Competing at 60

[Terry A Carey]

Hi there folks!
After seeing the CrossFit games I was amazed at how fit and strong the master women were! It has inspired me to try and make it to the games! I would love to hear from those that are in this age bracket and how you trained.

A little about me..I am a 56 year old female and I have been Cf'ing for 3 years on and off.I come from a competetive bodybuiding circuit so I am not new to the diet.I would like to get to the games for my 60th! I don't have alot of benchmarks to go by but I am striving to get stronger and faster.I believe that many of the competitors do some sort of cycle and then peak for the games.My local box has the so called competition workouts but without alot more coaching these are beyond me.They seem to target the young bucks for these workouts.So where do I start? I know I need to approach the coaches at my box but I like knowing what I am getting into first! Thanks for any input you can give me!


Terry

[Skip Chase]

Hi Terry-yes, you need a good coach to guide you. Are you saying there are no coaches available to train you?
I am 60 and I also want to earn a spot at the games after I rehab from a knee replacement (3 mos ago) and a shoulder replacement (Nov 20). I doubt I will be ready for the 2013 open, but I will see where I am in February.
If I'm not prepared to compete in the open in Feb, I will plan for 2014.
I am currently doing the main site WOD's with scaling as necessary.
Are there any other affiliates close to you? Find a coach who wants to train you. I wish I lived closer to you. I would train you.

[Terry A Carey]

Thanks for your response Chase and happy re-hab! I have plenty of affiliates around me but I am pretty comfortable at the one I am at.Our classes at our box are getting really large so individual coaching is not really there.I did kind of express my desire to compete but I think it was taken in jest! I am not sure maybe it is just me!

My plan right now is to start to compete in some garage games however they really don't take into account my age.Some of the competitions have a masters division but it is classified for 40 and over.I could probably hang with some of them but still 20 years is alot!

I will start to map out a plan for myself and see how it goes.I know my weaknesses.I am currently working on stringing together more that 7 kipping pullups and double unders. Hope to hear from you again and good luck with the knee and shoulder!

Terry

[Steve Loeding]

First, awesome goals

second, go to the Games page on the website, check out the masters division and click on the appropriate age group / sex and then click on individual athletes - many give numbers for lifts, workouts like Fran, etc - then you can compare yourself to them.

Third - as a body builder, I imagine you're strong already - however, learn to snatch and clean / jerk and get very good at them. They are the most athletic movements you'll use with a bar and they seem to appear in workouts

Fourth - don't worry about muscle ups, handstand push ups, etc - as masters don't use them in the workouts (at least not that age group) - check out the masters wods at the games and see what kind of exercises are used

Fifth - get good at pull ups, double unders, etc - things that require strength or skill, as these will surely slow you down if you are not good at them

Sixth - use the off season to get strong and work on goats, and maintain conditioning - then 2-3 months prior to the opening, start working on conditioning - it has been found that conditioning comes around quicker than strength gains.

Seven - practice skills before and / or after class and have a coach help you out - or pay for a weekly personal training session to work on things you need help with.

Hope this helped a little bit - best of luck and hope you make it !!!

[Terry A Carey]

Originally Posted by Steve Loeding

First, awesome goals

second, go to the Games page on the website, check out the masters division and click on the appropriate age group / sex and then click on individual athletes - many give numbers for lifts, workouts like Fran, etc - then you can compare yourself to them.

Third - as a body builder, I imagine you're strong already - however, learn to snatch and clean / jerk and get very good at them. They are the most athletic movements you'll use with a bar and they seem to appear in workouts

Fourth - don't worry about muscle ups, handstand push ups, etc - as masters don't use them in the workouts (at least not that age group) - check out the masters wods at the games and see what kind of exercises are used

Fifth - get good at pull ups, double unders, etc - things that require strength or skill, as these will surely slow you down if you are not good at them

Sixth - use the off season to get strong and work on goats, and maintain conditioning - then 2-3 months prior to the opening, start working on conditioning - it has been found that conditioning comes around quicker than strength gains.

Seven - practice skills before and / or after class and have a coach help you out - or pay for a weekly personal training session to work on things you need help with.

Hope this helped a little bit - best of luck and hope you make it !!!

Hi Steve!
Thankyou so much for responding!

What got me inspired was watching the master comps! So I did look up the workouts and I also looked into each individual that was in the competition.Most of them didn't have alot on their profiles.

I am strong but I know that I can get much better.I haven't lifted real heavy for some years now.I want to make sure I do not injure myself. It is the technical lifts that scare me.That is my true weakness never having done them before.

So I will take it a step at a time...I have 4 years to train and I am thinking of doing smaller comps to see where I fall.

Thanks again!

Terry

[Michael Gray]

Originally Posted by Terry A Carey

After seeing the CrossFit games I was amazed at how fit and strong the master women were!

Another option I enjoy is the Senior Games (Senior Olympics) at:

http://nsga.com/

The State games are tomorrow here in Idaho. They include about every sport us Geezers might enjoy doing. The competition is fairly intense too.

Enjoy, MTG

[Jesse Emers]

My advice is to get comfortable with all movements before you really worry about competing. Yes, you need a good coach. There are also countless tutorial videos on the crossfit website about any movement. Make sure you are following proper programming that takes into account proper recovery from workout to workout. It is easy to over-train if you have a competition mindset.

Originally Posted by Steve Loeding

Fourth - don't worry about muscle ups, handstand push ups, etc - as masters don't use them in the workouts (at least not that age group) - check out the masters wods at the games and see what kind of exercises are used

It is true that up until now, the masters comp has excluded these high skill movements. The games get harder and harder each year as the athletes get better, this includes the masters. I can absolutely guarantee you that you will see these movements in the masters competition within the next few years. Anyway, why would you ignore these things when they are so much fun? They take time to learn, but they will be beneficial to your overall performance and confidence no matter what you are actually doing.

[Terry A Carey]

Originally Posted by Jesse Emers

My advice is to get comfortable with all movements before you really worry about competing. Yes, you need a good coach. There are also countless tutorial videos on the crossfit website about any movement. Make sure you are following proper programming that takes into account proper recovery from workout to workout. It is easy to over-train if you have a competition mindset.



It is true that up until now, the masters comp has excluded these high skill movements. The games get harder and harder each year as the athletes get better, this includes the masters. I can absolutely guarantee you that you will see these movements in the masters competition within the next few years. Anyway, why would you ignore these things when they are so much fun? They take time to learn, but they will be beneficial to your overall performance and confidence no matter what you are actually doing.

Thanks for the response!

I understand that I need to know all the movements..I know I need to work on the Oly lifts in particular.I will also work on the muscle up I just need some coachng on this one.Also I do watch alot of the videos on the web page and thye have been helpful.I am doing a garage game this weekend so we shall see how it goes! They have posted the WOD's so there isn't anything to scary on it.http://vermonsterchallenge.com/
Not sure where to put myself either!

Thanks,
Terry