From “Doing Nothing” to 581 Workouts and Counting: How Kea Athletics has Changed Richard Petroski’s Life
From “Doing Nothing” to 581 Workouts and Counting: How Kea Athletics has Changed Richard Petroski’s Life
581: That’s how many workouts Richard Petroski has logged since he started CrossFit in 2020.
It’s a number that he would have laughed at prior to 2020 had you told him then where he’d be today.
Prior to discovering CrossFit, Petroski was “doing nothing,” he said, adding that, while he played some baseball and football in High School, he was “not an athlete.”
In his adult life, Petroski did get into running, even logging some half and full marathons, but he fell off the fitness wagon after that.
When the pandemic hit, he and his wife had just had their first kid, and Petroski, a High School music teacher, found himself “going crazy” stuck at home, like everyone else.
Gyms in B.C. were still open, so he decided it was time.
“I just had to do something,” said Petroski, now 39.
Though it was intimidating learning so many new movements at first, Petroski immediately took to Coach Eric Sugawara, who made him feel welcome from the start.
“He’s so knowledgeable and patient and very encouraging and he encourages scaling the workouts so they’re right for you,” Petroski said.
He added: “I’m not a super social guy. I come in and do my thing and go, and I have always felt welcomed by Eric and Jo. I don’t feel pressure. As an introvert, it’s a really nice place to be.”
Five years later, Petroski said Eric and Jo Sugawara are the reason he is still at the gym today, and the reason he has logged 581 workouts and counting.
Where Petroski is Today
Petroski doesn’t remember what he could lift when he first started CrossFit, but he does remember squatting 170 pounds a few years ago and he thought it was “the heaviest thing in the world.”
“Oh man, I’m never going to be able to squat heavier than that,” he said he thought at the time.
Today, Petroski can squat 240 pounds—and maybe more as he hasn’t tested it for some time—and his deadlift has increased from 225 pounds to 300 pounds.
“I’m way stronger than I ever have been before,” he said.
Along with his consistency and commitment, Petroski also credits the gym’s carefully thought-out and progressive programming for helping him make the gains he has since 2020.
More important to Petroski than his physical strength gains, though, is how CrossFit helps his mental health.
“It’s just as much, or even more for mental health than physical. Yeah, it’s all for mental health for me,” he said.
Petroski’s Message
Petroski’s story of going to the gym before Kea Athletics is a familiar one: He associated the gym with being a place he didn’t particularly enjoy.
“I always found that going to the gym was a bit overwhelming because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do there and there were so many people,” Petroski said.
So he would dabble here and there, but never found consistency at the gym.
Today, to anyone who can relate to this—to those who feel lost or overwhelmed at a regular gym—Petroski is adamant it doesn’t have to be this way.
For him, the answer has been Kea Athletics.
“Coming here, they tell you what to do, and they help you figure it out in a way that works for you. And I know every time I come here I’m going to get stronger,” he said.
Written By: Emily Beers
