We've lost another member to Australia. Is it because they have more CrossFits than us? Well we're hot on their heels now -NZ has 11 compared to Aussies 68!!
Kate Mullarkey is off travelling this week, and will eventually settle in Melbourne. She wrote us a letter before she went.
"Why do I love Cross Fit so much? Well I think it’s because I have been an athlete nearly all my life. I was a member of Parnell Swimming Club from the age of 8 and competed in the National Champs every summer. As a 12 year old I decided to enter a Kiwi Kids Triathlon so joined the school cycling team. After a while I realised that being a squat stocky 5’3” swimmer was not going to take me far, but was the perfect physique for a track cyclist. So from the age of 13 I became a cyclist and it dominated my life until university. All I did was train and race. It was all I knew.
When I hit university I lost my way for a while and didn’t train or race very much. Even then I knew that the lack of structure in my day was damaging to my mental health. I was so used to being regimented that I didn’t know how else to live. In 2004 I got back into the sport about the same time I met you both at Unisports. That year I won four national medals and have won various medals since. As part of my training I have always been to the gym. I learnt to squat as a 14 year old and I have been on some form of gym programme ever since then.
Last year I came to see you, Darren, for some nutrition advice. You introduced me to Cross Fit and it is just about the best thing that has ever happened in my athletic career.
Never before have I come across something which matches the sheer intensity and hurt that I can put myself in when I’m racing. The kind of hurt that does not allow any other thoughts in. Athletes get lost in that hurt and they thrive on it. It is this state along with the structure of being an athlete that I have always worried about losing when I “retired” from cycling. I have always dreaded the day I hung up my bike because where else would I find what cycling gives me? Cross Fit gives me all that and more but without the bitchy politics of competitive sport. The people I have met and worked out with this last year have been incredible. You are so right to call all your members athletes – some of the work outs are beyond intense!
I “retired” from cycling (for the meantime) after the nationals this year in March where my best result was fourth. But having found Cross Fit I have no concerns about my athletic future. I may undoubtedly race my bike again, but I will always Cross Fit. Goals for Cross Fit in Melbourne are learn to pull up and rope climb, and get 1RM back squat up to 130kg! Darren and Taz I have been so proud of watching your business grow and it is a true reflection of your attitude and approach to your members. I congratulate you both on what you have achieved and thank you for allowing me to discover Cross Fit!"
Workout
10 HSPU
then:
400m run
5 Inverted Burpees
5 Rounds
then:
10 HSPU
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