Do you remember when you started at CrossFit? Sarah Troelsen Krarup, Copenhagen, Denmark

Name: Sarah Lindasdatter Troelsen Krarup

Gym / webpage: Butcher’s Garage, Copenhagen Denmark www.butchersgarage.dk

Competitions? Placement:

• CrossFit Games 2011 (Affiliate Competition), 39th
• CrossFit Games Regionals/Europe 2011 (Affiliate Competition), 2nd
• See all my competition results here - CrossFit/olympic weightlifting (I LOVE COMPETING)

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

I had my first intro class at CrossFit Copenhagen in 2008 and I had heard about it from a lot of friends who thought that I would love it – and I did and still do.

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

AMRAP/10 min.:

• 5 burpees
• 10 kettlebell swings
• 15 air squats

I went 100% hard from the beginning, and I was WASTED after 10 min.

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

I LOVED “Fight Gone Bad”, “Filthy 50″ and met cons. I struggeled a lot with kipping pill-ups, and it took me forever to get them.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

2008/beginning

• Favorite WOD: Fight Gone Bad
• Favorite lift: Squat
• Least favorite WOD: Fran
• Least favorite lift: deadlift

2012/now

• Favorite WOD: Isabell + anything with barbell complexes and heavy/CrossFit Football’ish :-)
• Favorite lift: Squat + squat snatch
• Least favorite WOD: Fran + Fight Gone Bad
• Least favorite lift: deadlift + jerk

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

Participating in the CrossFit Games 2 times (2009 + 2011 – affiliate cup)

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

• Don’t train stupid and don’t overtrain!
• Strength has helped a lot, so alvays remember your vitamins (squats, deadlifts, presses, chin-ups, push-ups etc.).
• Train your weaknesses  each time you hit the gym- CrossFit is about being as complete as possible – and you’re never better than your weakest lift/WOD/skill in a competition (mine are: pull-ups, muscle-ups, kipping toes to bar, ring dips).
• Train your strengths as well - I’ts fun and ofen an advantage to have a few exercises that you really rock (mine are: kipping HSPU, barbell complexes, snatches and leg exercises in CrossFit WODs).
• HAVE FUN while training

Who’s got what it takes?

With the annual arrival of the CrossFit Open drawing ever closer, BOXROX have been asked to compile a list of the top 10 male and 10 female CrossFit athletes from the European CrossFit scene that we think might have what it takes to make it to the CrossFit Games this summer. We all know that we have some top athletes spread through Europe but we want your help to pick out the standout people that might be from your box and give us the reasons why.

These athletes might have made it to the CrossFit European Regionals at Bolton last year, they may have competed in some of the big events throughout Europe such as CrossFit SM in Stockholm, Lowlands Throwdown in Netherlands, Divided We Fall Games in Swansea to name but a few. Have they been causing a storm at the local competitions and placing above the rest of the competitors? We need your help to gather this information so we can give our fellow CrossFitters from across the USA and rest of the world something to think about.

Anyone you feel is a real contender…let us know:

email: team.boxrox@gmail.com

Some information we will require is:

Name

Age

Location/Affiliate [BOX - Owner/coaches name]

Competition results/standings

Contact email address so we can retrive a biography/stats

Redad more: http://www.boxrox.com/2012/01/whos-got-what-it-takes/

Do you remember when you started at CrossFit? Carsten Eigil Hedegaard, Captain’s Gym, DK

Photo: Demi Karatzaferi

Name: Carsten Eigil Hedegaard aka the Captain

Gym: The Captain Gym / webpage: captainsgym.dk

Competitions? Placement:

• Fit as Fuck 2010, 1st place, Master
• Butcher’s Garage, Olympic Weightlifting for CrossFitters 2011, 9th place

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

I started 4-5 years ago, in a small club by the name of Copenhagen CrossFitters. Later on it expanded to Butcher’s Lab. After seeing the movie “300″ by Zack Snyder, I was searching the internet and found Gym Jones, and from there I found CrossFit.

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

I can’t exactly remember my first WOD, but there was not much equipment in the club, so it was probably some kettlebell and bodyweight work. I was slow, I was weak, it was hard, I couldn’t breathe, I felt dizzy, but I never felt that good after working out, and I was hooked!

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

I specially remember the WOD “300″, I had never tried anything like that. Almost everybody in the club was 15-20 years younger than me, and I was always finishing last in the workouts. But that kept me going, and I wouldn’t accept it. I had a lot of trouble with bodyweight excercises. We weren’t talking about RX in those days.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

I didn’t have any favorite WODs at that time, my favorite lift was maybe deadlift (and curl) – today, one of my favorite WODs is “Grace” and I’m more into olympic lifting, focusing on being much better at it.

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

Winning the 2010 Fit as Fuck for Masters.

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

Don’t do too many kipping pull ups, or don’t do them at all. Go strict instead. If you want to compete, learn the skill and just do the kipping there. I had shoulder problems for more than a 1 year, and after I stopped kipping, my shoulders are good and strong again!

Work your strength! Do some heavy lifting at least 2-3 times a week. Find a simple program and stick to it, Stronglift 5×5 and Starting Strength is good a place to start. Focus on long term results, don’t try to force anything too fast, and listen to your body. CrossFit is tough, and your body needs adjust to the new excercises. So take small steps in the beginning or else you’ll end up with injuries, and your goals are even farther away. Start squatting now!! Build your strength in your squat, and when you’re ready, squat heavy!

Recommended reading: “A Look Inside the World of CrossFit”

“You won’t die. You’ll either leave thinking that was the craziest thing you’ve ever done and can’t wait to do it again, or that was the craziest thing you’ve ever done and are never coming back.”

Well then. And so we began.

….

Laura from Greatist, a New York City-based website, wrote us to hear that we think about their newest CrossFit feature. We found that it was a good piece to read in relation to our latest theme: “CrossFit Beginners”. But read for yourself and let us know what you think:

Read the full article here.

Do you remember when you started CF? Martin Møller, Butcher’s Garage, DK

Martin Møller, CrossFit Butcher’s Garage

Competitions / Placement:

DCO 2010 #6

 CF Qualifier 2010 #3

 CF Sectionals 2010 #9

 CF Open, Europe 2011 # somewhere in the 20’ties

 DWF & CBG Invitational Cup 2011 #2 (Heavy Men)

 FAF 2011 #10

 Butchers Stronger 2011 #?

 CTC Christmas Challenge 2011 #1

 Butchers Classic 2012 #1…

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

I started at ButchersLab in the Meatpacking district – Copenhagen. My old friend and ski’ing- aficionado Peter Balle trained at CF Copenhagen and told me about Crossfit, which I initially thought sounded ridicules. But after he got hospitalised with sever DOMS (an extreme lactic acid build up – actually not that funny & quite serious – but he is back with full throttle) I thought, with my some what screwed up mind, that there might be something to it.

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

I think it was a Fight Gone Bad and I didn’t think much of it. I felt stupid playing around with medballs, barbells with no weights on and kettlebells. Which I very vividly remember gave me a sense of a being a retarded tool, made by ignorant and un in lighted people – that has changed…

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

As most CF NOOB’s I struggled with pull ups and getting below parallel in squats. Tower/cable pulls in Globo Gyms and pull ups are to completely different things and with thighs & calf’s like mine, squatting was never really an option, I already had trouble enough back then, finding pants that would fit me.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

“Murph” and it more or less still is. First time I did it, Coach Dehn convinced me to do it with a weight vest and I remember I got sub 30 min. which was a huge personal success for me, especially when benchmarked my result up against the times from HQ. The day that can’t do Murph sub. 30 min. I gonna take up knitting instead… maybe…

I loved benching, with emphasis on love. I had a 2 reps @ 155 kg. PR back then, which has decreased dramatically since I started CF, but there is nothing like the sweet sensation of benching – just ask Arnold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sHvWYAzIRo

But Squats & Power Cleans are definitely prospects to my favourite lift.

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

The finale at DCO 2010 against Blair Morrison, Frederik Ægidius, Rasmus Marqvard, Anders AA Knudsen & Lasse Breinstein, which I won by 2 burpee’s. The Church Of Pain was packed way beyond capacity and the intensity & atmosphere was amazing. I was placed in the far end, surrounded by The ButchersLab family. Their cheering was a wicked booster – screw No Xplode, all you need is a bunch of CF hipsters shouting your name… and they did;)

Also the CF qualifier in Stockholm 2010, where I finished #3 was a wicked experience, the camaraderie that this competition gave me is precious to me. Hollis Maloy gave me a CF Santa Cruz t-shirt for good sportsmanship or for just be awesome… it’s still my favourite training t-shirt to this date.

It was also a huge weight lifted of my chest finishing #1 with AA at the CTC Christmas challenge 2011, being #2 or #3 quite a few times I various competitions, I knew that this challenge was going to be ours.

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

A) Train smarter, not harder! Rest is crucial; I’ve learned that the hard way. I got sick the last week before all my competitions in 2010. And a bad stomach is not being sick, that’s just bad luck.

B) Trust your box, that their programming works, do your squats & do them often + when you pas a max of 1000 pull ups, you pas the elastic band on to one that needs it more then you.

C) I still believe and live by my final remarks from my last interview with FAF blog – Seriously. Enjoy your search

Do you remember when you started CF? Christoffer Gammelgaard, Aarhus CrossFit, Denmark

Name: Christoffer Gammelgaard

Gym / webpage: Aarhus Crossfit

Competitions? Placement: Fit As Fuck 2010, not ranked

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

Heard someone in school talking about a new fitness concept (Crossfit), they all said it was the toughest there was. Since I always have had a competitive mind (11 years of Waterpolo), I headed down to test it out in OBBC Crossfit.

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

Can’t remember the exact WOD, but I think it was:

50 reps push press

200 meter

50 rep kettlebell swings (Russian style)

200 meter

50 rep sledgehammer

200 meter

After completion I was hooked, the competition between the athletes and the feeling of raw fitness.

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

I started in late 2009 if I remember correctly, not very serious for the first 1.5 years .I found all leg excersices and Olympic lifts IMPOSSIBLE! On my first squat day I failed with 60kg on my back (Todays PR 140kg), and first time I tried snatch I only made it to gripping the bar before I thought “This lift is impossible, I will hurt myself” and failed to try it for over a year.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

From the start I loved pull ups, I found it natural and easy to kip my way up to 32 pull ups in a short time. Now I have found a new love for squat and always look forward to my 2 squat days every week.

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

Hard to put a finger on, but every time you set a new PR or reach one of you moving goals, I always get a personal satisfaction of achievement that is hard to find anywhere else.

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

I wished i started focusing on strength a lot sooner, I am currently following Crossfit Football to the letter and the gains are amazing (30 kg on squat in 2.5 months). A lot of athletes come in with great endurance, but lack strength in the 4 big lifts (deadlift, squat, bench press, press). Instead of just going to the box WOD 5 times a week, they should try to figure out their strength and weaknesses and work on the latter. Too many people work in their comfort zone. But in the end it always comes down to the amount of time and commitment you want to put into Crossfit.

Do you remember when you started CF? Nicholas Holst, Butcher’s Garage, DK

Nicholas Holst

Gym / webpage: Butchers Garage, butchersgarage.dk 

Competitions:

European regionals: 2nd place for affiliates

Reebok 2011 CFGames: 39th for affiliates

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

I started exactly 3 years ago in Butcher’s Lab. I heard about from a good friend who had got some nice results from CF. So I wanted to check it out, and never left the gym again, at least mentally

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

I don’t remember my first WOD, probably a Fight Gone Bad, and it must have destroyed me since I fell in love straight away. One is always devastated after their first WOD!

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

Yes, I remembered that Butcher’s Lab felt like a club house, and not like a gym, because every body were social. I never felt any body looking down at me, or any body thinking that I didn’t belong.

Everything was difficult to begin with, but KB swings, Push Ups and exercises like these could be mastered quite fast. But HSPU, MU and Snatch were definitely very difficult in the beginning.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

I remember that I liked Barbara a lot, she really made my chest and arms feel PUMPED –  I really liked to clean right away! Now I don’t like any WOD’s anymore, they hurt to damn much, hehe. No, if I had to choose one it would probably be a Nancy or Elizabeth. I LOVE OHS now.

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

Finishing 2nd at the EU regionals and qualifying for GAMES without a doubt.

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

I really recommend every body to put their social face on when you hit the box, and dont be afraid to ask the guys who look like bad ass’es for good advice. People are very friendly in the CF community all over the world, so the best way to be happy about working out, is by knowing some of the people in the box. It makes the foundation for the motivation.

Do you remember when you started CF? Anders Galaly, DK

Anders Galaly

Gym / webpage: Will be released in February 2012

Competitions:

• European Regionals 2011: 4th
• Fit as Fuck 2011: 3rd
• DCO 2011: 2nd

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it?

A friend introduced me to CrossFit in the spring of 2010, and I was blown away. A girl (a strong one!) outsquatted me in overhead squat.

2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

An AMRAP with box jumps, burpees and SDHP. It was the most taxing workout I’ve tried – at that time

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

In the beginning I struggled with HSPU – I still do actually…..

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

Deadlift, then squat and now, of course, snatch!

Actually I’ve never had a favorite WOD, but tabata-row I do quite often – in a way, you could call that a favorite WOD.

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

Regionals 2011, AWESOME.

 6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

Start easy, it’s not important to RX, but to do things right, with proper form! Changing technique later is difficult and even now, I still struggle with bad technique in some movements.

Do you remember when you started CF? Giorgos Savvidis, Athens, Greece

1. When and where did you start CrossFit, and how did you hear about it ?

Back in 2009 I was searching how to get my condition in a higher level so as to be a better fireman. Lots of people from the US were talking about crossfit and I came up to crossfit.com My dear friend Alena that lives in Australia talked me into it and also suggested me where to go in Athens

 2. What was your first WOD, how did it go, and how did you feel afterwards?

First WOD was at home, all alone and it was a bitch. Her name Cindy. Went really strong on it! Strict pull ups and fast push ups… needless to say after 5 minutes I was wiped out I got really disappointed about it. After I joined the local gym (at that time it was personal training session) I was thinking “why am I such a masochist, paying to make me suffer like this?”

3. Do you remember anything about when you started? Which exercises did you find difficult and was there anything you we’re unable to perform RX’ed?

I had an athletic background (tennis – track & field) so there were no exercises actually that were difficult to perform. In the beginning I had problems with weighted WODs due to my rather low body weight.

4. What was your favorite WOD and lift when you started – and what is it now?

My favorite WOD was a “Bull” variation (150KB Swings @24kg, 2 bar muscle ups whenever I let go the kettlebell. Favorite lift was “squat clean”.

Favorite WOD now is 3rnds: 5 clean & press @60kg and 50 double unders. Favorite lift stll is “squat clean”

5. What has been your best CrossFit experience(s)?

The best experience by far I have from CrossFit is how I have become stronger bodily but also mentally. And also the extraordinary people that I have met there and some of them I consider the closest family I have in the city I live in.

6. Do you have any good advice for people who have just started CrossFit? Anything you wish that you had known/had done differently etc.?

I believe that the best advice that I can give to anyone starting CrossFit is “don’t fly and die!!!! Avoiding fatigue and injuries is the quickest way for better results. And that the best judge is in each one’s mind. So don’t cheat and count each rep!!!!”

WHAT IF FITNESS WAS FUN?!?

What if there was a funnier and better way to work out and reach your goals?