This week we continue our highlight of masters athletes joined by CrossFit King of Prussia own, Dana Hazard and Gordy Jamieson. They both epitomize the spirit of relentless pursuit and unwavering commitment to fitness. Join us as they share their compelling journey towards CrossFit King of Prussia, seeking superior coaching and a community that fosters continuous growth.
This week we continue our highlight of masters athletes joined by CrossFit King of Prussia own, Dana Hazard and Gordy Jamieson. They both epitomize the spirit of relentless pursuit and unwavering commitment to fitness. Join us as they share their compelling journey towards CrossFit King of Prussia, seeking superior coaching and a community that fosters continuous growth.
What's up, guys? We're joined again by some awesome athletes that I am able to work out with on the regular and also be inspired by on a daily basis. We have Gordie Jamison, master's athlete in the 65 to 70 category for weightlifting, four time national champion, holds multiple records in this match and the clean and jerk. And also Dana Hazard, fresh off of her CrossFit season here with their highest placing ever in the CrossFit Open and also just coming from the Legends Championship out in Arizona. We dive into their play to never slow down, always improve and inspire others through their exercise journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so you know, my records are only in USAW.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's what I was wondering.
Speaker 2:If what USA Master's doing about their records, if they're just gonna transfer all the records over there or not. I don't even know if they've talked about that. So this would be the first meet, national master's meet with the newer? No, isn't it for the new organization? Is it the new national?
Speaker 3:But they're keeping the records on the records that we have are going with us.
Speaker 1:From USAW.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're going with us, oh they are?
Speaker 1:That's what I was wondering when I walked over to the conversation, like well, because I know you have records right, that's what the badges are for. Will those carry over to the new federation?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I assume.
Speaker 3:So that's good, those are gonna carry over, they might have their own. That's why they have to figure this out because they can't divide us because half the people, most of the people, are going on their own what up dogs?
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode of the Hungry Dog Barbell Podcast. So we're just talking about it. Data. You're fresh back from Legends, the Legends Championship. How are you feeling after that data?
Speaker 3:Actually pretty good. It was a lot. It was very group intensive so my forearms were pretty blown up so it was kind of late when I came in on Tuesday. I've been scaling this week just to move, but otherwise I'm fine. Like I mean, they didn't really. They made the workouts small enough that you weren't destroyed throughout the whole weekend, like I had energy on Sunday.
Speaker 1:How many workouts did you have over the weekend? I?
Speaker 3:had eight, eight to a day, that's a lot. Yeah, but some of the workouts were like four minutes, so you know you really can't destroy yourself in four minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know so. And then there was MaxLifts and just a variety. I felt like they did a really good job with programming. There was limited equipment. It was mostly dumbbells, barbells and body weight stuff and the rig. But I only touched the rig once. For the bar muscles there were rope climbs on the rig, but the rig itself I only touched once.
Speaker 1:Nice. How do you think her training was leading up to it? Do you think that she was like losing it, or do you think she was locked in for this?
Speaker 2:Oh, I think she was locked in. Locked in, I saw.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we get to spend a lot of time around it. I think I would agree that this is the most like consistent you were. She was very focused, you know every day it was.
Speaker 2:I think it was difficult for her to take days off to recover because I think she's anxious about, you know, getting better and better, having more durability, but without a doubt.
Speaker 1:you know Durable Dana, hell yeah.
Speaker 2:So yeah, but I think obviously it paid off.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because she had energy and she came home.
Speaker 1:That's funny. You know what I thought about. There's like in all these competitions, even at the local level, like it's all mostly pulling. You know even the open and quarter finals. It's like, well, I spent three days pulling. You know we need to put more pushing in the competition, so next year's brawl is just gonna be all push jerks. That's it.
Speaker 3:You know what they did. They kind of did some pushing Like the first day, had push presses with 40 pound dumbbells like single arms with the swim.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then we had thrusters on Sunday but and then handstand walks but like there's no real pushing with handstand walks, so I guess it was just like two times that we had the pushing, but the rest of it I think it was just honestly just grip intensive with the rope climbs the heavy jump rope the dumbbells you had to hold on for 240 feet of lunges. Right man, do devils press.
Speaker 1:That's so impactful to people, forget about that.
Speaker 3:Just to hold on, yeah and then after that you had to go do the rope climb workout afterwards.
Speaker 1:That's terrible yeah.
Speaker 3:It was rough. That's crazy.
Speaker 1:I mean, I like it when competitions can put in like a sled push, you know.
Speaker 3:I wish they had.
Speaker 1:Because of that ups like the whole the pushing value in the competition, he used it out a little bit more. So, dana, you were on here before. You kind of talked about how you got here, like you heard about Amy as a coach and you were trying to take it to the next level right, like building up all that. And Gordy, I think you have a similar story how did you get to KOP?
Speaker 2:I do. Yeah, I started at another gym and I got competitive in the CrossFit Open Once I turned 60, got to the top 30 in the world and then failed miserably in the last stage before you go to the games what was it at that point?
Speaker 1:That was like an online oh, age group qualifier. Right, they still had it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, age group qualifier and it was videoed and I did one of the. So we did the workout backwards and I had three coaches watching me filming timing and nobody stopped me and I didn't really realize I was doing it backwards. So after the video went in, they came back and said you're disqualified because you did the workout backwards Wow.
Speaker 1:And the time would have made it.
Speaker 2:Damn. That's when my wife said to me. She said look, if you're gonna continue doing this if you're training six days a week, then you're gonna find another gym, damn. So that led me here. You made it, found Amy, and it was the rest of history.
Speaker 1:How many years ago was that?
Speaker 2:That was 2015.
Speaker 1:Damn, it's a long time. So coming up on nine years right this year, man. So something I wanted to ask, and let's see if you just talk about the open right there, how do you feel about these online competitions?
Speaker 2:You know they work because technology has gotten a lot better. In the first days we had send videos in. Sometimes they wouldn't work, sometimes they wouldn't receive them. You had no acknowledgement of whether they got them or not. Sometimes they got cut off and the video capability to actually set it up and do it was not as good as it is today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not really.
Speaker 2:So I think the technology has really helped and CrossFit HQ seems to have it down on reviewing videos faster. That was the big hassle before.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you couldn't see it. That is good, they have fixed that. What about you, dana? How do you feel about the online things, like you've done a bunch of them now, from qualifiers to the open you?
Speaker 3:know. It's just a matter of make sure you're reading all the rules, because the one time I wasn't facing the right direction and I had to redo a workout.
Speaker 3:Simple things like that. You just have to be aware and where you are and make sure that they can see you go through every movement properly. It's helped. I have a crew here. We're really lucky. We have a lot of people who actually volunteer their time to help you out with these types of workouts. When you're trying to submit to make it to Masters Fitness Collective or Legends or quarter finals or this year, or even semi finals, you have people who will volunteer their time. They'll count for you, they'll help you set up.
Speaker 1:They'll make sure they read through the instructions after I've already read through them just to double check when Gordy was talking, I was thinking about you guys, because Getthana is really good at it. Right, she comes in with everything printed out. It's awesome, she's all laid out. So it's always like an easy experience the one time.
Speaker 3:I missed that Amy's not allowed to touch the monitor in the one workout and I had done the workout and she had touched the monitor the whole time.
Speaker 1:I was planning on redoing it anyway, so this time I'm like Amy don't touch the monitor. I have to push the button when they play, no small details like that.
Speaker 3:You have to just make sure that you're doing all the things and I don't mind, because I feel like if they actually follow through with saying, oh, that's an invalid video, if you're going to make the rule on the paper and you're making, everybody should be following it. If they leave the screen and you're not allowed to leave the screen it should be invalid and that should reflect when you see out there. So the question is, how many of these videos are really being reviewed when we get to the quarter final level?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that sucks. We just don't know, like on that note. So I know both of you guys. You guys play by the rules. That's just how you're bred. You know how do you feel when you see online people that aren't playing by the rules sneaking through or throwing tantrums when they're getting caught.
Speaker 2:Well, I know that happened a lot, I'm going to say, from 2016 to 2020, in my experience, when I was competing actively and they weren't following the rules. And then the next thing, you know, they're at the games and they get to the games and they have a movement like Ring Dips for 60 plus women that weren't in the open or quarters or semis, and they're there at the games and they can't do one Ring Dip. So something's wrong there. You know how they get through, but I think they've fixed all that.
Speaker 2:Now I think they're more consistent in how they enforce the rules. I think we found this out with the 60 plus group with David Hippenstiel, who's a three times game winner. When his video he went out of the video and there's a lot of other things going on in there.
Speaker 3:And he got called out and he validated it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then he didn't go. So you know, I think they've got it right now. I think they fixed that. And then back to the point regarding doing the videos here at our gym or whoever does it in their gym. The fact that we have a community that supports you, I think, is pretty amazing. I mean, when I was doing it, I would have like 10 or 15 athletes just come and watch and cheer me on.
Speaker 1:Right, which I think is unheard of.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, I was and it really helps obviously Right, and then I think that's a good thing yeah.
Speaker 3:I think the one thing that needs to happen going into this, is that if you're going to have an online qualifier and then you're planning on programming certain movements, make sure that they're in the qualifier, because if you go, if these people are going and they qualify over you and you can do the movements, then because they made it more cardio based and they didn't put the heavier weights in and they didn't put the higher skills in, and then they have you go to the next stage and those people can't do the handstand push-ups.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they can't do the handstand walks. I always think that's really glaring when you get to a competition and everybody's like I can't do it.
Speaker 3:And then I'm like well, this is a high level competition.
Speaker 1:You should be able to do this, so I think it's yeah.
Speaker 3:So I made Master's Fitness Collective the first year in the elite division and some of us couldn't you know I failed. A couple legless rope climbs whatever, I ripped my hands. But, like hey, I made two of them. I was happy with that.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Like you know, but I could do them, yeah.
Speaker 3:So they went in there this year and they program ring muscle-ups for the RX division, which is like the lower division, and they ended up modifying the workout because the people contacted them and said, oh, we can't do those. And I'm like, well, then you're at this. You signed up for the main group and you just fell into the RX division because you didn't make a leap, so you can't do ring muscle-ups. So they switched to bar muscle-ups and there were only three people who could do the bar muscle-ups in the group. So it's the other thing.
Speaker 3:So if you're going to do it, so the qualifier itself should have the movements you plan on putting in, or at least that level of movement put in For sure. So that when they go like handstand walks it's supposed to be 25 feet unbroken. They changed it to 5 feet or 10 feet because people couldn't yeah. Because people were complaining that they couldn't do handstand walks and then only three of us were able to do it, so it was confusing to me that they wouldn't. If you're going to have-.
Speaker 1:Hold to a standard. They wouldn't do that.
Speaker 3:I think if you made the qualifier what you planned on programming for the actual competition, then you would have gotten the right people. Right and I feel like that needs to start. That happened for legends, though I feel like they did a really good job this year. The right people got it Right, Because they made you had to do ring muscle-ups. You had to be able to do a high volume of handstand push-ups.
Speaker 3:You had to be able to do heavier barbells. Like you know, you have to be able to do all these skills and you know I squeezed in, but, like you know, if you're, but then when we went to the competition, I could do everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So it wasn't even like an issue but, like there weren't people who were failing.
Speaker 2:I'd rather be. It's just a matter of capacity. You had the skill. It's just a matter of capacity, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'd rather be in that situation to be able to get somewhere and do all the stuff you know squeeze, just squeeze through the qualifier. So, speaking about qualifiers, how do you guys feel about them? Doubling, or more than doubling? How many people are going to get through from the open to quarterfinals? Are they doing that for Masters too, or is that only going to be for the open division?
Speaker 2:I think. I think it's. I think it's 40 up to age 50, I think. Then they go 20 up to age 60. Then they go to 10. So the 25% from the open right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then from the open, from quarters to semis, it's 200 people go to semis.
Speaker 1:The top 200, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And then from semis they take whoever's going to the games.
Speaker 1:So they did add more people for the Masters category. How do you feel about that? Now they're going to be because, like last year just on the note before people will not be able to do stuff Like the 90% right People at our gym. They qualify for the open division. They'll get to quarterfinals and not be able to do some of the stuff. They'll struggle with the workouts. Now you're going to add 15% more people. If we just look at it from like a class standpoint, if we took our RX athletes and then we had everyone that was 15% below them. Try the RX of the workouts. You're going to add like eight minutes to the workout, probably.
Speaker 3:So I kind of look at like the first workout. The first part is the open. Is it to community workout?
Speaker 1:It is yeah.
Speaker 3:So that's all. It is so to me.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to.
Speaker 3:Really, it's a community 5K yeah it's a community workout, so I'm not worried about that. The quarterfinals is when they're going to basically start making that more like the open used to be, so then you really have to focus on. I don't think they're going to up the skills too much. Don't probably put a lift in there.
Speaker 1:They'll do what they normally do for the open Last year's quarterfinals with top 10% had a 185 pound clean and jerk for the women.
Speaker 3:Yeah for the.
Speaker 1:So do you think they would dumb it down now for the 15% that are going to be coming in with them? Probably, a little bit, probably a little bit.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, yeah, definitely. I think what you're going to see is what we got for the quarterfinals Last year is going to be what we get for the semi-finals.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's about money too. They can get more people participating. Yeah, because you've got to pay each quarterfinals. You've got to pay, because that means you've got to pay Right no-transcript it actually.
Speaker 3:I don't find any negativeness to it because it's out of our control anyway, right?
Speaker 1:So you know.
Speaker 3:I think that letting 25% make it to the quarterfinals and test themselves on another level, I think it's really great for the, for the overall Crossfit community because these people are like oh my god, I made quarterfinals and it's gonna be a huge deal, because when I first made quarterfinals I thought, oh my god, this is crazy.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited right, because I had never made it.
Speaker 3:So it's like it's a real accomplishment for people who are really, who actually really care about how far they get right so. I think it's you know positive.
Speaker 1:Glory, I have a question for you, right? So to qualify for Masters Nationals that senior Nationals for Masters, whichever one you're going to right there you have to hit a certain total at a qualifying event. Correct, correct? So now what if, for your age category, that total for next year, they just randomly dropped it by 15 to 20 kilos and that's gonna let in a whole bunch more people? Does it still feel as valid to go or do you just not care because you're gonna win either way?
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, I care, because there aren't that many participants anyway, once you get over to an elite group 55, 60 years old. You know, the number of people that participate shrinks anyway right, and I think I don't think they'll lower the standard. I think they're gonna hang in there around 130 kilo, which you know a lot of guys can do, but still not that many right.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's only, you know, 6 to 8 in my age and weight class at these national events. Wow, where other classes have you know 50, 60 people, damn so you were a summer data.
Speaker 1:What were you? What sports did you play, growing up already?
Speaker 2:So Football, basketball and golf what position?
Speaker 1:play football? Yeah, that's all. That's a sport, man. Hell yeah, I know, but I love it. You see the guys on the tour today.
Speaker 2:They're all in the gym everyday.
Speaker 3:I know right, they're in squatting and lifting. It's awesome. No, you're a phenomenal golfer. That's why I left, yeah you know they're.
Speaker 2:They're dialing back a golf ball because the guys hit a 2-4, because they're all stronger.
Speaker 1:Crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that. So yeah so defensive back and football.
Speaker 1:Hell yeah, defensive man, I love that.
Speaker 2:But in high school it was often have back a defensive back yeah no one wants to play offense. It's stupid Well we had to play. If you were good, you played two ways.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, in high school yeah, so you went on a college play football. Yeah, fuck no hell yeah, and then that's where you met Jim it yeah, exactly. How long you been golfing, gordy, like Dana says over there.
Speaker 2:You know, my dad bought us a set of clubs back when I was like 10, but I wasn't any good until I was 42.
Speaker 1:Wow. Yeah, played a little bit grown up and then like as you got stronger, you know, got good.
Speaker 2:Um, well, actually I was doing too many other sports. You know I was. I got really heavy into racquetball. That was huge in the 80s.
Speaker 1:You know, five days a week. These are short scores. Gordy, you ever have a mustache.
Speaker 2:I tried to grow. I'm gonna bow down my shoulders. You know all through college.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love that.
Speaker 2:But yeah. So I mean, I used to play basketball five times a week and racquetball five times a week. A little bit of tennis, golf and Went to get under 40. Stop and go. Sports become difficult. Yeah well, now you're out for two weeks instead of two days, so I got serious about golf and not good took off from there.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Yeah, did you lift in the weight room like the whole time throughout college, in high school?
Speaker 2:When's the first little bit in high school. In college you had to. Yeah, you have a choice, but after that not really. No, I mean, I didn't know how to snatch or clean a jerk until I was 58-59 until you start getting across his stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Oh, did you like being in the weight room in college?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it was camaraderie. Yeah, but you know most of the guys are stronger. You know David Lichten, since they were 10 years old. That's funny. Yeah, and there's a lot of, there's a lot of drugs going on in college sports back in those days?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, still still today. You know that never stops, dana, did you like exercise and what you were in high school? College Stuff like that, where you were young sports woman?
Speaker 3:I played soccer, field, hockey, swim and but did you hit the weight room? Oh yeah, the best part was like we had Jim and then they were like, oh, you can pick an elective and and they were like there was an option to have Jim five days a week and I was like that's my Like Freeweights. It was like awesome, we just like max pull-ups. It was like you know, there's only two girls in there.
Speaker 1:Just getting after it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's. I mean, I have just always Been into sports.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I'll, I'll watch ours of sports. I'll watch tennis, I'll watch golf. Yeah same, I watched football, for sure.
Speaker 1:How'd you get in a golf?
Speaker 3:Um, I so my mom. Actually she's a phenomenal golfer. You know, when you get older you have limits on what you can physically do. So she used to be a big time softball player and then she went into golf and then we actually took lessons together and then I didn't really have the time, you know, being a mom I didn't really have the time to commit, to go and train and do it.
Speaker 1:So she was Three, four hours a day. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I started golfing for a long time and then, once I actually got to the point where I could go golfing, I started golfing with her and then I joined a golf team. I don't even understand what happened. And then now I'm, like, I think, nine years in and I'm a pretty decent golfer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. She said I don't even know what happened. I was like I don't know where that story is going, but all right.
Speaker 2:And what's this part about? You know your mom is getting older and older people get limited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's that, dana? You feel limited out here, dana Well she has some vasema.
Speaker 3:so she's limited, I know, but you said, generally older people are limited.
Speaker 2:No, yes, I can do that kind of hurts my feelings a little bit.
Speaker 3:Not you. You're an exception to the rule, you know, that's.
Speaker 2:I can't even say that, I'm just saying that you know you're not going to go out there and play contact sports or? Do squat snatches.
Speaker 3:My mom, so my mom yeah, right, so my mom actually just wish she was a big time softball player.
Speaker 1:And let me hear this all man.
Speaker 3:She ran first base, tripped like on the bag, flew in the air.
Speaker 1:Wait, is her younger days or her older days?
Speaker 3:She was like in her 40s, dislocated her shoulder, had her in herself in a sling. It's like you know, she's not like a person who can go out and just like play a position, it's like balls out. Every time she just goes all four right out.
Speaker 2:Apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it.
Speaker 3:So, injuries will happen. No so you know, I think that she got to the point where, and then she just fell in love with golf.
Speaker 3:So then she was spending all of her time golfing and I just think that she just like, loves sports, and so she just would transition herself into different sports as she was growing elder. She used to go to the gym all the time, she used to run, but like she was never into weights Like my dad's a weight guy, so I got like the athleticism from her and then the weights from my dad.
Speaker 1:Got it. I love it. A little synergy right there, so I want data's note there, right? I'm sure it's like probably the most accepted narrative that as you get older you do get more limited, you know. But, Gordy, you are an example that that doesn't have to be true. Do you get like feedback and pushback from other people Like why are you still doing all these things at your older age? Or people just accepting of it?
Speaker 2:Well, once they understand what I'm doing, which most people don't understand what Olympic lifting is. They've heard of CrossFit, but all they hear about is how many people get hurt. And that's the first question Do you still do CrossFit? Yes, Do you get hurt all the time? I said no. So yeah, there's pushback. I think it's more jealousy than anything else. You know, when you're hitting the golf ball 40 yards further than your peers, you know, and using the same equipment, they kind of wake up and they go wow, I said, get your ass in the gym, dude. So yeah, I mean, if you don't look after your physical fitness once you get above 40, I said it's your own fault.
Speaker 1:Have you always been on that mindset.
Speaker 2:I don't know, because I worked pretty hard and did a lot of traveling through my late 50s and I spent a lot of time running because that was a way to combine travel with staying somewhat fit, but was not doing all the stuff that I do now. So, at 58, I really changed my attitude. Well, my ortho told me if I don't stop running, he's going to replace my hip. So I didn't want to replace tips so I stopped running and then I just by luck found CrossFit. Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:The rest is history so it's been 11 years now. Do you ever think of, like, slowing down at all? Like, do you ever have a thought of slowing down like two years ago?
Speaker 2:No, no, I don't, and my wife thought. I don't remember if it was my wife, a year younger than me, but she does CrossFit also.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And weightlifting, and we've both made a commitment to each other that if we say you know what, I think I'm going to cut back on one of the gym. We're going to sort of have a talk to each other, talk to each other. We're both committed to continue this as long as we can. Yeah, and that's the plan. Yeah, you know. So we've sacrificed other things, like traveling, for example. We have big plans of traveling all around the world to places, and you know what we haven't and we don't miss it. Yeah, but we have found that if we don't go to the gym on a regular basis, try new things all the time, push our limits once in a while, then we're going to fail our kids and our grandkids. Yeah, we want to do everything we want with our grandkids on the floor running around, skiing, whatever, swimming and we want to continue that. That's amazing.
Speaker 1:I mean Terry's amazing too. You know, I teach the master's class sometimes and I've been there literally for her PR-ing workouts and not like small things like running and pull-up workouts. Yeah, and that's amazing, and your guys' age like to not just be doing the workouts, like exceeding at them and getting better at them. You know that's really awesome. Do you ever plan on slowing down?
Speaker 3:No. You know, what Gory is such a great role model for me that it's just like, okay, I want to be like him and just I do. No, I'm serious, If I can do what you do at your age. I'm killing it.
Speaker 1:Killing it, killing it.
Speaker 3:So I just look at it like this is my life now, like I don't really see. You know, I mean eventually I'm probably not gonna want to compete at the same level, but, like you know, I'm enjoying it while I'm doing it now.
Speaker 2:But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop working out like.
Speaker 3:I might not compete, you know, in so many years. But I definitely plan on continuing the lifting in the cardio You'd ever know. I just love it. I like I went and did the workout Tuesday and afterwards I was like God, I love that.
Speaker 1:Everybody's like what is wrong with you? And I'm like there people.
Speaker 3:Some people are just here to do their cardio and workout, but I enjoy the pain.
Speaker 2:It teaches you to listen to your body and understand how your body is functioning, and you know that if you had a lousy night of sleep and or you had Bad nutrition one day or two, it affects how you're performing the gym.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's immediate. It's a metaphor for discipline.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's what it is, you know. But yeah, I mean, I didn't do any gymnastics when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I didn't do any gymnastics till I came here.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:First day I came in to.
Speaker 2:I was. I was balancing between coming across the KOP or CrossFit and skip back where Jordan Troyan is, yeah, and interview both. And then they came in here. Keith was here on bar. You both are grilling me on. You know what can you do, what can't you do? Cuz Amy'd followed me when I was at the other gym, yeah, and she knew that I got you know to like top 30 and so she listened all these things that I can do and she said you got the gut to like more advanced skills, like what, do you have butterfly pull ups? I said no. I said I'm really good at kipping pull ups. You know I can do 30 in a row. I don't need butterfly pull ups and you know she gives you a little eye roll like rolling his eyes and then you know do you have bar muscles, Do you have ring muscles?
Speaker 2:No, no. And so 20 minutes later she had Keith and her had me doing my first bar muscle up. Wow in 20 minutes, that's great. Yeah, that sounds like a Keith and Amy duo, you know, yeah so did Keith give you the good old tap over for your first one. Well at the start with, but eventually I got it on my own. He's really good at that.
Speaker 1:That's a hard skill to tap somebody over.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he does that to me on the ring muscle ups. Yeah, I got them here too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a difficult skill there. So when did you get serious about weightlifting? What did that like kind of transform when I started aging out across the competition.
Speaker 2:So 60 up until recently 60 was the last age. So once I hit 63, 64, I was not as competitive with the guys in that age group because you were the top of the age group and they were the youngest. Yeah, and you know, the goal was to get to the games and if you know Wasn't gonna get there, then you know what else can I compete in? And Amy said you ought to try weightlifting.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I even know that there was national you know, Olympic weightlifting for all age groups, and so once I got into that because I had learned the snatch and clean and jerk through CrossFit right so that's when she asked me to come in on Mondays to see Jim, and that's where it started and so Won the national championship in 2020 for the first time. Wow, how many years between was that 66 at that time?
Speaker 1:you were. You were at 66 that time, so that was like three years ago, two years ago.
Speaker 2:Well, that was the first one and this recent one in 23 was the fourth one, right, yeah, so four years ago.
Speaker 1:Wow, how long did you train before you won that one? Like? How many competitions did you do?
Speaker 2:Um, I probably won or two a year, that's it.
Speaker 1:Right Damn Dana. What about you? When did you get into weightlifting?
Speaker 3:About a year after I started CrossFit.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you've been doing it for a long time. How did you first compete?
Speaker 3:About six months after that right into it. Well, I, I had no. My problem was like, I just had no technique. Like you, just you, if you don't spend the time on the Olympic lifts outside of class. Yeah yeah, your technique is is you can't get past parallel, you don't feel comfortable. At the bottom there's just a million things. And then each time, each year, it's just like tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. But um, I just like weight, I just love weights. I love weights, I love that.
Speaker 1:Who should have had a video.
Speaker 3:I know, but it's true, you know I love your super total because you get to do all the lifts. Like it's like what more could you want? Like, I just love weights.
Speaker 2:Your power clean exceeded your squat clean for a long time.
Speaker 3:Yeah not by a little of a lot. Well now, my squat cleans more than my right power.
Speaker 2:So when you start, I think your your muscle snatch was more than.
Speaker 3:Power squash snatch the power consistency.
Speaker 1:I love it. It's strong as hell. I love that. What do you like better? The the thrill of uh competing in weightlifting or the thrill of competing in CrossFit, like on competition day.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're so different so different. Uh.
Speaker 3:Honestly, probably CrossFit only, because If you mess up a workout you have, you can come back. If you mess up a lift and then you mess up another lift. You only get three.
Speaker 1:It's very tough We'll talk about that in a second too and come back and then make a lift. But once you make that, if you make a snatch, and then once you make a clean-dark too, it feels pretty fucking good yeah, that part's good, cause you're like now, I can kind of just go forward or I can miss these next lifts and it doesn't matter as much. Once you get a total, you know you feel pretty good.
Speaker 3:I think it's hard because with CrossFit you have four days or three days and across the competition, possibly two days. If one workout doesn't go your way, you still can make up for it when you do these clean and jerks and your snatch. There's limited recovery time as far as when you go to the clean and jerk. So if you have a rough session on the snatch, maybe it's just not your day and you just kind of like, go into the clean and jerk and do the best you can. And then some days you're just like oh, this is my day and you hit everything. So it just depends on what your body is willing to do that day. Sometimes with CrossFit you can kind of muscle your way through something. Maybe you don't feel snappy, but you can muscle your way through.
Speaker 3:With Olympic lifting you can. You're either on or you're not.
Speaker 1:In a competition way that it's probably 60 to 70% mental just staying in between every lift and then like cooling down and warming it back up for the clean and jerks. That's going to be a big physical and emotional dump in between To come back out there and get a total, because people can make a snatch, people can make a clean and jerk, but then to actually get a total, make both lifts in the same session. It's like that's why it's nerve-wracking to do that stuff. What about you, bordi? Which one do you like better?
Speaker 2:I enjoy both because to me they're both mentally different. Crossfit, the time span that you're actually working is different, so you can think about how the workout is going to go. You can know how your body is feeling the first two, three minutes of the workout and what it is.
Speaker 2:I think you learn when you compete and you know better than me that you know within two to five minutes of that 20 minute workout where you sort of get end up and how much you can push and how much you need to hang back. It just depends on the workout and how you feel that day. There's a different mental stimulus that you need to perform the best you can Quick lifting. When it's your turn to go, you know when you're going to go. You have like five to ten minutes and you know when you're going to go like a two minute window. Then when it's time to go, they start the clock at one minute and you've got 59 seconds to get yourself together, determine what you're going to do, go through your progressions in your mind and then go do it.
Speaker 1:The time span and the concentration level is so compressed that I think I'm more exhausted after Olympic lifting than I am at a CrossFit competition Right because it's that small window, you have to execute six times and that's all that it is. I feel like at a CrossFit competition, at CrossFit workouts in general, it's just a little bit different how you can kind of manipulate things. Gory's talked about that 15 to 20 minute AMRAP or whatever. You're in the second and third minute you can kind of know where you are. But then by like minute 12, if you have something left you can kind of dump it out there.
Speaker 1:You can kind of find something that you didn't think, you had, to kind of add a little bit more into it, and that's kind of where the execution comes in at that point. So just a little bit different there. So you're talking about, like, going through progressions. Like Gory, do you have things that you say to yourself before you lift, in between lifts, anything like that? Do you have like any mantras already?
Speaker 2:You know when there's time to go and they start the clock, that's when I start the progression. The first progression is putting chalk on my hands, and that's where then I look at the crowd, look at the judges you know Jim's barking in my ears sometimes and then I'm looking at my spot. I'm going to keep my eyes on and then basically just tell me it's up. Okay, now it's time.
Speaker 2:It's time to go Get out to the bar and get everything set and you've been training for, so you basically just follow your training regimen I love that.
Speaker 1:Now it's time to go with the. What about you? Black out your head.
Speaker 3:Exactly the last thing in the better. Less my body is gonna do what it needs to do. I don't have to worry about it. I put in the work. I don't think If I think that you, for me, I the last thing in the better, because my body knows what to do, so I just have to go out there. I just think just keep your eyes up. Here's the thing I black out in the middle of my list. I don't even know that the judge is there.
Speaker 3:The way I'll hold the way and they're like you put it down now. And I'm like, oh okay, like I don't know what, I don't hear anything, it's just silence it's just me left it. Honestly no, but it's good like it's a zone out yeah on the days that I can hear everything, it's a bad day yes, today better when nothing's working.
Speaker 1:I think that's called being in a flow state. I'm gonna try to throw you both there and call it something cool. She said I don't know what's happening, the more I just over my head. That's really funny, do you have anything like? So I posted a video for you on the super totally other day and like you're about to take your big lift, shaking your arms out, like I do the same thing, and I tell myself, like so what go, it's go time. Or like now, like now is a time, something like that you have anything you say to yourself before you want to do a big lift.
Speaker 1:I just, I just go right, I guess just time to go imagine if we had the technology to like put some little doodads on her forehead and be able to read her brain. Oh my god, like three different people in a way that's some kind of thing. And, yeah, the data has the white noise. That's that's great, oh my god. So what's up next for you guys, gory? What are you trading for next?
Speaker 2:I will get to a meet in january yeah, yeah, I'm listening to be up at a price right now yeah, and I saw that sort of a test to see what we can do and then go to bet and roosh in april for national masters.
Speaker 3:Dana so technically this is my season, which is really short, but I'm for the next two months I'm just gonna be building and I'm big, lifting and squatting a lot and just getting myself ready for the season. Because the open 25% go in, I'm not necessarily gonna focus like usually, start cardio intensive training in january. Not gonna do that. I'm gonna start cardio intensive training once the open. I mean, I'm gonna still do workouts and do cardio but I'm not gonna be super focused on it because I'm not intentional with that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because I just got off legends. I'm like I haven't had any time to do any strength building this year yeah, I've been feeling. I just been competing all year round. So next year my last event will be the masters fitness club, if I don't want to train all the way to december ever again yeah, it was just too much. Like january to december, I had zero downtime right.
Speaker 3:So either I make semi finals and I make the games this year, or I don't, and either way I'll just go to master fitness collective. But like my focus is, I want to go to nationals this year, wait list nationals and when?
Speaker 1:Hell yeah. So you're gonna do the open court. You're gonna do the open. Yes comes up in february. Are you gonna try to be competitive in it, like if you make quarter finals? We want to do that Awesome back pushing for the open there and sixty five plus five twenty.
Speaker 3:They have twenty spots now for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, worth it yes, worth it right, like if you can push into it to try to get up there. We just talked a little bit, or you just brought it up, the off season. So when, do you see, is your off season? Gordy, like do you? Is there a time of the year that you get more intentional with? Either like the high level skills across fit, or try to push heavier weights and weightlifting?
Speaker 2:I think during the winter I do cousin. Summer, july, august, september is a big off time here for me so I won't do as much Crossfit then I don't stop doing a little difference. That's three times we keep that consistent throughout.
Speaker 1:so data you just kind of told us there, but when would you would visit your timeline to be of the off season?
Speaker 3:This year is gonna be from now until the open.
Speaker 1:February, so three months. Yes, so I have a full month. So two full months of strength training in the February for the, I mean I'm gonna continue.
Speaker 3:I mean, the Olympic lifting will continue after the open. But I'll just do one last day of what's your know. I'll just usually try. You know, I'm not young, gonna be fifty so.
Speaker 3:You can't do four days of Olympic lifting and five or six days of cross. You just can't do it. Your body just can't hold up. So you know, I'll just do one last day of crossfit and add another day of weightlifting, and then I switch it back when we get to the open. I'll do one last day of weightlifting, one more day of crossfit. Like that way, you know, I least my body will hold up. You also have to have your recovery weeks, you know like there.
Speaker 3:You just have to be mindful of your body, and if something's bothering you, you just walk out the door.
Speaker 1:My last question for you guys, gordy. First, if there's people out there listening masters, masters age in the older years that feel limited like dana, would you have any Advice for them to get across the gym already? I?
Speaker 2:think I do have some advice. First of all, you have to want to get fit. If you decided that, then find a good coach. That's the highest priority. You gotta find a good coach so that you know your movements are right. You gotta have good technique. I don't care if it's a pull up or snatch right to extremes of difficulty. You gotta have the right coach. So find a gym, find a good coach, listen to your coach.
Speaker 3:Listen to your coach of that day and I can still go to zander no, but along those lines I have gone to two separate gyms prior to coming here and the one thing that I felt Was missing was the understanding of being an older athlete and that what, what my body? I was overtraining, I was constantly fatigued, I injured my knee, I wasn't getting the right technique. I come in here and I started working with Amy she's like stop doing that right you're over training, you can't, you're.
Speaker 3:I only do the only thing on mondays. I can't do that, plus all these other stuff you're doing. You have to choose Because you're, you're older now yeah so once she said that to me, I was like what am I doing? Yeah, and then she's like come on and know monday's work with jim, I'm in hill, fix your olympic lifting. And I was like boom. I joined, I started working with jim and my whole entire crossfit career just flopped.
Speaker 1:It went from me struggling all the time change your life.
Speaker 3:It is, and she taught me how to do my first handstand, my real handstand walk handstand, hold, handstand, push up to a can't stand walk before. No, I didn't go anywhere but I'm all, like you know, just learning how to like hold your, control, your body and then muscle up. She help me get my muscle up, spar and ring. Yeah, and you know, like all the everything that what I'm able to do now is because I decided in came here because the coaching was at another level yeah and the interest in you getting better was also there.
Speaker 3:Like the coaches are very invested at k o p, they're just. They want to make sure they're getting the best out of you and giving you what you want out of your class yeah which is really important, because if you're going somewhere, you should definitely have somebody who knows what they're doing, because when you get older you can't For injuries and if someone doesn't know how to coach something properly, and then you say, hey, my knee hurts when I do this, and then they say you look good. You need to go somewhere else.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. I don't know if you even realize this, but like, if someone walks in here, right, they can see working out for like three hours a couple days a week. But like you earned the right to do that again, you know, so it kind of got. The other time you came here you were doing too much of first, and then you walk backwards and then you earn the ability to be able to work out a whole bunch again every day so you work your way back up to all that volume capacity.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, yeah. But our guys this is been a great episodes of I'm inspired. I hope all the other and everyone else is out there inspired for listening to you guys today we're gonna get out of here. Peace dogs.