Fitness allows her to enjoy getting older with better mobility, agility, and balance.
Masters competitor Lidia Beer has not always been fit. However, this year will mark her second time competing at the CrossFit Games.
After having a child at 34 years old, Beer found herself overweight. To help get her started, she enlisted the help of Jane Fonda and Cher, using their fitness tapes at home. Over time, she progressed to running, tackling several 10K races and 13 marathons, as well as training at a local gym. With the help of a trainer she met at a globo gym, Beer was introduced to high intensity interval training, which eventually led her to CrossFit.
As a newbie to CrossFit heading into the 2011 Games, she had no idea what to expect other than it was going to be fun. She says the level of fitness of the other Masters athletes amazed her. It made her feel like an athlete for the first time.
Until the Games, Beer, competing in the 55-59 division, did not realize how big CrossFit had become worldwide. She was overwhelmed by the amount of support she received – not only from the members of her box, CrossFit Coastal, but also by her fellow competitors. She was amazed to meet so many other women her age at her fitness level. She placed seventh overall in her age group and headed back home with a very different perspective.
To get ready for the Games, Beer had dialed in nutrition, leaning out and dropping 12 pounds. She’s also put a focus on two of her biggest weaknesses – pull-ups and toes-to-bars. While overall endurance is an asset, she says she still needs to work on it before the competition. She’s confident she’ll improve on her seventh place finish in 2011.
Between training for the Games and her day job as a Director of Project Management for AT&T, Beer enjoys spending time with her husband of 23 years and being “domestic” – cooking, sewing and gardening.
Beer shares the sentiment of many other CrossFit athletes; fitness is a passion, but it’s also what she does for fun. She says it allows her to enjoy getting older with better mobility, agility and balance. Beer is a firm believer in not letting your mind set limits on your body. And it shows.
