“I've been going a little bit heavier … I've been squatting a lot. I feel really strong right now and cannot wait for regionals.”
Photos courtesy of Bobby Wieler
This year, an unfamiliar name appeared on the Mid Atlantic Leaderboard.
In his very first Open, 23-year-old Nathan Bramblett, a senior at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, finished fourth in the region and has accepted an invite to regionals.
Bramblett played sports throughout his youth, including Junior A ice hockey. He gave up hockey in college to focus on his studies in business management. He said he missed competitive sports, and found a new outlet when former regional competitor Brock Brady introduced him to CrossFit in late 2012.
By 2013, Bramblett started taking CrossFit seriously. Initially, Bramblett and his training partners followed CrossFit.com and watched videos. They eventually devised their own programming.
"We really have had zero coaching,” Bramblett said. “We have learned as we go and tried to improve as best we can.”
Over the last year, Bramblett has trained multiple times a day, focusing on Olympic lifting, strength and metabolic conditioning. He’s seen the rewards of his hard work when he won all of the local competitions he entered in 2014. Despite his success on the local scene, Bramblett was surprised with his Open results.
“I don't feel like the light, fast stuff is my strength,” he said of the Open workouts. “I'm better with a heavy barbell. I knew I was making progress going into the Open, but didn't know how much.”
Bramblett is unaffiliated, so he went to CrossFit Oyster Point in Newport News, Virginia, to do most of the Open workouts. With the support of the affiliate’s members, he was able to perform better than he would’ve imagined on his own, he said.
Bramblett's best Open finish was in 14.3. He scored 164 reps in the deadlift/box jump couplet, taking eighth in the region.
“I love heavy weight,” he said. “When this workout was programmed, I was really excited.”
He said he’s excited and humbled by his invitation to compete in May at the Mid Atlantic Regional. He will continue to rely on his support system—his training partners, his wife and God—and his own programming as he heads into the competition.
“Training has not changed much,” he said. “I've been going a little bit heavier … I've been squatting a lot. I feel really strong right now and cannot wait for regionals.”
And Bramblett has every intention of standing on the podium on Day 3 of the regional competition.
“I think God has given me the tools to do well,” he said. “I believe I will do well at regionals.”
