Ameer Beitvashahi
Age: 37
Engineering/Software Development
I heard about CrossFit from some friends a couple years before I joined, but never made the commitment. Then about a year before I joined Crossfit Bloomington, my family and I had a really difficult year personally. I got really focused on the things we were dealing with and neglected my own health – I wasn’t exercising at all. After things settled down, I realized how bad I felt physically and decided I needed to focus on my health. Since CrossFit was already in the back of my mind, I decided it was time to give it a shot.
I love the feeling of improving at a skill and CrossFit provides that every day. It’s not just lifting heavier weights or rowing faster – it’s improving small aspects of one of the movements or gaining the ability to do something you couldn’t do before (I don’t think I ever held a jump rope before starting CrossFit). There’s always something to get better at and the coaches are always there to show you how to make improvements.
It’s also important to me that my kids see me prioritizing exercise and health. They’re always curious about “dad’s workout place” and I hope that interest in exercise is something they carry with them throughout their lives.
CrossFit Bloomington means a supportive community and great friends to me. CrossFit is hard – you have to push yourself through every workout. There have been countless times a coach or more experienced member cheered me on or finished a run with me – it’s hard to describe what that’s like and how meaningful it is until you experience it. The atmosphere is always positive and, when I don’t make it to a workout, I miss the high-fives and fist-bumps, and I miss seeing everyone.
