CrossFit Camp Keyes

Staff

Chris Bean

I have been active my whole life from baseball as a kid to wrestling in high school, to running in the Army. (My first 5k left me like a ninety year old for several weeks!) After a year in Iraq I made a decision to change my life and started a body building routine that just didn’t do it for me, although it took me over 15 months to realize it… A friend of mine gave me that famous line- “Think you’re fit? Look up CrossFit.”

I went to the website and poured over all the free videos and workouts that they posted and I finally decided to try it out. The first workout I did was “Nancy” and it consisted of 5 rounds of 400m run and 15 reps of 95 pound overhead squat. It looks easy on paper, right? Well I was quickly humbled and immediately hooked. Not only could I not do a 95 pound overhead squat, I couldn’t even complete the workout!
I looked online for the closest Certification and on 20 June 2008 I attended the Level 1 Certification in Vassleboro at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Two days of some of the most intense learning I have ever attended, and I was left like a l little kid in the candy shop. I wanted more and now I had the basic understanding of what the fundamental movements consisted of.

As I occupied a little corner of the gym at my work place, getting strange looks was just the beginning of what was to come. Eventually people started asking me what I was doing and I started “teaching” the fundamentals that I learned to anyone that asked for it. I have at least partially trained 56 soldiers to the CrossFit methodology, and I have over 15 people that do CrossFit style workouts 3-5 times a week.

I finally recorded my muscle-up and sent it to the CrossFit website and my name was posted at: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/trophy/muscle-up.html in September 2008.

I have received an Army Achievement Medal for bringing members of the National Guard to a higher level of fitness and I was a nominee for The State of Maine Fitness Award for promoting physical activity in my area. The Kennebeck Journal wrote an article about the workouts that we do and the importance to the military; a link can be found at: http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/6164445.html

During Memorial Day weekend 2009, I participated in the 2009 Northeast Qualifier for the CrossFit Games and placed 111 out of the 144 men. I learned that both my strength and my technique needed improvement as the 2000 meter row was the first time that I met ‘Pukie…”

From there I decided that I needed a little coaching with my Olympic lifting, and CrossFit 321 opened its doors. I have found a warm community of friends and colleagues at a great affiliate in Brunswick, Maine and I know that I can increase my skills and my coaching experience as I help people gain increased fitness through constantly varied functional movement. 3 2 1 GO!!!!!!

Now I am the proud owner of CrossFit Camp Keyes and I have helped many Soldiers find their way to functional fitness. Thank you Coach Glassman for providing me with the ability to change so many peoples lives!

Currently I have:

CrossFit Level 1 Certified
CrossFit Gymnastics Certified
CrossFit Endurance Certified
CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting Certified
CrossFit Movement and Mobility Certified

Chris Elgee

My fitness history is less impressive than most. I started out with an Odyssey II, moved on to Atari, NES, and SNES. In high school, my mom twisted my arm and got me into swimming and tennis – for which I AM thankful, Mom! I enlisted during college, and the Army taught me what PT was. From there, I largely made my own exercise program to improve my push-up, sit-up, and two-mile run scores. Then, in 2008, Coach Bean taught me about CrossFit.

The great things about CrossFit, to me, are the variety, the efficacy, and the camaraderie. I can do something completely different every day, get more out of it than two hours of running, and encourage/be encouraged by fellow athletes. That’s like winning!

My main role is essentially that of a group trainer at the Gardiner Armory (CFCK – Gardiner Annex!). I program most of the workouts, manage the gear, and coach other soldiers on technique and intensity. Our program is very similar to that of CFCK, but it’s tailored more specifically to the needs of the athletes here and to the space & equipment available.

CrossFit isn’t the epicenter of my life; it comes after God, family, and Army, but it helps me with everything. Being physically fit and knowing how hard I can push myself help me stay healthy, take care of my family, and serve God.

Certification:

CrossFit Level 1 Certified, 16 May 2010

Mark Houdlette “Carrot”

In CrossFit we train to prepare for the unknown and the unknowable because you never know what life will give you for challenges. It was certainly unknowable to Mark that he would be a CrossFit Level 1 Certified Trainer and active in the community at 50 years old.
In 2008 Mark was preparing to mobilize to Iraq with the 133d Engineer Battalion. A little self analysis showed he was overweight, out of shape and in need of a plan to correct these issues quickly. Mark turned to CW3 Chris Bean for a solution.

CrossFit was the medicine Mr. Bean had to offer and Mark agreed to give the program 30 days at 100% effort to see if it was a good program for him. He has never looked back.
Never having been an athlete, the structure and organization of the CrossFit model helped Mark achieve the best level of physical fitness in decades. An Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) taken right after he started CrossFit was scored at 187 points. The next test, after a year doing CrossFit, his score was 260… he now looks forward to getting his first 300 point test, the highest score possible in the APFT.
In the fall of 2010 Mark passed his level 1 certification and became a CrossFit Trainer. Since then he has been assisting other athletes at CrossFit Camp Keyes along with teaching the program to new inductees.
Mark is competing in the 2011 CrossFit Sectionals in the Master’s division hoping one day to qualify for the CrossFit Games.

Certification:

CrossFit Level 1 Certified
CrossFit Coaches Prep Course

Michael J Bachman AKA “Cheese”

My Name is Michael J Bachman. My nickname is Cheese and if you ever come to CrossFit Camp Keyes for a work out, I will tell you how I got this name. I am 25 years old and a SGT in the Maine Army National Guard. I have a wife, two dogs and work full time for the Maine National Guard.

I started CrossFit in March 2010 at CrossFit Camp Keyes, Gardiner Annex. I was under the direction of CPT Christopher Elgee and quickly became engulfed in the awesomeness that is CrossFit. Due to a job change, I am now a full participate and a trainer at CrossFit Camp Keyes in Augusta, ME.

Becoming a trainer in CrossFit was a choice I struggled with because I have not been doing CrossFit for that long and certain basic moves, such as the pull-up, I still struggled with. After the certification, I dove headfirst into CrossFit and have been applying the skills I learned to better myself and anyone interested in CrossFit.

My goal is to spread the benefits of CrossFit to as many military members as possible. As an evolving force, we need to be physically prepared for anything that is thrown our way, and CrossFit can do this better than common work out plans. CrossFit can be changed to fit anyone’s needs and is a way for the military community to come together and help each other in achieving their personal physical goals.

Certification:

CrossFit Level 1

Our Facility

The locker that holds some of our equipment that includes: Abmats, jumpropes, PVC pipes, some rogue Rings, some bands a mini slosh pipe, wooden technique plates, a dip belt, chaulk and tape . On the outside of the locker we have a set of parrallettes, some jump boxes, some med balls and a Platinum Professional Fight and Gym timer. Oh, I almost forgot, we also have a Pukie Bucket!