Better Each Year: Amanda DeRosa

March 6, 2012

Kyle Wise

After two weeks, Amanda DeRosa holds 5th in the South West.

DeRosa is on track for a third appearance at the South West Regional. Will she move to the final stage in 2012?

 

 

Amanda Butterfield DeRosa, the woman currently sitting in 5th place overall in the South West Region, isn’t a stranger to CrossFit competition.

In 2010, DeRosa took 10th place at the San Diego Sectional and 29th at the 2010 South West Regional. The next year she climbed to 10th at the 2011 South West Regional.

But alas, the coveted top three spots, the ones that guarantee an appearance at the CrossFit Games, elude her. Since she managed to jump from 29th to 10th over the course of just one year, a top three finish is naturally DeRosa’s newest objective.

“My goal is to go to Regionals and place top three individually for a spot to the Games,” DeRosa says. “I feel better going into this Games season in comparison to last year. Mentally and physically, I feel stronger. I won't be holding anything back.”

Her efforts appear to be paying off so far. As of Week 2 of the Open, she is sitting in 5th in the South West after completing 121 burpees (6th in the South West) and 86 snatches (38th in the South West).

DeRosa’s background as an athlete goes all the way back to the age of four, when she was introduced to the game of soccer. Soccer would become her predominate activity as she continued to play it up through high school and in college at Northern Arizona University. She also ran track and field in high school and did one season of indoor track at NAU.

DeRosa continued to be active when her athletic career came to an end.

“After college, and an ankle and knee surgery later, my way to ‘stay in shape’ was to do 5Ks, 10Ks, and eventually three half marathons and do workouts at your typical ‘globo gym,’” she says.

These marathons, 5Ks, and gyms, however, were unfulfilling for DeRosa, and she began to desire more intense workouts, reminiscent of her days as an athlete.

“I started getting bored of that routine and figured there had to be a better way to stay in shape,” she says. “I had heard of CrossFit and wanted to try it.”

DeRosa began doing CrossFit at CrossFit Now in Tucson, Ariz. It has become a vital part of her life and has given her the opportunity to compete once again.

“I consider CrossFit my new sport,” DeRosa says. “It gives me something to keep my competitive spirit alive and I have met only the best of people with it, while staying fit.”

While describing the keys to success in CrossFit, DeRosa stresses the importance of being part of a good box, and the close-knit community atmosphere that comes with it.  

“I believe to be successful in CrossFit, you have to be a part of a box that has a community like a family,” she says. “At CrossFit Now, I have exactly that and more. The support of all of the members and coaches is what motivates me and the elite athletes I have to train with, is what makes me better.”