MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: KARL WOHLWEND

On September 16, 2017 if someone had asked me about my health, I probably would have said that I was a little out of shape, a little overweight, but that I ate good food and I was generally healthy. I was in denial. The next day, I visited the doctor for the first time in too many years, and was faced with some dire news. I was obese. My cholesterol, blood pressure, and A1c levels were all very bad and were pointing towards some pretty bad outcomes. My kind doctor, probably wishing not to scare me, told me to eat a little less, maybe increase my vegetable consumption, drink a lot of water, and start walking more.

I’m the youngest member of my family, so I have the benefit of learning from those I know who have gone before me. One could say that my genetic dispositions are probably unkind. Heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension are pretty common amongst my kin, as is the enjoyment of certain vices, and a rather sedentary kind of daily living. It was pretty easy to see where I was headed. I was 47 and had been coasting on habits I developed with an indestructible body of a 20-something. Somehow, I was able to understand that the situation was perhaps a little more critical than my doctor was suggesting. I was looking into options, and upon a friend’s recommendation, I called Pat.

“I’m a flabby nerd.”

That’s what I told Pat when I met him to tour CrossFit Clintonville. Growing up, I was the kid who was always last to be picked for teams in gym class, and other than running a lot when I was in college, I had never really done anything physical by choice. Have you seen me try to do that stupid agility ladder, c-skips (what the hell are those anyway?), or Turkish get ups? If you have, you know that I’m a grade-A klutz. I knocked my front teeth out with a tennis racquet…while playing tennis. I broke my thumb “skiing.” (It was more like sliding down an icy hill on anything but my skis). My futile Little League baseball career was notable only in how many times I got hit by pitches - 20 mph pitches being thrown by 8 year olds.