“I’m not a fan of excuses and gave them up a few months ago, so I promptly went to the website, registered and told everyone they couldn’t have excuses anymore. If I was doing it, so were they.”
Photos by Maigen Sawyer
Excuses were not going to be a part of the CrossFit Games Open for Catherine Gregory.
When the 27-year-old from Cityside CrossFit in Houston, Texas received a message from her coach, Ryan Barker, informing members about the five-week competition, she used the moment as motivation.
“I’m not a fan of excuses and gave them up a few months ago, so I promptly went to the website, registered and told everyone they couldn’t have excuses anymore,” she said. “If I was doing it, so were they.”
Before CrossFit, Gregory was someone who enjoyed craft beers and food, especially dessert—chocolate dessert. After joining Cityside CrossFit in August, she changed her workout routine and diet, and quickly made friends with her fellow CrossFit athletes. Together, they celebrate gains on lifts and losses on the scale.
“While I still have a ways to go to achieve all of my current goals, I know with this group of people, all of my fitness dreams, and for that matter, life dreams are attainable,” Gregory said. “They’ve encouraged me when I’ve faltered and shown me how to love myself. And more than anything else, they support me. In the last seven months they have taught me I deserve everything I am willing to work for, and then showed me how to work for it.”
“I am blessed indeed,” she added.
Gregory has lost 60 lb. and is wearing clothes that wouldn’t have fit her in high school. She’s more confident, strong and healthy than she’s ever been, she said.
“I can’t see myself not having CrossFit as a part of my life now,” she said, “and that’s a gorgeous thing.”
Barker, her coach and owner of Cityside CrossFit, said it’s impossible to miss the physical and athletic changes taken place with Gregory. But he’s also been impressed by the effect she’s had on the community as a whole.
“Catherine has evolved into a self-confident athlete who is always pushing her limits in and out of the gym,” Barker said. “She’s turned into the girl who is always sticking around after classes to work on some strength or skills, or just hang out and be friendly with the other members. She has a fearless attitude that is impossible to teach.”
Barker’s philosophy regarding the Open isn’t all-inclusive. This year, he didn’t encourage all of his athletes to sign up.
“There are some that are still learning movements, some just trying to develop simple strength and some that just don’t have the time or desire to participate,” he said.
He anticipated Gregory might have trouble with a few movements, but overall he had no qualms about her Open participation because of her tenacity and drive.
“I knew she was the type of client who wouldn’t be discouraged by what she can’t do, but instead she’s driven by how she can get better and how much harder she can push herself through all the workouts,” he said.
Like a lot of people going into 14.1, Gregory dreaded the daunting task of double-unders. It was a skill she had been working on for the past month. In the end she embraced the challenge presented by one of her “goats.”
“The Open is for us to prove that we are better than we were yesterday, that as an athlete I can push myself and maybe, just maybe, get a double-under,” she said. “The Open is whatever I want it to be and today I want to get a double-under. I’m gonna do this.”
One double-under wasn’t all Gregory got. She completed one full round and an additional 15 double-unders in the 10-minute workout.
Many of her friends celebrated with her, cheered her on, and made 14.1 a moment she will never forget. They were there for 14.2, as well.
Having never done a chest-to-bar pull-up, she dropped the barbell after overhead squats and moved straight to the pull-up bar. While receiving encouragement and pointers from her CrossFit family, Gregory worked diligently for three minutes.
In the end, the high-skill workout motivated Catherine to work hard to achieve a new goal.
“I’m not strong enough for chest-to-bars yet, but next year, I’m gonna own those things,” she said.
Gregory had high hopes for 14.3, which featured movements with which she was comfortable: box jumps and deadlifts.
After reading numerous tips online and talking with coaches, she came up with a goal of 100 reps and a plan to get there. On the set of 20 deadlifts, she decided to listen to her body and break away from the plan. She finished just four reps shy of her goal, but by listening to her body, she was able to maintain proper and safe form.
“Catherine loves the sport of CrossFit and is constantly asking questions and trying to become more knowledgeable in all aspects,” Barker said. “She understands the importance of technique over intensity, and I am not surprised she recognized the importance of maintaining good form during this workout. This is a great example of how far she has come in her fitness journey.”
Confronted with a challenging chipper in 14.4, Gregory completed the row but hit a wall with the toes-to-bars. In the end, she managed seven reps for a score of 67 reps total.
“Honestly it kicked my butt and my pride quite a bit,” she said. “I went in with the goal to get through the 50 toes-to-bars. That did not happen. I got seven and attempted probably close to 40.”
She continued: “My hands ripped and I was pretty miserable but my friends cheered me on, coached me and consoled me after I finished it.”
Even in the midst of pain, Gregory could see the silver lining.
“My favorite part of 14.4? Monday evening a few of our gym members repeated 14.4 to try to improve their score,” she recounted. “On Saturday, one of our girls made it to the muscle-up stage, but couldn't get one. She was re-doing … and was taking a few deep breaths before she jumped to the rings to try her first one. The feeling in the gym was electric and everyone was on pins and needles hoping she’d be able to get one this time. And she got it! You would have thought we had just made the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl—jumping, cheering, the whole nine yards. And then she got two more. I was so proud. We were all so proud.”
After the live announcement of 14.5, Gregory said she feels prepared.
“Time to go to work and set some goals. We do thruster/burpee combos pretty often at Cityside so I feel prepared,” she said. “Time to finish this Open and get to work getting stronger and building skills for next year."
“I've only been doing this seven months,” she added. “Can’t wait to see what I'm capable of a year from now, let alone Cityside as a whole.”
