Back to the Podium: Lauren Guibert

March 14, 2012

Imtiaz Desai

"My goals is the same every year - to improve upon the previous year. I definitely have my work cut out for me because the Africa Region has really expanded."

The African CrossFit community first learned about Lauren Guibert through her video submissions in the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games Open. Guibert began CrossFit in 2008 and has been competing in since 2010. She placed 3rd in last year’s Africa Regional, and is aiming to finish on the podium again in 2012.

What lessons did you learn during the 2011 season?

I already knew that I needed to work on my gymnastics movements and Olympic weightlifting, and the 2011 season reinforced that. I also learned to improve the way I prepare myself before a workout and became a lot more disciplined about my pre-workout mobility. This really helped with preventing injury.

What changes have you made to your training in the lead up to the 2012 season?

I haven’t really changed the way I train this season. I like to maintain a good base of training throughout the year using the main site, and then incorporate small 6- to 8-week focused training periods to improve specific skills like running, strength lifts and gymnastics movements. I get bored if the programming stays the same all the time, so I like to change things up to keep forcing my body to adapt.

What weaknesses have you overcome since last year’s Regional?

It’s been a different kind of challenge preparing for the Games this year. My work hours have been very demanding compared to previous years and sometimes it’s hard to find the time to train.

I also don’t have the same access to a coach or a traditional box to train in that I had in previous years. I’ve worked on my gymnastics movements and Olympic lifting this year because I consider those my weak areas, but I definitely would have liked having a coach there to help me with the more technical aspects of the movements.

At the end of the day, I don’t like to make excuses. I do the best I can with what I have available to me, and that’s all anyone can really ask of themselves.  

What are your goals for 2012?

My goal is the same every year – to improve upon the previous year. I definitely have my work cut out for me because the Africa Region really expanded this year, which is a great thing to see. I’d like to improve upon my 3rd place finish from last year and win this year, but we have some very strong, capable ladies competing this year, working hard to achieve the same goal. If I make the podium again this year, I would consider that a success.  

What are your thoughts in this year’s Open thus far?

Thus far, the Open has been exactly what a broad-scale CrossFit test should be. We started off at one [end] of the spectrum with a gymnastics movement that favors the lighter athletes, then went to the other end of the spectrum and used a very technical Olympic lifting movement to judge raw strength and speed. The 3rd week hit the very middle of the spectrum combining three different modalities in a classic AMRAP-style triplet. I was expecting something similar to come up and it was nice to see I was right.

I think we’ll probably see some more technical movements like handstand push-ups and maybe some heavy deadlifts come up in the last two workouts. I can’t wait to find out.

​After Workout 12.3 close, Guibert is in 5th place in the Africa Region.