Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central

Peter Egyed – Athlete Journal 3/20/12

(Read Peter’s Bio here – he is a veteran of FOUR CrossFit Games!)

Dedication

Regardless of our finishes in any single workout, event, or competition, we have to be dedicated to our cause. For me I have found a new life centered on my own health while helping others find their own. A poor showing of burpees, a weekend competition, or even the CrossFit Games takes nothing away from that. Our performances at these events do not define us, but they do represent our dedication to some extent.

Approaching the final week of the CrossFit Games Open we are seeing those who are most dedicated rise to the top and we are getting a pretty good idea of our regional competitors. Participating against sixty thousand people has been an eye-opening and humbling experience throughout the Open. To think it all started six years ago in Aromas with only sixty people is amazing, and I am excited for the next few months and what the future holds.

Personally workout 12.4 played to my strengths. After a few poor showings of muscle ups in past events, I have been dedicated to being more efficient with the rings. Going into it I had a plan of completing the wall balls in sets of 30 and, unlike the burpees from 12.1, I stuck to my plan. The wall balls were smooth, taking just over five minutes and then a minute or so for the double-unders. I got through the first twenty muscle ups fairly quickly, but I had to break the last ten into singles, leaving me only 30 seconds or so to start my second round. Needless to say my work in the past months paid off and I was content with my finish.

So in these final weeks we must continue to push our bodies and minds, but also listen to them carefully. One of the most important aspects of growing as a CrossFitter is the relationship you build with yourself. Never before have I been so in touch with my health and well-being. With that said, we need to be ready for up to three days of intense testing which will be Regionals and the Games. Our meals need to be planned out each day and we have to be getting enough sleep. Train smart, rest well, and let’s show the world how dedicated we are!

The post Athlete Journal: Peter Egyed, Entry 5 – 3/20/12 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central

Peter Egyed – Athlete Journal 3/13/12

(Read Peter’s Bio here – he is a veteran of FOUR CrossFit Games!)

Well, another week has passed and we are one week closer to regional qualifiers and the Home Depot Center. We are starting to see more consistent performances rise to the top of the leader boards, and these will be the names we hear and read about through this season. With that in mind, that this sport is seasonal, we need to plan our time through the year so we can still live our lives, while being the best athlete possible. Personally, my best performance needs to be at regionals and my training hours reflect that.

Managing life, business, and a professional sport is no small task and I feel much respect is due to all the top ranking athletes who in between training sessions run a business, have a family, and support their community. Sometimes, for the long-term CrossFitter, success can mean simply maintaining in a few areas, while growing in others. For a successful affiliate owner to maintain a top competitive edge while also starting a family proves these guys and gals are masters of time management, and there are a few of them in the Southwest Region alone.

I felt fortunate last year and through most of it I allotted much of my time to the business side of things and, just like snatching four times a week, it’s paid off. Roughly a year after opening Fury, I was told that great businesses have many moving parts and no single person runs them all. Since then I have surrounded myself with people possessing skills and abilities greater than mine in a variety of areas. Now, as more of my time is dedicated to training and recovery, I have strong and capable individuals with whom to share this load. Never before have I slept so well.

Still I may have a few too many irons in the fire, but honestly who does not? What’s important is I feel capable and motivated for training and that we are right on track. Finally, in this last year or so we have picked up and helped develop phenomenal athletes who day in and day out push me, beat me, and keep me on my toes. Finishing week three I am in 37th place in the region, while the 4th place spot for men and the 11th place spot for women are held by coaches of Fury and my training partners. For that I am more than grateful – I am proud.

The post Athlete Journal: Peter Egyed, Entry 4 – 3/13/12 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central

Peter Egyed – Athlete Journal 3/6/12

(Read Peter’s Bio here – he is a veteran of FOUR CrossFit Games!)

Attitude:

Your attitude makes all the difference in life and this sport of CrossFit. Looking back at week two of the Open and waiting for the third, let’s check our attitude. Remember, just like our individual weaknesses and strengths, how one person is motivated to attack a workout is not how another will attack that same workout and the results will prove that. What is important is that we are training hard and smart, enjoying what we do and keeping this a sustainable endeavor.

The snatch has always been a weakness of mine, so 12.2 raised some emotions. Fortunately, I have been aware of where my lifts have ranked for some time. At the 2009 Games, after six events, I pulled 185 pounds. The following year at the USAW Open in Colorado, I pulled 201 pounds. Today, I am a kilo short of 220 but aiming much higher. This has been a modest gain which I am proud of but it’s still leagues below fellow Games competitors. After Regionals in 2011 and a little time spent healing, I dedicated myself to improving my Olympic lifts. Over the years, I have been able to spend a few days with great coaches such as Mike Burgener and Matt Foreman. Now, I feel like I have the tools and direction for improvement. Subsequently, workout 12.2 gave me the chance to see how I am progressing.

Snatching 210 pounds during a weightlifting session would provide great working loads. However, fatigue and snatching 90 reps under ten minutes produced some doubts in my mind. With that said I was still excited and optimistic about scoring well under the time cap. We always need to stay positive even when our poorer events come up, because it gives us a chance to measure progress. While I didn’t place very high in the world, region or even the event I attended, I have made progress and any progress is always good.

Heading into week three and Regionals, we need to keep our attitude positive. We are training to better ourselves first and foremost. If we win or place high in the process that’s an added bonus. Keep your body sharp, yet healthy and rested. Think about everything in your life that’s changing, make sure families and businesses are growing. Fellow affiliates, think about how many other lives you are affecting and helping, which for me often outweighs any personal achievements. So lets keep training to better ourselves, but we’ll definitely try to win while we are at it.

The post Athlete Journal: Peter Egyed, Entry 3 – 3/6/12 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central

Peter Egyed – Athlete Journal 2/28/12

(Read Peter’s Bio here – he is a veteran of FOUR CrossFit Games!)

One week into the open and its safe to say the 2012 CrossFit Games season has started. More importantly how these next dozen or so weeks play out will be extremely interesting.

With the first event, CrossFit proved this sport is for everyone and I believe when its all said and done, they will find the fittest. The most important idea for competitors, new and old, is to improve on weaknesses and learn from mistakes.

Entering the Open this year, I partnered up with some of the local affiliates to create an Arizona Open. Basically, a different gym will host the open workout each week.

I felt it was a great way to build some camaraderie amongst gyms and allow the competitors a greater competitive atmosphere. So the first workout was hosted by CrossFit Scottsdale on this past Friday night.

While knowing burpees are not a real weakness of mine, I am definitely not the best. I figured an almost tabata like interval for the first 3-4 minutes would allow an athlete to pace, not hit a wall too early and finish as strong as possible.

My plan was to complete sets of ten with a few breaths as needed between sets. Unfortunately, when the music was turned up and the clock started, I let the moment get the best of me and pushed a little too hard. Hats off to the guy who knows when to rest.

Now looking ahead to the next four weeks of the Open and preparing for Regionals, we might change things up a bit. Last year, my team and I trained hard through the Open and right up to a few weeks before Regionals.

This year we may taper off each week because honestly, heavy lifting or intense training on a Wednesday or Thursday could cause a 100pt drop in a single event this year.

We are still working hard, but truth be told, any gains made will be small and the most change will come from your weakest areas which you can hit with more precision than intensity.

Balancing this sport of ours, along with life, work, and play holds a lot of importance to our longevity in it. Competitiveness is good for it creates desire and motivation, however too much can turn things sour.

Keep everything true to why you started CrossFit in the first place. Even though there is fame and fortune on the line, the cream of the crop always rises to the top.

Take a rest day and take on 12.2 fresh. See you next week.

The post Athlete Journal: Peter Egyed, Entry 2 – 2/28/12 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I am proud to introduce our brand new feature – The Athlete Journals. To start off we are featuring CrossFit athletes as they train and compete throughout the CrossFit Games season. Look for journals weekly from these amazing athletes as they share their training, nutrition, recovery, and mental preparation for these intense workouts and competitions. The CrossFit Games Open begins this week!

Journals will be posted at 3pm Pacific:

Mondays – Ingrid Kantola of CrossFit Central

Tuesdays – Peter Egyed of CrossFit Fury

Wednesdays – Michael Winchester of CrossFit Central

Peter Egyed – Athlete Journal 2/21/12

(Read Peter’s Bio here – he is a veteran of FOUR CrossFit Games!)

Year Six? – An Intro to My Games History

A lot has changed since that dusty weekend in Aromas, CA nearly six years ago, most of which has been with myself. At the time I was in college, studying physics with no idea what the future held. In 2006, I ran my first marathon and was disappointed with my level of fitness so I went to my Physiology professor for help. I asked him if he could suggest a broad fitness program and he immediately suggested CrossFit. Now, six years later and training for title of fittest in the world while running a thriving business, I am a new person.

In 2008, I decided to take CrossFit on full-time and train to be a top level athlete. I trained in the corner of a commercial gym, practicing pull ups and muscle ups on a squat rack. My Olympic lifting routine was centered around a pair of 25-pound bumper plates and I was repeatedly told not to let the bar drop. After my 23rd finish at the 2008 Games and the brutal 30 squat clean and jerk workout, I knew something had to change.

So in 2009 three friends and I opened CrossFit Fury with intentions of creating a training facility that would consistently produce Games level athletes and hopefully cover expenses at the same time. Over the past three years, we have far exceeded our originally goals and have developed programs to support our 300 plus membership base, doubled our facility size, and have kept individuals and a team representing Fury at the Games the past five years.

Each year my focus has been to refine our training and never feel comfortable with mediocrity. If we have a weakness, we should hone in on it and fine-tune it until we have mastered it. Focusing on our weaknesses has been the backbone of our programming and now, more than ever, anything is fair game at the Home Depot Center. Whatever you fear most is what should be the center of your training. Remember Coach Greg Glassman’s second model of fitness – The Hopper Model: what you would least like to see come up is what you should train the most. Something I may have lost track of training for the 2011 Games.

After my fifth place finish at the 2011 Southwest Regionals, I had a choice to make: continue on with my team who earned a ticket to the Games or sit back and watch from the stands. After much thought I decided to take the latter and let six new hardworking individuals have the experience of being on the big screen. It was the right choice.

Now, six months until the Games and with my body and mind healed, my training has resumed full force. This year I have surrounded myself with new top competitors to keep me on my toes and a physical therapist to keep me moving right. Refinement and mastering my weaknesses are my focus more than ever, so I am zoning in on my gymnastics skills and Olympic lifting specifically. Entering the 2012 Games season, in one of the most stacked regions in the world, there is no room for error and absolutely no room for weakness.

I look forward to the next six months and I promise, one way or another, Fury will be at the 2012 Games.

The post Athlete Journal: Peter Egyed, Entry 1 – 2/21/12 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.