From the Coaches: “Filip came to Manta Ray on a mission and never let anything slow him down. He was very vocal about his goal to kick old, bad habits and start a new lifestyle, and has been dead-set on achieving it. Filip was all in from the start with the workouts, but also his nutrition. He came to us right before we began a gym-wide Paleo challenge and jumped in on that as well. Filip ended up winning the award for the top Male by dominating the nutritional and fitness aspects of the challenge. During the challenge, he also got his first muscle up! Only a short time into his journey and he was already seeing some awesome results. Not many people put in as much work on a daily basis as Filip does, and even fewer do it with as much enthusiasm. At 6AM in the morning, he is fully energized and the life of the class for the full hour and beyond, as he usually stays to cash out and work skills for an additional hour or so. On top of that, he convinces most of the 6AM class to join him… Talk about accountability. Filip’s attitude and determination make him an easy choice for Athlete of the Month. Read his story below for the full scoop!”
Filip Lundstedt
My journey in to CrossFit started at the end of last summer. It was mid-September and I was going out for my usual weekend session of riding my dirt bike with my friends. I packed my bag with my go-to items; fast food, energy drinks and cigarettes. After getting “fueled-up” I took off for my first ride of the day. Twenty-five minutes in to my first ride of the day, my core gave out and I couldn’t feel my legs. I was physically beat but before I could even gain composure to stop for a break, I crashed and was thrown ten feet away from the bike. Thirty minutes later and I was still on the ground trying to gather the strength to get myself and my bike back up.
It was a long ride home of many thoughts racing through my head…. How did I get to this point? When did I lose my strength? As soon as I got home I began complaining to my wife about what happened and how upset I was about my health. The next day she bought me a Groupon to Evolve Fitness Clearwater and a week later I started my journey
As I began on-ramp, I thought it wasn’t so hard and shortly later I graduated in to the CrossFit classes. It was a 5 minute AMRAP that day and I figured five minutes of work would be no problem at all. It was the most psychically challenging five minutes of my life and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. The box was full of people giving it everything they had to get their reps in and it was such a strange concept to me to see people who refused to give up. I thought these people were amazing and wondered would I ever get to that point.
A few weeks in to CrossFit and I was seeing results and progress each day.
I WAS HOOKED
I quickly found my home at Manta Ray with my 6am class and began building great friendships. From that moment on, I felt a sense of community that I was searching for and had people who were helping me stay focused and determined to better myself. CrossFit is an all-in lifestyle for me and I am so happy to have so many box mates who feel the same way. Through training and guidance from the great coaches, I quickly learned that practice is the most important. Day after day I practiced. From pull-ups to muscle-ups, overhead squats & snatches, toes-to-bar to dubs, and countless other movements that I continue to try to perfect today and refuse to give up. I wouldn’t be where I am today as an athlete without the support that Manta Ray provides. The coaches and box mates here are the reason that I love Manta Ray and look forward to working out. CrossFit can be brutal and painful at times, and maybe we are all a little crazy for loving the pain but we couldn’t do it without each other. In the words of Waylon Jennings, “I’ve always been crazy but its kept me from going insane.”