"I love training, and I think that's a common denominator amongst the guys competing. You have to learn to enjoy the process and prepare yourself as best as possible."
After the first three workouts of the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games Open, Hudson Fricke, 25, is sitting in 18th place overall in the South East (unofficial).
“I've been fortunate so far, having (the first) two workouts be overhead movements with the barbell,” Fricke said. “I knew I could do decent with these two. You just have to stay consistent through all five.”
Fricke finished Open Workout 14.1 and 14.2 in 10th place in the region. He finished 14.3 in 120th place after scoring 148 reps.
Last year, Fricke’s best finish was on Open Workout 13.3 (150 wall-ball shots, 90 double-unders and 30 muscle-ups), in which he placed third in the South East. His worst finish was 145th on 13.2 (five shoulders-to-overheads, 10 deadlifts and 15 box jumps).
“Typically, I do better with workouts that require proper pacing and have more body weight, higher-skill movements,” Fricke said. “That being said, the less skilled, heavier movements tend to be my downfall. Not that 13.2 was heavy, but there was really no skill or pacing required. High power output ... workouts have never been my strong suit.”
Nevertheless, Fricke’s overall performance last year earned him a trip to the South East Regional, where he finished 29th overall.
“Going into regionals last year, I knew the weights would be heavy, and I definitely struggled,” Fricke said.
“Absolute strength has been something I've been trying to improve upon since I started CrossFit,” he said. “I have never had big numbers when it comes to strength, which is partly what brought me to CrossFit. You didn't have to have big numbers to do well, but people are only getting better, so in order to continually test the best, you have to add weight to the equation.”
“I think my biggest obstacle making it back (to regionals) is going to be workouts like 13.2 and 14.3, but I'm doing my best in the others to stay in close contention,” he added.
A former collegiate basketball player at the University of Florida, Fricke played under Coach Billy Donovan. Donovan, currently entering his 18th year at Florida, has led the Gators to two National Championship titles, five SEC Championship titles, and was named 2011 and 2013 SEC Coach of the Year.
Under Donovan, Fricke said he learned what it means to have a winning mentality.
“It wasn't until after those years experienced at Florida that I began to understand what goes into winning on and off the court,” Fricke said. “Playing for Coach Donovan showed me what it meant to compete everyday and mentally fight through fatigue. Florida basketball forces opponents to play out of their comfort zone so in order to play that style, you must train that style.”
Fricke also trained under Matt Herring, strength and conditioning coach for the Gators for seven years, including the two years they won the National Championship title. Herring, who was also the San Antonio Spurs strength and conditioning coach for two years after his time at Florida, focuses on mobility as a base for strength and conditioning.
“I've always loved training, even with basketball,” Fricke said. “I was a huge gym rat. The offseason was one of my favorite times. I knew I'd put the hours in, whether alone or with a group, in order to get where I needed to be for the upcoming season.”
When Fricke’s Florida days ended, the natural next step was CrossFit.
“Once I finished with playing basketball competitively, I was looking for something to train for, something deeper, and I already loved physical training so CrossFit was the answer,” Fricke said.
His friend and co-owner of Southern Moon CrossFit David Schlarb introduced him to the sport. Now Fricke, who coaches at Southern Moon, is training to compete as an individual once again at the South East Regional.
“Going into the offseason after last year's (South East) Regional, I wanted to get stronger, like everyone else, but the main goal I had was to make it back,” Fricke said.
“I love the training, and I think that's a common denominator amongst the guys competing,” he said. “You have to learn to enjoy the process and prepare yourself as best as possible,” he said.
Although his goal is to compete as an individual, Fricke said he feels he still has a team behind him.
“I've been extremely blessed with the support we have at Southern Moon CrossFit,” he said. “We try to make it a big event each weekend during the Open in order to get everyone involved in supporting one another. I love it.”
As a coach, Fricke strives to show the members of Southern Moon more than just a big score to put on the Leaderboard at the end of every week.
“I don't feel pressure to perform by any means, but you do want to show members the gratifying rewards of consistent, smart, hard work,” he said. “For me, that's competing.”
Above all else, Fricke said he has one main goal: “Enjoy it!”
