Mike Quigley – Member Of The Month

Mike Quigley is a mainstay of the CFS community and a leader of the 5:30am crew.  As a coach, waking up at the crack ass of dawn is that much easier when you know a guy like Quigley is going to be there ready to work!  As you will read below, he has come a long way with his fitness since his intro to CrossFit.   More recently, he was able to convince his wife to get involved and even managed to trick his two boys into liking burpees!  Quigley truly embodies the genuine and humble characteristics that seem to be commonly demonstrated by many in the CrossFit community.  We are very thankful and honored that we landed such a great dude at our box.  Here’s more from the Member of the Month himself…

How did you get involved in CrossFit?
My history is that there was a long post-college period where I was able to focus and get really committed to diet and fitness for about 3 month stints followed by 6-9 month stints of laziness and eating terribly. It was normal for me to get up to 205#, then down to 185# within a one-year period. During that time I did P90x, Insanity a couple times, my own mix of P90X and Insanity, different running regiments, regular gym, etc. I was about ready to try something new after a stretch of laziness and CrossFit seemed to come up in conversation a few times within a short time frame from a few different work friends and I was interested. At lunch one day I mentioned to one of them that I thought I was going to give it a shot but wanted to start running again to get into shape first since I had been doing nothing for a while – he told me that was a terrible idea and I should get in for an intro session somewhere as soon as possible. That night I emailed CF Southie and set up an intro session for two days later with Amy. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it seems to be a common theme for people to want to get in shape before trying CrossFit – I give that same advice to most people who ask me about CrossFit. The best way to get in shape for CrossFit is to just get in and go for it.
What was your first WOD/experience?
The intro session really stands out in my mind. I went through the warmup with the 5:30AM crew in Orange and then Amy took me over to Green to go through the essential movements and the intro WOD (7 min AMRAP, 5 Thrusters, 5 burpees, 5 box jumps – I think I used an empty barbell). During the essential movements I could barely get into a squat without falling over and during the WOD I wasn’t sure I’d be able to jump on the box. Got through a few rounds and I remember being exhausted and looking at Amy and saying “Wow, that was really tough.” Amy was nice enough to lie to me and say encouragingly “You did great!” Two other early memories were 1) “12 days of CF” in my first week and somewhere in the middle looking around and thinking I can’t believe these people can actually do this.” and 2) Maze making me take weight off my bar for deadlifts in a WOD (down to 95#!) and then during the WOD repeatedly telling me “DON’T GO AROUND YOUR KNEES WITH THE BAR!” at the time I had no idea what he was saying, but now that cue sticks with me every time I deadlift (Thanks Maze).
When did you start coming to CrossFit Southie?
Mid December 2011. I looked around at schedules for places near home (Stoneham) but none of them would work with my schedule. Southie was near work and had an early enough class so that it worked with my schedule. Based on pure convenience I was lucky enough to walk into one of the best boxes in the country.
Is this the first CrossFit you’ve worked out at / how long have you been CrossFitting for?
Southie was the first CrossFIt I worked out at. I’ve since been to several others – some really good and some not so good – having seen other boxes makes me really appreciate the Coaches and Community we have at Southie. For those that haven’t been to other boxes, I suggest you drop into a couple – if you don’t already realize that the quantity of awesome Coaches and crazy athletes walking around CFS is not even remotely normal, you will after you visit a few other places.
I’ve been CrossFitting for a little over a year and a half – since mid-December 2011.

When did you realize that CrossFit was right for you?
I really liked the competitive, but supportive nature right out of the gate. As I mentioned above, I had a motivational problem – I’d do something and get bored then get lazy. When I crossed that 3 month mark and instead of getting lazy I was getting more motivated by the community I knew I’d definitely found the right thing for me. Trying to keep up with the 5:30AM crew keeps me coming back and definitely keeps me motivated, and more recently a little friendly comment rivalry with the 7PM crew is awesome – that just couldn’t happen doing P90X/Insanity in my basement.

What are you short-term and long-term CrossFit goals?
Short term goals are to get pistols, butterfly pull-ups, and consistent muscle ups in the next three months.
Long term goals are to continue to compete in local throwdowns/competitions and to get stronger in general (especially squats). The Garage Games last year and the In-House Throwdown this year were great motivation and a good way to meet more great people at CFS and the broader CrossFit community in general.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
Consistency. Since I signed up in 2011 there has only been one week that I didn’t work out at least 3x per week and that was in Jamaica last July (got one workout in that week) – more recently it’s been 4-5x per week. Consistency was my biggest problem pre-CF.

What is your favorite / least favorite WOD/movement?
Favorites are rowing, running, rope climbs, and box jumps. Least favorites are pistols (can’t do ‘em yet), ring dips and HSPU (can do ‘em sloooowwwly).
What do you do for a profession outside of CrossFit?
I’m a Principal at WB Engineers+Consultants, a growing engineering firm with offices in Boston, NYC, and DC. We are consultants in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction Industry specializing in the design of building systems. My background is Electrical Engineering.
What are your hobbies outside of CrossFit?
Mainly my family. I tend to work a lot, so I like to spend my free time with my wife Jenny and my two boys who are 4 and 5 years old.
I also played in a basketball league this summer for the first time in a while (some of you saw the black eye as evidence), I golf occasionally, and try to throw in a few races here and there – last summer I did my first Sprint Triathalon, this year I did the Tough Mudder, and usually mix in some 5k’s.
Do you eat Paleo or Zone? What is your favorite paleo/non-paleo meal?
Since the Paleo challenge I’ve still been eating Paleo pretty consistently. The Paleo Challenge was a huge eye opener for me about the importance of mobility, diet and nutrition in general.
Favorite Paleo meal is pulled pork – so easy and so good – just throw a pork butt in the crock pot with some salt, garlic and apple cider vinegar.
Favorite non-paleo meal is Chinese food by far – and not real Chinese, the nasty American version of Chinese. One time the Chinese food delivery guy rang our doorbell, when I answered with a puzzled look he checked the order and said “I come here so often, I saw the street name and didn’t check the number, this is for your neighbor!”

Fun fact?
My wife Jenny has been going to CF Lando since early February. As I mentioned before I had dropped into a few other places and I wasn’t satisfied with the coaching. When Aaron was opening his own place I was very happy to learn it was close to our home – I knew it would be a great spot for her if she ever decided to jump in and she did and she’s loving it!
In early July we went on vacation to Aruba and dropped in at CrossFit Aruba. The owner, Javier, invited us to come along with them a few days later to train with the Dutch Marines on a water obstacle course. There were 14 obstacles hanging from a 20’ bridge over the water and after each obstacle you had to climb back up the bridge and make the jump back into the water from the top of the bridge to the next obstacle. Obstacles included rope climbs, cargo nets, climbing up out of the water and over suspended pallettes and tires, and climbing across a horizontal rope over the water (catcrawl). It was an unbelievable experience and it was hard as hell. My wife and I could never have even attempted it without Crossfit. And the scale of the Crossfit community is so impressive to see. We walked into another box in a different country and it was like being at home.

Strength
Split Jerk
2-2-2-1-1-1

WOD
21-15-9-15-21
Shoulder to Overhead (95,65)
Kettlebell Swings (2,1.5)

Level 2 (75,65),(1.5,1)
Level 1 (65,45),(1p,0.75); 15-12-9-12-15
Advanced (115,75)