Member Spotlight: Yu Gao
In Yu’s first 100 days of joining CrossFit Sanitas, he lost 18 pounds of body fat and gained 7 pounds of muscle! In addition to his uber-consistent attendance, Yu has focused on eating more protein and the results clearly speak for themselves! Yu is always the first one who will find you for a post-WOD fist bump and he puts forth his best effort each time he comes in. It’s a pleasure to have him in classes and to highlight him here. Read a bit about him below and watch his video where he answers rapid-fire questions after riding the Echo bike for a 1:00 sprint!
Can you tell me about yourself? Hometown, where you work, important people in your life, how you enjoy spending your free time, etc.
Hi, I am Yu Gao, I come from China and now I am working at the University of Colorado Boulder as a research associate. When I am free, I like to play ukulele, sing, play mobile games, run, and now CrossFit!
What's your background in sport/fitness/movement?
I ran pretty much in the past ten years, with almost zero strength training. I participated in a half-marathon in Hong Kong in 2016 and recently finished the Bolder Boulder this May. I also sometimes swim, play soccer and table tennis.
What's your favorite thing about being a member of Sanitas?
The good times when I am enjoying (or suffering from?) the WOD with the coaches and other members.
What are your favorite CrossFit movements?
Pull up, now I can not help doing this whenever there is a chance to include this movement.
What do you like to do when you’re not in the gym?
Work, work, work!
Between a few panic breaths following the 1:00 Echo Bike Sprint we asked Yu the following questions:
Why did you start doing CrossFit?
Yu: Because I wanted to lose some body fat percentage. (Yu was already down over 75 lbs in weight before joining us through a routine of eating less and running often.)
What’s changed about your life since you started doing CrossFit?
Yu: I look so much better! (He had a good laugh after that one.)
Tell us about yourself. What brings you to Boulder, where is your family from and what keeps you busy?
Yu: My family is from China. My ambitions in academia took me to the US and to Boulder to research acoustics for in biomedical applications.
What’s something that always makes you laugh?
Yu: My interesting friends!