DISCOVER CROSSFIT 2013

shoulders back.

weight in your heels.

bar close to your body.

breath.

The cues from my coach were running through my mind and my palms started to sweat. The workout was going to be 4 minutes long. That’s it. Relax. But as Coach K shouted “three, two, one”, I thought my heart would burst.

Discover CrossFit was my first ever CrossFit competition and it’s hard to even describe how exciting/nerve racking/intimidating/meaningful it was for me. Do you remember how competing in your first race felt?

I arrived early that morning to help set up as we had athlete schedules to coordinate and brand representatives to assist. Peter from New Balance, Mike from 2XU Compression and Stefan from Frontrunners Nanaimo all arrived early as well, eager to watch the competition. At 9:00am we were ready to begin our first heat and I gave a quick introduction as fellow athletes and curious fans started to line the walls of CrossFit Nanaimo.

The competitions were amazing. The athletes had to complete as many repetitions as possible of 15 thrusters and 15 chest to bar pullups in 4 minutes (and that time cap increased to 8 minutes if the athlete achieved greater than 90 reps). The first heat of athletes were all registered in the world wide 2013 CrossFit Open, meaning they were competing to improve their standings against every registered CrossFitter in the world. The second and third heats included athletes who were performing the required movements at a lesser weight or lesser intensity.

 

Now, for those of you aren’t familiar with this, CrossFit is not a quiet sport. Athletes are expected to complete the required movements at the highest intensity they are capable of (there are an infinite number of scaling options to ensure that anyone is able to complete a movement from using elastic bands to assist with pull ups, doing push ups from your knees, or learning an Olympic lift with a pvc pipe instead of a weighted bar). This means athletes in a competition are really giving it all they have. Tears are entirely possible, screaming and grunting are probable, and as spectators… cheering is practically mandatory! That is just the CrossFit environment. And the fans did not disappoint! The energy in the gym was incredible!

Come on Chris!!! Pick up that bar!!
People were screaming for me. Fellow CrossFitters, fellow Frontrunners employees, friends, family and strangers. The support I felt was overwhelming and I could not have performed as well as I did without that extra energy from the crowd.

This is what it is like here, at my CrossFit box. People gather (some you know and train with and others you might not know) to encourage you through a tough workout or coach you through a complicated movement. People help put my weights away when I am finished, they give countless high fives, and they celebrate my PR’s and accomplished goals as if they were their own.

The community we have at CrossFit Nanaimo is why I keep coming back. It reminds me of the community I have found being a runner as well. People train together and they coach you and support you and cheer for you because they know what kilometer 42 feels like. or kilometer 21. or 8. or 3. They know what it feels like to drag yourself out of bed on chilly days or through summer heat just to get your training in. They know what it feels like to break your own personal record or finish a race with your children watching. They understand and I think that is what makes strangers become friends.

 

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

A huge thank you to every single person (Coach K, athletes, fans, reps…everyone!) who came out to support Nanaimo’s first ever Discover CrossFit event. Thank you to all of our sponsors who made this event extra exciting by offering prizes and deals as well (My New Balance shoes are perfect for this sport and I was so proud to show off the flashy new colours of the New Balance Minimus R10!). I can definitely speak on behalf of Frontrunners Nanaimo to say that we are proud to support this growing community of CrossFitters. If you are interested in trying CrossFit, please don’t hesitate to book your first appointment at CrossFit Nanaimo and be prepared for some life altering changes.
For more photos please visit the CrossFit Nanaimo Facebook page!