Nothing Comes Easy: Keegan Wolfenden

April 5, 2013

Siobhan Kent

"I’m a lot more mature as an athlete and don't have any massive holes in my game this time around. I’m looking to finish off the Open strong and then ramp the training up in the lead up to Regionals.”


Photos courtesy of Adam Lesinak

“I do CrossFit because it's fun. When I train, there is not another problem and/or thought in my head. It's just my heartbeat, my breath and the task that I have to complete,” Keegan Wolfenden says.

Last year, Wolfenden placed 10th in Australia in the Open, and finished 12th at the Australia Regional after starting CrossFit just nine months earlier. This year, with more experience behind him, he is aiming for a top-10 finish at the WIN Entertainment Centre come Regional time.

“Last year was a complete blur for me. I’d only started CrossFit nine months before it, and suddenly, there I was at Regionals,” Wolfenden says. “I spent most of the time walking around in awe of all the big names that I was among.”

The former international soccer player, who started CrossFit in August 2011 to “find something to keep me busy during the soccer offseason” is now a trainer at CrossFit Brisbane, and lives, eats and breathes the sport.

“I found CrossFit through YouTube and also through a few friends,” he says. “My wife Jade tried to drag me to a globo gym. I went along for about a month but it just wasn't the place for me. So one day, I got over it, dragged her to a CrossFit gym and we both haven’t looked back since.”

Wolfenden enjoys the challenge of CrossFit.

“I really love the variety of it. You can be on the biggest high one minute, getting a PR, and then the very next minute getting humble with a basic gymnastic movement and/or skill. It's always challenging, you can always go heavier or faster and it never becomes easy,” he says.

“My ultimate goal would be to be on the podium at Regionals. I think any CrossFitter would say the same. And of course, a trip to the Games would be amazing.”

Working hard on Olympic lifting this year, Wolfenden says he is always trying to overcome weaknesses.

“I, like every athlete, have a few weaknesses. Box jumps are one, and that was drawn to my attention after 13.2,” he says. “Lifting is another, but I’ve been working on it and had some good gains this year.”

Wolfenden has a max clean of 140 kg (308 lb.), a 185 kg (407 lb.) back squat and a 7:33 Helen. He does one or two strength sessions a week with four or five met-cons plus some other conditioning and skill work.

“My (workouts) are programmed by Matt Swift at CrossFit Brisbane, and I follow the exact same program as the rest of our clients,” Wolfenden says.

“I also do some fun (workouts) on the weekend if I have a little energy left in the tank. They are usually straight out of my head — I just look at the equipment I have handy and make something up.”

Heading into Open Workout 13.5, he is sitting in the 30th position on the Australia Leaderboard and says he’s loved the Open so far.

“There has been a good mixture of everything. I think I’ve been fairly consistent through three of the four released so far, even though the box jumps during 13.2 were my downfall,” he says. 

With a 2:42 Fran, Wolfenden is well suited to the 13.5 workout of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull-ups. Knowing he needs a decent score to secure his second Regional appearance, he plans on leaving nothing in the tank.

“I’m feeling good and ready to tackle it. I’m a lot more mature as an athlete and don't have any massive holes in my game this time around,” he says. “I’m looking to finish off the Open strong and then ramp the training up in the lead up to Regionals.”