“There isn’t really much time to do much about it before the Games. Just gotta roll with it.”
Until he did his first pull-up on Event 1 of the Canada East Regional, Lucas Parker wasn’t sure he was going back to the CrossFit Games.
“I hadn’t done any pull-ups for about three weeks before the Regional,” Parker says.
A shoulder injury had him avoiding the movement. Expecting to bomb once he reached the pull-up bar, he was surprised to find them easy.
“I knew then I would be heading to California,” he says.
He finished the event in first place, seven seconds faster than fellow competitors Jeremy Meredith and Tyson Takasaki.
Success at Regionals came with its own cost. Parker says he injured his shoulder again during warm-ups before the Overhead Squat Event. He’s now cautious with his shoulder position and activation during movements where he’s hanging from a bar or rings.
“There isn’t really much time to do much about it before the Games,” he says. “Just gotta roll with it.”
“Rolling with it” will be Parker’s axiom heading into the Games.
In past years, Parker has taken a very strict and structured approach to tapering for the Games.
“It always results in frustration because sometimes your body doesn’t feel like doing what you wrote down for it three weeks ago,” he says.
This is his rationale for loosening the reins and taking a more subjective approach to his 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games preparation.
“This was my best Regional yet and I felt pretty great beforehand by just going with the flow for those last two weeks,” Parker says.
Believing there is not much he can improve upon in the time before the Games, Parker’s focus is to stay healthy.
“There is a lot that I can fuck up,” he explains. “So, rule one: stay healthy.”
He admits that is something he often has trouble with. Since the Open, Parker has gained about 10 pounds.
“It changes the way you move, so I might try to slim down a bit for California,” he says. “Gotta look good in a swim suit.”
Wendy’s fast food is still his preference, but he is also keeping up on his daily vegetable intake to make sure he has enough nutrients for healing.
“To quote the great Dan Bailey, ‘You can’t get all your calories from broccoli, so I’m supplementing with plenty of bagels and burgers to maintain my energy surplus.’”
Parker expects to finish in the top five if everything goes to plan.
“If shit hits the fan, I plan to have my head screwed on right and bring some extra violence to the playing field.”
