Survival of the fittest

A mixed team of six Queenstowners proved their all-round fitness at the recent ‘‘brutal’’ two-day CrossFit nationals at Mystery Creek, on the outskirts of Hamilton.

The ‘Hustle & Muscle’ team from the Remarkables Fit gym — comprising owner Steph Young, Tara Murphy, Kerry McIntosh, Ricky Griffiths, Matias Torres and Stephen Borsboom — finished second out of 80 teams in the ‘RX’ division.

That division sits between the beginner or ‘scaled’ division and the elite division.

Young says it’s the country’s largest CrossFit comp, though you don’t have to be affiliated with the CrossFit organisation — ‘‘we’re not affiliated any more’’.

She describes the event as two days of ‘‘brutal slog, especially in the heat up there’’.

‘‘The volume was easily three times what it was last year.

‘‘We all went in thinking it’d be a bit of fun — it was fun, but really tough.’’

Competition involved 11 disciplines including weightlifting, gymnastics, a lake swim, running and pulling a tractor.

That last challenge was tricky as they had to deal with a slippery field that still had morning dew on it.

The whole event ‘‘keeps you on your toes, which I guess is the exciting part, and you didn’t get a lot of time between events’’, Young says.

She’s proud her small ‘functional fit’ gym — which fluctuates between 60 and 80 members — had 24 members competing.

In addition to ‘Hustle & Muscle’ there was another team in the RX division and two in the scaled division.

She’s hoping they’ll field a masters category team next year, too.

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