When Scott Olson’s daughter told him about her CrossFit workouts that involved hundreds of reps at a time, he thought it was “nuts.”
“Nobody can do 100 pull-ups,” he thought.
But Olson gave it a try, and then another, and then he kept coming back. Today, he is the reigning champ in the 60-Plus Masters Division at the CrossFit Games, and he has competed there three times.
“To me, it’s more the fear of losing than it is the enjoyment of winning. I enjoy winning, but I just don’t wanna lose,” says Olson, of Front Range CrossFit in Colorado.
Being an older athlete is something the 61-year-old says he likes to ignore.
“(I’m) trying not to think about the age, ya know, cause if you do then you’ll think how old you really are, especially now that I’m over 60. I hate to even say that,” Olson says. “I work out with, ya know, 25-, 30-year-olds I don’t really see much difference, ya know, in what I’m doing and what they’re doing.”
As a Masters athlete, Olson has advice for others who feel they’re too old to exercise: forget your age.
“Get off the couch and start movin’.”
Olson will compete at the Games for the fourth time next week as he defends his Masters title.
Video by Mike Koslap.
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Additional reading: Hot and Bothered at the Masters Competition by Emily Beers, published July 30, 2012.