Shawn McColley
Rushmore CrossFit would like to introduce our very first Athlete of the Month, Shawn McColley. Shawn was chosen for many reasons including his dedication to perfecting his form in every movement, his consistency in performance, and his positive attitude and enthusiasm. Shawn is a 5:30 PM regular, if you haven’t had a chance to WOD with Shawn, come to an evening class and you’ll see why he is the Rushmore CrossFit Athlete of the Month.
Member since: May 2014
Occupation: Manager – Rushmore Honda Body Shop
Age: 44 years old
Words to Live By: “Whatever the needs of the moment, I have a choice: I can do what is required calmly, patiently, and attentively, or do it in a state of panic. Every moment of the day – indeed every moment throughout one’s life- offers an opportunity to be relaxed and responsive or to suffer unnecessarily.” – Sam Harris
Favorite Music: Old school rock (The Who, Doors, Eric Clapton, Credence Clearwater Revival, Van Morrison, etc)
Favorite Food: Filet Mignon – seared and finished in a 200 degree oven to an internal temp of 135 degrees
Favorite WOD: Murph
Personal Goals: Personal goal is to be present. In the past I have always measured my success by productivity – how much I could get done each day. Now, my goal is to always be present in the moment. To not always be thinking about what is next on my list.
Professional goal: is to remain self-aware. Understanding oneself is absolutely necessary in the business world. I plan to continue to bet heavily on my strengths and to avoid professional situations that play to my weaknesses, which sounds easy. But, you have to admit that you have weaknesses. That is the difficult part.
CrossFit Goal: In terms of CrossFit, I want to begin to use it as a tool to enhance other activities. For the most part I’ve been CrossFitting to CrossFit and its been fun and productive. Now I want to see how CrossFit transfers to other activities (cycling, running, skiing, etc). Also, I want to use CrossFit to generally be a more competent human being. I want be stronger and move better. Two things that we tend to lose as we age.
Hobbies and interests: Obviously includes physical activity: cycling, running, skiing, hiking, etc.
Other interests include reading and researching. I have an academic background so I really enjoy diving deep on a topic. For example, I have been researching all aspects of nutrition as it relates to health and performance (not the same thing) for about 10 years. I’m also interested in cooking, which was sparked from all of the nutritional research I’ve done.
Finally, I dabble in some writing. Have had a blog and have done some other recreational writing.
Something we don’t know about you: Something you don’t know about me…..I worked as a staff scientist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory taking pictures of the surface of Mars.
Advice to new members or someone looking to start CrossFit – Don’t get overwhelmed. Be patient. Take your time and enjoy the learning process. Place HUGE emphasis on doing things correctly. Stick with it. I’m a better, more functional human being because of CrossFit and the people I’ve met while doing CrossFit.
