Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. July’s Athlete of the Month is Shawn Herrman. Shawn was chosen because even though he has been dealing with a couple of different injuries for the past few months, he has been extremely patient, gracious, and dedicated to getting his body back to full health. He has consistently come in and done his PT every single day, he has modified many workouts without complaint, and he is always caring and encouraging towards the other members. His positive attitude radiates throughout the gym and he is an inspiration for those who are not only dealing with an injury, but also for those who just want to improve their fitness in general. His hard work is paying off and we love having Shawn as a part of our OPCF community! Learn more about Shawn below.
How long have you been working out at Overland Park CrossFit? I have been working out at OPCF since September 2020.
What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout? Do you remember what it was? I don’t remember my very first workout, but I do remember one of the first wods I did was a thruster workout. Alejandro and I were the last two to finish haha.
What has been your favorite workout so far? One of my favorite workouts was surprisingly the first Open workout with wall walks and double-unders.
What is your favorite cheat meal? If I had to pick my favorite cheat meal it would definitely be a double cheese burger and fries from a local restaurant back home in Hays, KS, called the Golden Q. If i can throw in a cheat dessert… definitely ice cream cake from Dairy Queen!
What did you want to be when you grew up and where do you work now? When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a doctor some day. Fortunately, this December I will be graduating from chiropractic school with my Doctorate of Chiropractic and opening up a clinic here in the KC metro area.
What do you like to do outside of work? Outside of work/school, I enjoy being outside (especially in the summer) whether it’s being at the lake, fishing, hiking, or paddle boarding. I’m always up for any type of adventure!
What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF? My advice for someone starting out here at OPCF would be… we all start somewhere and want to be the fittest, fastest, strongest we can be, but perfect the simple movements and enjoy the little victories.
What is your favorite/least favorite movement? My favorite movement is handstand push-ups. My least favorite right now would probably be an overhead squat.
What’s one CrossFit goal you have set for yourself to accomplish this next year? A goal for myself within the next year (besides being healthy and injury free) is to work on some of my weaknesses and be a better and more well-rounded athlete.
What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF? Since working out at OPCF, I have seen that if you put in the work (and sometimes even a little extra), you start to see those little victories add up and they not only make a difference in your performance at the gym, but also outside of the gym.
What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far? One thing that I was happy about was being able to string together decent sets of bar and ring muscle-ups. But, it was also good to be able to take a step back and trust the process of healing a couple of injuries.
How do you fit working out into your weekly schedule? Right now with school it has been nice for the most part to be able to workout in the morning at 9:30am and usually Open Gym. Outside of this, I usually see patients in the clinic and study.
What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet? One thing I would love to do in the future is to work towards competing in an Rx competition.