The competitive side of CrossFit - #lakewoodnews

For many, CrossFit is fun fitness.

"It gets you to do things you never thought you could," said Meriah McLeish, a CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting coach in Arvada. "Everyone can work out together, but make it their own."

In general, people enjoy CrossFit because it provides them with functional fitness, said Bryan Lundstrom, owner of Mountainside CrossFit, which is located at 12860 W. Cedar Drive, #107, in Lakewood.

People look to the workout for fitness, Lundstrom said, "but we all have a little competitiveness in us."

Whether it's competing against oneself to up a goal, a friendly competition among members of a gym or training for the CrossFit Games, the community seems to enjoy the healthy competition.

Lundstrom competed in the CrossFit Games' Open contest for the first time last year, but has been a certified CrossFit trainer since August 2012.

While participating in the Open competition, people get to see what they're made of, where they rank and their weaknesses, Lundstrom said.

"It doesn't matter age, experience or athletic ability," Lundstrom said. "It's open to everybody. That's why we call it The Open."

Each week's workout is posted online on Thursday evenings, and athletes have until Monday evening to complete the workout and post their score, which must be validated to count.

More than 300,000 people compete in the Open, Lundstrom said, but not many qualify for the next step of the competition, called Regionals.

"Those who don't make it to Regionals get a laundry list of things they can work on for next year," he said.

Workouts at the final stage of competition, the CrossFit Games, can potentially involve "everything from classics such as running and squats, to more exotic movements such as climbing and odd-object lifting. The athletes will complete short sprint-type events, medium-duration challenges and longer tests of endurance," states the CrossFit Games' website.

McLeish has been doing CrossFit since 2008 and competing nationally in weightlifting since 2012.

She enjoys not only being strong, but also the technical side and mental challenge of weightlifting. Although CrossFit got her into weightlifting, McLeish uses CrossFit mostly as a conditioning tool these days.

"It helps fill in other areas that don't get used as much in weightlifting," she said.

But she will compete in local CrossFit competitions about once or twice a year.

They're "few and far between," MacLeish said, "and they're simply for fun."

Husband and wife Lindsey and Kris Marcelli started doing CrossFit about 10 years ago when they were in the military. They opened their gym, CrossFit Eminence at 864 E. 78th Ave. in Thornton, five years ago.

"Colorado has an amazing group of competitive athletes," Lindsey Marcelli said.

However, she added, not every person who does CrossFit feels the "need to compete" at the pro level.

"A lot of people do CrossFit because it makes them feel more functional and fit in life," Lindsey Marcelli said. And "every person sets goals for themselves."

Plus, she said, there's friendly competition with fellow community members every day in the gym.

But for those who do like to compete, "there's a lot more to competition than just competing," Kris Marcelli said. "A lot of competitions are put on for good causes."

For example, people can compete in competitions nationally that support Make-A-Wish foundations or breast cancer awareness.

One local competition the Marcellis participated in last year was the Jawsome Throwdown, which benefited a young lady of Erie with juvenile idiopathic arthritis that affected her jaw joints. Her insurance did not cover the cost of the procedures she needed, so all the proceeds from the CrossFit competition went to her, Kris Marcelli said.

"There is a two-fold take on it," said Jonathon Buschbacher of Golden who has been doing CrossFit since 2010. "Helping good causes and being a part of the broader community."

Buschbacher has been a personal trainer since 2005 and coaches CrossFit classes at Trailhead CrossFit, 871 Brickyard Circle in Golden. He also is a personal trainer for MBS CrossFit's two locations --; 10900 W. 120th Ave. in Broomfield and 6945 Indiana Court, Suite 700 in Arvada.

Buschbacher hasn't participated in CrossFit competitions for a while, he said, because he has been concentrating on coaching. Although he will start getting back into some local competitions eventually, he said, coaching has been quite rewarding.

"You help people realize fitness," Buschbacher said. "And fitness is life."

And classes are a fun, community atmosphere. "You're competing against yourself and others," he said. "There's always going to be "community and friendship going on between athletes."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/The-competitive-side-of-CrossFit,224594