Athlete of the Month: June 2016
Abe Kreml
Member since: Abraham William Kreml II
Nickname: Abe
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein
Abe: I broke into the CrossFit game about a year before I joined Windy City. I had been doing CrossFit with a friend who is also a coach at a local box 2-3 times a week for that year. I finally decided to seek out a better facility that was closer to home. A place where I could take my training to new heights. Luckily, I stumbled upon Windy City one day while driving home from work. While talking with Chet that day, I found out that WCCF is a hybrid style gym that offers many different programs. I knew immediately that this would be the place for me, as I was interested in getting more into Oly lifts and gaining strength across the board while staying conditioned. What I quickly discovered was there is a community of people at WCCF with the same mind set, getting jack’d on a daily basis. I was able to make friends immediately and have never been happier working towards my goals. Being in that environment 4 or 5 times a week is truly inspiring. I find myself always wanting to put up more weight and work on new skills. The competitive aspect and comradery at WCCF is highly motivating. It has pushed me to be better, faster, and stronger than ever. Not only in the gym but in life as well. I am looking forward to working towards many new goals in the future. I want to be as fit as possible for the rest of my life. I need to keep up with my 11 year old son somehow!
My friends can contest that I hype this place on a daily basis because it is such a big part of me. I was able to talk one of my best friends (shout out to Anil Joy) into joining here so far and am currently working on a few more. Like Austin pointed out in his blog, it’s like no other, and I truly feel that way.
Recent Adventures
I just signed up for my first Murph, so I am really looking forward to that. My family is going to run the Bucktown 5K in September. It will be my first 5K as well as my son’s first! I have really paid more attention to what I put in my body in the past few years. My focus is to gain strength without ruining my body composition which typically happens over the winter months for me. I am currently working on adding more conditioning into my routines to prepare for the summer and Murph!
Future Adventures
I have already been on some incredible adventures with my family in the last 4 years. We went to Costa Rica in the fall of 2013 where we did some zip lining and hiking. This past November we were in Thailand for 3 weeks. I talked everyone into doing some snorkeling which was the high light of the trip for me. I have 10 days off at the end of August to spend some time with my son. We will look for some fun outdoor activities to occupy our time. We will be going to Germany for Christmas this year to visit my wife’s family. Also, we have Brazil on our radars for our next big trip, but I am always pushing to get back to Barcelona. It is hands down my favorite city. Dream big, live big! If time and money were no object my family and I would be running a café or B & B in Barcelona while lounging by the Mediterranean Sea during our free time. Hopefully, they would have a gym as bad ass as WCCF there. If not, I would try to open one.
Personal Goals
At the gym: My goals at the gym are fairly broad because, overall, I strive to be physically and mentally well-rounded. After getting acclimated at Windy City, I did 6 months of Russian Oly training which was very demanding…But it helped me take my snatch and clean & jerk to new limits. PR city!!! I will probably get back into the Olympic lifts again in the near future because they are equal parts fun, challenging, and rewarding. Who doesn’t like picking up a heavy barbell over their head? I recently completed a 70 week powerlifting track that Justin programmed. It was by far the longest program that I have ever completed, and it felt amazing to see it through. My current short term goal is to hit a 1200 lb. total on the squat, bench press, and deadlift. I just hit my first 300 lb. bench press while on the Alpha Jack’d program! Looking to take that up to 315 lbs. very soon. As you can see I am a big fan of the specialty tracks here at WCCF.
Shh...Don’t tell anyone, but I would like to compete in CrossFit someday. My top secret long term goal at Windy City is to get as strong and conditioned as possible to compete in the masters division when I turn 40. That is less than 4 years away!!! Yikes. I have never been a long distance runner, but I would like to be able to run 2-3 miles easily. I even purchased my first pair of running shoes recently.
Professionally: I just celebrated a 10 year work anniversary in April. Our company has grown more than we could have ever imagined in the past 10 years. I feel like I had a major part in our success which is very rewarding. I have already been told that I will become partner this year. As partner I will continue to help our company expand while continuing to deliver an excellent end product. I want to see how far we can take it while maintaining our vision and integrity.
Personal: I would like to continue to keep it light hearted and have fun in everything I do! My friends and family know that I’m a bit of a jokester outside of the gym or work environment. I try to remain focused when I am training or working. Also, I would like to keep improving and learning on a daily basis. I always keep my mind open to new thoughts and ideas.
“Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” --Henry Ford