CrossFit Dieppe: Hard Work Pays Off

March 24, 2012

Kate Rose

Over the past three years, CrossFit Dieppe has been building momentum, both with their athletes and their community. That legacy of hard work is paying off: they sit in 7th spot in Canada East after the first four events of the Open.

Karine Hachey and her husband heard about CrossFit in 2008 and they were curious. In May 2008, they noticed a Seminar was being offered within driving distance. Neither of them had any actual CrossFit experience. “We went to our cert – I was a total CrossFit newbie, and our cert had us do Tabata squats, Fight Gone Bad, and a few other WODs – safe to say I had trouble walking come lunch on the first day, I was in such pain,” says Hachey.

By July, they had opened their own affiliate in their home garage.  A year and a half later, they moved into a new space to accommodate their growing membership. 

"Over the year we have learned that hard work pays off.  The Open is no different.”

 

In 2010, Dieppe sent a number of athletes to Sectionals. A few qualified for Regionals, but decided against attending. Last year, they sent 20 to Regionals, and finished 8th.

This year, 26 members are involved in the Open. Three are sitting in the top 60 in the Individual competition. Hachey says the programming is the same across the board – there is no special programming for competitors.

All measures suggest they are doing something right.

Renee Martin, Mike Leblanc and Natalie Cormier are the front-runners in the group.

Martin sits in 6th in the Canada East Region after 12.4, placing 2nd in 12.2 and 7th and 12.4. She is one of the team’s veterans, with Regional experience in 2011. Cormier is 35th, having placed 17th in 12.4. On the men’s side, another Regionals veteran, LeBlanc, sits in 15th in the region.

“[I've been] doing pretty much the same training as usual, which is doing the workouts that our box provides which are mostly HQ,” Martin says. “But in the last few months I’ve been a bit more serious about strength training which made me do sometimes 2 or 3 workouts a day. I’ve been working on my weaknesses. Add will all that, knowing that the Open was coming, since the holidays I’ve been having good nights sleep, eat clean while working a full time job.”

Mike Leblanc stresses that it's business as usual at Dieppe. “The outlook is always the same. We all want to give our best effort on every workout. Every athlete wants to give their all for the team,” he explains. “As for strategy, it’s much of the same too. We all get together once a week and cheer each other on, to perform our best and go as hard as possible, so we get to Regionals. Over the year we have learned that hard work pays off.  The Open is no different.”

Cormier says she has incorporated running and biking into her training. “I have incorporated running twice a week, once on hills, and biking twice a week in addition to my workouts every week,” she says. “I make sure I get at least one good rest day a week, make my strength work outs as much as I can and play soccer too. I’m eating a lot cleaner, and following HQ programming.”

Hachey encourages all members to participate in the Open, and while a large number register, some have not. But all members contribute to the atmosphere in the gym. Nathalie Doucet had a week of CrossFit experience before the Open started; she signed up anyway. With a strong athletic background, she still found CrossFit humbling.

From the beginning, CrossFit Diepee seems to be doing something right. They are building on their success each year, using momentum in their favor, and continually pushing on the flywheel to get better.