I’ve followed up and coming CFer Nicolai Mainz for some time – he’s one of those guys I regularly try to get to slow down and do less. He’s a hard worker and very enthusiastic about his training.
In a series of interviews, I’m gonna follow him on his journey towards the 2014 Regionals. To kick this off, here are four quick questions and answers:
1. What was the most important thing you learned at the 2013 Regionals?
Enjoy the show! you don’t get to compete at the biggest stage every day.
That said, it became shockingly clear how important it is to keep focus, when you’re finally outthere. During the hour leading up to an event, it’s important to forget everything around you (however big it may be) and focus on the task at hand. Once you’re in the arena, stick to the game plan even though everything inside of you is screaming to go full throttle. Don’t stress over the other teams. Maintaining efficient technique without getting no-repped is the key to staying on top of the event. This is essential for hearing your judge as well as communicating with your teammate(s). Keep the animal chained until the last 1-2 minutes.
This is pretty trivial, but easy to forget at a big competition. It’s painfully clear which athletes fail to stick to their plan and suffer the consequences.
Sooooo. Learn to focus (meditation anyone?) (or visualization?) and stick to your plan. Sounds about right.
2. Do you have an overall focus/goal for this offseason?
Yep! Focus this offseason is on one thing: getting strong(er)! Primarily in the squat, deadlift, press and bench press, but also on building a good overall foundation.
Secondarily my weightlifting as well as CF skills has to be maintained and the general cardiovascular capacity will be kept at a decent level. Weightlifting, CF-skills and cardio in particular will be put a bit on hold though to focus my energy on building strength. Apart from that, regular CF WODs are typically reduced and split into two – skills practice and pure cardio (running, C2, burpees etc).
Starting this fall, I plan on going full-on Outlaw and see where that takes me. Hopefully it’ll take me to new heights. I’ve seen so many people do very well on it, so I’m starting to believe it pays off to leave your programming in the hands of a stranger with a big beard. 🙂
So yea, beards are great and so is strength. On a serious note: it’s essential to have a plan, and since strength is the slowest physical quality to develop, it should be the focus of the offseason.
3. Biggest strength/weakness:
My biggest strength is my versatility – I see myself as a pretty complete Crossfitter. At the same time this is my biggest weakness, as I don’t have any real strengths.
I’m not the strongest or the one with the biggest engine outthere, but I do well by being a jack of all trades. That’s why I usually do better in big competitions that test across the board, compared to more pure strength or cardio competitions.
If I had to mention something, I’d say strength and endurance, which is also what I’ll be working at going forward.
In a team competition I’ve found that I seem to have an extra gear that’s perfect for interval-type workouts (which team comps often are).
4. How satisfied were you with your debut at the Regionals?
Very satisfied actually. I performed as I expected. In a team competition it’s important to know what to expect from your teammates and I performed at the level that was expected of me. I didn’t have a shiny moment as such, but more importantly I didn’t have any breakdowns either. You don’t win CF on a lucky punch but rather by performing at a high level across the board without any breakdowns.
So yea, I’m very proud of my performance at the Regionals.
Though Mainz ended up doing the not-so-glamorous “Jackie” as “his” workout, he was a true soldier and did what was expected of him.
Check out Mainz’ training on Facebook.
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