“From The Hottest Fires, The Hardest Steel”
There are few of us who knows what it means to see real battle. Most of us will never spend a year thousands of miles away from our family being fired upon. We will never see our friends sent home in a box, draped in a flag. We’ll never hold our breath as mortar rounds whistle past our tents. Awful though they may be, these situations allows for the true strength of our character to be revealed. The intensity and sheer weight of the moment allow for greatness to surface. These are the moments that give birth to heroes.
A Defining Moment
On a desolate mountainside, in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan in 2005, Lt. Michael Murphy, and his team of US Navy Seals, found themselves in throes of one of these battles. Their position given had been given away and they were now taking fire from a much larger group of Taliban fighters. Pinned down, and severely outnumbered, it became obvious that support was needed. With only one possible means of communications, Lt. Murphy made the kind of decision defines a hero.
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Joining Elite Company
Among the ranks of professional athletes there exists a hierarchy of greatness. There are those who’ve amassed absurd numbers over the course of long and fruitful careers only to have a championship evade them. There is another level of athlete who’s built a wonderful resume and been fortunate enough to win a title along the way. Yet another group sits atop the Mt. Olympus of athletics, the Greatest of the Great athletes. Their long, celebrated careers culminate in multiple championships. They are discussed by last name only. Jordan, Montana, Bird. This year, 2008 CrossFit Games Champion Jason Khalipa looks to add his name to that list and become the first repeat champion in the history of the CrossFit Games.
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Congratulations Are In Order
Hearts all over the world of CrossFit have recently suffered a painful blow. You could almost hear the collective sigh from thousands of single athletes when the news broke that dashed so many farfetched dreams. Let us not be bothered with the reality that most of us never had a shot anyway, it still stung a little. All joking aside, congratulations are in order. Dave Lipson and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet are engaged!
CrossFit’s Power Couple
Dave Lipson and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet have developed an impressive CrossFit Games resume over the years. Dave has posted a pair of CrossFit Games births since beginning CrossFit in 2008 while Camille has made a pair of trips herself, and posted a pair of Top 10 finishes. Camille enters the 2012 Canada East Regional having placed first overall in her CrossFit Games Open Region and 5th in the world. Dave enters the 2012 Southern California Regional having placed 5th in the SoCal Region. Add that to Dave deadlifting THREE TIMES his bodyweight and the diminutive Camille deadlifting nearly three times her own and you have a legitimate CrossFit Power Couple.
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This Is What Elite Fitness Looks Like
Matt Chan may be one of the most well rounded, versatile athletes on the planet. His list of hobbies and his athletic resume are enough to cause fatigue in people outside of CrossFit. The scope of activities is varied, seemingly all inclusive and physically demanding. Matt Chan has made a life of testing his physical limitations at work and at play. Reading his bio causes two immediate questions to come to mind:
Does Matt Chan ever rest?
Can he earn his FOURTH Top 10 Finish at the 2012 CrossFit Games?
A Winding Road
Some of us recognize our calling in life from a young age. Our goals, our hopes and our dreams lay out in front of us like an easy road. All we have to do is point ourselves in the right direction and put our foot on the gas pedal. For others, that easy road isn’t found quite as easily. We work and we play, doing the best that we can, all the while waiting for our internal GPS to point us towards the right exit. The road wasn’t always clear for Christmas Abbott, but in 2006 she found CrossFit and her gas pedal has been on the floor ever since.
In an interview with MyAthleticLife.Com, Christmas admitted to having been branded an underachiever for a portion of her youth. She left college before graduating and headed to Iraq as a civilization contractor. A lifetime smoker, when she decided to alter her fitness plan, the act of running a mile was a near-crippling endeavor. One year later, smoke free, Christmas discovered CrossFit.
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Defining An Athletes Legacy
In the life of an athlete there are moments that define our legacy. They collectively serve as our calling card as an athlete once our careers have ended. These moments become the first thought in a fans mind when our name is spoken. Whether a triumph or a stumble, once these moments take place, it’s near impossible for an athlete to separate themselves from them. In 2012, AJ Moore is trying to change the tenor of his CrossFit Games legacy.
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Jeremy Staat and Wesley Barrientos are Two Iraq Combat Veterans riding from the Wall of Valor in Bakersfield, CA to the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. to raise awareness for military veterans and childhood obesity.
After a challenging career in the NFL and two years in the Marine Corps, Jeremy Staat is embarking on the trip of his lifetime. Jeremy and Wesley Barrientos, an Army veteran of Iraq, are in the middle of a cross-country bike ride, which will last 100 days, cover more than 4,000 miles and span 13 states. As veterans, Barrientos and Staat would like to raise awareness about the adversity soldiers face when they return from war. Staat wants to use his background in the NFL and the knowledge he has gained by being a part of the Marine Corps to make a difference in our society.
A New World To Dominate
In the world of athletics there is no substitute for standing atop the podium and being handed the trophy. Having helped athletes from CrossFit to the NFL get stronger and recover faster, Progenex decided it was time to conquer another athletic avenue. We all know that Progenex can make athletes stronger and faster, but could it possibly bridge the gap between man and machine, and make a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series truck faster?
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- I was terribly out of shape
- That everything I knew about fitness was going to change
CrossFit is my life and my passion. CrossFit is what allows me to wake up every morning and do what I love doing. However I never would have found CrossFit without my first love…wrestling. I started wrestling as a kid because I was the only one in my school that could make the 91lb weight division, and it was definitely not love at first sight. I spent years getting my butt whooped by my bigger and stronger teammates. I never would have believed 20 years later I would still have that competition bug, this time in the form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu is what brought me to CrossFit. (See What MMA Fighter Micheal Guymon has to say about Progenex)
I was searching for a local place to train and stumbled upon “Bruno Tostes BJJ” and was hooked. One of my teammates asked if I ever heard of this CrossFit stuff. I did what I have now seen hundreds of athletes do…I headed home went to CrossFit.com and spent the next 24 hours glued to my computer screen. It did not take long to turn in my old bodybuilding routine for this fun and badass CrossFit routine. Less than 6 months later the doors of Albany CrossFit were opened and my life would never be the same. The doors of Albany CrossFit have been open for nearly five years and while I have continued to train Jiu-Jitsu, I had put competitions on the back-burner.
