On Episode 264 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed CrossFit success story Irene Mejia and CrossFit Inferno owner Bill Grundler. This episode was webcast live at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.
5:40 Irene Mejia has been overweight her entire life and tried everything she could to lose weight. Once she was diagnosed with diabetes, she knew she had to shed pounds to be healthy. She lost about 35 lb. on her own but got even greater results when she joined a CrossFit affiliate a few blocks from her house. She described how she was initially intimidated by CrossFit but said various success stories convinced her that the program could be her answer. To date, she has lost almost 200 lb., and she has formed lifetime friends in the CrossFit community. Interestingly, she has traveled to 74 different affiliates to work out. Finally, Meija talked about competing in the Open and why the competitive side of CrossFit is important to her.
30:33 In January of this year, Bill Grundler made the decision to leave his full-time job as a firefighter to run CrossFit Inferno. He explained that his immediate focus was on strengthening the infrastructure of his business, and he started by establishing an internship and training program. A top athlete, Grundler talked about his own training, his personal outlook for the Open and his desire to qualify for the CrossFit Games. Grundler could compete as a Master, but he talked about instead going head to head with the studs in the Individual category. Grundler said he thinks it’s valuable for the average CrossFitter to compete even if qualifying for Regionals or the Games is unlikely. In terms of programming, Grundler explained how he trains his own athletes to handle the volume and weights associated with his aggressive programming.