May 2015 Athlete Of The Month: Joel Bito

CrossFit San Mateo Joel Bito

Q: How long have you been doing CrossFit? How did you get into it?
A: I started back at CrossFit Burlingame in June 2012 in the same fundamentals class as Coach K! Who would have thought that a random Amazon Local email would have started my crossfit journey? I remember walking in and seeing Coach R and Coach Lo flying on the bars doing butterfly/kipping pull-ups and I said to myself, "I want to do that".

Q: Were you into sports & fitness prior to CrossFit? Tell us a little bit about it.
A: Not really. I've been playing golf on and off since I was young, so if swinging a metal stick at a ball while driving around in a go-kart counts as a sport then fine. I also played tennis, mostly doubles, where I'd avoid running around by hitting the guy at the net as hard as possible with the ball. I also did karate and taekwondo, so I'm pretty decent at breaking stationary pieces of wood.

Q: What's your favorite cheat meal/food?
A: Pizza or where ever I get talked into going to after a difficult WOD... or any WOD really. 

Q: What WOD has brought you close to the "edge"? How did you overcome it.?
A: I'm pretty good at pacing myself and tuning out everyone yelling at me to go faster or push harder, but the one thing that will make me want to throw up would be heavy sled pushes. Not only does it make you want to throw up, but you can't even sit down to rest since your glutes are on fire the whole time. The only way to overcome it is to keep walking around or do another WOD, since sitting makes it worse.

Q: Who or What motivates you in CrossFit?
A: It might sound cheesy, but it's our Marvelous community. Whenever I'm too tired from work and not motivated to come to class, I think about all the folks that will be there waiting for me. They are probably just as tired as me, so it's time to just suck it up. Oh, and making sure I beat Will in a heavy lift is a good motivator too.

Q: Describe your greatest achievement in CrossFit so far.
A: Probably making it into 400lb DL club was pretty cool, but once I did it I realized it
wasn't that bad. I was also happy to hit my BW OHS; I didn't die so that's an accomplishment.

Q: What would your advice be to someone just getting into CrossFit?
A: Check your ego at the door. No matter how awesome you think are, don't think you can out squat the small quiet guy in the corner. You probably can't beat him yet, and you'll just end up hurting yourself if you try. Take it slow, learn the technique, and then become the badass of the box.

Q: What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of the box?
A: Most of my free time is spent with my dog Mochi. She's a Yorkie/Shih-Tzu mix and pretty awesome.

Q: Finally, what makes you Marvelous??? C'mon...gloat a little! =D
A: Besides being one of the "Angels" in the class, I think what makes me stand out is my laugh. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but my laugh can be heard through walls and cause others to start spontaneously laughing as well. It's kind of a superpower I guess.