GrandMastersRx

Yes, this is a “single feature” newsletter. You usually don’t see these from us – we like to pound you with all the things that are going on, going through our heads and going to happen in the near future.

But today, we celebrate Sandy’s accomplishment – qualifying for the Games.

Sandy is 72 (going on 108 if you ask some of us…inside joke!) and has been training CrossFit-style and in functional fitness since January of 2022 – only two years!  We have to give it to her – she digs in when she’s interested in improving or excelling at something. She trains in our GrandMastersRx program three days a week and has also trained in the gymnastics class once a week, the cardio class once a week, and has done some private training for extra skill work on the elusive gymnastics movements and Olympic Lifts. She has a bit of a statistical background (she’s an accountant by trade) so measuring and managing things that way has been an asset in her training.

Sandy boasts some impressive stats at 72 years of age:

While we’re over-the-moon proud of her accomplishments, as I told her recently (Coach Sam here), I’m most proud of her playful love of the sport, and her humility. If you know us (Ed and I), we always ran a very inclusive ship…egos weren’t tolerated in our first gym, and you surely wouldn’t expect them in our “senior” gym now. Training aggressively when you’re over 50 is hard – why make it harder by taking things so seriously that you’re not having fun? We love that about Sandy.Then, there’s the forever learner. I’ve always said: “What a great way to retire….(even though Sandy’s not fully retired yet)…retire to being a gym rat!” In an age where Americans are in the worst physical and metabolic shape in our country’s history, there are worse things than creating a hobby around fitness – real fitness. Fitness that keeps you lean, muscular, and “able” well past those Golden Years. Sandy’s always looking to learn new things, and her “suck list” (things she might be bad at or need work on) is as long as most younger athletes’ suck lists…but she leans into it.

What Sandy’s most known for is being an “overthinker” – and it’s awesome! While functional fitness is a movement sport – it’s more about more feeling the movement and when you get it right – you likely know it. Maybe it’s the numbers and analytics in her background. 2+2 =4. It’s a fact. When you get it right you know it. ! But was she hollowed out with tension from her arms to her toes in her handstand? Eek! “Was that it”? is a common phrase we hear from her…with our answer being “Did if FEEL LIKE IT?”. LOL! Telling someone who is very black-and-white to “feel” if it’s right has been a hilarious learning experience for us as her coaches!

What a pleasure this woman is to train and have with us in our gym.

Congratulations from all of us at GrandMastersRx and best of luck to Sandy in her journey to the Games.

She will compete in the Masters CrossFit Games in Birmingham, Alabama from August 29th through September 1st. We are hoping that ESPN’s coverage of the CrossFit Games will also be at the Masters Event, also known as the Legends Classic. We’ll post updates to our social media channels as we learn more details of her competition weekend.