Whatever the workout, she is sure she'll be ready.
For Jenny LaBaw, fitness is not just something to focus on during the CrossFit Games season, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t working hard going into Regionals.
LaBaw, 5th in the Northern California Region at the end of the 2012 Open. In preparation for Regionals, LaBaw is taking off to train with her coach, CJ Martin at CrossFit Invictus in San Diego for a few weeks. When she’s home in Chico, Calif., she usually trains alone. “I like being able to tune out and really focus on myself, but I like the community aspect of training with other people too,” she says. “I need the constructive criticism and the push from other people working at the same time.”
LaBaw did her own programming to prepare for the Games in 2011, where she placed 6th, but she recognized the need to have a coach this year. She’s enjoyed working with him. “He’s a great coach. I would love to have him to myself, but that would be selfish,” LaBaw says.
In the lead up to the NorCal Regional on May 18-20, LaBaw is focused on higher volume workouts and more met-cons, Olympic lifting and skills. “It’s no secret that my muscle-up needs work,” she says.
She also discovered that wall ball shots are also a weakness. She would love to see a 5-mile run as one of the Regional workouts, but she admits that it is not very likely. Whatever the workout, she is sure she’ll be ready for it.
LaBaw says she is still improving in many areas, which motivates her success. “I don’t have a gymnastics background at all, so I have room for improvement in a lot of ways there,” she says.
Her other major motivating factor is spreading epilepsy awareness through her public profile in the CrossFit community. Having epilepsy herself, she wants to show others what can be accomplished, even with limiting factors. “Epilepsy can impact your life in so many ways, even just getting a driver’s license,” she explains. “It’s a constant battle, both physically and mentally, and I want to be out there, showing what I can do and proving the doctors wrong. I don’t let it take over my life.”
She doesn’t let CrossFit take over her life either. LaBaw, who grew up in Colorado, loves the outdoors and activities like hiking, mountain biking and bouldering. Her boyfriend, a professional water skier, has exposed her to that sport, as well.
