Next weekend, Michelle Kinney, the 10th fittest woman on earth, will be competing for the title of the fittest woman on earth at the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games. She placed first in the Central East Region last month by consistently performing well across 6 very different workouts:
1. Run 1K/ 30 handstand pushups/ Row 1K
2. Thruster Ladder
3. 21-15-9 reps of Deadlift 205lbs /Box jump
4. 100Pull-ups/ 100Kettlebell swings/ 100Double-unders/ 100Overhead squats
5. 9-5-7 reps of muscle ups / squat snatch
6. Row/ Burpees/ Two-arm dumbbell ground-to-overhead/ Toes to bar/ Overhead walking lunge/ Sprint
Before the last event, Michelle was interviewed.
Interviewer– “How has your training been this year overall?”
Michelle– “Awesome…staying injury free. I’ve got a great doctor, Dr. Cole, back in Memphis. He’s kept me healthy. Anytime something starts to flair up, we knock it out. We put that fire out before it gets too bad. That’s been a difference-maker for sure. And just being smarter. With a year under my belt with competition, I’m listening to my body more, pushing it hard when I need to and backing off when I need to.”
Michelle knows what it takes to be the best. It reduces down to biomechanics, skill, and attitude (heart). With regards to biomechanics, a lot of athletes train in fear of an injury. They undertrain for fear of a pain getting worse or ignore it altogether, hoping it goes away. Yet, elite athletes like Michelle understand that pain (tweaks, pulls, catches) is a “check engine” light, signaling a biomechanical overload that’s often secondary to biomechanically inefficient movement. And there’s no place for inefficiency when your competing “for time.”
Three, two, one, go!