CrossFit Athletic Group

Wow.

Just, wow.

I just looked up Crystal's Athlete of the Spring post and this bit jumped out:

Seven years from now, Crystal will probably still be using 75-lbs. for deadlifts, claiming 12k kettlebell swings are too heavy, and arguing that there is some secret to running faster that has nothing to do with getting over her fear of falling, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Little did I know that exactly seven years later she'd up up for another Athlete Award. Off the top of my head we've had 10 people hit multiple Athlete Awards across the years:

• Bubs - winter '11-'12, Summer '12, spring '22, Summer '22
• Bromm - fall '12, Summer '13
• Jason - winter '13-'14, Summer '14
• Shakes - Summer '16, spring '18
• David Sap - Summer '17, winter '23-'24
• Woooooooorden - winter '17-'18, winter '18-'19
• Dillon - spring '20, Summer '20
• Mrs. Tara - fall '20, winter '20-'21
• Aaron - winter '22-'23, Summer '24
• Chase - fall '23, spring '24

Crystal becomes #11 (a sacred number with origins from the book of Isiah, especially chapters 89-91). The two points I'd like to bring to attention is 1) the amount of time between her two awards, and 2) her age. I used to say our goal was to slowly, steadily, increase our fitness until we reach around 60 years old, then delay the decline for as long as we can; Crystal's recent fitness renaissance has flipped that notion on its head. Here is her first pull-up from spring 2012 when we were homeless and using Jarrod's gym:

That would not be counted as a pull-up by today's standards: she jumped. Not that that matters, though, because this fall she did two legit pull-ups in a row (and about an inch away from a third), after not being able to do a "pull-up" since probably 2013. She also hit a lifetime deadlift pr, a push-up pr, can kick to a handstand cold at 7 in the morning, and is jumping on top of boxes; she is clearly fitter at 64 than she was at 54. I can't pretend to have any idea of how hard that is, all I know is Crystal Reed keeps pushing that peak of fitness further and further into a lifespan.

There is one factor that I think has played the biggest role in delaying any sort of decline: her true rededication to being a student. In Aaron's AOTS post, I mention that everyone has their own individual standard that would earn them any given award; that was Crystal's, even more than pull-ups. On a coachability scale from Mr. Ron to Bewick, Crystal and I have a history of butting heads - not to the extent Bewick and I do, but probably in the realm of Mr. Robinson or Conamora. In fact, I'll bring out another quote from her Athlete of the Spring Article:

The only thing I really remember about her during those days is always telling her to get all the way up on her sit-ups: chest to the thighs; seven years later, I still have to tell her the same thing. But the important point of that sentence is the "seven years later" part.

Welp, seven years later I can confidently say that those coaching points have been cut in half. Probably more than half, actually. The fact that Crystal has allowed me to be more strict on the mental side of her workouts than the physical has been the highlight of the fall for me. I'd say her main point of emphasis has been discipline. Ultimately, I am always hopeful for the day you guys make me coach something different, and, as usual, you all have your own standards for what "different" means, but in her (and all you guys') defense, there are many different things to be disciplined about: balls of feet, flat back, knees out, arches up, talk to yourself, brace your midline, no FAPs, round count, rep count, elbows in, legs before arms, keep balance, don't bite it on the box jump, don't be soft, butt back... and then Mr. Malak rips ass, or Mr. Gjon rolls in right as the workout is about to begin, or Emma Lang goes Emma Lang: attention diverted. But no matter what, we have to keep locked in for whatever duration the workout calls for, and Crystal has repeatedly done that this fall, whether it's squatting all the way down, not getting sloppy on push-ups, making a deadlift feel harder than it normally would, or not worrying about what everyone else's pace is. On the occasions she does slip up, one reminder will usually be enough. 

Any time I hear someone use phrases like, "parents are who they are," or "old and stubborn," or "fitness declines with age," I will concede there is some truth behind that, but I can also point to Crystal as proof that it doesn't have to be that way. In the general, scientific sense, Crystal "ol' Benjamina Button" Reed is currently the fittest she has ever been in her life, exactly seven years after I thought she was the fittest she would ever be in her life. And with our recent participation in running events, there's rumors of the original marathon queen getting back out on the course with all you oddballs.

No wonder she insists on butting heads with me: she keeps proving me wrong!