About

Welcome to CrossFit Fort Vancouver!  Our mission is simple: We’re here to help you improve your physical fitness and overall health.  Our system is challenging, effective, affordable, and tons of fun!  Come rock your body at CFV.

 

What is Fitness? 

 

What is CrossFit?

Understanding CrossFit

 

 

 

Hi, I’m Adam.  Thanks for checking out CrossFit Fort Vancouver; it’s a pleasure to have you on the site.  Here’s a little background about myself and the gym.   

I’ve always been one of those kids whose favorite subjects in school were P.E., recess, and lunch.  I guess I never really grew up, and the result is CrossFit Fort Vancouver.

I was raised as a simple farm kid on our family ranch in Eastern Oregon.  My childhood was a combination of hard work, school, and playing sports.  I left the farm after high school and headed to the Midwest, where I earned a degree in physics and education at Beloit College.  I also had the opportunity to play four years of football at Beloit.  That’s what led to my passion for CrossFit.

One cold winter day in 2005 following my senior season of football, I walked into the weight room—the same place I’d trained five days a week during the previous four years.  For some reason, I felt lost in this place that had become my second home.  I no longer needed to train for the upcoming season, yet I still found myself doing set after set of bench press, lat pull-downs, triceps, back, calves, abs…you get the picture.  I was bored, I was tired, and really I was confused.

Like an angel from above, my brother Jake introduced me to a girl named “Angie.”  If you’re familiar with CrossFit, you can probably predict this story without reading on.  If not, you first need to know that Angie was not some cute Midwestern girl with an accent.  Many of the original CrossFit “benchmark” workouts are named like hurricanes: Angie, Barbara, Cindy, Diane, etc.  Angie is pretty simple: 100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats—for time.  Forty-five minutes later, I wasn’t too fond of Angie, but the garbage can had become a pretty close friend.  I was hooked.

Again, if you’ve tasted the CrossFit kool-aid, you can probably relate to that story.  If not, come on in to CFV and get some!  Actually, I’ve learned a lot since that first date with Angie.  CrossFit is way more than sweat, pain, and torn calluses.  It’s about restoring your body to a natural and healthy level of fitness.  It is functional, challenging and sustainable.  I’m also a firm believer that enjoyment is a critical element of the quest for physical fitness.  CrossFit is fun!  Constant variety and new challenges every workout are as important as functional movements and intensity.  In combination, they are a potent model for elite fitness.   

During college, I spent my summers fighting fire for the U.S. Forest Service.  I continued this career with the ZigZag Hotshots through the 2008 fire season.  It was during that season that I realized CrossFit was more than a workout program for me.  It had become a lifestyle, and it was contagious.  A handful of firefighters on the crew (Thanks dudes, you know who you are!) joined me in the daily pursuit of fitness.  Every one of them started the season in good shape, but CrossFit took them to another level.  The dramatic results that they experienced were unbelievable to me.  Sharing in their success is what inspired me to pass CrossFit on to anyone who would listen.  It was time to go from obsessive CrossFitter to CrossFit Trainer.

The first couple years of my CrossFit journey were main-page garage WODs mostly with my brother Jake.  We had a squat rack, a bunch of weights, a pull up bar and each other.  It was a blast.  In those early days, Jake and I would occasionally pop in to CrossFit Portland for a WOD with Scott Hagnas.  Scott taught us that CrossFit is more than a killer workout.  He shared with us his knowledge about nutrition and the value of warming up, cooling down, stretching, joint mobility, and flexibility.   

Following the 2008 fire season, I returned to CrossFit Portland.  Scott, his wife Rochelle, and their partner Xi Xia welcomed me to the training team there.  They have been so generous in sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience with me, I can’t thank them enough.  CrossFit Portland is where I learned the real value of the CrossFit system.  It’s for everyone-men, women, great athletes, aging adults…anyone who is serious about being healthy.  It’s adaptable and scalable to any ability level.  It’s more than a workout-CrossFit is an incredible community that is really special to be a part of.  It’s also hard work, challenging and loads of fun.

After training at CrossFit Portland for several months, I realized that sharing CrossFit with people is what I was meant to do.  Vancouver is my home and this is where I want to make it happen.  Jake and I have moved out of our garage and set up shop in the new box.   I’m honored to have the privilege to share my passion with you.  Thanks for stopping by the website, I look forward to serving you in the gym.