The CrossFit Games is unique in both it's format and the culture that surrounds it. The marriage of elite fitness and the festival ambiance is unique to Aromas.

Days before the 2009 competition gets underway Tony Budding, Games Co-Director, reflects on what makes the CrossFit Games unique. "The primary difference is that when you compete in the olympics, you know what you're up against. One of the key components, one of the ways that we test for the unknown and the unknowable, the way we require very broad levels of fitness is that the athletes don't know what they're competing in."

The high levels of camaraderie among the athletes is rare in sport. CrossFitters celebrate the successes of other competitors. Many share strategies, and even actively cheer on their rivals.

CrossFit Vs. Olympics ... [wmv] [mov]

Athletes can do amazing things under the pressures of competition, and in front of thousands of screaming fans. In the second event this year, many athletes set lifetime PRs in the deadlift despite having to lift one rep every 30sec, and having run the 7km race about an hour before. Sixteen male athletes and one female athlete lifted all 20 bars.

Josh Wagner of CrossFit Apex set a 10lb PR, and just barely missed a 20lb PR at 485. Wagner's wife Tanya also set a PR, lifting 325lbs. She, of course, ended up World Champion at the end of Sunday.

Rob Orlando came to CrossFit from a strongman background, which shaped his game plan in advance. "There's about a thousand other things I'd rather do than a 7 kilometer run," he joked the night before the competition. The second event gave him more confidence. "We'll see if I did my homework," Rob mused. He did something right. Twenty bars, one every 30 seconds and culminating at 505lbs, failed to raise his heart rate.

Deadlift Event Video 1 ... [wmv] [mov]

Matt Chan from CrossFit Verve was considered a top contender going into the weekend. Last year he finished eighth overall. He won the Rocky Mountain Qualifiers, solidifying his reputation. Matt is also part of the CrossFit Level 1 Certification seminar training staff. He compares the past two years' Games, and sets a lifetime PR in the deadlift.

Deadlift Event Video 2 ... [wmv] [mov]

Nicole Gordon of CrossFit Hampton Roads was in the first heat of the sledge event. Entering the event she was hovering just behind the middle of the pack. She hit the ground running and was doing well in the event until a poor strike and unfortunate hand placement caused big problems. Nicole's finger was crushed between the sledge hammer and the stake.

Nicole was undaunted, and finished the event in spite of the pain. You could her scream intermittently throughout the final 500 meter row.

The medical team stood by as she pulled out her last few strokes on the machine and immediately went to work. Nicole was taken to the hospital by ambulance where they assessed the extent of the damage. When it was determined that the finger was not in fact broken, she rushed back to compete in the Couplet. She called frantically from the car to assure us she was coming back for her scheduled heat.

The fastest female in the Sledge event was Sarah Dunsmore of CrossFit Durham, with a time of 5:33.

Nicole Gordon Sledge video ... [wmv] [mov]

The run event challenged both physical and mental conditioning. The 7km course took them up steep terrain, through poison-oak-covered foothills and back down on the road to finish the race.

Some favored athletes in the competition were humbled by the event. Jason Khalipa was thought to be out of the competition when he collapsed to the ground entering the flatland portion that marked the start of the final mile.

Run Start video ... [wmv] [mov]

The most treacherous part of the run was the backside portion. The grade was so significant that the athletes took to crawling on all fours. Many went crashing down the initial slope. For sure, there was not a lot of running happening on the way up.

Backside of the Run video ... [wmv] [mov]

Chris Spealer and Mikko Salo finished the event in first and second position, just seconds apart. Russell Berger came in third with a time of 38:07, slightly under a minute behind the leaders.

Some competitors were impressively proficient on the first two events, which tested a broad spectrum of physical capabilities. JC Nessa and Peter Egyed placed in the top 15 runners out of 74 male competitors, and managed to lift all 20 bars in the deadlift event. Mikko Salo came in second in the run and deadlifted all the way to the final bar. Khalipa rallied to finish the run in time and made up some ground by finishing the deadlift event.

"It's the most primitive mode of fitness," said Jeremy Thiel one day before the event. "Run and pick up heavy stuff. Perfect."

Run Finish video ... [wmv] [mov]

Caity Matter returned to Aromas as the defending champion. She had been throwing around some amazing performances. She was also helping to run Rogue Fitness and planning a wedding.

A competitor by nature and years of practice, bolstered by D1 college and professional basketball careers, she was excited to compete this year. Yet, she knew that the field would be much stronger. "I want to win," she says plain and simple, "that's my motivation."

The competition was indeed tougher. She pulled an impressive 305 pounds in the deadlift event, but that was only good enough for 15th with this crowd. Cyndi Frieling won the event as the only woman capable of lifting all 20 bars (375lbs). This was not Caity's year, though. Dehydration and severe cramping caused her to withdraw after three events.

Caity Matter Deadlift Interview... [wmv] [mov]

Jolie relives this years' triplet, Freddy gets sentimental while Khalipa and Everett revisit their showdown in the '08 Games, ("it was like blood in the water for a shark..."). Then they set their gaze for next year. In this final installment of The Veterans Debate, an all star foursome revisit some of their favorite moments from Games past, and ponder what future games what look like.

Josh Everett started the final event of the '08 Games a full minute behind Chris Spealler, with Khalipa back further still (1:23). They revisit the drama and build up to the final event. "I didn't even know who this guys was," says Josh pointing towards Khalipa, "He was some dopey kid in the back room warming up...so things didn't end up how I thought."

Jason Khalipa went into the 2008 Games completely unknown to the CrossFit world. The evening before the final event, his coach told him he would be lucky to land in the top three. "Shoot for top three Jason, I mean, Josh Everett is here..." Two minutes and 48 seconds after the final event began, Jason was the '08 Games champion.

Veterans Debate P3 ... [wmv] [mov]

James "OPT" Fitzgerald takes CrossFit to another level, literally. In Every Second Counts, he talked about getting in touch with pain and how he learned to manage that relationship. In time the pursuit of better performance can take a spiritual edge.

"Get comfortable with uncomfortable," has become the theme at CrossFit Calgary. You have to be able to get into an uncomfortable position, of varying different intensities and varying different degrees - physical, emotional - and be comfortable with that... that's what CrossFit teaches you and that's why it went well with our philosophy, too."

The person that can deal with discomfort and abandon homeostasis most readily will be better not only at sport, but at life in general. James draws a parrallel to personal relationships, family and work and highlights the empowerment that transfers from 'embracing the suck,' in CrossFit. Clearly the philosophy runs in the family. His younger brother Michael finished this years Games in eleventh place, by conquering a considerable amount of pain.

Comfortable With Uncomfortable ... [wmv] [mov]

In conjunction with the venue itself, the stakes surrounding the Games continue to grow as well. As the competitor field goes international and big name sponsors take an interest, a commensurate amount of pressure is levied on the shoulders of the competitors. No pressure is greater to a performer, however, than the pressure of pride that they put on themselves.

"Of course I'm nervous, and of course I feel pressure... I put pressure on myself and there is pressure from everywhere," says Sveinbjorn Sveinbjornsson from Iceland who, along with Annie Thorisdotter, represented a country of only 400,000 inhabitants. His success in early events attracted the eyes of the crowd and he continued to excel, entering the final chipper event in the 14th position, on the heels of DJ Wickham and one spot ahead of Jeremy Thiel. The performance highlight for him was the first position finish in the Sandbag Sprint event with a time of 1:01. prior to day one he talked about the importance of this pressure when it comes to performance. "You can't do good if you don't have any pressure, put pressure on yourself... that's a part of it."

Sveinbjornsson On The Pressures Of Sport... [wmv] [mov]

That pressure is not doubt intensified for returning champions, a sentiment echoed by Jason Khalipa. In an interview filmed during his Level One Certification at CrossFit Elite 400 in Northern Ireland, Mikko Salo gave his thoughts on the pressure to perform next year and talked about the cultural differences between Finland and the US. "I think there is a small pressure for me... but it's ok." Mikko was suprised by the openness of the CrossFit family and compared the cultural differences to those of Finland. "I noticed, that when I was in Aromas, there was a tight family. I am not used to this in Finland... we are shy people."

More than anything Mikko is excited to share information about how he trains and recovers for better performance. "My goal for the next games is to be a better CrossFitter, and if I'm a better CrossFitter... I'm happy, doesn't matter if I come in first or last."

Mikko in Ireland - CrossFit Family ... [wmv] [mov]

The Couplet at the end of day one was a pivotal event. After the dust settled, 39 of the 55 athletes who attempted the workout would not be continuing on to the second day.

Two movements, a 75 pound hang squat snatch and a 20 pound wall-ball shot, were all it would take to tax the outer limits of mental and physical stamina of the remaining athletes to the breaking point. Many were already running on fumes. 13 men and 15 women did not complete the effort. In a spine tingling display of heart Kyle Kasperbauer raced the clock to get his last 5 repetitions. He was only a fraction of a rep shy of completing the event when the 20 minute cut-off passed, and was left nearly crippled with fatigue.

Moe Kelsey, who took 3rd place overall and finished 8th in the couplet, reflected on the 2nd place lead he took into day two.

Jason Khalipa, who seemed to get stronger as the day progressed finished on a high note, setting the bar and taking first in the event with a time of 11:18. Mikko Salo was a minute behind and secured the fourth position. Tommy Hackenbruck, Blair Morrison and Peter Egyed took second, third and fifth, respectively, to round out the top five.

The Couplet Wrecks Shop ... [wmv] [mov]

CrossFit is the pursuit of power, plain and simple. In practice we utilize movements that are best suited to that end and focus on the sound mechanics that lead to optimal force production. However, in the competition format it's completion of the designated task that determines the winner, not the technical nuances or stylistic interpretations of them. That's consistent to all of sport and life.

Going into the snatch event, Annie Thorisdotter had very little exposure to the olympic lifts and trained mostly with bodyweight movements. Frustration nearly got the better of her when she temporarily lost her nerve in the warm up area. In the end she managed to pull a weight that was competitive with women who had been practicing the lifts for years.

Coach Mike Burgener of Mike's Gym, praised the event and also noted the drastic improvement in technique from five years ago. "I tell you if we did this event five, even four years ago, it would've been God ugly, but some of these guys... the technique is unbelievable."

Video ... [wmv] [mov]

In particular he hails James "OPT" Fitzgerald of CrossFit Calgary and Spencer Hendel of CrossFit Charlotte. OPT snatched 175 pounds to tie with David Millar, of CrossFit Marina and Iceland Sven from Bootcamp. They each received 13 points for the event. Hendel matched Jason Khalipa and DJ Wickham with a 225 pound pull. Jeff Leonard was in a class of his own with a 240 pound lift.

It's nearly impossible to convey the devastation that the athletes experienced during the third event of the CrossFit games. While the event itself was relatively short, explosive, and simple, the pain it inflicted was described by many as the worst they had ever experienced.

Crystal McReynolds and her heat hammered up the 170 meters of steep dirt path in whatever manner they could sustain. Running, walking, and eventually diving across the finish line became the standard for all heats while hauling 35 pounds of sand. McReynolds finished 28th with an impressive time of 1:20.5. The fastest women's time of 1:07 was set by Annie Thorisdottir. When she regained her breath, McReynolds suggested a unique cool down technique that is likely to catch on.

Crystal McReynolds Sandbag Sprint ... [wmv] [mov]

Three of this year's top competitors had something in common, they rebounded from an unfortunate performance at regionals to qualify via the Last-chance qualifier online video submission.

Entering day two of this years Games Tommy Hackenbruck, Spencer Hendel and Peter Egyed were among the top ten competitors. When the smoke cleared on the final day, they finished second, fifth and sixth, respectively.

"Tommy Hackenbruck is why we have the online qualifiers." Hackenbruck dominated the metcon event at the Northwest Qualifier, but failed to place high enough in other heavily strength-based events to secure a spot. He flipped the script in Aromas and entered day two of competition one point ahead of Mikko Salo.

Both Egyed and Hendel had similar experiences at their regional qualifiers. Peter was on the heels of Chris Spealler and Eric O'Connor going into the second event at the Great Basin regional qualifiers when he ran into trouble. At the Midwest Regional Qualifier Hendel failed to make the top 6 athletes but placed third in the Last Chance event.

Without this alternative to regional competition, some of the top-contenders for the world's fittest would have had to wait another year for their chance to compete.

CrossFit Animals... [wmv] [mov]

Following this year's CrossFit Games, Concept 2 graciously invited this year's top male and female competitors, Mikko Salo and Tanya Wagner, to the CRASH-B's, the world indoor rowing championships. They could come as special guests of C2 to watch, or if they wanted to compete, C2 would send two of the world's best coaches to train them to compete in the event. Guess which one they did!

Over 2,000 rowers are expected to come from all over the world to participate in the largest indoor rowing race of the year. It is likely that specialists in the field will dominate the event, but we are excited to see how proficiently our athletes can perform on limited experience.

So far, so good. Tanya smashed all the women's records for Angela Hart's rowing seminar practice drills. Mikko recently did a rowing workout on the same day he performed the 2:16 Fran. The workout was five 1000m splits, with just a 3min rest in between each split. His times were 3:15, 3:15, 3:15, 3:18, and 3:17. Not too shabby for a guy 5'8" and 176lbs.

To return the favor, we have invited the top eligible male and female winners of the CRASH-Bs to compete in their Regional Qualifier for the 2010 Games. We say eligible because the true winners are likely to be competitive rowers, and the Games season coincides with their rowing season (which is why the CRASH-Bs are in Feb, not June). We are going to send them to a local affiliate to prepare before heading out into the most competitive CrossFit arenas.

The following is a letter from Tracy Desrocher of Concept 2, explaining the details of the exchange and updating the progress of Mikko and Tanya:

We are so psyched to hear back from both Mikko Salo and Tanya Wagner that they will be participating in the 2010 C.R.A.S.H.-B. event. It will be such an experience for the rowing community to meet some of CrossFit's finest and learn from them.

Concept2 and members of the rowing community are standing by to offer their help on how to best train for the CRASH-B competition. Likewise Mikko, Tanya and the participating CrossFit community will be cheering on their best and offering their own expertise on how best to use CrossFit for a rowing competition. Everyone benefits by bringing these two communities together.

Continue reading ...

Not sure exactly what to expect or how to prepare for the CrossFit Games in 2010? Need a little advice from someone who's been there?

In the second installation of The Veteran's Debate, three-time female competitor Jolie Gentry joins the discussion. With regard to Games competition no other individual, male or female, can boast a track record like Gentry. After winning the competition in 2007, she 5th in '08 and 9th in '09.

Along with Freddie Camacho, Josh Everett, and Jason Khalipa, the foursome boasts 11 years of CrossFit Games experience. The group addresses specific challenges they had to surmount, and divulge advice to someone interested in competing for the first time.

The Veterans Debate P2 ... [wmv] [mov]

Lieutenant Steve Smith is a real American hero. When the last chance qualifiers were announced, Smith, a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborn Division of the United States Army, was deployed in Iraq. He jumped at the chance to represent our boys overseas and to honor the men who will not be coming home. In the last chance, he posted excellent times for all three events: 4:06 for the Deadlift/Double Unders, 4:45 for Jackie, and 11:34 for the "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1" WOD.

The hurdles he encountered in order to submit a video on time, much less be granted time off for competition were massive. Regardless, Smith was able to make the Games. "It's a huge honor for everything to have worked out," he says. He finished 48th overall in the games. Despite this strong finish, he does not advocate deployment to Iraq as a preperation tactic for the exercising public... "unless you don't mind fried chicken and Hot Pockets for your diet."

Steve Smith Interview ... [wmv] [mov]

Steve Smith on Working Out in Iraq ... [wmv] [mov]

The first day of the 09 CrossFit Games tested athletes' physical and mental boundaries to an unprecedented degree. After four events, twenty men and twenty women had already been eliminated.

Now, "in one 20 minute event, 39 people are gonna be eliminated," reiterated Dave Castro, Director of the CrossFit Games.

The final event was a CrossFit couplet. Tough under any circumstances, brutal as the fifth workout of the day, and crucial for staying alive in the competition. Thirteen men and fifteen women would not finish within the allotted time. Carey Kepler had the best time for women at 11:01. Jason Khalipa had the best time for men at 11:18.

Three rounds for time of:
30 Wallball (20lbs/14lbs)
30 Hang squat snatches (75lbs/45lbs)

Castro briefed the event as Adrian Bozeman demonstrated the points of performance. Athletes had to finish the movement with control of the weight overhead. BrOPT (Michael Fitzgerald), who finished 34th in the event with a time of 18:16, was forced to redo his last repetition. His struggle for one final repetition in the midst of extreme muscle cramping is indicative of the mental fortitude these athletes possess. BrOPT finished Day 1 in 16th place, just good enough to make it to Day 2. In the end, he finished 11th overall.

Event 5 announcement ... [wmv] [mov]

BrOPT - One More Rep ... [wmv] [mov]

"There has never been an option for me to quit." So says Mikko Salo, champion of the 2009 CrossFit Games in an interview during his first Level One Certification at CrossFit Elite 400 in Northern Ireland. Mikko took the competitor field by storm and surprised everyone with an amazingly consistent performance across the entire weekend.

The Champ again shows his class by addressing the automatic qualification that he, as a former champion, has been awarded for future CrossFit Games. "That is a nice treat, but immediately I thought... if I'm not in shape, I don't want to take someone else's place." For now, that doesn't appear to be a problem.

Mikko in Ireland - Never Quit... [wmv] [mov]

The Snatch event on day two of the 09 Games was the first of it's kind. Unlike USAW and IWF competitions, ten athletes took the stadium together, each with their own barbell. They were given ten minutes to reach a one rep maximum, taking weight from the ground to locked out overhead. If they achieved this in two or twenty reps, it made no difference.

Task completion was the focus of the challenge; the method by which they arrived was loosely dictated. It was a snatch, but without some of the specific requirements of traditional Oly-lifting meets.

"Press out, fine... knee touches the ground, fine," Tony Budding explained. Plus, beyond any of their own observations, the athletes were not made aware of the other competitors' attempts.

Coach Mike Burgener is the father and coach of Olympian Casey Burgener and owner of Mike's Gym. He is CrossFit's top Olympic Weightlifting coach, and his expertise is widely respected within the sport of lifting itself. He is a USA Weightlifting Senior International Coach, former junior World team (1996-2004) and senior World team coach (2005).

As both a CrossFit coach and a USAW coach, does he see the event as a bastardization of the snatch or as a legitimate alternative? "I think for what CrossFit stands for and what it's all about, it's great. In the military environment, the firefighting environment, the policing environment, and even the mother at home trying to lift something up, I think it's absolutely right on. I have no problems with it."

He made sure to highlight the need for consistency in judging, however, to differentiate the lifts from the clean. "As long as the judges understand that, it all becomes an issue of being in line with and in sequence with and consistent with (the standards). The judges need to be instructed that if it touches any part of the body, it's not a lift."

The best lifts were 240lbs by Jeff Leonard, and 145lbs by Tamara Holmes.

Snatch Event Trailer... [wmv] [mov]

Coach Burgener On the Snatch... [wmv] [mov]

The scope of the CrossFit Games extend far beyond crowning the fittest athletes on the planet. In the greater context it is an experiment we are all involved with, the purpose of which is to elicit the best practices for producing measurable, observable and repeatable results in elite human performance. Each athlete at the games contributes in some way to making CrossFit better, and to improving our understanding of fitness and how it can, and should be achieved.

Coach Glassman paraphrases in 'The Crucible,' the latest video produced by Marty Cej and John Buffone of BNN . "You got a better way to train people? A better way to rest? A better way to eat? If it doesn't show in force, distance and time... if it doesn't show up in improved work capacity, then we can dismiss it. And if it is there, we can't ignore it. The method is important; the narrative is a byproduct, but the data is everything. these are proving grounds... this is a place to test your shit."

Hypotheses and narratives about the superiority of training methodologies have no credence without results. The individuals and affiliates that are on or near the podium every year must be doing something right. "Take Calgary, for example. A town of one million people had four individual athletes in the top 16, plus an affiliate team in the top four." This type of data draws attention.

"Number one, it takes dedication," says Michael Fitzgerald of the successes acheived at Optimum Performance Training in Calgary. "You can't just say I'm gonna be an elite CrossFitter. You have to hone your tolerance for this. Anyone can snatch a heavy snatch, anyone can get a really big bench press. But how many people can do a sub 2:30 Fran, a sub 15 Filthy Fifty and a sub 7 minute Helen... with a heavy snatch! Then you're a CrossFitter, and that takes a lot of dedication."

The Crucible... [wmv] [mov]

Should the CrossFit Games expand to include a Master's Division? What age is the prime of a CrossFitters competitive life? What events should be included in future Games and what events from Games past should be relegated to the vault? What's the best way to prepare for the CrossFit Games?

Veteran Games athletes Jason Khalipa, Josh Everett and Freddy Camacho gathered during a Level One Certification at Crossfit North Santa Cruz to discuss hot topics and recount memories from a combined 8 years of competition experience in Aromas.

In part one Jason, Josh and Freddy represent three different decades. They offer opinions on the need for a master's division and discuss the advantages for both the young and the old bull. Stay tuned for the next episode when female veteran Jolie Gentry enters the conversation.

Oh and Freddy, you were at NSC... not Aromas. What exactly was in that cup?

The Veterans Debate ... [wmv] [mov]