Eric’s Journey – 70 pounds later!

Eric Liebman walked into our gym before we officially opened in October 2009.  He had one of the most powerful things a person can possess: A Goal.  Obviously very insecure and unsure of himself, right down to the obligatory sarcastic saying on his t-shirt, Eric was very quiet.  I remember day one, he struggled to jog 400m.  Here was a kid that had never been part of any sort of physical culture.  But let’s get back to that goal of his.  Eric wanted to get into the Navy.  He was in JROTC, and was talking to the Navy recruiters.  His major obstacles were his bodyweight and his academic requirements.  Remember, this is from my perspective, a trainer that had never met Eric until he walked into our gym.  The very first thing we did was emphasize the absolute importance of adhering to the Paleo way of eating.  We explained, as we so often do, that you can work incredibly hard in the gym, but if you shovel garbage into your mouth, you may not lose a single pound.  Eric took this to heart and immediately began eating very conscientiously.  And like magic, he began losing weight.  Now we knew that we could help Eric lose weight.  But what I was most interested in was that internal change that occurs in all new CrossFitters.  It happens when that internal voice that is constantly telling you that you can’t do things, starts saying things like “what the heck, I might be able to do this!”.  Eventually, it turns into the voice of a predator that doesn’t even entertain the possibility of failure.  It’s that voice of absolute self-confidence in your physical abilities.  From my perspective, Eric walked into our gym as a kid.  A typical American kid that didn’t appreciate much, and had no idea how to really earn something.  Now, a year and a half later, Eric is turning into a man.  Ironically, he’s finally able to enjoy a part of his child-hood that he never really experienced.   He can run around and play, and actually enjoy it.

What I knew was that simply losing weight would not equip Eric for the rigors of the real world.  Losing weight was merely a side-effect of learning to make the hard choices and having self-discipline.  Now that Eric is 70 pounds lighter (yeah, you read the correctly… 70 pounds!), has the upper body strength to do pull-ups, is a proficient weight-lifter, and can run miles without stopping, Eric is ready for the real world.

We’re all proud of Eric.  He’s a very caring person that loves to help other people.  But Eric had to learn how to help himself.  He’s done that.  The world is not a fair place, but I’m confident that Eric knows that, and it won’t break him.  He’s a CrossFitter now.  Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he’ll fight to win.

Congratulations Eric!