Coach Spotlight – Josh Freitas

Meet Josh Freitas, SISU CrossFit coach and one of the coaches for the new SISU Youth Athlete Program.

About Josh

I am 24 years old and was born and raised in Newtown, Connecticut. I have one sister who lives in Baltimore, MD while both my parents moved out to the great state of Minnesota. For college, I attended Bethel University where I received a B.S. in Biokinetics (Exercise Science). For high school, I went to a New England boarding school called Millbrook School where I participated in cross country, ice hockey, and lacrosse.

Outside of CrossFit, I enjoy spending time with my youth group kids from my church, playing with my black lab Zion, spending quality time with my close friends from college, and eating lots and lots of FOOOD!

Athletic Career and Finding CrossFit

Before finding CrossFit, I was training for collegiate hockey at Bethel University. I did a lot of strength training, quad dominant exercise, and explosive strength. Anything to help me become a more explosive athlete and help my anaerobic conditioning. My favorite movement before CrossFit was the wide grip pull up.

I was originally introduced to CrossFit in high school by doing the infamous “thruster.” I immediately hated CrossFit and anything that had the word CrossFit in it! Fast forward a few years to the summer before my freshman year of college, I had been training for hockey all summer long at a “hockey specific” training center out East. My cousin took me to CrossFit St. Paul where I did my first ever CrossFit class that involved bear crawls, deadlifts, and the benchmark workout Jackie. I was still huffing and puffing when I got home from the workout, and my dad made a comment about how all that hockey training had “paid off” (note the sarcasm). Needless to say, I was hooked.

Coaching

Since my passion for fitness began back in high school, I have always had a passion to serve others and help them achieve their best self. Whether that was pushing my teammates, family, or other friends at school, I wanted them to feel like they were proud of the work that they had put in. CrossFit is always challenging, but it helps the average person do things they never thought they could. That’s what I love about coaching. Seeing someone celebrate after getting their first pull up, muscle up, or a new PR in an olympic lift.

Something that a coach once told me that was really helpful is to always give a “full effort.” This can be anything from a lift to a work out but to always give it all you’ve got. Whether you miss or not you know you can’t question it if you gave a full effort. Often times as athletes in the gym, we get scared of a weight or know how bad a workout is going to hurt and we back off. My advice would be to always give it all you got, and you’ll leave the gym feeling accomplished regardless of how the workout went.

Favorite Movement to Coach

My favorite movement to coach is the back squat. There are so many pieces to the squat that are so imperative to moving well that the smallest change or suggestion can go a long way for an athlete. It’s one of the foundational movements that we do in the gym, and it can always get better. Not to mention, it’s exciting to see some athletes move some big weight.

CrossFit for Kids

There is 100% no doubt in my mind that CrossFit is beneficial for kids. Building a foundation in functional movements will help all kids of any age improve not only their sports performance but their daily energy expenditure and ability to focus in the classroom.

Josh coaches CrossFit classes at both our Plymouth and Excelsior locations. Josh will also be coaching the new SISU Youth Athlete Program on Saturday mornings at 8:30am at Plymouth beginning October 7th.