BRYAN BEDNARCZYK, Athlete of the Month July 2018

Have you every met a family and each and every one of them are just stellar? Well we have at BBCF. The Dorsey family have slowly joined one-by-one, each being positively influenced by the changes they were seeing in the other. So, when Jackie (Dorsey) and her husband Bryan joined in May 2017, we were pumped to get the final piece of the amazing Dorsey family.

 

Bryan is described by his Blackbird coaches as a “natural athlete” so he quickly began seeing gains. We were careful with his back injury, making sure his form and mechanics were on point before load and intensity. He has no ego, and is always willing to listen to coaches and make corrections with just a few cues. From the beginning, he has respected our philosophy of building a solid foundation first as the road to success versus pushing toward the flashy, advanced moves before he was ready. That patience, coupled with his dedicated attendance to the early morning class and hard work ethic, means he quickly added strength, advanced skills, and mass. But once he put forth the same effort into his diet in January and dropped 20 pounds, he’s been unstoppable.

 

In one year, Bryan has added over 100 pounds to his back squat, + 75 to his front squat, +150 to his dead lift, +90 to his clean, +55 to his snatch and taken over 3 minutes off his Fran time. He rocked the CrossFit Open this year, completing all of the workouts Rx and even getting his first ring muscle ups during the CrossFit Open 18.3.

 

“He’s a competitor. He crushes the movements that he naturally excels at and works hard to improve the things that need it. His squats = so pretty” –Coach Justin

 

Bryan is just an all around great guy and we love having him and his beautiful family at Blackbird! MEET BRYAN BEDNARCZYK…

1.TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF. 

Hey everyone, my name is Bryan Bednarczyk. Just to clear the air, it’s pronounced Bed-nar-zik. I know it’s a head scratcher when you see it for the first time. I’m 32 years young and happily married to my amazing, strong, hot wife Jackie and we have two beautiful daughters Hannah and Madison. I went to York College of Pennsylvania where I played 4 years of baseball. I received my undergrad in Business Administration as well as my MBA in Finance. I’m currently the Director of Finance for a general contractor in Columbia, MD.

6 out of the 8 people in this picture are BBCF athletes! We LOVE the Dorsey Family!
2. WHAT MADE YOU START CROSSFIT?

I’ve always enjoyed going to the gym, but I was never consistent with it. Things always got in the way whether it be kids, home renovations, work, etc. I never had a real plan or goal(s) as far as fitness went. Jackie and I were members at a globo gym down the road and we would try to program our own crossfitesq type workouts, but we were only limited to maybe 5-10 basic movements, so our workouts got routine and old pretty quickly with little to show for it. Jon Dorsey, Jackie’s brother, started taking us to the Century High School gym in the summer of 2016 on the weekends and he introduced us to more movements and more intense workouts. That got me intrigued and seeing Jon’s results over the past couple years proved that what he was doing was working. However, Jon start coaching football again so our workouts were few and far between and we were still at globo gym doing our repetitive workouts. In spring/summer 2017, we were looking for a new gym and we found the other globo gym in Eldersburg because we needed a place that had daycare, and there just so happened to be a new CrossFit gym attached. We toured it and we were about to sign up until we talked to Jon, who had already moved to Charleston at this point. He basically gave us a death threat that if we were serious about CrossFit than we MUST go to Blackbird and Matt and Rebekah would take care of us. I didn’t argue and the rest is history.

What keeps me coming back every day is me trying to be the best person I can be for myself and my family and maybe hit a PR here and there. I only get one shot at life, so I owe it to myself and my family to be happy and healthy and CrossFit is helping me achieve that. Also, the community is amazing. Getting up at 5:00AM isn’t easy, but knowing you are going to spend the next hour with likeminded people who support you and encourage you makes it that much easier and more enjoyable.

3. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SINCE JOINING BLACKBIRD?
The 5:30am Crew is a loyal, close knit, & dedicated group, for sure.

I’ve learned my body can do some amazing things that I would never know I could do if I didn’t join BBCF! I’ve also learned to become more patient not only in the gym, but also in life. I fully trust the process and know I am getting stronger even though it may not show on the whiteboard every day. BBCF has also taught me about loyalty. I have never seen a group of people so loyal to each other and are willing go out of their way to make something happen or help out a friend.

4. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BLACKBIRD OR CROSSFIT IN GENERAL? 

BBCF specifically I enjoy the community and camaraderie. There is no negativity or egos, just some ordinary people trying to better themselves which has also taught me how to be a better person. I enjoy CrossFit because the constantly varied workouts. Everyday is different and I know I’m going to walk out of the gym fitter and healthier than the day before. I think I’m a pretty competitive person and I miss the competition from my baseball days, and the friendly competition in the gym reminds me of that.

Bryan’s 1st Muscle Ups!
5. WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST CROSSFIT MOMENT? 

My proudest moment was getting the ring muscle ups in the open this year. I came in that morning to work on them which was also the first time I had ever touched the rings. I was able to get a couple that morning, so that gave me some encouragement and confidence, but I wasn’t sure how it would play out during the workout. Low and behold I was able to get two muscle ups during the workout which took every ounce of strength and energy I had, but the cheers and support from you all that came after those two were unbelievable.

Participating in the MAAC was also an awesome experience with some grueling workouts. I had no intentions of competing, but one night I was several vodka lacroixs deep and Jackie was telling me I should definitely do it and the next thing I know I posted something on the Facebook page and we had a team shortly after. Our team had zero expectations going in. We just wanted to have a good time and challenge ourselves outside of our comfort zone. I think we all hit PR’s that weekend which was awesome to watch!

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVEMENT/LIFT? LEAST FAVORITE?
MAAC 2018

I. LOVE. SQUATS. Front squats, back squats, OH squats and maybe even some thrusters. I know my body is built for squats, so anytime I see squats programmed I get a little excited. I say a little because I know it’s still going to hurt and I won’t be able to walk or sit on the toilet for the next 2 days. Being that I’m vertically challenged, I’d say my least favorite is wall balls and box jumps. Favorite WOD might be Fran?? only because I know I can crush thrusters and I’m getting more efficient with my pull-ups.

7. WHAT IMPACT HAS CROSSFIT HAD ON YOUR LIFE IN AND OUT OF THE GYM?

I wouldn’t call myself a social butterfly, but I think I have become more outgoing when it comes to talking to people even if it is just small talk. I have also gained confidence in my body. Fun fact, I now have weird things poking out called abdominals which I only thought was obtainable by spending hours a day at the gym. Who knew? I have received several compliments from co-workers about how I look, which is a little weird considering they are 50+ year old woman! It’s nice to know people notice the change in your body and that the hard work is paying off.

8. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO REACHING THEM?

I have my goals written on the board which are mostly just numbers, some of which I have hit already and some I’m still working toward. However, my main goal is being the best husband, dad, and person I can be. I think CrossFit is going to allow myself and Jackie to be a great role models for our kids when it comes to health, fitness, and nutrition. Hannah is participating in the CrossFit Kids TOTS class now and it puts a smile on my face when she shows me what she learned that day, whether it’s burpees or squats I know its better than junk food and TV.

9. WHEN YOU’RE NOT CROSSFITTING WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO?

I love spending time with Jackie and the kids, and the occasional date night with Jackie where I can have a beer or ten is never a bad thing. I love to golf when I can get out and this is why I am in full support of the BBCF golf outing, so let’s make it happen! I also enjoy home renovation projects. I have almost completely renovated our home and knowing I put in the time and work makes it that much more satisfying. I am a big hockey fan as well. I used to play, but gave it up recently because I couldn’t fully commit due to the kids and the games were at like 10PM, which is way past my bedtime. I am also a huge Washington Capitals fan and after going through 10 years of heart break every spring, watching them win the Stanley Cup this year was awesome to see knowing the struggles that team has had in the past.

10. WHAT IS ONE FUN THING ABOUT YOU WE MAY NOT KNOW?

I can grow a beard faster than you.

BBCF Open Team League 2018
11. THE ONE TIP YOU’D GIVE SOMEONE WHO IS THINKING ABOUT STARTING CROSSFIT OR JUST STARTED?

The hardest part is walking through that door for the first time and trying to wrap your head around what is going on. Music blaring, barbells slamming, and people talking in a language that makes zero sense can be pretty intimidating. You just have to know that you will be in good hands with our awesome coaches and supporting community. Don’t worry about scaling workouts, everyone has to when they first begin, it’s part of the process and you have to believe in the process because it works.

12. WHAT IS YOUR DIET LIKE? HAS IT CHANGED SINCE STARTING CROSSFIT? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORKOUT FUEL?

Now, I would say 90%-95% of my diet is real whole foods from animals or plants. While I didn’t participate in the nutrition challenge, the guidelines of the challenge helped me educate myself with what I should and shouldn’t be eating. Before that I thought I was eating healthy, but I wasn’t. I used to eat a lot of bread, sugar additives, and processed foods. Before I was solely focused on calories on the nutrition label, but now I focus on whole foods and don’t care as much about calories.

I can’t say I have a workout fuel. I physically cannot put anything into my stomach at 5AM and my brain isn’t fully functional that early to remember to eat something.

10. RESULTS? TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESULTS! 
BBCF In-House Throwdown Series 2017

I didn’t take a before picture because I wasn’t happy with how I looked, but I did find one from last July at the beach that someone took without permission. Needless to say I was on the fast track to the infamous “dad bod” if I didn’t change things up. Since joining BBCF a year ago, I have lost 20 pounds with the majority of that being after I changed my nutrition this January. I didn’t take actual body measurements when I started, but I’ve gone down 4 inches on my waist size. I have had to buy a completely new wardrobe, which is exciting to fit into clothes I never dreamed of, but also super expensive! It’s been a good problem to have.

FREEWRITE:

When I first started at BBCF, I was just recovering from a herniated disc in my lower back. It was the most excruciating pain that I have ever been in and wouldn’t wish it upon anybody to feel what I felt. There were days I could barely get out of bed because the pain was so bad and doing basic things like tying my shoes was a struggle. After the pain subsided, the doctor said I needed to do two things, get in shape and don’t smoke. Smoking wasn’t an issue, but I knew I had to get in better shape and that wasn’t going to happen overnight. So here I am almost a year later in what I think is the best shape of my life.

MAAC 2018

I want to thank Matt, Rebekah, and all the coaches for being by my side every step of the way, teaching me the movements properly, and pushing me to do things I didn’t think I could do. Thank you to my wife for supporting me during the past year. FYI, she is killing it in the gym too and I have no doubt she’ll be AOTM in the near future. Special shout out to the 5:30AM crew for taking me in and putting up with dumb movie quotes, “That’s what she said” comments, and borderline inappropriate jokes. Unfortunately, you all are stuck with me for the foreseeable future because anytime I ask Jackie if she wants to go to 5:30am class it’s a hard no. Finally, the BBCF community, you all are amazing. When I walked through those doors I thought it was just to get a good work out in, but it’s so much more than that. I truly feel like Jackie and I apart of one giant family now.