CrossFit SP: Together We are Stronger

April 23, 2013

Diva Osorio

Out of 150 members at CrossFit SP, 141 registered for the Open.

Photos by: Alexandre Brotto

Out of 150 members at CrossFit SP in São Paulo, Brazil, 141 registered for the 2013 Open — the highest number of registrations achieved by any other box in the Latin America Region.

Tiago Lopes, owner and coach at CrossFit SP, credits the members for the high number of participants.

“All of our members are very united and seek a common goal: to improve their overall conditioning and life quality in general,” Lopes says.

“We encouraged all of our members to register for the Open, so that they could test their limits further and also because it’s a great way to get them to interact further with other members.”

Out of the 141 participants, three qualified for Regionals, including Ana C. Caldas (second), Debora Diegas (14th) and Eliseu Quintiliano (46th).

Diegas says the Open was good for morale in the box.

“The Open brought us all even closer together,” the CrossFit SP co-owner says. “One can only understand the experience that it brings by being an integral part of it. It made us get closer to our limits and push ourselves further, all while increasing our unity and friendship.”

During the Open, about 50 percent of the gym’s participants reach PRs, Diegas says.

“We believe that so many athletes were able to be their PRs due to the atmosphere that is created during the Open,” she says. “The workouts are not ordinary ones, but workouts that are created so that we can test our full potential. The Open helped our athletes surpass their physical and mental barriers.”

Now that the Open is over, Lopes says he sees a difference in the relationship and work ethic between the coaches and members.

“Our athletes are more engaged and more disciplined, and they now feel more committed towards their training,” he explains. “They want to improve for next year, and to achieve this goal they need to train regularly, take better care of their health and eat better.”

Lopes says friendships have grown and more are motivated.

“We even got new members as a result of this,” he says.

Karina Miyashiro, CrossFit SP member and participant in the Open, describes the end of the Open as, “The end of war. Last battle won. The Open is finished! Many battles with many challenges ... but beyond all that is the experience, the overcoming of our limits, the friendships acquired and the happiness after winning against yourself …”

CrossFit SP stands together and promises to come back stronger next year.

Lopes says: “We want to win. But we want to win together.”

They intend to keep their team united and practice further on their technique and skills, and follow their motto until the end, which is: “Together we are stronger.”