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Keara Napoli | The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series · Clydesdale Media Podcast

0:09
I was born to kill it.
0:15
I was meant to win.
0:16
I am down and willing,
0:17
so I will find a way.
0:19
It took a minute,
0:20
now it didn't have to ride away.
0:21
When it get hot in the kitchen,
0:23
you decide to stay.
0:24
That's how it win us, man.
0:25
Stick a fork in the hay to ruin my day.
0:34
What is going on, everybody?
0:35
Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
0:38
where we are featuring the
0:39
athletes of the 2024
0:41
CrossFit Games Semifinals.
0:43
And I'm excited for this one.
0:45
I get to talk to Kira Napoli.
0:47
Kira, how are you doing?
0:48
I'm so good.
0:49
Thank you so much for having me.
0:51
Of course, of course.
0:53
We met a couple years ago on this podcast.
0:58
Got to hang out at the
1:00
semifinals a little bit.
1:01
You're one of my...
1:03
Greatest memories in CrossFit.
1:05
Oh, well, that's so sweet.
1:07
Thank you.
1:07
That was,
1:08
this was like my first ever real
1:09
interview for CrossFit too.
1:11
So it's very,
1:12
very special because that was
1:13
my first time ever
1:13
competing at that semis two years ago.
1:16
Do you remember what
1:17
happened at that semifinal
1:19
during the lifting event?
1:23
Oh,
1:23
that is burned in my memory is like one
1:25
of my favorite CrossFit events ever.
1:28
It was my first time.
1:29
And the fact that it started
1:30
with that was amazing.
1:32
And at the time I was doing
1:33
proven compete and Tia was
1:36
right there behind me.
1:37
And I remember in practice I had hit 220.
1:41
So I knew I wanted to hit that.
1:42
And once I got it, my second set,
1:44
I was like,
1:46
Okay.
1:46
And I, and it was so funny.
1:47
I was kind of looking around to see who,
1:49
maybe I could ask for some
1:50
advice and Tia happened to be there.
1:52
And I just asked her, I was like, can I,
1:54
uh, I was like, what do you think?
1:55
Should I, should I go up?
1:56
And she was like, how'd,
1:57
how'd the first bar feel?
1:58
I'm like, good.
1:58
And she was like, yeah, go up by 10.
1:59
And then I hit 220.
2:00
And then it's like, okay,
2:02
I think I'm going to go up by five.
2:03
And I just remember, um,
2:04
All I knew,
2:06
I didn't know what the first heat got.
2:08
I knew that Kalerino was competing.
2:10
So I figured she would hit a huge number.
2:12
So I just wanted to focus on
2:13
winning my heat.
2:14
And I saw the girl miss 225.
2:15
So I was like, Oh,
2:17
I gotta hit this like this would be huge.
2:18
And I remember
2:20
like the cleans felt fantastic.
2:22
I was able to power clean the first two.
2:24
And I remember sitting on my
2:25
shoulder before the jerk
2:26
and I could just hear Tia yelling, like,
2:29
come on.
2:29
I'm like,
2:29
you cannot miss with Tia watching you.
2:31
Like you cannot miss this bar.
2:33
So hitting that, like, oh, it was so cool.
2:35
It's such a rush.
2:36
It was the coolest way to
2:37
start like my competitive
2:38
CrossFit career.
2:40
So what was crazy for me is
2:42
I was standing beside Tia
2:44
in the media pit while all
2:46
this is happening.
2:48
And she's just like pumping you up.
2:50
Like she's turning to me
2:52
like she's going to be really good.
2:53
She's good.
2:53
She's really strong.
2:54
She's got this and just
2:56
going on and on and on.
2:58
And then I talked to you afterwards.
2:59
And when you told me it was all a surprise,
3:03
it's one of the coolest
3:05
memories I have ever in CrossFit.
3:08
Oh, well, thank you.
3:09
That, that means so much to me.
3:10
It was very, it was very cool for me too.
3:12
It was awesome.
3:14
So at that point you had
3:17
just come out of softball college,
3:22
you were jumping on a
3:22
competition floor and you
3:24
had played softball at a
3:26
very high level in college
3:28
for 15 years and we're now
3:30
switching sports and you
3:33
actually had an amazing
3:34
first year at semifinals.
3:35
Yes.
3:36
Oh, thank you.
3:36
I, yeah,
3:37
it went way better than I expected.
3:38
So I was, I was pumped about it.
3:40
Couldn't be happy.
3:41
I think I was just,
3:42
just out of the top half.
3:44
I think it was like 16th.
3:45
That was when they had 30 there.
3:46
Um,
3:47
but at the time I could barely do a
3:49
muscle up.
3:49
Like I could barely do gymnastics.
3:51
So to finish where I did, I was,
3:53
I was thrilled.
3:54
So then you go to Orlando last year.
4:00
And one of my team caught up
4:02
with you after Linda
4:05
actually have that interview right here.
4:08
my gosh uh so I'm gonna play
4:11
it and then we'll talk
4:12
about it after okay okay
4:13
you are our dark horse to
4:15
win this event I'm so
4:18
excited that was so fun and
4:20
honestly like seeing the
4:22
women in my heat I was like
4:23
oh my god I'm working out
4:24
with like the well sisters
4:25
this is crazy and kind of
4:27
actually next to me who I
4:29
always looked up to and
4:30
she's my jam back home and
4:32
she's so strong so it's
4:33
really fun being next to some
4:34
someone so strong and I knew
4:36
she was going to kill it.
4:38
So for me,
4:38
that was just about staying in my lane.
4:40
Even when I heard like
4:42
Brooke was ahead of me,
4:42
I know you don't win that
4:43
workout in round seven.
4:45
I just had to stay steady on the bar.
4:47
Don't try to get cocky and
4:48
do touch and go in the beginning.
4:50
You're going to tire yourself out.
4:51
And then ending up breaking
4:53
the deadlifts actually
4:53
ended up being really good
4:54
because your grip was
4:56
pretty tired going into the event.
4:58
So when I did the deadlift, I was like,
5:00
let me do a set and some singles.
5:01
And it ended up paying off
5:02
because in the later rounds,
5:04
I felt really, really good.
5:04
And I was able to go touch
5:06
and go at the end.
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So that was just so cool.
5:08
I've never had a heat wave
5:09
so I was so cool.
5:12
I knew that was a lie
5:13
because I did have a heat
5:14
win technically with my complex,
5:17
but I think that one was so
5:19
different because it was
5:19
like 20 people and it was
5:21
heat two and it just felt ginormous.
5:26
So like winning out of 20
5:27
really fit girls in the second heat
5:30
that one actually was by far
5:32
my favorite like that was
5:33
the because it was also the
5:34
crowd was just right there
5:36
and I could just see like
5:37
all these people yelling
5:38
and I'm like oh this is so
5:40
cool my family was right
5:41
there so I saw my sister
5:42
jumping up and down and my
5:44
mom and my aunt and like I
5:46
was staring at them the
5:46
whole time like on my last
5:48
one so that one was just
5:50
like extra special.
5:52
So
5:53
You finished fourth overall in that event.
5:55
Yes.
5:56
Super impressive in Linda.
6:00
A question for you.
6:02
Yeah.
6:02
Because of what happened in
6:03
Europe this last weekend,
6:05
if you would have been in
6:06
the same heat as the three
6:10
women that finished ahead of you,
6:12
would it given you a shot
6:13
to finish higher?
6:15
Probably.
6:16
I think the only one that
6:17
would have been tough,
6:19
was Amanda, that one,
6:20
cause she really smashed it.
6:22
She was like a minute faster than me.
6:24
But oh yeah,
6:25
when you have the girls next to you, like,
6:27
oh, you just, you push so much harder.
6:29
Even when I had fast people next to me,
6:32
once I got a lead,
6:33
I just made sure I'm like, don't lose it.
6:34
Like keep the same distance apart.
6:36
So sometimes when you're at that place,
6:39
it helps push you to stay in front.
6:43
And if I had been in the last heat,
6:45
I definitely think,
6:45
so I think maybe a second
6:46
place finish I could have got.
6:49
Yeah,
6:49
because Amanda was so... She won
6:51
worldwide.
6:51
I think she won worldwide on that one.
6:52
But she was so fast.
6:54
But the other scores were
6:55
like 20 seconds off.
6:56
So that's just little things
6:58
that you push a little bit.
6:59
I think I was mostly focused
7:00
on staying in my lane and
7:02
winning my heat.
7:03
But yeah, if I'd have been in the last one,
7:05
definitely.
7:05
So there's been a lot of
7:07
talk over the last couple
7:08
days about Europe not
7:10
reseating on the last day.
7:12
And that... And I think
7:15
yesterday on Death By...
7:18
uh all three of the
7:20
panelists said it's going
7:21
to cost somebody a trip to
7:22
the games because they're
7:25
not going to have that
7:26
opportunity to be against
7:28
the people that they
7:29
deserve to be up against
7:30
yeah in that final heat uh
7:33
to be able to make sure
7:35
that they do what they need
7:36
to do to get in the games
7:38
yeah that was and honestly
7:39
I was kind of shocked that
7:41
Europe got less spots.
7:43
I think they deserved more.
7:44
They're a very, very fit region.
7:46
That's the one that,
7:48
looking at all the scores
7:49
for quarters in the Open,
7:51
Europe's where I would have
7:51
finished the lowest.
7:52
And I think it's the same
7:53
case for a lot of people.
7:54
So I was a little bit hurt
7:56
for some of the people,
7:57
especially the guys.
7:58
I was watching a little bit
8:00
because I really was
8:01
wanting to watch Linda
8:03
because she's a TTT athlete
8:04
and I was so excited for her.
8:06
But I didn't get the chance.
8:07
I just saw today, I was like, oh,
8:09
I didn't know Janikowski didn't make it.
8:12
and it just shows you like
8:13
how fit people are and how
8:16
hard the sport is getting
8:17
and it's anyone you can't
8:19
have a bad event anymore
8:20
especially with how they
8:21
made it this year with
8:22
cutting it and making it
8:24
less people making it less
8:26
workouts especially for
8:27
quarters you really
8:28
couldn't have a bad workout
8:29
or because there's some
8:30
very fit girls I know who
8:31
didn't even make semis this year
8:35
It's an interesting dynamic,
8:37
and we don't need to get
8:38
into all that because I
8:39
want to talk about you mostly.
8:42
But I think you're in the
8:46
toughest division in the world.
8:49
Oh, thank you.
8:50
You can say that you would
8:51
have finished lower in Europe.
8:52
The tests were not complex enough,
8:55
in my opinion,
8:56
to determine that up to this point.
8:58
Yeah, I agree.
9:00
I think quarters was purely –
9:02
my opinion it was purely
9:04
engine I mean even the
9:05
barbell workout I don't
9:07
believe was a test of
9:08
strength I think you had
9:10
lactic acid build up in the
9:11
legs but I think it was
9:13
much much much more about
9:15
breathing because I was
9:15
just remembering that
9:16
workout I was like so out
9:18
of breath but I like
9:19
barbell cycling but I think
9:21
we really didn't have a
9:21
true test of strength this
9:22
year um I was a little bit
9:24
shocked by that and I think
9:25
that really fluctuates for
9:27
a lot of people yeah I felt like
9:29
quarters two years ago was
9:31
the one that was very well-rounded.
9:33
It had some max lifts.
9:35
It had some gymnastics.
9:36
It had a power output.
9:37
We really haven't had a
9:38
power output event either.
9:40
And that's always something
9:41
that like fluctuates.
9:42
I think the East has a lot
9:43
of really powerful girls.
9:45
Um, so does Europe,
9:46
but it was definitely hard
9:47
to judge this year.
9:48
Cause I felt like all the
9:49
workouts are very, very engine based.
9:52
Yeah.
9:52
I think, I think strength wise,
9:54
Europe probably is a little
9:56
less than America.
9:58
Um, but then you see five foot one, um,
10:04
Elisa Fuliano when the
10:05
snatch ladder and you're like, so anyway,
10:09
she, and she is tiny.
10:11
She is.
10:11
I've stood beside her.
10:12
She is as tiny as they come.
10:15
So strong though.
10:16
Oh, just she crushed that workout.
10:18
It was awesome.
10:20
so so back to you you
10:24
switched to ttt from proven
10:26
I did and was that before
10:30
semis last year or after so
10:32
I was just following proven
10:33
compete so I didn't really
10:35
have a coach or anything I
10:36
was just following a
10:37
program so I followed that
10:40
for about two years.
10:42
And I'd say it was about a
10:43
month before semis last
10:44
year and around quarters time,
10:47
it was actually Max who was
10:48
talking to Travis and said, you know,
10:51
how come Kira hasn't gotten a coach yet?
10:52
Like, I'm very curious about that.
10:54
And Trav was actually very
10:55
right when he told him,
10:57
I think she wants someone
10:58
that she knows and knows her pretty well,
11:01
not just like a stranger.
11:02
And he's absolutely right.
11:04
So I was actually the one
11:06
who decided to ask Travis to coach me.
11:08
So TTT coaches were pretty booked.
11:11
They were pretty full.
11:13
And I know that they all,
11:14
it's kind of like a unit here.
11:15
Everyone helps out each other.
11:17
So like Adam was helping me
11:19
coach me today.
11:20
So I figured I knew Travis
11:22
would want to get into coaching.
11:23
So I thought I'm just going
11:24
to ask him the worst he can say is no.
11:27
So I asked him, he was like,
11:27
I'll talk to Max about it and see.
11:29
And he came back to me a
11:30
couple of days later.
11:31
He's like, yeah, let's do it.
11:32
Like I would love to do it,
11:34
but let's start after semis.
11:36
He's like,
11:36
just keep doing what you're doing.
11:37
So I would jump into some of
11:38
the workouts with TTT,
11:39
but for the most part,
11:40
I was just getting ready
11:41
for semis on my own.
11:42
And then,
11:42
he would text me a little
11:43
bit during semis if I
11:44
needed any help but I
11:46
really started to like kick
11:47
it into gear after semis
11:48
last year so I've been with
11:50
him about a year now wow I
11:54
mean what is there a cooler
11:55
coach than that
11:57
No, it's, it's, it's been the best.
11:59
It's awesome.
11:59
I think it's like a learning
12:00
experience for him too.
12:01
Cause he hasn't, I know he's coached,
12:03
like he's a coach at our gym.
12:05
So he's great at coaching that,
12:06
but I don't think he's
12:07
coached a competitive athlete before.
12:10
And I was like, I'll be your test dummy.
12:11
That's fine.
12:12
Like, I don't care.
12:12
I've known him a long time
12:14
and I wanted to learn from
12:15
someone who has a lot of
12:16
experience in the sport.
12:18
To me,
12:18
it's all about getting to kind of
12:20
relate to somebody and
12:21
someone understanding how I'm feeling.
12:23
And he's been doing this 13 years.
12:26
So there was no one better.
12:27
And I figured he would learn,
12:29
I would learn as well.
12:30
And it's been awesome.
12:31
I've gotten to learn from
12:32
all the coaches here.
12:33
They're fantastic.
12:34
And getting to work with him has just been,
12:37
it's been a joy.
12:38
He's very similar to me personality wise.
12:40
So I think that's why I like it so much.
12:43
So are you from the Alpharetta area or...
12:46
Yes, I live like 10 minutes from the gym.
12:49
Your whole life?
12:50
Yes.
12:52
Wow.
12:53
Yeah,
12:53
so I've known Travis since high school.
12:55
So I would come in here,
12:57
like work out a little bit
12:58
when I was playing softball.
12:59
And then when I was home for
13:01
summer breaks and winter breaks,
13:03
I would hop into the gym.
13:04
And then once I graduated in 2021,
13:06
I moved back to Alpharetta.
13:09
So now I'm really shocked
13:10
you ever went with Proven.
13:12
Yeah,
13:12
I think it's because when I was in
13:14
college, I...
13:16
wanted something to follow
13:17
online and my friend had
13:19
said good things about us.
13:19
I'm like, great, I'll do it.
13:21
And it was great.
13:22
It was hard.
13:23
It was challenging.
13:24
Um,
13:25
and I had the chance to meet great
13:26
people there at all the camps,
13:28
but I really wanted someone
13:29
just in person.
13:30
I really wanted someone that
13:31
I could actually see
13:32
several times a week who I
13:33
could work with.
13:34
And it definitely was a good decision.
13:37
And so you didn't have to
13:38
move or anything like, yep.
13:40
Got to stay here, which is great.
13:42
I got very lucky.
13:42
Yeah.
13:44
Yeah.
13:44
Um,
13:45
So going back to your Instagram,
13:47
like you shout Travis out a lot.
13:50
Um, and you know,
13:53
a coach athlete
13:54
relationship has to be a
13:56
close one because you have
13:58
to be able to say what you
13:59
need to say in both directions.
14:02
Yeah.
14:02
Um, you said you've known him a long time.
14:05
Did you feel comfortable
14:07
from day one being able to
14:08
have those conversations?
14:10
Yes.
14:11
And I think we're still getting to, like,
14:13
we're still building it up.
14:14
Like,
14:14
I'm not at a point where we're close
14:16
enough yet to where I'll yell at him,
14:17
be like, what the heck were you thinking?
14:19
I think that is one of those
14:20
when it takes time.
14:22
Like he said, him and Max,
14:23
who've been working together forever,
14:24
like there'll be times that
14:25
of course they butt heads about things,
14:27
but for the most part, I just trust him.
14:30
I listen to what he has to say.
14:31
I'll ask him questions.
14:32
I'm not afraid to ask him questions,
14:33
let him know how I'm feeling.
14:34
So yeah,
14:37
So far it's been really, really great.
14:39
And I really loved it.
14:40
I learned a lot from him and he just,
14:43
he's very good too at keeping me calm.
14:45
I get really,
14:46
really nervous because even
14:48
though I was a pitcher,
14:49
this is a very individual sport.
14:51
So pitching was kind of both.
14:53
So I do think that helped me,
14:54
but this is purely
14:56
individual and I'll get really,
14:58
really nervous for
14:59
qualifiers sometimes and things.
15:00
He's very good at keeping me calm.
15:02
I'm very good at making it fun.
15:04
And that's the most important thing.
15:05
So if I'm not having fun doing this,
15:07
I wouldn't do it.
15:09
So how much,
15:10
how much is your training
15:11
partner and coach or are you,
15:14
do you work out more with
15:15
other athletes that are there?
15:17
So normally I train before
15:19
and after work or I'll do
15:21
one big session after work.
15:23
So around one semis workouts
15:24
got released and we were
15:25
focusing on like those movements.
15:26
I really could get
15:27
everything in and one pretty big sex,
15:29
big session.
15:30
What I started doing is, um,
15:32
One day a week,
15:33
I will go to work an hour early.
15:35
I'll leave during the day
15:37
and then I'll come here and
15:38
jump in with athletes here.
15:39
So that's Jake, Matt Gilpin, Travis,
15:43
Alexis, Lydia, and Ashley,
15:45
I think are all the people
15:46
here who qualified.
15:47
Linda went back to Europe,
15:48
so she wasn't here for
15:50
majority of semi stuff.
15:52
So I'll jump in with them once a week.
15:54
And then normally on Saturdays,
15:55
I'll jump in as well.
15:56
And then the other days I'm on my own.
16:00
And with Travis,
16:01
do you ever train with him
16:02
or does he just like give
16:03
you your workout?
16:05
Cause he's got a family too,
16:06
that he's going to take care of.
16:08
Total mix, total mix.
16:10
So he'll sometimes jump in with me.
16:12
Um, like today I worked out with him, um,
16:14
but then he's going to have
16:15
to do the other workouts later.
16:16
I did one just now and
16:18
Saturdays I normally am with him as well.
16:20
And sometimes you do different things,
16:22
but a lot of times he'll
16:23
just give me something to do.
16:24
Like I need to work on
16:25
different things than him.
16:26
a lot of times.
16:27
And yeah, very similar.
16:28
He's got a family, I have a job.
16:30
So we kind of have to work
16:31
around that as best as possible.
16:33
But like for quarters,
16:34
there was times that he was
16:35
there and able to watch
16:37
every single movement of
16:38
event and talk to me in between.
16:40
And then there were times when he was like,
16:42
Hey, I am here with the kids.
16:44
Like,
16:45
can you just technically have any
16:46
questions about the workout?
16:47
Let me know how it goes.
16:49
Um, but it's been great.
16:50
It's like,
16:50
I knew that coming into it and
16:53
he knew I was pretty
16:54
similar to him where I don't need
16:56
especially during competition.
16:57
I don't need, okay, we need to do this,
17:00
this, this, this, and this.
17:01
Like once I'm there, it's like,
17:02
we got a plan.
17:03
I know what it is.
17:04
I just got to do it.
17:05
So I'm pretty similar to him
17:06
in that when it's time to compete,
17:07
I just compete.
17:08
I feel prepped going up to it.
17:12
So a couple of questions.
17:14
So first of all,
17:16
what do you do to support yourself?
17:18
I work for a nonprofit
17:19
called cell phones for soldiers.
17:21
So that's a nine to five Monday to Friday.
17:23
Um, I do marketing for them, emails, calls,
17:27
and I basically give
17:30
veterans phones and phone service.
17:31
So that's what I do.
17:32
I activate veterans on phone
17:34
plans and ship those out
17:36
throughout the week.
17:36
So I love it.
17:37
It's great.
17:37
It's very rewarding.
17:39
Is,
17:39
is there a goal to become a full-time
17:41
athlete?
17:43
No, I like working.
17:45
That's one thing.
17:47
I think it keeps me,
17:48
I don't think it's for everybody.
17:49
I totally understand the athletes.
17:51
Like obviously Lex, I get it.
17:53
This is her full-time thing,
17:55
her full-time job.
17:56
I understand she's one of
17:57
the best in the world.
17:58
Like it has to be.
18:00
For me, I think working keeps me sane.
18:03
I see working out in the gym
18:04
as a joy instead of like, oh God,
18:08
I gotta be in here all day.
18:09
And I like having a steady income.
18:11
So I think for me, it keeps me normal.
18:14
And I think it works for my brain.
18:15
I think otherwise I would go
18:16
a little bit too nuts and
18:17
too crazy in my head.
18:18
I think some of the best in
18:20
the world have to be a little bit.
18:21
And I get it.
18:22
But I like having a full-time job.
18:24
I want to really focus on
18:25
building a family and my
18:27
marriage and coming up,
18:29
which will be very soon.
18:30
So I want to make sure I
18:31
focus on all of that.
18:33
Don't skip ahead in my notes.
18:35
I know.
18:35
I was going to say.
18:38
Um,
18:39
it's funny because I co-host a show
18:41
with Carolyn Prevo and she
18:44
is a full-time teacher.
18:46
And for her, it's like,
18:49
it's all about efficiency, right?
18:51
I have this hour and that
18:53
hour and I get in,
18:55
I get my stuff done and I'm out.
18:57
Yep.
18:58
I talked to Scott Tetlow.
18:59
He's full-time service member, right?
19:02
He has one,
19:02
like one 90 minute segment in
19:05
the middle of the day for
19:06
his lunch that he gets his stuff in.
19:09
And then if he happens to
19:10
have another hour,
19:13
he'll go out to his garage
19:15
and work on holes.
19:17
Yep.
19:18
Like,
19:18
and neither one wanted any other way.
19:21
Yep.
19:23
I totally get it.
19:23
I relate to them so much.
19:25
I, it's, I don't know.
19:27
It's something about it.
19:27
Just,
19:28
it kind of gives you an escape and it
19:29
makes this feel more like a
19:31
blessing that I get to do it,
19:33
I guess is how I see it in my head.
19:35
And honestly, when I get to competition,
19:37
I'm so used to training tired that it's,
19:41
when I come to competition, like, man,
19:42
do I feel so fresh?
19:43
Cause I have no work.
19:44
Like I'll get, I'll get off for that.
19:46
And so it's very nice kind
19:47
of getting used to training
19:48
when your body's under fatigue,
19:50
you're mentally a little bit tired.
19:51
I think it makes me a little bit tougher.
19:53
Kind of also makes me shut
19:54
my brain off a little bit too.
19:57
So this is your best
19:58
finishing after quarters.
20:00
Yes.
20:00
Your three years.
20:02
Yes.
20:02
Um, by, by a good chunk.
20:04
Mm-hmm.
20:05
No max lift.
20:06
I was like my proudest thing.
20:07
I'm like,
20:08
there was not a single max lift
20:09
and it was my highest finish yet.
20:11
It was my proudest thing.
20:13
And as you're showing off the guns,
20:15
you are super strong.
20:18
Yeah.
20:18
You are very strong.
20:19
Thank you.
20:20
That's genetics.
20:22
I get very blessed.
20:23
It's a lot of hard work, but I,
20:24
I got strength has always
20:26
come a little bit more
20:26
easily to me just because of my,
20:28
my parents are both really strong.
20:30
So I got,
20:30
I got real lucky with the genetics there.
20:32
Yeah.
20:33
Yeah.
20:34
And so my question to you is
20:36
you now have seen the workouts for semis.
20:39
And if you look at kind of
20:41
your trajectory at semis,
20:42
I hate that the season
20:43
changes every year because
20:45
you finished 16th out of 30,
20:49
19th out of 60.
20:50
Yes.
20:51
So truly percentile wise, you got better.
20:54
Oh, much better.
20:55
Yeah.
20:56
Right.
20:56
Much better.
20:58
So both are on an upward trajectory.
21:01
What are your goals for this season?
21:04
This year was too,
21:07
with how hard they made it, I'm like,
21:08
okay, I want to make semis again.
21:10
I'm always very grateful to make it.
21:13
I think I have a lot of goals for myself.
21:15
I just keep them to myself.
21:16
Cause I'm like,
21:17
I don't want to be disappointed.
21:19
I, this is the most fit I felt.
21:21
This is like the first time where I'm like,
21:23
okay, I can maybe make the games.
21:25
Like I feel really, really good.
21:26
I feel very prepared.
21:28
But for me,
21:29
I'm very excited about Sunday
21:31
because those are three
21:33
workouts with three
21:34
movements that I've worked
21:35
so hard on this past year.
21:37
And I'm excited to test them.
21:38
And I'm kind of glad it's
21:39
like the first three
21:40
workouts are all about just
21:42
pacing and like,
21:44
kind of grinding through.
21:45
Whereas the last three,
21:46
I think are a lot about
21:48
strategy and being smart
21:50
and a lot about skills,
21:52
which I've worked a lot on.
21:53
So I'm excited.
21:54
Like, so for me, it's,
21:55
I want to do really well in
21:56
the first three workouts.
21:57
And then the last day I have
21:59
plans on them.
22:00
And if I can stick to my plans,
22:02
I will be very proud.
22:03
Like that is my, my biggest,
22:05
biggest thing.
22:05
I have like little goals for each workout.
22:07
And if I can stick to them,
22:08
I will be proud,
22:09
like no matter the outcome.
22:12
So one of the athletes I
22:13
talked to said that Sunday
22:15
is an execution day.
22:18
One,
22:19
the movements make it an execution day.
22:21
And two,
22:23
the nerves of Sunday are going to
22:24
make it an execution day.
22:25
Yes.
22:27
And so I like how you put it that like,
22:30
that's the day that you
22:32
have little goals and it's
22:33
stuff you've worked on.
22:36
We we've determined you're strong.
22:38
Yeah.
22:39
Are you strong in the snatch?
22:41
It's not my favorite lifts.
22:42
No, I,
22:42
but I've worked on it so much the
22:44
last year and I maxed my
22:46
snatch not long ago by like
22:47
over 10 pounds.
22:48
So now that I've hit heavier weights,
22:50
I feel more confident in it,
22:51
but it's not like a clean,
22:53
like if this had been a clean ladder,
22:54
it'd be no problem.
22:55
Just rip through.
22:56
But snatch is very technical.
22:58
It's very different.
22:59
You can't get away with just
23:00
brute strength.
23:00
You have to be strong everywhere.
23:02
You can't have any softness.
23:04
So especially like in the catch,
23:06
like where is it clean?
23:06
If you're a little bit forward,
23:07
you can correct it.
23:09
Can't really do that with a snatch.
23:10
It's much more technical.
23:11
So that one I have to be very,
23:12
very smart about just not rushing it.
23:15
It's actually one we just tested today.
23:17
And I definitely was like
23:19
rushing too much.
23:20
So I need to make sure that
23:21
one is about staying calm,
23:22
keeping my technique good
23:24
all the way throughout.
23:26
Europe went,
23:27
you get the chance to see them.
23:30
What I would take away on
23:31
that event is smooth as fast.
23:33
Oh, yeah.
23:35
Just no rushing.
23:37
I mean,
23:37
it does – I will say the changing
23:38
your own weights,
23:39
people don't realize your back is, like,
23:41
shot just because you're
23:43
bending over the whole time.
23:44
So that is definitely something that I,
23:47
like, noticed,
23:47
especially testing it all
23:49
the way through.
23:50
But I have to say I actually
23:51
hate going last.
23:53
I don't like it.
23:53
People like it because they're like,
23:54
we get to watch.
23:55
I'm like, no, I don't like it.
23:57
I think the middle is, like,
23:58
that sweet spot because you
23:59
get to watch and then you get to go.
24:01
Like,
24:01
we've just been sitting around
24:02
waiting and waiting and waiting,
24:04
and I'm just –
24:05
Last year we were first,
24:06
and I kind of liked it
24:07
because we were kind of the test dummies,
24:08
but everyone else was in
24:09
the same boat there.
24:10
So I prefer going first
24:12
because you can just knock it out.
24:13
But that's all right.
24:14
We got to watch people,
24:15
so we got to test it out.
24:17
But now I'm just in that waiting, anxious,
24:19
nervous period that I hate.
24:21
Yeah,
24:23
I talked to an athlete who's going
24:24
this weekend who said he
24:27
does not watch the full
24:28
workouts of anybody else.
24:31
He'll watch to see like –
24:34
how they handle things just
24:36
long enough to see like, okay,
24:38
30 inch step up or 30 inch
24:39
box jump with a step down.
24:41
How are they handling it?
24:42
Okay.
24:43
Now I know turn it off, you know, and, uh,
24:48
what's your approach?
24:49
Do you find yourself
24:50
watching more than that?
24:52
I'll watch a little bit.
24:53
I watched, I really wanted to watch Linda.
24:55
So I got to watch her go.
24:57
For me,
24:57
it was more like the holes in workouts,
25:00
like the running one.
25:00
I'm not watching because the
25:02
run is going to be
25:02
different for everybody.
25:03
So it doesn't matter.
25:05
I think it's hard to base
25:06
paces because everyone's
25:08
run is going to be completely different.
25:10
And then the second one,
25:11
it was more so watching for the layout.
25:13
I think a lot of us did.
25:14
And I was kind of like,
25:15
I'd watch like a round or two.
25:16
Okay.
25:17
How long is it taking them?
25:18
Okay, great.
25:19
But the last,
25:20
the last day was what I think
25:22
a lot of us would watch the most is okay.
25:24
How did people,
25:24
did girls break the muscle ups?
25:26
How fast were they biking?
25:28
Oh, on the handstand walks, is it,
25:31
you have to go on broken.
25:32
Is it 12 foot increments?
25:33
Like, so learning that kind of stuff.
25:35
watching um and the
25:36
snatching we didn't know we
25:37
knew years ago how they did
25:38
it but we weren't sure were
25:39
they gonna have five bars
25:40
or were they gonna have two
25:41
so stuff like that I
25:43
enjoyed watching but for
25:44
the most part I would watch
25:45
and cheer somebody on but
25:46
then you just overthink too
25:48
much if you watch too much
25:49
but that's just for me
25:52
Yeah,
25:52
it's going to be interesting with
25:53
that run event.
25:54
I talked to Peter Magda,
25:56
who I would say is a male version of you,
26:00
like loves to clean,
26:02
loves to clean a lot.
26:04
And my co-host Jamie asked him,
26:06
would you rather chase or
26:08
be chased in that event?
26:10
And he said,
26:11
I'd rather chase and be able
26:13
to push the cleans.
26:15
Yeah, I actually really like running.
26:16
So that was one of my best
26:17
finishes last year was the 800 for time.
26:20
I think I was a top 10
26:21
finish for me there out of 60.
26:22
I actually really like running,
26:24
which I think shocks people
26:25
because I do like lifting a lot,
26:28
but I will say testing it here.
26:31
Everyone's runs going to slow down.
26:33
But if you can keep the
26:34
cleans pretty fast and steady across,
26:36
I think that's going to be
26:37
a game changer.
26:39
And also just like not
26:40
falling off the runs too
26:41
much is another big thing in that.
26:43
We practice here, though,
26:44
we have a pretty hilly 800
26:47
and it's a totally
26:48
different feel from going flat.
26:50
So just because your legs
26:51
get spiked up for the clean and jerks.
26:53
So I was kind of happy to
26:55
practice on something a
26:56
little bit hillier.
26:57
Just now I feel like I'm
26:58
used to my heart rate
26:59
spiking and my legs getting jacked up.
27:01
So it's been good practice
27:03
here getting to do it that way.
27:06
So you were in that
27:08
Knoxville Coliseum a couple years ago.
27:12
Yes.
27:13
It's really not on a flat piece of land.
27:15
Nope.
27:15
Nope.
27:17
It is a little bit hilly around.
27:18
I don't know whether they're
27:19
going to have us run yet,
27:19
so I'm kind of curious.
27:21
I don't know either.
27:21
Yeah.
27:22
But I can't imagine... It is
27:23
a little bit hilly outside.
27:26
But nothing major,
27:28
but there would be an incline outside.
27:33
So I ask you,
27:33
would you rather chase or be chased?
27:37
Hmm.
27:40
I think I would... I don't know.
27:44
I think I would rather chase...
27:47
Just because when I'm training with Lex,
27:48
that's what it is.
27:49
But I will say it.
27:52
But when I do with her,
27:54
something about it is like, keeps me like,
27:57
okay, where's my distance from her?
27:59
Can I make it up here?
28:01
And I've enjoyed doing it that way.
28:02
I've gotten very used to it.
28:04
So I'm not sure.
28:06
I think it depends.
28:07
But I'd be nervous if I was
28:08
being chased the first
28:09
round because I went out way too hot.
28:11
That's what I'd be nervous about.
28:12
But if it was like the middle round,
28:13
I wouldn't mind being
28:14
chased down a little bit.
28:16
Okay.
28:17
We've talked some CrossFit stuff.
28:19
I want to get into some fun stuff.
28:21
Yes.
28:22
And I was skimming your Instagram.
28:27
And this really made my day.
28:29
And it is... I am a big Yellowstone fan.
28:39
oh I'm yeah some people
28:40
don't watch it and they had
28:42
no idea and I'm like oh
28:44
come on I want that bar she
28:47
wants the back that's what
28:52
I said tighter well it's
28:55
your lucky effing day
29:00
You understand that, didn't you,
29:02
you bow-legged bastard?
29:03
Do I look like my F-name's Peter,
29:06
you skunk-haired mother-effer?
29:08
Hey, man!
29:11
i I didn't want to curse
29:13
like I don't like to curse
29:14
on social media so I had to
29:15
take out all her cursing
29:16
but I knew from like last
29:19
december I i told my fiance
29:21
I'm like oh my gosh I am
29:23
dressing up as teeter for
29:24
halloween and he dressed up
29:25
as the bear it was so
29:27
perfect it was so fun the
29:29
actress actually reposted
29:31
my story and I was like yes
29:33
she saw it she approved it
29:35
was such a oh my gosh it
29:36
was so fun I actually like
29:37
dyed my hair pink
29:38
temporarily just for that
29:41
It is one of the best things
29:44
I've seen on the internet.
29:45
Thank you so much for doing it.
29:48
Oh my gosh.
29:49
I was so upset when people
29:50
didn't know who she was.
29:51
I was like, Oh, come on.
29:52
I promise you like watch Yellowstone.
29:54
You'll understand.
29:55
And, uh, it was,
29:57
it was so fun to just like,
29:58
I tried to talk like that
29:59
the whole night.
30:00
It was such a good time.
30:03
So the other thing we need
30:04
to talk about is a little more serious.
30:09
But there's a guy on his knee.
30:11
Is he asking for help up or
30:13
something else?
30:14
No, that's Billy.
30:16
We got engaged October of 2022.
30:18
And so it was a little while ago.
30:20
So it was a pretty long engagement.
30:22
But my sister graduated
30:23
college just this last,
30:26
like a few weeks ago, actually.
30:27
So we wanted to,
30:28
we got engaged early and
30:30
then we started planning summer of 2023.
30:31
Okay.
30:33
And I was like, all right,
30:34
let's book it in June 8th.
30:37
I think we'll be okay
30:38
because the latest semi has
30:40
been June 1st every weekend.
30:42
And I was getting real nervous.
30:44
I was like, oh no,
30:44
I really hope it doesn't overlap.
30:46
But yeah,
30:48
I was really hoping we'd be like
30:49
May 26th because that's
30:50
what we were the past two years.
30:52
But this year it will be competing.
30:54
And then that next weekend I get married.
30:59
It's a lot of emotions right now.
31:01
You're a CrossFitter now.
31:02
You do everything for time.
31:04
Oh my gosh.
31:04
Seriously.
31:05
I'm, I'm just a little,
31:06
I'm kind of like in a,
31:08
just days right now, even come home.
31:10
I found it's like, are you okay?
31:11
I'm like, no, I'm just not,
31:13
I'm like not here right now.
31:14
Cause it's nerves, it's stress,
31:15
it's excitement.
31:16
It's all the last minute details,
31:18
but I have an amazing mom
31:19
and sister who planned
31:21
pretty much the whole wedding.
31:22
So they're kind of dealing
31:23
with all that small stuff for me.
31:24
So I can, and my bridesmaids,
31:26
they're all like,
31:27
what do we need to help you with?
31:28
So you can
31:29
focus, compete, and then,
31:31
and not have to stress about anything.
31:32
So I'm very lucky.
31:33
I've got a really good group,
31:35
but I'm excited.
31:36
So I'll get to compete and
31:37
then just enjoy my wedding.
31:38
It's, it's going to be so fun.
31:42
So it's a great time of year
31:44
to get married.
31:44
My anniversary is this Friday.
31:47
Oh, congratulations.
31:48
How many years?
31:48
27 years.
31:50
Wow.
31:51
That's amazing.
31:54
Yeah.
31:54
27.
31:54
My parents,
31:55
I think just celebrated 30 in April.
31:57
Yeah.
31:57
30 years.
31:59
Yeah.
31:59
It's, it's been, it's, you know,
32:01
like anything, it has its seasons.
32:03
We have weathered all the
32:04
storms and I wouldn't want
32:06
to do it with anybody else.
32:08
I love it.
32:09
That's amazing.
32:10
Um,
32:11
and so it's a great time of year to do
32:12
that.
32:14
You're better off going a
32:15
little bit later because we
32:17
actually were living in
32:17
Florida when we got engaged,
32:19
but we're from Pennsylvania.
32:21
We did it on Memorial day
32:22
weekend to get an extra day vacation.
32:24
Yeah.
32:25
And now our anniversary
32:26
falls on Memorial day every year.
32:28
Oh my gosh.
32:29
And it's really hard to like
32:31
family schedule picnics and
32:34
we kind of get shoved to the side.
32:36
Yeah.
32:37
You know,
32:38
But then you'll never forget it.
32:40
You'll always remember it's
32:41
Memorial Day weekend.
32:43
I'll be honest with you.
32:44
For the first time ever,
32:45
because doing all these
32:46
semifinal interviews,
32:48
it crept up on me this year really fast.
32:52
Yep.
32:52
And my wife said to me Monday, hey,
32:55
what are we doing for anniversary Friday?
32:57
And I was like, oh, my gosh.
32:59
Oh, no.
33:02
Last minute, you just act like, oh,
33:04
I got everything planned.
33:05
You don't even worry about it.
33:06
It's going to be a surprise.
33:08
Well,
33:09
thank goodness it's not like 25 or 30,
33:10
right?
33:11
Like, yes.
33:12
Like it's an important one
33:14
and we'll go do some stuff for it.
33:16
But like those ones,
33:17
you have to do the big deal.
33:18
Definitely.
33:20
So awesome though.
33:22
But yeah.
33:22
Um, so that's really cool.
33:24
And how many people from the
33:26
gym are going to be at the wedding?
33:28
From the gym,
33:29
it's going to be Travis and his wife.
33:32
It's going to be Mike
33:33
McGoldrick and his wife, Brandy.
33:36
Miss Alexis Raptus is going to be there.
33:40
And then our friend Josh
33:41
Brandt from United is going to be there.
33:45
So that's going to be – sorry,
33:47
Chris just walked by.
33:48
So I think those are the
33:49
main people from the gym
33:51
because I actually am
33:52
mostly close with a lot of
33:54
my friends who just go to
33:55
United regularly.
33:56
We're in small groups together,
33:58
and those are – one of them
33:59
is in my wedding.
34:01
She will be nine months
34:02
pregnant at my wedding.
34:03
So that's super fun.
34:04
But, yeah, I kind of, like,
34:06
just started to get to know
34:08
some of the competitive athletes here.
34:10
But Lex and I have gotten –
34:13
really close the past two
34:14
months and she joined small
34:15
group and it's been such a
34:16
blessing to get to know her
34:17
outside of the gym such a
34:19
joy and same with travel I
34:21
was like gotta have trap
34:22
there and then I've known
34:23
mike and brandy a long time
34:24
as well so I really wanted
34:25
to have them there yeah
34:27
having someone nine months
34:28
pregnant that happened at
34:29
our wedding too oh gosh
34:30
don't tell me she went into
34:31
labor no no my
34:33
sister-in-law we were
34:34
sitting down at the head
34:35
table and we had this like
34:36
beautiful lattice work
34:37
behind us with all these
34:38
flowers she pulled her
34:40
chair out to sit down knocked it all over
34:43
Oh my gosh.
34:46
Oh my gosh.
34:47
But if you don't have those stories,
34:49
like the best, you really get married.
34:51
No.
34:51
Yeah.
34:52
Something, something's bound to go wrong.
34:53
That's what I have to tell
34:54
myself in my head.
34:55
Cause I'm like,
34:56
I just want everything to be perfect.
34:57
And it's not,
34:58
everyone told me something will go wrong.
35:00
It is okay.
35:01
Like, don't let my friends at her wedding.
35:03
They forgot the wedding
35:05
coordinator forgot to give
35:06
the best man the rings.
35:07
So when they had to do the
35:08
rings on the finger,
35:09
they had to like pretend
35:10
and just put like invisible
35:11
rings on each other's hands.
35:13
So I was like, okay,
35:13
I need to make sure that
35:15
best man has the rings.
35:16
Got it.
35:17
But knowing Billy and I,
35:18
something stupid is going to happen,
35:21
but that's okay.
35:21
That's what makes us us.
35:22
So I'm excited.
35:24
My biggest faux pas was I
35:25
stepped on my wife's train.
35:27
Yeah.
35:27
Went to the reception,
35:29
ripped her dress off.
35:32
And you could see her underwear.
35:34
Oh, thank goodness.
35:35
Our seamstress was invited to the wedding.
35:37
Oh my gosh.
35:38
Thank God.
35:39
We immediately went into the
35:40
kitchen and stir up real fast.
35:43
Yeah.
35:44
And then we went about the
35:45
rest of the night.
35:45
And now you look back at it and laugh.
35:47
I'm sure.
35:47
Oh yeah.
35:48
Yeah.
35:48
Like again, that's what makes,
35:51
at least we have the stories, right?
35:53
Oh, for sure.
35:53
That's what you need.
35:54
Everything, everything,
35:56
something funny happens at every wedding.
35:57
And I think that's what makes it special.
35:59
Well, as always,
36:01
this was a blast talking to you.
36:02
Thank you so much for having me.
36:03
I'm super excited.
36:05
You're always in my picks
36:07
early on for these events
36:10
because I just see so much
36:11
potential every time I
36:13
watch you out on the floor.
36:14
Oh, thank you.
36:16
And I'm excited to see how
36:17
you end up this year.
36:18
Thank you so much.
36:19
Yeah, I'm constantly learning and
36:22
that's all I want to do is
36:23
keep learning and learning
36:24
and that's all I can ask for.
36:25
And, you know,
36:26
hopefully one day that means games,
36:28
but as long as I'm getting
36:29
better and I'm enjoying it,
36:31
that's by far the most important thing.
36:32
So,
36:33
so far I've seen that it's just going
36:34
up and up and up.
36:35
So I'm hoping I can show
36:37
that this weekend and have
36:38
next weekend and have fun with it.
36:39
And now I've got some
36:41
friends in the competitive space.
36:42
I think it's going to be
36:43
even more special because
36:44
I've actually gotten to know people.
36:45
So we're going to be
36:46
cheering each other on the
36:47
whole weekend and I'm just
36:48
going to feel like so much
36:50
love and support.
36:50
So I'm excited.
36:52
how are you going to balance
36:53
Travis and you competing at
36:54
the same time?
36:55
We talked about that because he's like,
36:57
obviously I'm going to be competing too.
36:58
So I think he'll kind of be
37:00
there just before an event.
37:02
Um, make sure I'm, he knows, like,
37:04
he's like, don't, you don't change.
37:05
He goes, Pete,
37:06
so many people change how
37:07
they warm up and get ready
37:09
because it's a semis.
37:10
He's like, you warm up how you always do.
37:12
Keep that all consistent in the same.
37:14
And he'll probably check in
37:15
to make sure I'm good.
37:16
But for the most part,
37:18
like I told him that I, uh,
37:21
And I agree with him that I
37:23
don't need him like bait, you know,
37:26
on me the whole time
37:27
because he needs to compete too.
37:28
So we're both going to be in
37:29
that headspace.
37:30
So he's just going to give a
37:31
quick check in.
37:32
We'll go over things
37:32
probably the night before
37:33
or after the day of competition.
37:35
And, and then we'll get to it.
37:37
Cause he's when,
37:37
when he first started coaching me,
37:38
he's like,
37:39
I can tell you're similar to me
37:41
where you don't need to be told.
37:43
a bunch of things the day of
37:44
because you already know
37:45
what to do you're going to
37:46
be prepared and then you're
37:47
just going to go out and do
37:49
it and that's what I've
37:49
done in the past two semis
37:50
didn't have a coach so I
37:51
just was like okay I have a
37:52
plan let's see how it goes
37:54
so this time it's like
37:55
we're getting all the plans
37:56
out now and early and then
37:58
We'll just kind of recap them,
37:59
but I don't want to pull
38:00
away from him competing.
38:02
And I know he does, you know,
38:03
want to do the same for him.
38:04
I want to make sure he stays
38:05
in his headspace,
38:06
but we'll probably chat a
38:07
lot like the night before
38:08
and he'll be there.
38:09
I think it getting to help
38:11
me warm up a little bit,
38:12
but then that's it.
38:12
I want to make sure he can stay in his,
38:14
in his headspace too.
38:16
so he won't need a coach's
38:17
band are you are you with
38:20
you to carry your stuff and
38:21
yes the fiance he's the
38:22
pack mule hey I need water
38:25
hey yes no but he's
38:27
actually he's on it because
38:29
I'm very bad about
38:31
finishing events I just
38:32
want to talk to everybody
38:35
and I'm really bad about
38:37
ashley sorry all these
38:39
people are walking by and
38:39
they're just laughing at me
38:41
um but I think uh
38:44
Um, sorry, excuse me, but yeah.
38:48
Um, sorry.
38:48
I couldn't even remember the
38:49
question because Ashley
38:50
just completely distracted me.
38:51
Yeah.
38:51
Your fiance is on it because
38:53
you just want to talk to people.
38:54
I'm very bad about after events.
38:56
I just want to chat with
38:57
everybody and get how everyone's doing.
38:59
I'm really bad about like
39:00
making sure I go cool down
39:01
and get food in me immediately.
39:02
Um, so he said, he's like,
39:04
I'm going to be on you to
39:05
make sure like you get a shakedown,
39:07
you get carbs in you and
39:08
you're like cooling down.
39:09
Um,
39:10
even though he's not in the CrossFit
39:11
space, he knows the importance of that.
39:12
So he's going to make sure he's like,
39:13
I'm not going to let you talk to people.
39:14
You've got to get out.
39:16
You talk to people later,
39:16
but you got to cool down first.
39:17
Then you can talk to people.
39:18
So he's going to be good about that.
39:21
Awesome.
39:22
Well,
39:22
I hope you have an amazing weekend
39:25
back to back.
39:27
Yes.
39:28
Great semifinals, great wedding.
39:31
It's awesome catching up.
39:32
I wasn't going to go to semis,
39:35
but I made a last minute reservation.
39:37
Oh, yay.
39:39
I'm going to go down now to cover it.
39:43
And so hopefully we'll run
39:44
in each other and I can
39:45
interview after another heat win.
39:47
Oh, I would be amazing.
39:48
That's the goal.
39:50
Oh, that would be amazing.
39:51
That's definitely a goal for sure.
39:53
But I I'm so excited that you're coming.
39:55
So I hope it's a really good time too.
39:58
Yeah.
39:58
Well, thank you for being on.
39:59
Thank you to everybody in
40:00
chat for being here.
40:02
This was awesome.
40:03
We'll see everybody next
40:04
time on the Clydesdale media podcast,
40:07
where we're featuring the
40:08
athletes of the 2024
40:09
CrossFit games semifinals.
40:12
Bye guys.
40:12
Bye.
40:13
Thank you.