After the Games: Back to the Box!

[/caption] The 2011 Reebok Functional Fitness Games are over, and Rich Froning Jr. and Annie Thorisdottir have been crowned fittest on Earth after outstanding performances. The Games are, of course, one of the highlights of the year for the Functional Fitness community, and it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement. For three days, the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., is suddenly transformed into the proving grounds for fitness, and even if half the spectators are pounding beer in the sunshine, the stadium is filled with a host of passionate people who are looking to improve their lives through fitness. Functional Fitness is a sport, yes, and one that’s now worthy of time on ESPN3.com and ESPN2, but it’s mostly just a fitness program you and I can use to make our lives better every day. The Home Depot Center was filled with people just like us, and it’s inspiring to meet those people and talk to them. They’re working hard and seeing results, and their enthusiasm and passion for fitness are contagious. When you spend a weekend with these people, and when tiny 116-lb. Annie Sakamoto drives a 285-lb. sled across the stadium and thousands erupt in support, it makes you want to run to the airport, fly home and bring that same feeling to the people who work out in your gym. Whether you’re snatching 265 lb. like Spencer Hendel or snatching 33 lb. for the very first time, you’re part of the same club, and what you’re doing is tremendously important. You’ve decided to try something new, push your limits and change your life. To me, that’s just as inspiring as seeing elite athletes push the limits of performance. Really, the most important thing about the Functional Fitness Games is the reminder that you’re part of a global community of people who are changing their lives with fitness. Our goal at Functional Fitness 204 is to remind you of that every class and bring the passion, excitement and dedication of thousands of screaming Functional Fitnessters back to a group of people doing burpees and pull-ups in Winnipeg. We want you to feel like you’re part of a community, and we hope that feeling will inspire you to make yourself better each time you work out. Get ready for a great August at Functional Fitness 204! Huge congratulations to Reed MacKenzie and our friends at Functional Fitness Taranis in Victoria. Alicia Connors finished 35th in her second trip to the Games, while Team Taranis finished third and collected Canada’s first medal in the team competition. The amazing and always-smiling Angie Pye finished 10th overall and was only nine points behind Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, who was eighth. Hats off also to Patty’s group from Functional Fitness Vancouver, who finished 19th in the team standings. Congrats also go to Gord Mackinnon of New Westminster, B.C., who won the 50-55 Masters division (fittest over 50!); Ted Fryia of Catalyst Fitness in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who finished fourth in the 55-60 division; and Laurie Meschishnick of Saskatoon, Sask., who finished second in the 45-50 division. It’s great to see Canadians representing at the Games. Thanks for your effort!

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