish packing so we can get up to the Crossfiit brainwashing for time!!! Crossfit is proof that God loves us.
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