“Three…Two…One…GO!” And with three loud beeps, the 2012 CrossFit Fort Bragg Open, began.
For the past several years, CrossFit Fort Bragg (located on Nursery Road in Anderson Creek) has participated in the Games – even placing at the world level. Members participating in this year’s Open are at all ability levels. Owner Michelle Benedict is thrilled. She wants everyone to compete.
“We need all your efforts,” she explained to the noon class, last Wednesday. “Maybe you aren’t strong in burpees or pull-ups, but you can rock 400-meter sprints. Every point helps our team.” Her passion is to see people of all ability levels work towards improving themselves. And when the entire family participates, even better.
This year, at the prompting of head coach Celest Waechter, the CrossFit Fort Bragg (CFFB) kids are even getting involved. Waechter, Benedict and all the coaches are committed to creating a family environment at the gym, where parents and kids can all come, work out and share in a healthy lifestyle. All of the 16-20 children participating in the games have parents who are members. A majority of these parents are also competing. For CFFB, the 2012 Games isn’t just a competition thing; it’s a “family thing.”
“CrossFit is a lifestyle,” says Michelle Jansen, mom of three. Her husband, Jeremiah, agrees. “It incorporates everything that’s important to us. I don’t have problems with my girls sleeping, eating well or having too much energy,” he says, chuckling, “they get it all out at CrossFit.”
Parents, David and Ivy Wulfo, agree. “This is a place we can all be together. We’ve had great family friendships form here. Instead of making play-dates, our families call each other up and say, ‘Hey, come over for a workout and barbeque.”
At CrossFit Kids, children are put through the standards of movement and pushed to achieve new fitness horizons. But of all the skills they’re taught, encouraging one another is the lesson emphasized time and again. “This is why I do this,” said Benedict, practically overcome with emotion as she watches sweaty, rosy-cheeked children cheer one another through seven minutes of burpees and then give high-fives and fist pumps at the end.
“You guys can do this stuff!” exclaimed Coach Liz Martin, applauding the kids after their first competition wod (workout of the day). “But you know what’s most important? That you cheer for each other. We need to keep encouraging one another, okay?”
Member and mom, Judy Cheney, loves the message. “This is a great community for my kids,” she says. “Last week, one of the kids encouraged my son when they saw him struggling during his workout. He, in turn, encouraged another child during the next class. ‘That felt really good to encourage, Mommy,’ he told me as soon as we got in the van.”
CrossFit is a program based on the belief in fitness, in its broadest, most inclusive sense. Its purpose is to prepare the trainee for any physical endeavor. The CrossFit Games began in 2007 to answer the question, “Who’s the fittest?” What makes the games unique is their unknowable nature. Athletes train year round for events that remain a mystery until right before competition. Athletes must be prepared for anything - truly challenging their physical, mental and emotional capacities.
Member, Julia Henry, was excited to see this week’s burpee WOD. She’s been doing CrossFit on her own since 2009, but has seen great improvements in her strength and speed since coming to CrossFit Fort Bragg. “I was excited about this WOD because I’m strong with endurance exercises and happy to see a WOD posted… everyone could do,” says Henry. “My goal was to break 100 and I did 103! But the best part was having everyone cheer me on. I don’t think I would have done as well if I hadn’t had so much support from my fellow CrossFitters.”
Celest Waechter, head coach of the gym, says this is what it’s all about. She was determined to get as many people excited about the games as possible. “We want people to have fun and build confidence through participating in new endeavors,” explains Waechter. “Often times, I see a person at our gym and I believe in them, but they don’t believe in themselves. The Games lets us as coaches encourage them towards success.”
Waechter has even greater motivation for promoting excitement for the games. “This place creates unity and community; especially now as many of us are going through deployments. It’s an anchor for a lot of us.”
With all the energy from coaches, participants and even kids, one CrossFit motto will certainly ring true for the 2012 CrossFit Fort Bragg competitors: we’ll all finish ‘Better Today Than Yesterday.’