Pursuing Health

Each year the CrossFit Games Demo Team is tasked with testing and demonstrating many of the workouts you see during the CrossFit Games competition. I had the opportunity to spend the week of the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games with this talented group of individuals: Matt Chan, Zach Forrest, Paul Tremblay, Jennifer Smith, Christy Adkins, and Talayna Fortunato. In this bonus episode, I sit down with the three men of the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games Demo Team. Matt Chan is a 6-time CrossFit Games athlete, competing every year from 2008-2013. He took the 2014 season off in order to rehab his back, and after suffering a serious injury while mountain biking he came back to finish in 9th at the 2015 South Regional. Matt lives in Boulder, CO with his wife, CrossFit Games commentator, Cherie Chan. They are both known in the CrossFit community for their roles on CrossFit Seminar Staff, application of the Zone diet, and using their fitness to learn and play new sports outdoors. Zach Forrest is a 3-time CrossFit Games athlete and former Navy SEAL. He lives in Los Vegas, NV where he owns CrossFit Max Effort with his wife Lindsey. This year, he placed 10th at the South Regional. Zach is also a member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff. Paul Tremblay competed with his team L’Usine CrossFit Ottawa at the CrossFit Games in 2012 and then went on to qualify as an individual in 2014. He made an impressive showing with Team Canada at the 2014 CrossFit Invitational, and he placed 7th this year at the East Regional. Paul is also a member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff.

Hillary Froning and Ashley Khalipa are the better halves of Rich Froning, 4-time Fittest Man on Earth, and Jason Khalipa, 2008 CrossFit Games Champion and multiple-time podium finisher. This year both men decided to forgo the individual competition in order to compete in the team division of the CrossFit Games. In this episode, I sit down with Hillary and Ashley, who both met their husbands before they started CrossFit, to hear about the impact CrossFit has had on them personally and their families. They discuss how their own relationships with exercise have evolved and what CrossFit means to them, the CrossFit Games aside.

Lindsey Smith was a three-sport Division 1 college athlete (Soccer, Track and Field, and Basketball) at DePaul University and then went on to compete in the CrossFit Games every year from 2009-2012. She narrowly missed qualifying for her fifth appearance in 2013, and took the 2014 season off to give birth to her second daughter. She now lives in Columbus, OH where she is the Athletic Director of the Wellington School and raises her two young girls along with her husband Web. She also continues to work on weekends as a long-time member of the Level 1 Seminar staff, and on top of all that, she is pursuing her MBA. Lindsey has always been an inspiration to me for her competitive drive, and the way she is able to juggle and prioritize so many different areas of her life. Here she talks about what drives her to take on so much, and how she manages to do it all! http://youtu.be/ZD61aqVRm38

Dr. Michael Canales was a gymnast at Ohio State University from 1996-1999 where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA championship team and several Big 10 Championship teams. He has since mentored and coached several Olympians and continues to provide mentorship to the Ohio State Men’s gymnastics program today. He is also a practicing foot and ankle surgeon at St. Vincenty Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. I first met Mike and his wife Dominique Moceanu, member of the 1996 women's Olympic gold-medal winning gymnastics team, over 2 years ago when I was searching for gymnastics coaches to supplement my CrossFit Games training. We have since worked together on a regular basis and developed a close friendship. After my Achilles tendon injury at the Central Regional, Mike was one of the first people I turned to. He performed my Achilles repair surgery the week after my injury and has supported me throughout my recovery process. In Part 1 we discussed gymnastics, CrossFit, mentorship, and Mike's interest in foot and ankle surgery. Here we sit down to talk about my Achilles injury and our experience in detail, as well as talking about Mike's pursuit of excellence and virtuosity. Video: http://youtu.be/9q6tUtnb6N8

Dr. Michael Canales was a gymnast at Ohio State University from 1996-1999 where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA championship team and several Big 10 Championship teams. He has since mentored and coached several Olympians and continues to provide mentorship to the Ohio State Men’s gymnastics program today. He is also a practicing foot and ankle surgeon at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. I first met Mike and his wife Dominique Moceanu, member of the 1996 women's Olympic gold-medal winning gymnastics team, over 2 years ago when I was searching for gymnastics coaches to supplement my CrossFit Games training. We have since worked together on a regular basis and developed a close friendship. After my Achilles tendon injury at the Central Regional, Mike was one of the first people I turned to. He performed my Achilles repair surgery the week after my injury and has supported me throughout my recovery process. Here we sit down to talk about his loves for gymnastics, mentorship, and foot and ankle surgery. We also talk about his impressions of CrossFit and how it has increased the attention and appreciation of gymnastics, as well as Achilles injuries in CrossFit. In Part 2 we will dive into my specific injury and our experience in detail, as well as talking about Mike's pursuit of excellence and virtuosity. Video: http://youtu.be/CwM0JViTVhM

Rich Froning is the reigning and four-time Fittest Man on Earth. He has competed at the CrossFit Games since 2010 as an individual, but this year he will appear at the Games with his team, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom. I've had the opportunity to get to know Rich a little bit over the past several years, as we both competed on Team USA at the CrossFit Invitational in 2012 and 2014 and on Rogue Team Black during the 2014 CrossFit Team Series. I've recently spent time in Cookeville, TN training with him and his team and getting to know his family (his daughter just turned 1!) and community at CrossFit Mayhem. I've always been impressed by how competing in CrossFit has helped Rich to discover his true priorities in life and how he has used his platform to positively impact so many people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7rv-HThwHo