Nate Mitchell

Bio

I came to CrossFit on a whim.  I had heard about it from other people at work, had watched them do their workouts and talked about the “WODS” at the “Box”. They discussed their cleans, jerks, and snatches, etc….I was thoroughly confused.  When I  walked through the front doors of CrossFit Purgatory in 2013, I was blown away.  I had played baseball growing up and could hold my own at most sports, had lifted weights, at least I thought I had, since high school and kept it up into early adulthood. From day one at Purgatory I got coached on how to properly squat and deadlift and I realized that I had been doing things wrong for a very long time. Learning the techniques involved with CrossFit and the various weightlifting movements, I instantly knew that I needed to do more of this and started rebuilding from the ground up. It was maddening how bad or limited I was at just about everything except, for some reason, the overhead squat.  I have stuck with it since 2013 and truly came to appreciate the community and camaraderie that is developed with the coaches and other athletes.  I kept coming back because it always kept me engaged; the workouts were always different, even if I hated some movements, I loved others. I would do great one day and have to start learning something completely new to me the next.  CrossFit is also the only thing that truly made me stronger and fitter as a whole. In addition to adopting CrossFit as my primary means of fitness, I adopted the mindset of Dr. Kelly Starrett when it comes to movement, mobility and proper body mechanics.  He says that, “All human beings should be able and willing to perform basic maintenance on themselves.” I have followed this principle for almost as long as I have been a CrossFitter and it has paid off!

In much the same way I came to CrossFit, I decided to try my hand at coaching.  An opportunity came up to attend the class to become a CF-L1 Trainer and I jumped on it in October of 2019.  Everyday I look forward to continuing my own fitness journey and coaching others on theirs.  

A few things about me:

I have an amazing wife and we love to travel as often as we possibly can.

I am a Firefighter.

A huge fan of Podcasts and Audiobooks and think they’re fantastic for something I call “passive research”, I am also a bit of a comic geek.

I take advantage of any chance to indulge in a meal that Anthony Bourdain would approve of.

I won’t pass on a chance to hike.

I have fallen in love with archery.

My family is all from Michigan so when it comes to sports it’s all things Detroit.