It’s an extension of his work, a way to practice what he preaches.
Dan Hahn is a physician assistant responsible for a wide spectrum of patients with varying degrees of health and disease. He treats their plights, frequently explaining to them the importance of a healthy diet and regular exercise. Many of his patients are unmotivated, overweight and on multiple medications for many reasons – diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, hypertension, even depression.
It’s a challenging, sometimes unfulfilling job.
“I know a lot of this stems from lifestyle, from the choices they make,” Hahn said of his patients. “While in the clinic, I would repeatedly ask my patients to exercise and eat healthy but never had the time to show them how or where to start. They needed the tools to move forward that I simply could not give them in a 15-minute office visit.”
To take it a step further, Hahn went from the clinic to the gym.
Hahn is also a certified trainer who recently opened his first business, WCFT (West Coast Fit Team) CrossFit, an all-purpose gym in Auburn, off A Street Southeast . The center specializes in comprehensive, full-range exercise and fitness programs for people of all walks, ages and abilities.
The physician assistant talks it, the trainer walks it.
“This can change people’s lives. This is what gets people healthy, motivated, off medication,” Hahn said of his CrossFit shop. “I love it. I’m passionate about it, passionate about health and fitness.”
As Hahn explains, prevention is sometimes more effective than treatment.
“What’s fitness? It’s your ability to increase your work capacity over time across all domains of fitness,” he said. “And that is strength, speed, power, flexibility, stamina, coordination, balance. You don’t want to be just strong or fast, or have endurance. You want to be just strong enough, just fast enough, just enough endurance. That’s true fitness.
“True fitness is a compromise. It’s being not an A in one thing and a B in everything else. It’s being a B-plus in everything.”
At 40, Hahn is fit and trim at 175 pounds. He has devoted a lifetime to a healthy lifestyle. A wrestler in high school, he has stayed active in his 20s and 30s. He has run a marathon, climbed Mount Rainer, surfed, performed MMA and snowboarded.
As a seasoned trainer, Hahn offers comprehensive workouts, varied in aspects of fitness.
“You don’t need to be an elite athlete to benefit from our program,” Hahn said. “Our classes are open to all fitness levels from the beginner to the advanced athlete. … We support you during every step as you develop all-around physical preparedness for any sport or situation life throws at you. We combine calisthenics, gymnastics, weight lifting movements and cardiovascular exercise in varied short but intense workouts. This delivers better results in less time.”
=====
Now open
• Business: WCFT (West Coast Fit Team) CrossFit
• Location: 3414 A St. SE, Suite 102, Auburn
• One-hours classes: 7:30 a.m., 2:30 pm., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7:30 pm. Wednesday; 6:30 p.m. Friday
• Specializing: Comprehensive fitness programs for individuals, groups, of all ages, needs, abilities
• Other services: MMA West Coast Fight Team training; message therapist available
• More information: 206-214-7658, wcfitteam@gmail.com, www.westcoastfitteam.com
