"I am going to go to the CrossFit Games." ~ Sean Thomson
It was a Saturday night in a bar in Northeast Philadelphia three years ago. Sean Thomson just heard about CrossFit and told his friend, “I am going to go to the CrossFit Games.”
This year may be the year Thomson proves himself right. He is in 1st place in the Mid-Atlantic and 2nd place on the worldwide Leaderboard and just landed a sponsorship from Progenex. Thomson says his gym members, family and friends enjoyed watching his success throughout the open even more than he did. “It’s really cool to be behind the champion, Rich Froning,” he says.
However Thomson isn’t going to dwell on that. For him the big picture is getting top three and making in out to California.
Last year Thomson qualified for the North East Regional and came in 23rd place. He hadn’t yet dedicated himself to the kind of training it would take to do well at Regionals, and even ran 100 miles for charity a few weeks before the competition. He believes he was too content just making it there to compete with top athletes like Orlando, Tyminski and Malleolo.
After last year Regionals, Thomson realized he needed to grow up. “Too many people are content with living for Friday and Saturday nights,” he says about coming from a blue-collar neighborhood.
Thomson doesn’t want to be that statistic. “If I don’t do it myself, I’m never going to help my gym mature and grow.”
It was important for him to be a role model; and he attributes that as his motivation to train like he does.
Thomson works out five days a week, doing multiple workouts per day. His workouts are typically done alone at 5 AM before his first class. He likes to push his limits by making the weight heavier, the time domain longer or by putting on a weight vest or gas mask. Thomson also swims two to three nights per week. He has been faithfully following Mike’s Gym for Olympic lifting, which has lead to numerous PRs. He focuses on weaknesses and eats strictly paleo. His rest days are active with three stretching sessions, ice and hydration. Thomson believes in going as hard by himself as he would in front of a crowd. “Nothing changes, I’m going to hit the workout the same.”
Thomson has come a long way from that young man boasting at a bar. He has his sights set on the Games and has put in the real work that could make it a reality. Thomson is not content with just making it to Regionals as he was last year. He is going to Regionals to win. He wants to prove anyone can make changes in their lives for the better. Making it to the games would mean everything to Thomson. He says getting there would be for his family, his friends and to know all my training and hard work have paid off.
He has no doubt it would positively impact the members of his gym.
“What I am doing is impacting people’s lives,” he says.
