The CrossFit Regina team which included Yorkton's Taryn Romanowich, competed in the CrossFit Games regional competition held recently in Vancouver.
Competing were 23 teams, including a six-man team from Regina. Romanowich went, along with two other women, plus three men; all teams involved were vying for the right to compete in California.
"We did really well for where we were slated," says Romanowich upon return to her hometown. Her team was ranked in the top-10 going in and finished in the top-5.
As for the actual competition which saw team members join forces in such exercises as 250 pull ups, 30 burps and 50 handstand pushups, she, as well as the others were understandably exhausted when it was all over. She said they knew what to expect.
"It was nothing new to them," she said.
It was also a really good experience.
"It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. We were treated like professional athletes."
She noted that fitness apparel supplier Reebok was the major sponsor, and that just added to the atmosphere, Romanowich told the paper.
The CrossFit competition took place at the Thunderbird Arena which used to be home to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.
The events included six workouts, she said. They were: a 750-metre row, 50 handstand pushups as event one.
The second event was the thruster ladder. The third, she said was her best, was the deadliest and box jump.
"It went really well," she noted.
The fourth competition was the 250 pullups, kettle bell swings, double unders and overhead squat.
The fifth was the muscle up and snatch and the final event included the 20 calorie row, 30 burps (combination of push-up, squat and stand up), 30 dumbbell ground lift to overhead and 30 toes-to-bar, 150-metre lunge and 100-metre sprint.
Romanowich described all of it as "real-life fitness" in that its almost impossible to train for it because nobody is going to do it all in a practice or warm up.
"It a known and unknown factor," she insisted, suggesting that she knew she would be worked hard but didn't necessarily know how.
She added that some competitors choose to either "make it as a sport or change your lifestyle."
It's for everybody," she said with the biggest smile on her face. "Your fitness is irrelevant. It's real-life fitness."
Romanowich said it was fun in a way to compete because "people are cheering for you and you don't even know who they are".
Romanowich and CrossFit Regina finished in a tie for fourth among 23. She said the winner of the competition was Taranis (British Columbia), followed by Vancouver, then the tie between Regina and Calgary.
