Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about @rosereid! 🏋 GYM LIFE :: Usually Attends: an eclectic mix of Level 2 classes and (prematurely) Masters classes. :: Started CrossFit: At CFV. :: Years of CrossFit: 3-ish. :: Origin Story: She did her Level 1 training with Blanco and Joey, who "forced her to graduate" after five months. :: Gym Superpowers: Talking (and workouts with running and kettlebells). :: Gym Kryptonite: Showing up. :: Favorite Workout Music: DJ Blanco, especially the Ke$ha radio station he plays on weekends. :: Loves Most about CFV: The yummy aesthetics: "During workouts, I like to look at everyone’s sexy body, so when I’m 80 years old and in a retirement home I can close my eyes and remember them."

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about Mark! 🏋 GYM LIFE :: Usually Attends: 12:30 L2. :: Started CrossFit: At CrossFit South Williamsburg. :: Years of CrossFit: 2.5. :: Origin Story: Mark’s first CrossFit workout was a 21-15-9 with deadlifts. He started at 55 pounds and was so immobile that by the third set, he couldn’t lift the PVC pipe without rounding his back. :: Gym Superpowers: Push-ups. :: Gym Kryptonite: Wall balls and anything overhead. :: Favorite Workout Music: DJ Mike (a fellow Hall and Oates fan). :: Loves Most about CFV: Its rejuvenating power. When Mark starts the week, his upper back is destroyed from bartending (see below). Over the next few days, he can feel his posture improve.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about Gretchen! 🏋 GYM LIFE :: Usually Attends: 9:00am Level 2. :: Started CrossFit: November 2016 at CFV. :: Years of CrossFit: 0.5. :: Origin Story: A few of her coworkers do CrossFit, so she decided to check it out. :: Athletic Background: High school basketball and lacrosse; field hockey at William and Mary. :: Gym Superpowers: Burpees. Gretchen’s favorite workout is CrossFit Games Open 12.1 (seven minutes of burpees). :: Gym Kryptonite: Kipping pull-ups and Olympic lifts. :: Favorite Workout Music: DJ Morgan. :: Loves Most About CFV: The coaching. Before she started, Gretchen feared CrossFit’s reputation and was nervous about exacerbating her injury-prone shoulders. Needless to say, she doesn’t worry anymore.

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By Spenser Mes It's silly to ask Coach Ariel what movements he'd like to see in a few weeks at Regionals. Last year, the first event alone included handstand push-ups, bar muscle-ups, power cleans, biking, and rowing. During the following eight events, athletes also had to overhead squat, do synchronized burpees, and legless rope climb. "There's no point hoping to see one thing or not see another. You're gonna see it all," Ariel told me. I pressed him. If he had to hope for something, what would it be? He smiled. "Heavy snatches." This won't be Ariel's first trip to Regionals, which are in Albany on May 19-21. In 2014, he competed with Team Virtuosity, which placed third and qualified for the Games. "We spent the next two years feeling the pressure to repeat that performance," Ariel said, "and it didn't go well." Both years, the team went into the final heat of the Open on the bubble for qualifying (the top fifteen teams move on), but when a few members decided to go as individuals, their score dropped below the threshold.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this special CrossFit Games Open installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about Coach @morgpitch! 🏋 OPEN LIFE :: Started CrossFit: 2008 in College Station, TX. :: Years of CrossFit: 9. :: First Open: 2015. :: Favorite Open Workout: 15.1 (max clean and jerk) or 16.2 (heavy cleans). :: Open Superpowers: "Anything with a barbell or barbell cycling." :: Open Kryptonite: Gymnastics, except for handstand walks, which Morgan "does for days." She didn’t get her first ring muscle-up until the Open in 2015, 7 years after starting CrossFit. :: Wish For The 2017 Open: Heavy, heavy Olympic lifts. Her one rep maxes? Back Squat: 305; Clean and Jerk: 230; Snatch: 190. :: Loves Most About The Open: Competing – for real! Morgan’s fighting for one of three slots on the CrossFit Queens regional competition team. So far, she's holding her own: for 17.3, she finished 11 rounds and 9 pull-ups and ranked 56th in the North East region.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this special CrossFit Games Open installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about @lwitalis929! 🏋 OPEN LIFE :: Started CrossFit: 2011 at CrossFit Milford. :: Years of CrossFit: 6. :: First Open: 2012. :: Favorite Open Workout: 16.4 (deadlifts, wall-balls, rows, and handstand push-ups). :: Open Superpowers: Laughing when the pain starts to hit. "It's funny that we choose to do this to ourselves." :: Open Kryptonite: Kipping pull-ups. :: Wish For The 2017 Open: Her ideal Open workout is double-unders, wall balls, and snatches. :: Loves Most About The Open: The nervous-excitement.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this special CrossFit Games Open installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about @chalupa_batmann! 🏋 OPEN LIFE :: Started CrossFit: January, 2012 at CrossFit 845 in the Hudson Valley. :: Years of CrossFit: 5. :: First Open: 2012. :: Favorite Open Workout: For having done the Open the past five years, Mike remembers shockingly little about his past performances. "The worse the workout is, the quicker I try to forget it completely." :: Open Superpowers: Anything bodyweight (push-ups, sit ups, air squats, box jumps). :: Open Kryptonite: Snatches and thrusters. :: Wish For The 2017 Open: Heavy deadlifts. :: Loves Most About The Open: It reminds him of the feeling from high school track meets: waiting to be destroyed.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this special CrossFit Games Open installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about Nick Taylor! 🏋 OPEN LIFE :: Started CrossFit: May, 2014. :: Years of CrossFit: 3. :: First Open: 2016. :: Favorite Open Workout: 16.5 (also last Friday's workout): 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of thrusters and burpees-over-bar. "It damn near killed me," Nick says. :: Open Superpowers: Snatches. :: Open Kryptonite: No-repping other athletes. "If the person disagrees, do you have a conversation right there in the middle of the workout?" (Editor's note: NO! The judge makes the decision about whether it's a good rep or not, and if it's not, the athlete does another rep!) :: Wish For The 2017 Open: Seated Box Jumps. :: Loves Most About The Open: The increased intensity.

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about @lbry1780! 🏋 GYM LIFE :: Usually Attends: All over the place, but noon L2 every Monday and Friday. :: Started CrossFit: At Buckeye CrossFit in Columbus, OH. :: Years of CrossFit: 5. :: Origin Story: Her gym hosted CrossFit and Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art. Originally, she trained in the latter but later thought to herself, "If I can take a punch, I can lift a barbell" and switched. :: Athletic Background: Nothing. She says, "I'm still not athletic. I just workout." :: Gym Superpowers: Double-unders. :: Gym Kryptonite: Wall balls. She cries every time she does Karen. :: Favorite Workout Music: DJ Mike's Hall and Oates playlist. :: Loves Most about CFV: Of the four boxes that Lindsay's been to, the coaching and programming at CFV are "far and away the best."

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Our finest investigative reporter uncovers the secret real life identities of people you’ve only ever seen in sweatpants for our documentary series ALTER EGOS. For this installment @spensermestel finds out a few things about @kenichikato77! 🏋 GYM LIFE :: Usually Attends: 7:00am L2 (and a "nooner" when he can be). :: Started CrossFit: At CFV. :: Years of CrossFit: 1.5. :: Origin Story: A CFV member, who shall remain nameless, worked as a trainer at the Globo Gym where Kenny was a member and encouraged him to jump ship. :: Athletic Background: Collegiate swimming. :: Gym Superpowers: Thrusters, which he finds "organic and fluid," so much so that he stood up and demonstrated during our interview. :: Gym Kryptonite: Stringing together ring muscle-ups. :: Favorite Workout Music: DJ Morgan. Kenny loves grunge and California pop-punk. He says, "I usually find myself singing along during the workouts, which is why I occasionally lose count of my reps and rounds...lol." :: Loves Most About CFV: Beefing up. Since Kenny joined CFV in September of 2015, he's gained 16 pounds of muscle.

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