From Singapore to Seoul: Trevor Mathena

May 8, 2013

Kerri Brantley

Trevor Methena, 45th place in Asia, is headed to his first Regional competition.

Photos by: Ang Xin Hui

More than 1,000 individual competitors in the Asia Region participated in this year’s Open, but only the top 48 men and women will meet in Seoul later this month.

In 45th place, Trevor Methena is one of them. Methena currently trains at CrossFit Hub in Singapore, and he is looking forward to heading out to Korea and representing his home box.

Why did you decide to start CrossFit? How long have you been a part of the community?

An officer introduced me to CrossFit on my first deployment in 2009. He ran me through a few workouts and I loved it. He also showed me the main site, which I scoured for hours while pulling night watches, thus fueling my addiction. I joined CrossFit Mission Gorge in the winter of 2010 in San Diego, Calif., after coming back from deployment.

You are in the U.S. Navy. What is your job and how has CrossFit helped you in the workplace?

I currently help run our PT program for the military members. It has helped to give me a lot of good ideas to make our classes more interesting. Even though they are not full CrossFit workouts, the movements are functional and usually competition-based, which helps to keep things from being too boring.

Who is your role model in the CrossFit community and why?

Two great coaches that I have had the privilege to work with are the owner of CrossFit Mission Gorge, Ian McHugh, and CrossFit Hub owner/Feng Shui expert, Coach Yun. Coach McHugh has a knack for personally motivating each of his members in a way that he has found best suits them. This is a sign of someone who cares about his athletes and cares about the community.

Coach Yun always expects the best of her athletes and has more than once helped me to finish a WOD that I wanted to quit. She really helps me to keep my mental game in check.

Who is your biggest fan?

My wife, hands down. It's a good thing we opted-in to validate the Open workouts at CrossFit Hub. Many times people videoing the workouts would find their attention shifted towards her while she was screaming profanities at me!

How would you describe your nutrition and fuel intake?

Through the entire preseason, I stayed very strict paleo, finding that sweet potatoes were my absolute saving grace. They kept me full, energized and helped my muscles recover for the next day's workout. I added whole milk towards the end, which has helped with my recovery, as well. I have been on vacation since the Open ended, so I have had some cheat days back home with some missed food. However, I have also got some great training it at both CrossFit Mission Gorge and RedBlack Gym.

What was the biggest challenge for you in the Open?

The biggest challenge for me in the Open was to not get wrapped up with who was not upholding movement standards. There was an awful lot of "cyber bullying" going on. I had to constantly remind myself that I had prepared well.

What have you been doing to prepare for Regionals?

I prepared all year with Regional-style workouts. This meant I Oly lifted all the time, squatted all the time and dialed in my gymnastics. I learned to not accept the things I suck at and work at them instead. I also really worked on my diet. I lost weight to help with bodyweight movements.

What aspects of Regionals are you looking forward to most?

Heavy weights! I am looking forward to meeting the best in Asia and being pushed to the next level competing beside them.

Is there anything that you are just dying to tell the CrossFit world?

Go Team CrossFit Hub — and chocolate chip pancakes!