Twenty-one power snatch pull-ups, 15 overhead squats, 20 burpee box jumps, walking lunge with barbell, nine squat snatch pull-ups, 100 double unders, 15 deadlifts...
If just reading that workout makes you tired, it’s only some of what Cochranite Helen Schott actually had to do to win her first CrossFit competition last weekend in Calgary.
“I had to bring together everything I’ve been training for,” said a proud Schott this week.
Schott beat out 33 other women in her division from across Alberta to earn top spot at the annual Battle in the Barracks event, hosted by the Currie CrossFit club. After five grueling workouts in a row over two days, she was awarded with a belt, fitness equipment and $1,000 worth of various prizes.
“It was a head-to-head competition in the final,” Schott recalled, adding about 250 cheering fans helped her to push herself to her limit and win. “It was pretty bananas.”
Schott is a police officer and a relatively new athlete to the challenging sport, having only become a member of the CrossFit Cochrane “box” – crossfit-speak for gym – in April.
“I was lifting weights before and doing lots of running,” said the fit 31-year-old. “I was looking for something new and found CrossFit.”
She fell in love with the challenge and the physicality, and now trains five to six days a week for as much as three hours at a time. When the opportunity to participate in the Battle tournament came up, Schott wasn’t sure if she was ready – but coach Joe Cowie encouraged her to sign up.
“She’s just a really, really strong athlete and a definite contender,” he said.
After doing so well in her first contest, Schott is looking ahead to February’s 2017 CrossFit Games Open – a worldwide challenge in which more than 320,000 people compete over a five-week period. The goal is to make it to the ultra-competitive CrossFit Games, the pinnacle of the sport.
“It’s something that’s definitely in sight for me,” Schott said, adding she’s thankful she has the CrossFit Cochrane community to help her reach her goals.
“I love the family atmosphere that we have. Everyone knows each other … it’s a nice little home.”
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