Scott Lakusiak

Scott Lakusiak

December 2016

About The Athlete

Scott started with CFC spring on 2016, new to crossfit but certainly not new to fitness. He came in with an all-out fire-breather mentality and an already well established aerobic capacity and immediately made an impact in both our classes and our growing community. His enthusiasm and stamina quickly caught the eye of the coaches, as someone who embraced the classic crossfit mentality and mindset.

Now, eight months later, not only does he regularly grace the top spots of the daily leader board but one might argue that his attention to detail in movement and mobility, coupled with his willingness and passion to learn is fast becoming his staple; and as coaches, that is an incredible transformation to coach, watch and be a part of. With 2016 in the books, Scott is preparing to enter his first local crossfit competition and we cannot wait to see him in action, proudly representing CFC and our community.

Keep up the awesome work and congrats Scott!

A little more about them…

What got you into Crossfit, how long have you been doing it and what keeps you coming back?

Before April 2016, I really had no idea what Crossfit was all about. I have always been active, but hadn’t been in a team environment since swimming competitively in my early 20’s. At age 44, I was looking for that camaraderie again, as well as the thrill of competition, but didn’t know exactly where to find it. ‘Hittin’ the biceps at the gym every other day was not working!

Early this spring, I called up my good friend Brian, and asked him how he has been getting noticeably more fit the last few years- like putting on muscle and staying lean- in his early 40’s! “Crossfit, Dude!”  Over a 10 minute conversation, he briefly described what a Metcon was, why it worked, and gave me the general scoop on Crossfit and why he liked it so much. I was instantly sold! That afternoon, I was at CFC chatting with Shane about the next on-ramp!

Also, reading the book “Learning to Breathe Fire” by J.C. Herz was recommended to me, and is a great read about CF.

What keeps me coming back.. Constantly being challenged, meeting great people with common interests, and being guided by an awesome group of coaches. Going through a CFC workout, especially at 6am, leaves me with such great focus and perspective for the rest of the day. There’s something magical about pushing yourself to the point of getting tunnel vision, tearing your shirt off, then pushing on a bit more!

What are some of your non-crossfit hobbies or activities?

Playing guitar (don’t ask me to sing!), woodworking, boating, home renovating, surfing, kiteboarding, travelling, hanging out with kids Jeremy and Jenna. Also, spending time at lake in the summer.

One sentence to describe CFC from your perspective…

A place of positive atmosphere where I can be myself, be around great people and work hard while being professionally coached.

What is your favorite part of CFC?

Always looking forward to the variation in movements on any given day, knowing that no matter what, it’s going to be a killer workout. Going to CFC is teaching me to take on new challenges ie. Olympic lifting technique. Also, I think it is a fairly common pitfall for one to get complacent in life after settling into career, family life etc. Many times, fitness falls by the wayside after people convince themselves that they don’t have time to workout. At CFC, I feel a great sense of accountability to show up and work hard- that’s fostered by the great coaching staff who always watch over us so well, and keep us on track!

I have to mention that my wife Marie and I joined CFC together this past spring. What a life changer for us! She always was active as well, but now is getting super fit. I commend her for stepping outside her comfort zone to give CF a try. We’re both so hooked. We’ll be at the cottage making up WOD’s on the deck, talking about recent workouts we have done at CFC. Didn’t know thrusters could be so hard with just a few 25 pound dumbbells!

Favorite and least favorite movement/workout, and why?

Favorite: Snatch. It’s so dynamic, and so technical. I feel as though its going to take a lifetime to nail down the technique, but watching someone do this lift well is like a work of art to me.

Least: I have a love/hate relationship with a few movements, but double-unders takes first prize, hands down!

Favorite superhero, band/musician or celebrity, and why?

Will Smith. I had a chance to meet him a few years ago. He shook my hand and said hello as he walked by. Literally a 5 second interaction that changed the way I look at many things in life. He was so genuine and friendly, beyond description.

Biggest/proudest/latest accomplishment or PR?

Recently learned to muscle up. I am drawn to the gymnastic part of CF because it’s so challenging for my tall limbs and brain to communicate through the gymnastic movements!

What’s your take on our coaching team?

I can’t say enough great things about the coaches! Being a 6am regular, the CFC coach is usually the first person that I interact with in a day. No matter who is coaching, they always show up ready to make it happen.

Before Matt left the morning scene, I really enjoyed his cool presence, expert knowledge and always interesting mobility exercises! Wise beyond his years in coaching experience. He has a great ability to put a twist on a simple movement to make it very challenging and effective.

Michelle is frequently coaching the 6am classes that I attend. She’s always able to bring us up to speed quickly, which is not an easy task on cold, dark winter mornings. Great pointers during class, even when sometimes I think I can sneak in a lazy rep without her noticing!

Shane is the first coach that I met at CFC. He was able to explain how it all works, and that not ALL workouts are Hero WOD’s like I initially thought! Always extremely positive and fun to be around, I bank on his tips on technique. If I’m stuck on a bad movement, he will have the solution to correct it.

I love Jenna’s quiet presence while she is coaching a class. She has a great ability to watch someone make a movement, and subtly make the required correction. Always focused on the class… and a true fire breather if you’ve seen her work out!

One of my first impressions of CFC was seeing a picture of Taylor handstand walking across the gym floor. This was when I realized that CF was probably more than what I had generalized it to be, and something I wanted to be a part of! Now, whether its during an afternoon open gym or a class, I count on his cues and coaching points. Extremely driven, his intensity and consistency is second to none!<

Jason adds an abundance of motivation and humour to any class, no matter what time of day. His demonstration of ‘doing burps while gassed, floppy fish demo’ is priceless. Thanks for the advice to pace the rowing! As a fellow ‘Masters Class’ athlete, he has a wealth of great experience to teach from, always keeping it light.

Since I joined CFC with my wife Marie this past May, I have visited 31 Crossfit affiliates,  all over the place. Having met many coaches , I can say that our CFC coaching staff is second to none, and I’m always grateful to be back at the home gym! 

Do you have any goals set for the near future – in or outside of CFC?

I would say just to compete well and have fun at Frostfit in a few weeks. First Crossfit competition, and thanks to Ash for asking me to pair up with him for the non-RX mens division!

Give us a little known fact about yourself…

Maybe a few of the morning people know this, but when we start a 6am class, or bump into each other at 7/11 before class, I am into my 3rd cup of coffee already, and have usually been up since 4:30. Love the early am…

Coaches Comments

Scott has been a great addition to CFC. He is relentless in pursuit of pushing his boundaries and comfort zone. Scott’s attitude is infectious to the people around him, he always has a smile on his face and interacts with everyone. He offers encouragement and support to others while at the same time having fun while working out. He takes direction, coaching cues very well and that has transferred over to the results he is able to achieve. He is also inspirational to me because he is also a masters athlete ( someone over the age of 40 ) who continues grow as an athlete , if only he could learn to row ha ha ha ha lol. Looking forward to see what comes in 2017. – Coach Jason

Scott came in as a fire-breather and fitness enthusiast, since then he has transitioned into a smarter, stronger and much more versatile athlete. I’ve been lucky to bear witness to this transition, as well as frequently share in pre/post-workout analysis, strategy, etc. from my experience. Scott take it all in, every word you say, every suggestion you make and every article/video you recommend he listens, digests and utilizes – so you better make damn sure you know what you’re talking about! And it’s this aspect that I enjoy working with him and our athletes the most. Member’s like Scott challenge the coaches to stay abreast in new and classic coaching methods, videos and movement details; you have to be constantly learn to keep and keep progressing yourself as a coach, alongside them. It’s an amazing relationship to have as a coach and as a fellow athlete/competitor. Now, let’s talk about performance.. If there’s an aerobic workout up for the day, you better believe that Scott is setting the benchmark to beat, at 6am and that you will have to go 100% to have a chance to challenge it. I love this. Not only does it really push me as a programmer to make sure he’s challenged and progressing with satisfaction but some days his workout scores honestly strike fear into my soul knowing how hard I’ll have to push to myself to keep up. Scott is an amazing person and personality to have in class and as a part of our community and I’m looking forward to the 2017 open and competitive season with him on our roster. Great job Scott and don’t get stingy on the mobility. – Coach Taylor

I was lucky enough to get to witness the animal that is Scott, when was first unleashed inside of the walls of CFC. Scott is an aerobic animal, and has some seriously impressive capacity, it was fun to watch. Not only did he come to us with an amazing base of fitness, but his attitude and work ethic were also second to none. He is an extremely coachable guy, who is always looking to improve every detail of his CrossFit game. His personality and smile are contagious, and he is a cornerstone of the CFC community! – Coach Matt

If I had to describe Scott in one word it would be FORCE. He is constantly beating his own records and climbing the board! He is a very welcomed member of the CFC community! You can always count on Scott to be putting in extra hours for skill and technique work, his improvement is incredible. Not only does he crush every single person on that rower his stamina and strength are impressive. I not only love coaching him but he is a great athlete to have working out along side you! On top of all of that he is genuinely a great guy. He truly is an inspiration of balancing work family and fitness. – Coach Jenna

Sincerely,

The CFC Coaching Team