Adrian Lui on Making the Choice

April 6, 2012

Jennifer Young

“I find it very rewarding to put a lot of time and effort into achieving something you didn’t think was possible."

Photos by: Chrissie Wu

At the close of the Open, Adrian Lui sits fourth in Canada east with 54 points. If you haven’t heard of him before, it’s because this is his first year competing in the CrossFit Games season.

Lui has been dabbling in CrossFit since 2007, first using it as a supplement to his strength training for the University of Waterloo rugby team. After completing a Masters in Kinesiology at Brock University, Lui moved to New Zealand for a year to attend teacher’s college. While there, he joined CrossFit Canterbury, but was still focused on rugby, school and traveling when the 2011 Open started.

But CrossFit Canterbury’s head coach, Ken Franks, planted the seed that he should train to be ready for 2012, and he’s done just that. Since returning to Canada this past December, he has found a new home at CrossFit Connection in Burlington, and has PR’d many of his lifts by as much as 20 pounds. He credits Connection’s programming with his recent gains. “I trust Jason [Bird]; he’s got me this far in a few months, and I’m just going to continue with that,” Lui says. “Don’t fix what’s not broken.”

Lui is motivated most by a drive to push himself. “I find it very rewarding to put a lot of time and effort into achieving something you didn’t think was possible,” he says. “I love CrossFit because you meet people with that same mindset. They aren’t afraid of doing hard things, because they know it will benefit them (or someone else) in the end.”

Lui is also motivated by a desire to share what he loves with others, and has incorporated this passion into all aspects of his life. He coaches rugby and teaches chemistry and physical education in addition to his coaching at CrossFit Connection.

Regionals draw near, Lui is undecided whether to contribute his efforts toward his team, or concentrate on the Individual competition. While he is only 4 points behind 3rd place Jay Rhodes, he trails Albert-Dominic Larouche and Peter D’Amore by 32 and 26 points respectively, and feels the top men might be too far out of reach. “It would be awesome to go individual, but I honestly don’t think I’m good enough to qualify for the finals,” he admits. “I’m going to be honest, I would want to win it.”

Lui’s best performances in the Open were two 6th place finishes in Canada East – 431 reps in 12.3 and 137 in 12.5 (a 29-rep improvement over his score when he tried the same event in December). He thinks he will likely focus this year on having a fun experience with his team. But with over a month to train before Regionals, and given his improvements of late, qualifying might be just another thing Lui can add to the list of achievements he didn’t think were possible.