Athlete of the Quarter: Steve Debow

Athlete of the Quarter: Steve Debow

We are a bit late in posting last quarter’s Athlete Spotlight, so we are going to do two back to back.

Please join me in congratulating: STEVE DEBOW!

Each Quarter, we will highlight a CrossFit 858 athlete.  We choose this athlete based on a mixture of several criteria:

  • Overall results obtained at CrossFit 858
  • Positive attitude and demeanor
  • Athlete community engagement

 

Give us a brief background of yourself? I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, went to school out in Indiana (Purdue) and worked for a few years out in DE,NJ and PA. After spending too much time in places with ‘Seasons’ I moved out here in 2011 and never looked back. I’m a Principal Software Quailty Engineer at Carefusion/BD and I work with infusion pumps. I irrationally love my dog, my college teams, Liverpool Football Club and the Sixers being horrible (I am such a process truster).

Why CrossFit 858/What brought you to 858? I was pretty athletic in high school were I played lacrosse and soccer; rowed and wrestled. In college being active was replaced by beer, pizza, studying and general laziness. Post college I did the whole LA fitness thing for a while because i didnt know any better but that changed when I moved out here. I finally heard about crossfit and I started up at another box and stayed with them for about a year+. Near the end of that year+ my work life balance sucked, I was generally feeling stagnant in my progress and I was nonplussed by the programing. I needed to make a change, I did some research, talked to some people and every one suggested 858 and one other place…. the decision was pretty easy. The community is fantastic and I’ve met alot of amazing people and made some lasting friendships.

How long have you been with CrossFit 858 and what results have you seen? I’ve been with 858 for 2ish years and over that time ive seen my deadlift go up by 115, my snatch up by 40 and clean up by 80 lbs, more importantly I noticed that im less stressed out during the day when I know I can hit the box either to work out or hang out for a bit.

What has been your best experience here so far? The open is always something that I look forward to, its always a great time to see people cheer each other on, push each other and also see people do things that they didnt think that they could do What has been the hardest adjustment? Trying to pace my self and set a realistic number to hit for reps or for time, things always look too easy on paper.

Tell us about a goal you have? Be more consistent on muscle ups or keep my shirt on more often….. one of them is achievable Biggest accomplishment? PRing my clean by +10lbs and repping it 3 times during 15.4. I took so many swings at that lift and failed, but before the timer hit all zeros I managed to hit it three times and complete one round

What would you suggest to a new crossfitter? Alot of time people focus on results and not the process, trust the process and you’ll be impressed by the results. Also dont cherry pick work outs, most of life just involves showing up for something

Hardest workout so far? Karen (150 wall balls for time) the mind drifts and and its easy to lose count of how far you are into it and wall balls and myself dont get along

Favorite workout? Elizabeth 21 – 15 – 9 Reps (135lb Clean and Ring Dips) its sneaky tough and fun