麻豆社国产has a brand new star in the athletic world and he can probably lift heavier objects than you.
Just one year into his foray into the world of crossfit athletics, 麻豆社国产resident Ray Krumme has made an impact and nearly qualified for the Crossfit Games in California.
Years ago, the local dentist and father of four played university football, but became attracted to the world of crossfit after attending a few Whistler Crossfit classes. However, with four young children, Krumme didn't have the time to attend classes regularly.
I couldn't really go to regular classes with work and family commitments, but then I met Keith Riel, a trainer here in Squamish, he said. He taught me a lot of the movements and from there I bought some of my own equipment and did private sessions with Keith and a few at Whistler Crossfit.
It was months later that Krumme realized he may have the skills to compete against some of the best in the sport.
I didn't have any real aspirations of competing initially, he said. But I would always finish the exercises first when I'd go to Whistler Crossfit. Then last summer I was away in Texas and my friend owns a crossfit gym out there and we started doing workouts together. He had qualified for regionals and I could keep up with him, so after the trip my goal was to qualify for regionals.
All certified crossfit gyms participate in the build-up to the Crossfit Games, which feature the 60 fittest competing among each other. There's a separate competition for women. The journey starts at the local level where there are five weeks of open exercises, with the top 60 qualifiers heading to regional competition. Of those 60, the top two in each region head to California for the Games. Krumme qualified for the Canada West regionals in Richmond, which concluded on April 29.
A typical workout for the open-class competition saw seven minutes of burpees, 10 minutes of snatches with varying weights and many other exercises. For the regionals, the difficulty was increased with single-legged squats, two kilometres of rowing, barbell and body weight exercises along with gymnastics movements, all done as fast as possible.
Krumme started off strong at the regionals, placing third after the first workout and eighth in the second, but then struggled in the third and fourth workouts, placing 17th and 30th, respectively. The final week saw him place fourth and overall he finished ninth out of the 60 Canada West competitors.
My physical strength isn't where I want it to be yet, he said. It isn't anywhere near the two guys who qualified for the games. I need to get stronger to win.
Despite being displeased with his strength, Krumme's max statistics from crossfit events are impressive. He's performed 65 consecutive pull-ups, deadlifted 475 pounds, clean and jerked 231 pounds and squatted 365 pounds.
Krumme said he thought he was in good shape before, but crossfit has improved his fitness immensely.
Mobility is a huge issue and there are some parts of the body you just never stretch, he said. When I started, I couldn't overhead squat the bar [40 pounds] but now I can do 215 pounds. I've come a long way in a year.
He added that crossfit truly is for everyone and encouraged anyone interested to check out a class.
It isn't just for people trying to be the fittest in the world, it's for everybody, he said. It's never too late to start and really is the ultimate workout program. Once you start doing it, you get addicted to it and you begin to look and feel better. You don't know why you like the pain in class but you keep coming back for more.
Krumme will continue training but said he can now enjoy the outdoor sports he loves like kiteboarding, mountain biking and dirt biking. His ultimate goal is to qualify for the Crossfit Games in 2013.
I'm back to training five days a week and next year my goal is to make it to California, he said. I think I have a reasonable chance as long as I work hard.
