"The first video I saw was Fran and I almost went crazy."
Photos by: Jorgue Huerta
Oyden Ortega is already a known name in the Latin America CrossFit community, having participated in CrossFit competition since 2010. Now, in his fourth year, he falls in the Masters Men 40-44 Division.
Ortega traded in a promising career in baseball to become a lawyer. However, he never quit his athletic lifestyle. For several years, he dedicated most of his free time to bodybuilding-type workouts.
By 2006, Ortega weighed 226 pounds. He says he experienced a life or death moment after ending up at the hospital in a critical state. He decided to change his lifestyle and began working out at the park near his home.
“I was only doing pull-ups, push-ups and burpees, but changing up the orders so I wouldn’t get bored,” Ortega says.
One day while video surfing on the Internet for new exercise ideas, he discovered CrossFit.
“The first video I saw was Fran and I almost went crazy,” he remembers. “I wanted to know what this was all about, so I starting sending emails to Glassman so I could find out more by any means possible.”
This led him to open the first CrossFit affiliate in Central America.
“I'm not the typical CrossFitter, as I don't train CrossFit every single day. I practice CrossFit as a complementary sport for my routine,” he explains. “I don´t … follow any special diet. I believe in a healthy diet, but I have to admit … if my kids want to have pizza today, I´ll eat pizza.”
Despite this, he has been a consistent competitor.
After 13.3, Ortega is tied for second in Latin America for his age category and 343rd worldwide. He managed 150 reps on 13.1, was a little shy of nine rounds on 13.2, and completed 12 muscle-ups on 13.3. He submitted his 13.4 score the night the workout was released with a score of 95 total reps.
“I feel strong, but it is funny how 20-year-olds want to compare and try to beat my scores, an old man of 42,” Ortega says.
Ortega has not focused on being the No. 1 ranked competitor, nor is he interested in lifting heavier than everybody else. He is satisfied with being a good athlete who lives a healthy and balanced life. He values the community factor of CrossFit and says he is most concerned with changing lives.
“I have a member at my box in Panama, CrossFit Briga, that according to his wife had not been able to pick up his two little kids in over a year due to back problems,” he says. “After training with CrossFit, he is now able to. As a coach, this is more important and more fulfilling than anything else.”
