Cunningham Brothers
Michael and Richard come from a family of athletes. Their father was a an old school baseball coach, their mother started and lead the Pom team at the University of Texas.
By
January 1, 2022
Michael and Richard come from a family of athletes. Their father was a an old school baseball coach, their mother started and lead the Pom team at the University of Texas. Hard work, dedication, and resilience were shown and taught to them at a young age. After competing in college, both Michael and Richard found themselves back in Austin and searching for a way to stay fit and well. They found their gym home in CrossFit Central, which ultimately led to a competitive outlet for the brothers.
Fun fact: Their Mom was a CrossFit Central member when Cofounders Jeremy and Carey were just getting started in Austin with boot camps circa 2005, before they had found their first gym! Their aunt and uncle are also CrossFit Central members.
Michael: I have been coming to CrossFit Central off-and-on since 2015, but I formally became a member back in 2020 when I moved back to Texas from California. Mike Cunningham, another CrossFit Central Member, was the person who initially got me into CrossFit.
Richard: I joined the gym in October of 2019. I had just gotten married that same month to my lovely bride Marshall, and only a few months before in the summer of 2019, my baseball career at Baylor came to a conclusion. Working out for me prior to joining CC had always been for a pretty singular goal: to make myself a better baseball player. So, that fall of 2019, I was definitely having to rediscover why I loved being active and healthy. Fitness was always a nonnegotiable in my life, but for the first time, it was something I had to choose for non-baseball reasons. Not to mention, for the few months in between baseball concluding and joining CrossFit, I wasn't getting much life out of just going for runs around the neighborhood or working out on my own at the local gym.
Michael (older bro) was still living in California at the time and was always the fitness junky. He would win CrossFit competitions at his local gym, run Marathons at an absurd pace, etc. It always fired me up that he had this in his life, but I never knew fitness apart from it being tied to my sport. I think what ultimately led to me joining CrossFit Central that fall was always hearing about how much Michael loved CrossFit, and also my wife and I's cousin who became one of our best friends in Austin (Builder Brock) was joining CrossFit Central that same fall. I think the Lord used all of those factors and the timing to push me over the edge to give CrossFit a shot.
Michael: Fitness and wellness have been a huge part of my life since I was a kid. I was an athlete growing up and played collegiate Rugby, so weightlifting and conditioning have always been part of my routine.Richard: I grew up as an undersized athlete always trying to prove my size wouldn't hold back my performance. My siblings and I had amazing parents who were both high level athletes. They instilled in us at a young age that working with excellence will lead to opportunities. That was my approach with fitness. I knew I would never be upset about only getting stronger and faster on a sports field, and therefore it kept me motivated to stay after it in the gym.
Michael: My olympic weightlifting form has drastically improved. Davis Collins is the GOAT of oly coaching and has helped me break the bad weighlifting habbits I have built over the years. Richard: I would say the biggest results for me have come more on the mental and just overall joy side. I joined the gym only a couple months after hanging it up as a D1 Athlete, so by the grace of God, I was still in pretty decent shape. But, I was having to redefine the why behind fitness staying a cornerstone in my life. The CrossFit Central community has made working out so dang fun. Yes, the byproducts of staying healthy are of course enormous, and I have certainly reached new heights in my fitness thanks to the amazing staff and programming at CrossFit Central. Going to the gym unlocks so many special things for me outside of just the physical though. It awakens my competitive spirit, it creates motivation in other areas of my life, it gives me the opportunity to interact with such a special group of people also plugged into the Central fam. Now, my engine has certainly improved on a physical front too! Us baseball players have never been known for being very quality aerobic athletes...let's put it this way...I don't know if I had ever run a full mile without needing to stop prior to Crossfit. So, it has been a ton of fun to get in a new type of physical condition that wasn't just centered around being able to steal bases, throw hard, or hit baseballs. My wife is also grateful I can at least make it on a two or three mile jog with her these days! Still not anywhere near her or my brother's fitness levels, but one step at a time!
