“I don’t like to stand around and look at the bar ... To me, it’s going to hurt just as bad in 15 seconds as it does now, so why not keep going?”
Photos courtesy of Josh Newton
Lance Schaefer thought his wife Karol was crazy when she started CrossFit.
It took Karol more than a year to convince her husband of 40 years to give CrossFit a try.
Fast forward roughly three years and Schaefer, a 61-year-old electrician who works out at least five times a week at CrossFit Enhance in Decatur, Ill., has a different mindset. While many people start thinking about vacations and retirement after 60, Schaefer has his eyes set on competing against some of the fittest men on Earth at the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games.
Last year, Schaefer finished 26th worldwide in the Masters Men 60+ Division, missing a spot to the Games by a mere six spots.
By focusing on eliminating his weaknesses, he finished the 2014 Open in fifth place worldwide. Now, he turns his focus to the Masters Qualifier.
Schaefer battled through a nagging Achilles injury during the 2013 Open, and he said not qualifying for the Games was a blessing in disguise.
“Looking back now, it was probably good I didn’t make it,” he said. “I wasn’t ready last year, but I got to watch the masters and I got to see what the Games were like.”
After the 2013 Open, Schaefer and his coach Josh Newton from CrossFit Enhance took a couple of months to allow Schaefer’s Achilles to heal. During that time, Schaefer worked on non-jumping movements including handstand push-ups, overhead squats, presses, deadlifts and pull-ups.
Once his Achilles was back to 100 percent, Schaefer aggressively began to work on his biggest area of concern: double-unders.
“I spent at least a month working on double-unders, every day, seven days a week,” Schaefer said. “I would get in front of a mirror and just hammer away and miss and fail and get frustrated. (Newton) and everyone would just tell me to keep going and that I’d get it. It was hard, but finally I could do three, then five, then 10 and then I just got the rhythm.”
Newton sees the hard work paying off.
“This year has been a matter of mentality,” he said. “His whole mindset is different now. (Schaefer) is so focused and wants to perform. Last year, it was like he was just happy to be doing as well as he was doing. This time it’s been a year of pushing harder and going heavier than ever before.”
Schaefer credits his motor for keeping him at the top of his CrossFit game.
“I don’t like to stand around and look at the bar,” he said. “I see a lot of people stand there for 15 or 30 seconds and just look at that thing. I tell myself, ‘Just pick it up and keep going.’ To me, it’s going to hurt just as bad in 15 seconds as it does now, so why not keep going?”
Aside from his impressive endurance capacity, Schaefer has a great support system that benefits him, as well. His wife is always by his side and Schaefer said he also relies heavily on his strong faith.
“My Christianity is everything to me,” he said. “Everything I can do with CrossFit springs from my faith in God. I feel like making it to the Games this year would be a great accomplishment. I think it will give me a wider audience to share my testimony.”
Some might think this year’s changes to the masters competition would be disappointing to Schaefer—if the rules were the same as last year, Schaefer would be headed to the Games—he relishes the chance to prove himself in the Masters Qualifier and show that he deserves to be at the Games this summer.
“(The Masters Qualifier) is more like a regional,” he said. “I like that it will be harder and heavier and more brutal. This benefits the good (CrossFit athletes) and the strong, really fit older athletes like me.”
Schaefer’s coach agreed.
“I don’t know if last year was a fair fight,” Newton said. “When I watched the Games on the Games site, it didn’t seem like all the older guys could really do the work. With the extra workouts and the videos this year, people can’t BS their way through workouts and make it to the Games. These guys are going to have to prove it and earn it. Lance is ready.”
