Fitness fills competive niche for athlete

Taryn Romanowich continues her journey toward the upper echelons of CrossFit competition.

While most people undertake workout routines for physical fitness and health, Romanowich said, "it can be a sport. It is a sport."

That element called to the young athlete.

"I used to be a competitive basketball player," said the 23-year-old, who added she had to give up the sport in university.

"This filled that edge for me."

Romanowich said CrossFit training can be competitive on a personal level, competing to improve your personal bests, or it can be taken to the level where athletes compete on local, regional and international levels.

"I use it as a competitive sport," she said, adding "I just finished competing at Nationals."

At competitions, athletes face varying routines which can be timed, or they may be given a block of time and must complete as many repetitions of various training exercises as possible.

"You never do the same workouts," said Romanowich, adding that is part of the experience, never knowing exactly what will be required, so athletes must prepare for a wide variation of events.

Romanowich is a relative newcomer to CrossFit competition, taking in her first competition in May 2010. It was a local competition in Saskatchewan, but it was enough for her to set her sights on one day making it to the CrossFit Games, essentially the "Olympics in the field of fitness."

The athlete must go through sectionals, and then regionals on the road to the top event.

"That's as far as I got," said Romanowich, adding at the national event she competed in a team event, joining five athletes from CrossFit Regina. She said she chose the team event because she felt she was "too immature in my competitive experience" to go as a solo athlete.

The team placed fourth out of 30 entries, just shy of making the top two to go on to the international stage.

"We were far from first," said Romanowich, noting the winning team from British Columbia held a wide margin on the field, but second to fourth were close.

"We were such an unknown team," she said, adding to be so close behind two B.C. teams, and one from Calgary was excellent.

Since the national event, Romanowich was at the Bridge City Beat Down in Saskatoon, where 120 competitors from three provinces took part, among them fellow Yorkton athletes Kurtis Musqua and Karlyn Rondeau, both in only their second competition.

Among the competitors, and in Romanowich's class was Saskatoon athlete Laurie Meschishnick coming off a silver medal finish in the senior's class at the CrossFit Games.

"It was a little bit intimidating. She is 48, and she's just ripped," said Romanowich, who added her goal was still to make the podium.

Entering the last round of competition she sat fourth, a spot she had occupied all day, but a solid final round put her in third, on the same podium as Meschishnick, the winner.

"It was awesome," said Romanowich.

Although the national event in Vancouver is still her biggest thrill, Romanowich said local events are great because of the great sense of community with everyone very supportive of each other.

Moving forward Romanowich said she will compete solo, adding that it is a goal to make the CrossFit Games although the road gets harder every year, as more and more athletes enter the sport.

"People are getting ridiculously strong and fast," she said, adding with Reebok on board as a major sponsor and offering $250,000 as the top prize at the CrossFit Games you are seeing more attention focused on the sport.

In analyzing her own strengths, Romanowich said, "I'm a power athlete I am anything power related, anything heavy, or fast, that's what I'm good at."

On the other end of the spectrum Romanowich admitted her "gymnastic-oriented skills are my weakness." That is something she will need to work on since so many skills within the sport are built on a gymnastic foundation.

Romanowich's interest in the sport grew out of her own competitiveness and her business FUNCTION, a CrossFit affiliate, with partner Dr. Trevor Hove.

"What we are is an integrated physical fitness program A comprehensive solution to physical fitness," she said.

Romanowich said it's a case of focusing a program which best reflects the physical needs one faces in daily life.

"It's not just about getting your sweat on," she said.

Doing a lot of arm curls using weights may build muscle, but in terms of day-to-day living, it does not translate into the things people generally do, she added. "Bicep curls don't translate into real life."

"We target the movements you're going to be doing Whole body functional movements," said Romanowich, adding that makes for a very different approach to fitness from the average gym.

"We're training for life."

While affiliated with CrossFit, "we use the same methodology," Romanowich added FUNCTION is unique in many ways. "You will not find another gym around here, or in this province doing this."

Romanowich said she was introduced to the system when Hove invited her to work out. She said she was at the door the next morning at 5 am and was hooked.

"That was just the workout part of it."