Competing Together: Weigel and Broadbent

February 20, 2012

Jessica Sieff

"We both want to win the Games someday."

Just as communities have been built inside and outside the box, so have many relationships. It’s no different at SPC CrossFit. This year, when the affiliate team returns, so will two of its athletes – 2011 CrossFit Games competitor Joe Weigel and 2012 CrossFit Games hopeful Julianne Broadbent.
 
Weigel and Broadbent met at SPC CrossFit and have been together for nearly two years. This year, the two are focusing on two very different types of training, but both have the same goal. “We both want to win the Games someday,” Weigel says.
 
As the season begins, Weigel isn’t thinking about the Open. “My focus is on Regionals and the Games,” he says. Looking back at his performance in 2011, Weigel says one of the biggest things that stood out for him was a need to be stronger. “Throughout this whole year, since I got back from the Games, I did a lot of strength training.”
 
For his part, Weigel is steady as he talks about his training this season. “Handstand push-ups have been a problem for me from the beginning,” he says. CrossFitting for four years, he’s still focused on perfecting them. “Sometimes it takes a long time to develop certain skills. And the big thing is being patient when you’re struggling with weaknesses.”
 
Although those times can be frustrating, Weigel says Broadbent’s support is imperative. “She definitely supports me,” he says. “She believes in my abilities at least as much as I do.”
 
For Broadbent, moving through her training from the beginning has been an interesting journey. Weigel handles all of her programming, which began their coach/athlete relationship around the same time as they were navigating through a relationship off the CrossFit floor. “It was hard at first,” she says. “Because he couldn’t separate the coach and boyfriend aspect.” Broadbent admits the difficulty was compounded by her attitude and harshness concerning her own performance – something that was misconstrued by Weigel in the beginning.
 
Two years later and the two are getting Broadbent’s training down to a rhythm.
 
“We both want to be competitive Games athletes,” she says. “Right now, he’s training individually and I see him and what he’s doing up close and personal. I know I’m not at his level yet, but I can still watch and learn.” 
 
Most assuredly, her gaze is returned in spades. “He’s my biggest fan,” Broadbent says.
 
Broadbent works capacity, Weigel works strength, and both prepare for Regionals knowing the Open is nothing more than a wake-up call. To Weigel, Broadbent, Regionals is the proving ground for the Games. The Open workouts are just another workout at the box they love with the community they’ve built.