"Being there for one day, I thought, 'Wow, I just watched some incredible people do ridiculously amazing things. I want to do that.'"
Photos by: Jesse James Photography
“Surgite” is Ashley Smith's motto for 2013.
Latin for “push on,” Surgite will be Smith's beacon in her first year of CrossFit competition. It's also the name of her new gym, CrossFit Surgite.
“I've told myself, I've only been doing this for nine months compared to a lot of the girls who have two or more years of experience and training under their belt. If I don't make it to Regionals this year, I am confident I will make it for 2014,” Smith says. “I hold high expectations for myself, but also try to be realistic and grounded with any possible outcome.”
Smith's first impression of CrossFit was a strong one. She “fell in love” with the sport during a visit to the Canada East Regional in 2012.
“Being there for one day I thought, ‘Wow, I just watched some incredible people do ridiculously amazing things. I want to do that, all of it,’” she recalls. “After that, I was at the gym twice a day, a few times a week.”
A quick fan of Julie Foucher and Michele Letendre, Smith made contact with Doug Chapman and asked him to coach her.
Growing up in a competitive home — she played AAA hockey in addition to other sports — and working as a personal trainer has exposed Smith to fitness. Until now, though, she's never pushed herself.
“I started out CrossFit thinking I knew what training was, but wow, was I ever wrong,” she says. “I had no idea that the level of intensity I thought I was hitting was actually quite sub par for where I could push myself to.”
Under Chapman’s guidance, her early focus was lifting more efficiently. Smith began to hit numbers she'd never hit before.
“I felt like I had been hit by a bus for a month straight. I was addicted, in a weird but exhilarating way.”
Her back squat is up to 300 lb., and her clean and jerk is 178 lb. She does Fran in 3:01 and Karen in 6:45.
Last month, along with Kevin Cooper, Justin Parrow and George McPherson, Smith opened CrossFit Surgite in St. Catharines, Ontario. She believes the inspiring athletes in the box will help her stay focused on the Open.
“You walk in feeling like you're at your home away from home and that you are capable of anything,” she says. “Not just because you know you can do it, but because you know you have the people and team around you to support your every move, mentally and physically.”
She adds: “Watching people struggle and fight through some intense workouts, breaking down, but then learning how to build themselves up and then break through to lift up their friend struggling right next to them. It's something I’ve never experienced before. The exhilaration of someone else's success becoming your own success and pride — it’s such a great feeling.”
