Lockdown Member Of The Month – June 2021
Our June MOTM award goes to Mr Dramatic himself – Chris Lawlor. Chris is the one who always looks like he’s dying at the back (but he’s not), the one always moaning and asking what the point of the WOD is, and asking if there’s a D option on the board…. haha! But he’s also always there, an integral part of the gym squad, works hard every time, is coachable, secretly loves it, and makes everyone laugh when he’s in.
Since Christmas when he won his Mr Dramatic award, he has been putting in all the effort to this year steal the CrossFit wanker award from Paul C… no easy task! He bought all the gear, including lifting shoes which he said he’d never buy… booked in PTs with Gage, even completing 2 sessions a day at one point… then he decided that he couldn’t do it anymore, that to become the real CrossFit Wanker it would involve too much cost and commitment, especially when he saw how much the import costs are for a rogue order 😉
Seriously though, Chris has been working so hard recently, improving his lifts and gymnastics, finally nailing his candlesticks which were his nemesis during lockdown, was a regular attendee on the lockdown zooms, and no matter what is on the board, comes in and puts the work in.
Alongside CrossFit he also does Run club, and does his own endurance training, as he has entered 11 crazy events this year including half marathons and triathlons to raise money for breast cancer awareness. This is after his lovely and incredible wife Roisin was diagnosed with, and more importantly – BEAT breast cancer before lockdown last year (link to donate – here). He is a top guy, loads of fun and we love having him in classes. Have a read below to find out more about him and his CrossFit journey, and to experience his dry humour written down 😉
M – How long have you been doing CrossFit?
CLÂ – I’ve been a member at M Squared for exactly 2 years now, I did have some prior experience of CrossFit at a different gym for about 18 months which I used to try and get in better shape for my wedding and not really for ‘CrossFit’… after the wedding I quickly gave up! So when anyone asks I tell them I’ve been doing CrossFit for 2 years and the journey started at M Squared.
M – What class time do you usually attend and why does that work for you?
CLÂ – I think me and Rosh are outliers because we are totally random in terms of the classes we attend; we literally decide day by day which class we can get to based on work commitments and class availability. The variety of class times means there will always be one we can get to and I think it says a lot about the atmosphere at M Squared that we can just rock up at any class and know it’ll be full of friendly faces, we’ll have a laugh and get some great coaching.
M – What is your why? Why do you put yourself through it each day? Do you have goals you want to achieve?
CLÂ –Â Now this is a question I ask myself every day, usually about 40 minutes into a class when I’m complaining and wondering what the hell I’m doing. I guess the most honest answer is that I’ve got two whys; the first is that I’m old (fast approaching 40) and I eat and drink crap so doing an hour’s exercise a day makes me feel better about those two things. The second and probably most surprising for anyone who’s ever been in a class with me, is that I just love it. Apart from my sofa, M Squared is probably my favourite place and there’s no better feeling than being sprawled on the floor at the end of a workout, struggling to breathe, dripping in sweat and wondering how you’re going to drive home.
My main goal is to try and stop moaning, complaining and asking stupid questions in every class but at the moment I’m failing at that! Apart from that I don’t really have any strict goals, I have loads of stuff I’d love to be able to do; a 100kg clean, butterfly pulls ups, TTB, muscle ups, handstands and handstand walks but if I never get any of those I won’t be too bothered as long as I keep enjoying myself.
M – What advice would you give anyone wanting to start CrossFit but is either unsure or nervous? We get people all the time saying they need to get fit first or they could never do what we do? Any advice for those people?
CLÂ -Just go for it! Don’t be scared and don’t give up after a few weeks just because it all seems a bit weird that everyone’s got their tops off, wearing hotpants and you don’t understand anything that’s written on the board. In the end the movements will start to make sense and you’ll get used to being surrounded by lots of sweaty, half naked people! The best thing about CrossFit is that it’s individual and all about pushing yourself, it doesn’t matter what weights on the bar compared to others, what scale I’m doing or how long it takes me on the assault bike because I’m pushing myself and that’s all the matters really.
M – What is your biggest achievement so far in CrossFit and what are you most proud of?
CL –Â My biggest achievement is once beating Tom Reading in the warm up!
The worst thing about the gym is the Instragram stories, I hate being caught by the camera and ending up on the stories. To this day I still have nightmares about the Cha Cha slide warm up, I was dreading it and tried to hide at the back but Gage got me on camera and by the time the class finished the story was live and I had about 20 messages off my mates with screen shots and recordings taking the piss out of me. Next time I see the Cha Cha slide is in the warm up I’ll be cancelling off the class!
7) The worst thing about CrossFit?
The thing I hate most about CrossFit is the unavoidable process of slowly becoming a CrossFit wanker! When I first started, I used to frown at people who walked around in M Squared apparel and think it was a bit odd, now my wardrobe contains mainly M Squared and other CrossFit clothing brands. I used to think people who wore wrist wraps, knee sleeves, chalk, tape and most of all lifters just wore them to prove how CrossFit they were… now I own all of those and more and carry them round in my special CrossFit bag. I hate myself for it!
