In one of my recent and definitely not frequent enough trips to the gym, my trainer led me to the pull up bar and promptly ordered me to hoist myself up and show him “how many I could do” which I hoped was a joke. Lol good one m8.
It wasn’t and it was 3. Barely.
With the assistance of (multiple) stretchy bands, the strong and the helpful hands of the trainer, my questionable upper body strength managed to heave my sorry self up for 3 of the saddest pull-ups my poor trainer had probably ever seen.
So when I found myself on Fort Denison at 6am one crisp morning, in the middle of Sydney Harbour, surrounded by some of the world’s fittest CrossFit athletes as they rallied to break 11 Guinness World Records™, as part of team Reebok, I was out of my league to say the least.
CrossFit has only been around for around 16 years, after it was developed out of California in 2000. Now boasting some 13,000 gyms worldwide, the strength and conditioning program has garnered somewhat of a cult following.
But for those outside of the cult, CrossFit can be somewhat intimidating.
Team Reebok assemble to attempt 9 Guinness World Records
So directly after she smashed the record for ‘Most pistol squats performed by a female in 60 seconds’ I sat down with professional CrossFit athlete and total badass Kara Webb to get an insight into what it takes to get to this level.
Kara started her CrossFit journey at the tender age of 21 back in 2011 and never looked back
“I train once a day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for about 2 to 2 and a half hours,” she explains as I guiltily remember last night’s pizza sandwich dinner.
Webb continues to explain her impressive workout regimen in stark contrast to my efforts to sometime walk to work…as long as it’s not too rainy, too hot, not too windy, I don’t feel bloated, I didn’t have a late night the night before and definitely not if I just washed my hair…but all other times for sure.
“I do some complex muscle stimulation stuff. I train Friday and Saturday once a day and then a total rest day on Sunday.”
As a trainer as Brisbane’s CrossFit Roar gym, Webb has definitely adopted a particular lifestyle and with that comes a particular diet. A big believer in “thriving not surviving” the 27 year old explains she follows the Zone Diet to maintain hormonal balance, meal portions and macro nutrients balance.
Fellow CrossFit athlete Maddie Stuart with her Guinness World Record certificate
“I eat within a five hour window all the time, my meals have a particular calculation to ensure they’re always balanced between protein, carbohydrates and fat – fat is really important – making sure I have a little bit extra fat as an athlete and as a female as well to ensure all my hormones are able to be produced and work properly, keep me sharp cognitive function.”
But beginners, don’t be intimidated Kara stresses, “[CrossFit] can be a little bit misunderstood and sometimes you only see the competitive level of CrossFit like the CrossFit games, which is the high level stuff and if you think about it…if you wanted to join a football club you don’t expect to play with the Bronco’s”
Kara proudly shows off her Guinness World Record certificate
Her advice is to find a good gym, a trainer who knows what they’re doing and to keep it simple. Just enjoy the process.
“We have 10 year olds in our gym up to 70 years old…keep an open mind, no expectations, have some fun with good people.”
REEBOK LAUNCHES NEW NANO 7, THE RECORD HOLDER… FOR WORLD RECORDS
Athletes wearing the new Reebok CrossFit Nano 7, Reebok’s most versatile training shoe, breaks 44 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles in 24 hours in cities across the globe
RECORDS BROKEN IN SYDNEY
Pistols in a minute – Male: Ben Garard – 49
Pistols in a minute – Female: Kara Webb – 42
100 pound chin-ups in a minute: Marcus Bondi – 12
Lunges in a minute – Male: Ricky Garard – 70
Lunges in a minute – Female: Sammy Wood – 64
Tandem Push-ups – Male/Male: Ben & Ricky Garard – 28
Tandem Push-ups – Female/Female: Sammy & Kara – 21
Toes To Bar in a minute – Male: Ricky Garard – 46
Toes To Bar in a minute – Female: Maddie Sturt – 41
Source: Read Full Article
