Ryan and Aaron Bielefeldt are known as perhaps the fittest duo of brothers in the South Central Region.
Ryan and Aaron Bielefeldt are known as perhaps the fittest duo of brothers in the South Central Region.
For years, they both excelled as individuals on the regional stage but fell just short of qualifying for the CrossFit Games.
After working together to open Ballistic CrossFit in June 2013, the brothers thought it only natural to join forces on the competition front, as well.
The result: a dream first season for the new gym, based in San Antonio, Texas. Team Ballistic finished first during the Open stage of competition, then rode that wave to a top-10 finish in seven out of eight regional events, which landed them in third place overall for the weekend.
Third place meant a podium spot and a golden ticket to the Games in Carson, California.
“It’s a surreal feeling not only being one of the first-year affiliates to qualify, but to be the first team from San Antonio to make a Games appearance,” Ryan said. “The community in our gym absolutely deserves this. Everyone works so hard and it motivates us to do what we do day in and day out. We’re so glad to represent them at the Games.”
While the team may have seemed destined to make it this far, the final day of regionals had its members on edge. The point spread going into Events 7 and 8 had left Team Ballistic in a position where it needed to produce or else fall out of contention.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say we looked at the point system and ran scenarios through our head of what exactly we needed to do to qualify,” Ryan said. “There was certainly some pressure on us because it was extremely close. But ultimately, we all knew we had to just go out and perform well. (Event 7) didn’t necessarily go our way, so it sort of motivated us to finish strong. That was sort of indicative of how the weekend went.”
While the team wasn’t satisfied with its performance in Event 7, it was truly Event 5—rope climbs and thrusters—where it struggled the most. Team Ballistic tied for 14th and with rope climbs having played a significant role at the 2013 Games, the team has been practicing this skill over the last few months.
“We certainly did struggle with the rope climbs. Our girls did what they needed to, but the guys didn't,” Aaron said. “This was the workout where we strayed away from our plan, and it really blew up in our face. We had done that WOD a few times in practice, and it was never as poor as what we did at regionals. We learned about sticking with the plan, and keeping our cool when things start to unravel.”
Ryan added: “Sometimes workouts don’t go according to plan. It’s not necessarily an issue with specifics like a rope climb or a thruster, or even a combination of the two. Like every WOD we do together, we just have to remember to communicate and stay calm. We’ve certainly worked on our communication and our transitioning.”
In addition to improving skills and becoming a stronger unit, Team Ballistic has amped up its training to compete with the best teams in the world for a title they desperately want.
“Our training for the Games is a lot of the same,” Aaron explained. “Our coaches have kept the formatting the same, but have upped our volume. We've seen more two-a-days, plus heavier loads. We looked at regionals, and as far as weights go, it was lighter. We are looking to see more weight being thrown around at the Games. We also know there is more space to work with in Carson, so we expect longer runs, and obscure tasks to be there. We feel prepared mentally and physically.”
He praises his team for its overall athleticism. In fact, four of the six athletes qualified for regionals as individuals: the Bielefeldt brothers, Heather Sanchez and Jenna Gracey.
Sanchez, a top-10 2013 regional finisher, played college volleyball and has qualified for the American Open and Nationals the last two years in Olympic Weightlifting. This year, she had a top 15 showing in the Open.
Like Sanchez, team member Alex Escamilla has qualified the last two years for the American Open and Nationals.
“He has matured a ton as a person and athlete this last year,” Aaron said, “and we look forward to seeing him in the future.”
Gracey, a former gymnast, is no stranger to CrossFit competition. She’s qualified for regionals the last three years and in 2013 finished in the top 10 as an individual.
Team member Joy Turner holds multiple records in swimming at the University of the Incarnate Word. Relatively new to CrossFit, she had a chance to qualify for regionals as an individual in 2014 but tweaked her back near the end of the competition, which hampered her performance.
Thanks to the regionals experience and more time in the gym together, this team of talented individuals is starting to gel just in time for Carson.
“We are getting much better at trusting each other and working together,” Aaron said. “I think at times in the past, we had issues with that. We focused a lot of our energy toward getting more comfortable doing things together instead of relying solely on our own abilities. I think our biggest weakness right now would be overall experience as a team. We've only been together as all six for just over a year. Trust and full dependency takes time.”
The brothers aren’t content with simply coasting through the Games; each hopes to lead their team to an impressive first year.
“Obviously we want to do well. I think what’s important for us is that we’re not just satisfied to make it,” Ryan admitted. “Making it to the Games is so difficult, and this could be an opportunity we never see again. We want to make the best of it and have no regrets whatsoever. We want to push and fight, similar to regionals, and make a strong push for the podium.”
As a final note, Aaron added: “Our goal is to win it. We have not been training our butts off just to go have a good time and get experience. We want to do our best, and give everything we have. That's all we can ask, and at the end of the day see where we fall. I have high expectations for what we can do.”
