Rory Senseman: Owner/Trainer
I started my athletic career as a kid playing soccer. I never truly developed a passion for the game and consequently stopped playing in high school. That’s when I found a sport I loved in hockey and pursued that for years. At some point in 2002 my brother, who was a competitive power-lifter, finally convinced me to start weight training. I was hooked almost immediately and slowly replaced hockey completely with going to the gym.
I started out with a basic body building style of training for 6 or 7 years. As I slowly built up a base and started to get stronger I started shifting my training to a more power-lifting style of training. Instead of getting bigger, I wanted to get stronger at the body weight I was at. All the while devouring any information I could find on optimal training techniques and routines, most of which were written by famous power-lifters.
Shortly after that CrossFit converged on me from multiple sources. Numerous friends were telling me about this new style of training they were doing. At the same time, I stumbled onto a video done by a well known member of the CrossFit community, Kelly Starrett, while trying to correct my squatting technique. I started to do some research into this new method of training and found that people that I respected from the power-lifting community were associating with CrossFit through power-lifting certifications, seminars and journal articles/videos. Before I knew it I had a CrossFit journal subscription and was absorbing the content as fast as possible. Meanwhile in the gym I was hand picking bits and pieces of CrossFit that I thought fit in well with my current training, such as handstand push-ups and the Olympic lifts.
I finally decided it was time to tackle a true CrossFit workout and what better workout to choose than “Fran”, the bench press of CrossFit so to speak. Hey, 95 pounds is light and pull-ups are easy for me, this will be a nice beginner intro to CrossFit. 12 minutes and 49 seconds later I realized I had made a huge mistake in underestimating “Fran”. From then on, CrossFit was my training methodology to obtain true fitness. 4 months later I attended my Level 1 Training Certification and “Fran” was our day 1 workout. It was my first repeat workout, the first time I could put my results to the test. My time was 5 minutes and 58 seconds. Still not where I want it, but I shaved off over half the time it took me the first time!
I currently train using CrossFit with a strength bias. My passion has become teaching people what true fitness is and showing them how to obtain it optimally without making all the mistakes I made on my journey. That’s what good training is all about, optimum training for optimum performance in whatever forum your performing in, whether it be strength, endurance, or everyday life.
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
Powerlifting Certified
USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
Kenny Barber: Trainer
As I laid on my back after my baseline test, many things ran through my head. The most overwhelming thought was how did I get so out of shape at 33 years old. Coming from a 3 sport background and playing college baseball couldnt have brought me to this point. Other thoughts were, this is the greatest/worst feeling I’ve felt since finishing a wrestling match or playing in the forth quarter of a football game. This was what has been missing from my life since my athletic career had ended. Sure I play beer league softball, but did I really think softball would keep me healthy and fit?
I was a local gym regular for most of my early to mid 20′s but grew tired of it and eventually just stopped going. At 250 pounds I was as far away from that 3 sport athlete as I’d ever been. Hearing from a friend that a CrossFit gym opened in Vineland was music to my ears. It was close to my house and having tried it before I knew this was what I needed to get my health and fitness back on track. This is when my life changed forever. The concept of groups working together (teammates if you will) made me feel like I was in high school playing a sport again. I was hooked, and with some changes in my eating habits combined with CrossFit’s ever changing workouts I lost almost 50 lbs in 6 months. No gimicks, no magic pills, just hard work and dedication to get healthier.
Through all of this, not only did I help my own health and fitness I constantly found myself wanting to help others feel the same way I did. A passion to encourage and train others surfaced and I decided to get my Level 1 CrossFit Trainer Certification. Its been almost a year since I started training people and I find more and more happiness helping others achieve their goals in fitness. Whether its losing weight, getting stronger, or becoming a better athlete I absolutely love training anyone and everyone. I truly believe in CrossFit and everything it has done for me and I’ll always go out of my way to make sure you feel the same way.
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
