S03E90 HOW TO CRUSH CROSSFIT OPEN 23.1 - OR AT LEAST SURVIVE
This is a special episode of the HERDFIT which dropped TONIGHT right after the CrossFit Open @crossfitgames live announcement of the first event, 23.1. Guest Bison athletes Kathleen Staunton @stautie3 Julia Kelly @jelly_kelly13 and Sam suffered through 23.1 and then along with Coach David, recorded their hot tips and takes for our first Open Workout of 2023 at CrossFit Bison @crossfitbison.
Workout 23.1 (RX)
Complete as many reps as possible in 14 minutes of:
60-calorie row
50 toes-to-bars
40 wall-ball shots
30 cleans
20 ring muscle-ups
♀ 14-lb ball to 9-ft target, 95-lb cleans
♂ 20-lb ball to 10-ft target, 135-lb cleans
You can find more information at our website, HerdFitUSA.com. Like and subscribe wherever you watch or listen to our podcast!
AND THE 23.2 OPEN ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE AT CROSSFIT BISON, MIDLAND PARK NJ!!!!!!
@crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness
S03E89 SPECIAL GUEST TRACEY MAGEE BISON MEMBER CROSSFIT BOX OWNER AND GAMES ATHLETE
[00:00:00] David Syvertsen: Welcome back to the Hurt Fit Podcast. I'm coach David Sarton. I'm here with my. Co-host Dr. And Coach Sam Re, and we have a very special guest today. First time on the Herd Fit Podcast, current Bison Beast.
We are just a few days away from the open and we are with Tracy McGee, a former games athlete, by the way, masters . So what I'm just gonna say that is that the first ever. Yeah. Yeah. The first ever games athlete in the, so that's you, Tracy. Oh, stop. Awesome. Not at all. Tracy, thank you for joining us. Opening remarks on being on a podcast.
Other than the fact that's a little warm in here, .
[00:00:34] Tracey Magee: It is a little warm. I'm excited, but I'm also pretty nervous. Yeah. I find it difficult to kind of talk about myself. Yes. Mostly I'm very happy to talk all about CrossFit and whatever, but the. You know, I enjoy memories, sharing the memories. Mm-hmm.
both talking about myself, my, my personal kind of achievement stuff is kind of difficult. Yeah, I understand that. Yeah. So I'll
[00:00:54] David Syvertsen: give that to you guys. So, yeah, my, my response to that will always, just as we get into it, just keep in mind like, I think a lot of your ex, you have a really cool, unique story. That has just a lot of like, ambition and accomplishment, hard work, a lot of things people don't know about.
Right. That kind of led you to your success. It's going to help others. Mm-hmm. , I, I think that's one thing that you could always just think about when you are sharing your story. And it does feel like you are talking about your accomplishments because you have a lot of them. As a coach, as a, as a gym owner, as an athlete, it's gonna help someone else kind of reflect on your words, your experiences, and I think it kinda help project them to the future.
Mm-hmm. Course. So I think like any, and I get it, trust me, like there's always some awkwardness when you're talking about your own stories, but if you can kind of keep your mind on that, I think it'll help out a lot because you have a lot to share. Thank you. Tracy, let's go back into what CR Sam will call your CrossFit star story.
How long have you been CrossFitting? When did you start? Why did you start and what kept you in it?
[00:01:45] Tracey Magee: Okay. So I originally got exposed across, so probably around 2011 I would say. So my background in fitness goes back beyond that and we had. We moved over to Thailand and that's when my youngest was born.
And the reason it's relevant is by when we came back, I had three children at that stage, so I decided I was not gonna go back into corporate. Okay. It was just too challenging with the daycare and trying to manage everything with the, when you say back three children back to United. States or, yeah. Okay.
Back, back to the United States. Okay. Okay. So, because I'd been in fitness to a lesser degree in terms of like, like as, as a coach. Okay. But I'd had a little dabbled into it a little bit. So for the flexibility perspective of, you know, being able to have my children there right. And, you know, and kind of dictate my own schedule, I decided to go that direction rather than going.
To corporate and I mean, I've always been extremely passionate about fitness. Both from myself, just in challenging myself and pushing myself and seeing where, you know, your body can go. And I just also loved the environment, the comradery just being around other people, the social element of it.
But that was mostly cuz that's really, I guess, all existed outside of sports, right? And, and with gym was conventional gyms. So I did spin instruction, group exercise, personal training and that sort of thing. When I came back, I got big into running when I went to Thailand. Believe it, not know, it seems strange, very hot over there, but I didn't have access to a gym, so that's what I did.
So when I came back, I, I continued to do that more and more and the gym would be, , all the other aspects of fitness that you would kind of expose yourself to. Okay. So definitely a gym rat, but I was still always non-conventional because I was the more the circuit type moving around and you know, but still there wasn't a whole lot of functional fitness available.
Right. But for me personally, I really enjoyed, I said coaching, spin. I was a cyclist as well, like at that point. And I. Just kind of got further and further into it, like as, as time, as time went on and then we moved again. We've moved around a bunch of times and that's when I found myself as I said, getting further into running.
I became a competitive distance runner, marathoner, and I had done an event, which was the Men's Health Urban Athlon, which was probably the original, maybe adventure racing. type of type of race. And I did really, really well in it. I had an enormous I guess aerobic capacity. Mm-hmm. so I could keep going, but then all the other stuff, because I'd always been involved in the gym and staying strong, none of that kind of phased me and I thought, Ooh, I really like this mix of things.
That's awesome. Yeah. So I, I did that a couple of times and again, I, you know, I placed and it was just, it was just very kind of surprising, but it, it got me more and more interested. So when we moved back, so we were in Pittsburgh for a while where I we were only there for just a few years. My husband Mike had taken a job out there and then we, then we moved back and I started up again, like, I worked for the New York Sports Club.
Mm-hmm. , and again, a very conventional gym and. What I found, and probably lot trainers now who are CrossFit trainers probably don't necessarily like, I mean, I'm not knocking the, you know, that industry at all or that that aspect of, of the industry Yep. Is that I like to engage with people and you know, there isn't really like as mu as much of that and people have no real direction, so they're kind of wandering around.
So I would be that trainer. That would always kind of interact and try to give people some guidance. You know, whether it was, you know, whether they were your clients or not, it was just like, well, that's my job, but Right. You know, most of the time people are headphones on and they don't necessarily wanna listen.
So I
[00:05:33] David Syvertsen: remember those days. Yeah. Someone would come up to you and tell you how to bench, like get away from
[00:05:37] Tracey Magee: I'm Amazon. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I know what I'm doing, kind of thing. But there was it at that time, I guess that was around 2010, maybe. . So CrossFit already, I guess, started the West Coast and it started getting some momentum.
But I'd, I'd heard about it, but I didn't know what it was. And there was a, a trainer there that we're talking about it, but all of the talk about was very negative. Right. I remember that distinctly. They're all, it was almost like. Like hating on them. I'm like, okay. And I'm like, I got really curious. And I'm like, let me have a look.
So I went and I started watching some videos and, and I remember seeing, one of the workers I saw was like running a deadlift. I'm like, Hmm, that's interesting. Yeah. And it was about like the intensity. And I always liked that from training as a competitive runner, I always did a lot of track intervals and so I was used to that like exposure to like intensity.
But then I would come to the gym and separate. The rest of this stuff, right? So I'm like, hmm, they're mixing this stuff together. This is really interesting. So, I just got more and more curious. I felt like the more that people were knocking it, the more curious I got about it, right? So I decided in May, I guess it was May, 2011, then.
That I went to do my L one. I said, well, let me just learn about it cuz I've got lots of other certifications, like personal training span group X. And were
[00:06:54] Sam Rhee: you doing CrossFit at this time before you got
[00:06:55] Tracey Magee: your L one? No, I was starting to do like myself. I looked, I went on the main site and I would just do workouts, but there was Oh, cool.
People around me that weren't really that interested. And they were like, you know, what are you doing? And, and also even at that time, you, you wouldn't often see women over by the weight section in a gym, nor would you see them doing pull-ups. And I would always find myself a little spot that I could sneak and hide and, and do them like myself.
But again, it was not, it was not welcome. Do you remember the
[00:07:23] Sam Rhee: first workout
[00:07:24] Tracey Magee: you tried out for crosscheck? So the first workout I. Tried out. I tried at home and it was, don't ask me why I tried to do this, but it was all body weight stuff. It was, I think it was a hundred pushups, a hundred air squats a hundred pull-ups.
Cause I had this pull-up bar mounted in my house. And it was just, That to me was at that stage was, was like this was an easy workout. Right. You know, I mean, I'm small so body weight was, was easy for me. So I really enjoyed that and I think it was Chris Spieler that I saw cuz I would, I'd look at these videos of these workouts and then I would see these different athletes whom I didn't know who they were at the time.
And interestingly enough, when I went to my L one, Chris Spieler was there. Oh wow. Small world. Yes. Cool. That's awesome. So that was, yes, but I was still very much into competitive marathoning and then I got more into adventure racing at that point. So you
[00:08:14] David Syvertsen: were essentially just doing a lot of mixed modal work.
Yes. That you didn't probably back then, wouldn't call it mixed modal, you call it more like circuit training. Yeah. But the way in which you were training at AE conventional global gym was really closer to what we do at the gym right now. Yes. Just a lot of like mixture of, you know, high intensity, high output.
Mixture of movements and, you know, never followed a specific routine. So you really were doing CrossFit before you really knew you were doing CrossFit.
[00:08:39] Tracey Magee: Right, exactly. , yeah. Yeah, pretty much, I
[00:08:41] David Syvertsen: would say. And, and building your base really high.
[00:08:43] Tracey Magee: Mm-hmm. . Without even knowing it. Without knowing it, yeah, exactly.
So when
[00:08:46] David Syvertsen: you said at that gym it. CrossFit was talked down upon mm-hmm. and then maybe you, what you were doing in the gym wasn't fully accepted, even though you were still allowed to do it. What, was there any talk like, Tracy, you shouldn't be doing this, this is not safe, you
[00:09:00] Tracey Magee: know, that kind of stuff. Well, so when I, after I did my L one, I came back and.
Fran was probably one of the second workouts I did. Mm-hmm. And I did not do it the way you, because we had to do it. I don't know if when you guys took your L one, if that was the required workout. We Yeah, but that's the one they, yeah. They tested us on and, and they said, because it was that quintessential CrossFit workout, you know, and I remember I.
Didn't even know what a KIP was at that point. Right. I mean, I went to my L one to learn to understand it. What CrossFit was. Yeah, what CrossFit was. And there were, you know, a lot of people there who did not have much of a fitness background, but they had CrossFit experience. Got it. So I had a big fitness background, a lot of knowledge, but I didn't have CrossFit specific.
So I'm doing strict pull-ups and. Everybody's looking at me like, what are you doing ? And I'm like, well, I don't know how to keep with, like, well you're, you're not getting the stimulus. And I was so I'm like, explain, like, you know, whatever it was. So it probably took me maybe eight minutes or something to finish this work, which I think they allowed us to really, for.
To just to explain or let people understand, right, what the intent was behind and how I missed the mark. So I became that example of in terms of capacity, and I did understand that at the time. I know people who are not either, they don't kind of. Espouse the, you know, the CrossFit belief or methodology.
They would say, oh, you know, Kip Pullups are not really pullups, but it's like, well, strict is strict is strength and, and the, the kip of capacity. And I learned that right in my L one a lot more about that. So that when I came back to the gym I'm like, well, there is one place that you could do a poly.
And there was another girl there who was starting to do CrossFit two and. . So I'm like, well, where did you, she was doing Kip Pu. I'm like, and everybody was just like, oh, rolling the eyes. Yeah. And what are you doing? This is crazy. And you were like, what's your franchise? Right, ? Yes. So I went up to her and I said, I said you don't mind me asking you, are you doing like CrossFit?
And she said, yeah. And, and she. I said, well, I would really like to learn how to do a Kip Pullup. I said, can you, can you show me? So she was giving me a little bit of instruction, but then I asked her where she went to and she said she went to a CrossFit gym. And again, I was a big, I was a trainer there and I was coaching other athletes and doing right.
So again, Was kind of somewhat unsupported. So I was very mindful of that. Yes, I wanted to, you know, I'm kind of a rule follower, so I don't wanna upset, but at the same time I'm like, this is the fitness industry. It's always growing. It's all evolving. Advancing. It's evolving. Exactly. So I went to, to that crossroad gym, which happened to be really far away from me at that point.
Are you in Jersey or in Pittsburgh? New Jersey. In New Jersey at this point. Do you remember what, what gym it was? I do. And you'll probably know across for 2 0 1. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it was Wilson eos. Yep. I remember we have
[00:11:49] David Syvertsen: a lot of people
[00:11:49] Tracey Magee: here that know Wilson very well. Yeah. When, when he was he was a trainer, so it was my first like official CrossFit in a CrossFit gym.
That's awesome. And when I went there and he had told me just to come at whatever time it was, so there wasn't a class going, the classes had already gone and he, I was doing my trial or you know, test out and I just, so he, the work, I was written on the board and I'm like, oh, I love this stuff. Like there was a lot of us running and then I'm coming in and I'm doing dips and all sorts of things.
And as I'm going along I finished the work and he goes, you're done. So he kept giving me more stuff to do, and I'm like, okay. So I just kept going. And then he said afterwards, he says, have you done this stuff before? And he was teach like, there was dumbbell snatches, which I didn't really know how to do.
So he was teaching me and I said, I said, no, I haven't done it specifically before, but I have a, you know, a good like fitness background. He said, I think you'd be really good at it. So we just got talking about whether I'd be. You know, go there as a member, but it was just because of the challenge with my children.
Yeah. It was just hard at the time. Wasn't close. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, but I brought like, like that, so I, I did go a few times to, to their gym and it again was to teach, to learn myself so that I could help teach my clients. Right, right. More so, but I had the terrible un misfortune of when I went for, they had the rope, the rope climb was outside.
Yeah. And it was the first time I've ever did the rope climb and lucky. . So you'll probably learn about me over time that I'm a bit , I'm a bit of I don't know, I kind of fumble and fall and clots. Yes, yes. Thank you. And so I actually forgot to take my ring off. So that's, you know, a reminder of people always takes your rings off when you're doing any kind of rig work or anything like that.
Right. And my ring cut on the rope on the way down. Thought I fell and hurt myself, but I kind of let go and I actually broke my finger, like really badly. I, I snapped over and I ended up needing surgery. But it was the moral of that story is take a ring off number one, . And, but, but secondly, as I had aspirations at that point of doing the open, having no idea where I was, I was going to do, and 2011, the first ever one.
Yeah. Yeah. The. For, yeah, for, for me, I guess it was the first oh one that they did the head-to-head. Was it? Or they made the announcements,
[00:14:00] David Syvertsen: That the first announcements was 2013.
[00:14:02] Tracey Magee: Oh, okay. Oh, where they did the head-to-head, right. Yeah. That
[00:14:05] David Syvertsen: was Scott Pancheck. For Stan Bailey. Yeah.
[00:14:06] Tracey Magee: Yeah. Yeah. The one, the, the year, I think the 2011 might have been.
Oh yeah. Was was that the seven burpees?
[00:14:12] David Syvertsen: That was 2012. My first, yeah. So that was the one that you wanted to do? Yes. Okay. And you
[00:14:16] Tracey Magee: didn't get to because your, yeah, because I broke my finger and I was in a cast for like six weeks. It was, got it. It was. Pretty, it was pretty bad. But that, well, Wilson had said to me, I remember cuz I call him on the way when, on the way back when I realized like how serious it was.
So, and he just said, well, just, you know, just keep that fire in you. Yeah. Just keep that fire in you. Mm-hmm. . But I kind of jumped ahead a little bit because, because it's kind of intertwined my experience as an athlete and also my experience as a coach. Right. You know, the, it's kind of hard to separate.
[00:14:44] David Syvertsen: Yeah. Oh, definitely. I, I think they should be one. One. And the. I really, I've always said that if you get better as an athlete, it should make you better coach. If you become a better coach, it should make you a better athlete. I, I think that's, and I think you did it right. You basically were learning CrossFit as you were trying to coach it.
Yeah. And I think that's a common. background for a lot of coaches that started back when you started. Mm-hmm. like that 2010 to 2013 era. And I do think that's partially why the quality and CrossFit coaching has gotten so much better just over time, 10, 12 years. Because now it's a lot of people, for the most part.
You've done CrossFit for at least a few years before you get thrown into the mix. Yes. Back then the supply. of CrossFit coaches was so low. That's right. The supply of, of people that even knew at CrossFit was so low compared to now that you basically, I, that's kind of had, I, I had crossfitted for I think nine months before I started interning.
Mm-hmm. and I was coaching a class four months after that. You know, people that had been CrossFitting for years and that was a common thing back then and. You know, you could make the argument that wasn't the best way to coach, but that really, that's what all that was out there. That's right. At that point, yeah.
Yeah,
[00:15:49] Tracey Magee: exactly. So,
[00:15:50] David Syvertsen: fast forward this
[00:15:51] Sam Rhee: for me. Mm-hmm. , how did you get from there to competing in the games? Like I want to hear that in like four
[00:15:55] Tracey Magee: sentences. In four sentences. . So from there was I went to a smaller sports and conditioning place initially cuz it was more, the stuff was more available.
Still not adequate in terms of getting you really exposed to everything, CrossFit. So I found another CrossFit gym, went with a friend and a mine while I continued to train my own athlete. Like outside of that, because I did, I also did endurance, like I was endurance to coaching people at running, et cetera.
And when I went there it was, I saw the whole structure, how, you know, the, the classes were run and, and what the expectation would be of you, of an athlete when you're around. Like, and that's what you wanted to do. Yeah. I, it just, I found that when I, the more I did it, the, you know, the better and I adapted very quickly.
So how did you transition
[00:16:40] Sam Rhee: from. Personal training into becoming a CrossFit coach and, and doing more formal
[00:16:45] Tracey Magee: CrossFit. Well, so I was coaching, as I said, in this smaller CrossFit facility. It wasn't a cross facility, sorry, a sports and conditioning facility. Right. And I was doing all of my own programming tat coaching training my in my own.
Small group of athletes and I, we wanted to do CrossFit, but there was nothing close by. And there was, I, there was a big community to draw from. Cause I lived in Kenon. Mm-hmm. at the time. Still do. Mm-hmm. . So, but going, oh, and I, when I, we did find the other one of my, it was my friend, my good friend Evelyn.
So she had been, you know, she was a client of mine and we were also. She decided to go over to this other CrossFit gym and we went together there, but it just wasn't conducive. It wasn't, didn't lend itself for all of the other members started to come with you. I think things are changing now. People will travel a little bit more, but at that time, everybody wanted something down the road around the corner, you know?
And that's as much as I was going to do. So I kind of. Beded up initially where I was going there, but then after being there short amount of time, they asked if I would coach there because I had a, a very big background in which coaching? Which uh, gym was this? It was CrossFit per sy. Okay. They're only there a year and a half, and that was before I, I bought over their location.
Oh, okay. Yeah. That was So that's how you became a gym owner? Yeah. Well, I had already, well, I'd, I started my, my gym. In another location cuz that's what I did once, from, from 2011, probably 20 12, 20 13. I was looking for a place for that. I was thinking in a real small way to begin with, to be honest, right.
For the group of people that I knew that wanted to do it. But it was just, it was so difficult to find a location. What was the name of your gym? . My own gym was Cross for Clan Performance Center. Okay. So then we would truncated to CrossFit clan. And, and that's clan meaning family? Yes. So for me, that was a big, big aspect of, it was really important for me to have that as, you know, as part of the, the name.
Just because community, it's not just, and it's because it's all inclusive. So that's why, and I'm Irish, so Really? I
[00:18:39] Sam Rhee: thought that was a South Jersey accent that you had .
[00:18:42] Tracey Magee: Yeah. So Klan is Gaelic for you know, for family very much. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, so I started coaching there and then, you know, after splitting myself up for so long mm-hmm.
and some of, some of the, the people that I knew, did actually come over there also. I just transitioned over there as, as a coach. Mm-hmm. , because I was just finding too hard with the children, you know, with all their activities and everything. And so the first year I guess that I did the open was 2013.
Mm-hmm. and I was the only one that did it. . . I was like, cuz I thought like, well everybody's gonna do this and this. Like the, what people do in CrossFit. You
[00:19:16] David Syvertsen: had this fire for it. Yes. The competitive side a little bit. I. Not everyone had that juice yet. Yes.
[00:19:21] Tracey Magee: And you crushed it. Well, okay. Believe it or not, cause if anybody knows me, well, at least Dave knows for sure this aspect of me is that wall balls I can implode when it comes to wall balls.
When I first came into CrossFit, they didn't phase me from a capacity perspective. Mm-hmm. , that was, you know, now I could do more. no rep, like 10 times didn't matter. I'd do 10 more. So that was my best performing workout. But all of the others was just, it was, it was just all so new to me. A lot of the barbell stuff, and I was a small athlete.
It took me a while before I was able to build up my, my strength enough, because being smaller, I just had to get stronger. Mm-hmm. , you know, so there was, and although I move it, I couldn't move it as efficiently. So I did, I did okay. In 2013 and then, and then in 2014, yes. I, after a year of, of training class for coaching and you know, much more I qualified for, well, I, I made the, the top 200, first of all, Uhhuh
I, that's back
[00:20:17] David Syvertsen: when, so the qualification was you do the open, if you finish top 200 in the world within your age group, yes. You move on to the next stage. Back then, it was called the age online qualifier. Gq. That's correct, yes. And then from there they take the top. X amount. It changed. It changed a few times.
10 or 20. Was it back then? Was it 20? It was 20. So the top 20 in the world from that second stage. Got immediate invite to the cross. That is a brutal
[00:20:39] Sam Rhee: cutoff to make the top 200. Absolutely, absolutely
[00:20:42] David Syvertsen: brutal. It's brutal. I've made it by the skin of your teeth a couple times. Once, yeah. Once
[00:20:47] Sam Rhee: in the old criteria.
Okay.
[00:20:48] David Syvertsen: Yeah. Yeah. Then they've,
[00:20:49] Sam Rhee: but like, I barely made it one year and I was. It was like, maybe, honestly, for CrossFit, the biggest accomplishment I've ever do done is make that
[00:20:57] David Syvertsen: top 200.
[00:20:58] Tracey Magee: I totally, totally get it. Completely. Yeah. And, and actually I, I, I was incorrect with my timeline. Of course, I was expecting that, but it was, no, 2014 was, was that was the year that I missed it by one spot.
I see. I think I, I made it into the top the top. I said it was top 200. Is it for the qualifier? Yeah. And then it was top 20 and I was 21st. So,
[00:21:18] David Syvertsen: so , that's the other thing. So it's one
[00:21:20] Sam Rhee: amazing achievement to make top 200, but to get into the top 100 is another magnitude more of achievement. Yeah. And then the top about 15 or 20 is like,
[00:21:30] Tracey Magee: is almost, almost
[00:21:31] Sam Rhee: elite.
It's like that is like, you can see the, the qualifying times for. the top 15, the top hundred, top 200, and those are like huge jumps.
[00:21:40] Tracey Magee: You have to make
[00:21:41] Sam Rhee: that right. Different level. Yeah.
[00:21:42] David Syvertsen: Yeah, yeah. So
[00:21:43] Sam Rhee: that was what year that you made it in? Under the top 20. That
[00:21:46] Tracey Magee: was in 2014. Wow. So 2014. Yeah. So it was al like a, I guess a, a solid year of, of CrossFit and developing strength and skills and, you know, I mean, I guess.
Fortunate in a way as being, being a smaller athlete that coming in, I could do a lot of the high level gymnastics like right away uhhuh. So like pull ups, then chest bar and then ring muscle
[00:22:10] Sam Rhee: up. So then what were your things that
[00:22:13] Tracey Magee: challenged you more? I would say the heavier. The heavier barbells. Heavy lifts.
Heavier lifts, and, and also, as I said, I was able to do. Polyps and, but my kip mechanics were just not quite there yet. So, that was hard for me. Did you realize how
[00:22:28] Sam Rhee: big of an achievement it is to actually make the games?
[00:22:30] Tracey Magee: You know, the interesting thing is, I guess I did, but I didn't know of other people really did because I remember like my husband when Mike cuz Mike got into CrossFit a little bit, like later than me.
Yeah. And and when I didn't, when I missed it, it. He couldn't understand why I was so upset. Mm-hmm. I'm like, and that's, that's missing it
[00:22:49] David Syvertsen: by one is I'd rather miss it by 10.
[00:22:52] Tracey Magee: Right, right, right, right. And you know what, it was that the night before, like, and you try not to do this, like the leader boarding, you know, kind.
Yeah. Whatever. Do I repeat or workout and, and whatever. Yeah. And part of it you know, it was so, and that's what it was. Cause I would, I would be up to 19 then I, and then you go, when you wake up, then you were 20. And then I was down to 21 then. And so it was back and forward. So that was very brutal.
[00:23:11] David Syvertsen: Cut a whole nother
[00:23:12] Sam Rhee: year.
If you don't make. Yes, it's exactly, yeah. Mm-hmm. . So where, wait, what age group
[00:23:19] Tracey Magee: category were you in? That was 45 to
[00:23:20] Sam Rhee: 49. And then you went and where was the
[00:23:23] Tracey Magee: games held up there? It was in Carson. Carson, California. Yeah. So what was that like? It was so exciting. It was, it was unbelievable. So, I had a misfortune, again, it's a story of my life five weeks before going out.
So, so I qualified and I had some like stellar performances again, cuz at that stage I was able to move the barbell and I could, I had those advanced gymnastics. What
[00:23:45] Sam Rhee: was your best A G O Q workout? Do you
[00:23:47] Tracey Magee: remember you really fast? I was probably the one where I finished with. Was the one with, they had the calorie row.
Mm-hmm. , wall ball, I think. I think it was that one. Mm-hmm. . And so the separator was, first of all, if you got to the muscles ups and if you could get them so every extra muscle up was, you know, was a huge, huge, huge, yeah. Yeah. Jump up there. Mm-hmm. . And I think there was a handstand pushup workout as well, which had cleans and hand sun pushups.
So, and the cleans for me at that point were very heavy. But I, again, I had. My strength, how they were they at that point? They were 1 25 for me. They were 180 5 for, for the men, I think. And 1 25 for you. And how much do you weigh? Well, I, I'm heavier now than I was then, so I'm one 15. I was saying now, but I think I was, I was only about 1 0 5, maybe one 10.
Yeah, I was put, yeah, it took me a while to build, to build that. To get that extra like strength on me. So yeah, moving that barbell was, you know, was a challenge. But once they mixed, mixed it in, I, I really like the classic cross. I think Dave, I talk about this all the time. Yeah. You know, those, those, those couplets or, or those triplets or when you combine those, You know, challenging with barbell gymnastics.
Mm-hmm. Capacity. Mm-hmm. Yes. You know,
[00:24:55] David Syvertsen: so what happened
[00:24:55] Tracey Magee: five weeks before the games? I was out for a room. My son, it was a training, and training was just going so well. I mean, I was just so excited that my, my fitness was probably at its best. I had just kind of got my capacity on bar muscles, re wrapping them out, like just the week before.
Mm-hmm. , it was just strange like week before I got the qualification and. and then I was running a bit, coming down the hill. I rolled my ankle. Wouldn't say I rolled my ankle. I, I twisted my knee coming down and I didn't really think too much about it. My, my daughter was, had a graduation that evening and then all of a sudden I couldn't walk.
Ah. And I tore my meniscus. So, and it was, it was really bad. My knee completely locked up, so I couldn't, I couldn't move it at all. So I went to one of the, it was one of the top doctors. I think he's for the, for the jets. Oh, I should know this. I know football jets are giants. I'm sorry. A professional doctor
[00:25:49] David Syvertsen: that works on a professional
[00:25:50] Tracey Magee: football team.
Yeah. And so, so they, he immediately said the only way that you'd be able to do what you, what you need to do is if you had surgery. He said, five weeks is a very, very short space of time to rehab and get back and be ready. He said, but we can put an aggressive timeline on there. If you wanna do that to get you where you can kind of move.
So I gave him, you know, all the types of stuff that I would need to be doing and, and what have you. So it was, it was very aggressive. I had the surgery we waited just the bare minimum for recovery in order for me to start doing things. That's insane. Yeah. The hardest thing for me to get back was actually running.
So, because any kind of like, like impact, um mm-hmm. , I was getting my range of motion. I was actually came back faster then because that wasn't my first really serious injury that impacted me as an athlete. Mm-hmm. , . So with, with that aggressive, I was, I was ready to go out there, but my knee was still so vulnerable that every event that I did, I was You were hesitant.
I was hesitant. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And, and I would come back and they were icing me with my knee out to here or whatever, but the, I was, it was either the first workout or the second worker. So we had a heavy thruster. Yeah. And that was, that was hard too. But again, I was, that was a really good lift for me and like for my size, I could make it, but I did not hit my.
What I would normally, I think I did 1 35 or something like that, whereas I would've been able to go over that. So those sort of things have my back, but I didn't care. I was just so excited to be there. Yeah. And it was an amazing experience. 1 25 thruster, right? . Was it 1 25? We could that right now. Okay.
Yeah. So
[00:27:23] Sam Rhee: what were some of the other highlights that you remember from the, from your games experience out. Well,
[00:27:29] Tracey Magee: the highlight of of, of, apart from like just, you know, experience from how I performed in certain events was wanna talk about the ice on my knee coming out. So I'm in the athlete village and I'm there as usual sitting down with the ice trying to, you know, get it ready for the next day.
And they had these beautiful porta parties, right? We think of porta potties, like, oh gosh, yeah, no, these were luxury. Yeah, I mean really, really luxury. And so my friend went over. Oh my God, do you know who's in there? And I'm like, who? Matt Frazier. And I'm like, oh my God. So she went over and I In the Porta potty.
In the Porta potty. And I'm like, okay. So she. She says, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go talk to him and I'm gonna have him com. You know, let's get his autograph and whatever. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. Please, please, please don't do that. And I couldn't get up like fast or whatever. So she's over there talking to him and she said, my friend Will is, is actually competing here.
And she's like, and he said, and she's. He, I was, she was gesturing over to me and he goes, no, no, no. You stay there. I'll come to you. He was the nicest person ever and we sat and we talked for a while and he, we got pictures with him. We, you know, we got the autographs and he was just, he was a really, really good person.
That's awesome. And. I mean, I completely understand, and I think we've even talked about this, Dave, when you're in this kind of focused blinkered mode, when you're preparing for like events and whatever, a lot of athletes, they, they just don't wanna talk to people or they won't. And I understand that and I respect that.
Yep. But, but some of them were just not like very social or just not, and even outside of that, But him and some like other athletes, there was, I remember it's Kristen Clever. She's one of the old school. Yeah, old school, her two, same thing. Really lovely Sam Briggs. So all meeting these people in person was just amazing.
Yeah. You really feel like you're in the club at that point, right? Yes. Cause we all warmed up, we're all competing, you know, we all warmed up in the same place. We had different times. Right. But they would overlap sometimes and they would be doing their. And they might have the, maybe the hundred 50 sandbag, whatever over the shoulder.
I'm getting the like 100, you know, and it's just, it's still though,
[00:29:29] David Syvertsen: like that's crossing, you know, stimulus, the stimulus training, you're all feeling the same way. And I think that's like, that's probably an a time where you're, I made it, you know, you're in the room with them. All warming up together, all wearing your clothes, your names on it, and everything like that.
That had to have been like just a surreal experience. It, it
[00:29:45] Tracey Magee: really was. Yeah. It's just, and, and you just to see them in person as well is just amazing. Oh, there was two other, so Rich phoning again was another one just walking by in the street. Yeah. And, and again, I'm always nervous to, you know, to say it, you don't want to interrupt them, you know what I mean?
They've got stuff in their mind. Right. No bother. Just stopped, you know, chatting for a little bit, but then Dimitri Klok over there that year. Yes. So, he had you know, he had a stand there and he was doing some, some demos and and again, I just like, , you know, why not Tracy? It's the one opportunity.
Yeah. You'll never, you'll never get that shot again. You'll never get that shot again. Yeah. So, yeah. So I got to meet with him and Okay. You know, I mean, I absolutely love weightlifting. I mean, it's one of my favorite aspects of, of CrossFit. Although I'm short, it's, my body is not really designed for weightlifting and I've, in some ways it is.
Yeah. In some ways I don't have the. You know, like I've got the longer armed, shorter torso and you kind of wanna have the opposite, but you make the best of, of, of what you have. So I just love the technical aspect of it and just that, especially like for women, it's so empowering. It is, yeah. To be able to lift like mm-hmm.
like heavier weights and Yeah. And that was one of the probably big reasons why I got into CrossFit as well, and why I wanted to coach it was just kind of imparting that with, with women in particular. Mm-hmm. , you know, that's about being strong.
[00:31:05] David Syvertsen: Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. No, I think, I think you guys, I mean, you're probably one of the, I would say, main catalysts.
There's a lot of you, but you are in that tier, that group of people that really, in my opinion, I've said this on the podcast a few ti a few times, I think women CrossFitters have changed the landscape of fitness more than any group in any fitness program ever. Like I, I think women in CrossFit have made the biggest difference, whether you're coaching a games athlete or just a someone that's going to the gym.
I think everything that you guys, you ladies have, with weight training and kind of fighting certain stereotypes has changed the landscape of the whole fitness industry. More than, more than any, any group.
[00:31:45] Tracey Magee: Wow. Feel strong with that. That's great to hear that from
[00:31:47] David Syvertsen: a, a male. Now keep it going because I think there's still more to be had with that.
Like I still think there's a lot of like young girls that really look up to you guys more than you think. I think that that's wonderful. So with this games kind of like in the rear few mirror, I would love to just get some feedback on you. You know, you went over your start story opening the gyms, coaching, learning cross at your own, performing at a high level, you know, what, what is it like to be on that level of performance, but also trying to grow a business and.
You know, the, the conversations I've had with you, it wasn't just about business. It was about really making an impact and changing people's lives. Yeah. And bringing the CrossFit life, you know, to, to these people that are just walking in the door. What was it like to pursue both at the same time? Like what were some of the struggles there?
[00:32:37] Tracey Magee: So, . Yeah, as you just said, it was a, it's a huge passion of mine, and again, it comes from being in conventional gym to begin with and, and just seeing that the focus was always on appearance and not on, not on performance. And, and that's what Drew, you know, drew me to CrossFit as well, is that, you know, if you focus on what you can do, not what you, not what you look like.
Mm-hmm. , you. , your body composition is gonna change. Your mindset's gonna change. Mm-hmm. , and it really is, is very empowering. So, that's been always the mainstay as to why I wanted to, to bring that to, to other people. It was also that intimidation factor as well. Like if, so a lot of people, and we don't mean to, and, and you can say as much as you want yourself, like as, as a, as a cross for athlete, as a.
Coach as, as a business owner is, don't be intimidated. It's fine. But when you walk in there, just the environment can be you know, a little intimidating. Absolutely. Even for me, as, as you know, as experienced as I am, I'm still, I'm shy by nature. Mm-hmm. , so taking that step into a new gym or a new place is very, very difficult.
So I wanted to try to, Barrier down as much as possible, make it as welcoming as possible and, and try to, when somebody walks up, to kind of keep them, love that just for enough so that they will start to enjoy, see the benefits, see the change. Keep them long
[00:33:55] David Syvertsen: enough that eventually they start to see, all right, I'm three months in, not three weeks, I'm three months in.
Like, and that kind of just takes care of itself. Yeah, that makes, that makes them want to come back, not just
[00:34:05] Tracey Magee: Tracy. Exactly. Exactly. And that was my driving. You know, all the time to kind of, to keep that in mind that that's why I'm doing this. You know, I wanna make a difference in people's lives. I want women to feel empowered.
I want that shy person or that awkward person that kind of hides in the back to feel like that they belong and you know that you know that this is the best. Hour of their day. But it was, it was really, really hard. I mean, I won't lie, that's
[00:34:29] David Syvertsen: a 20, that alone is 24 7, 365. It's not just when you're coaching classes.
Right. It's, that's actually probably more when you're not coaching the classes. Yeah. And then the amount of thought that goes into it. That's right. And the amount of times you're not at the gym, you're not training, you're not coaching. You have to think of ways to fit different personalities into the same room and make them all feel like they are important cuz they are mm-hmm.
and everyone needs d. You know, forms of, of you know, care. You know, people are more verbal, some people are more physical, some people are, you know, need time outside of the gym time. Some people need it at the gym. So that, that's doing that. And then also training for that level that you were on was also 24 7, 24 7 365, being a mother 24 7, 365.
Do you have any advice for someone that is trying to balance all those things? , you know, maybe it could be a mistake you made or it could be a, a good decision that you made. Like what, what really helped you kind of catapult in all three
[00:35:23] Tracey Magee: directions? So I, I think balance was really important. I was, wasn't always really good at it.
Mm-hmm. . And I think the, the, the part that I would forget sometimes is the self-care. You really do. You, you have to take, take that time, be selfish sometimes, you know? And, and I don't mean that in a, in, in a harsh way. Like, you know, telling people this, this is my, my own time, but I found that I always allowed myself to get pulled and distracted.
Right. And whether it was. My training or whether it was the business, I, I'm kind of too much of a perfectionist. Yeah. Where I could have left certain things go maybe a little bit, I could have delegated maybe a little bit more. And you know, and a big regret is there's not. Truly like asking for the help when I needed it.
Mm-hmm. , you know, is like letting people know what was, what was going on, and that I needed like, like more support. Right. And also having the courage of my convictions when I wanted something to be a certain way. Right. I would back down a little bit. Mm-hmm. and I would let others kind of Yeah. Dictate for me sometimes because I'm like kind of a people pleaser and you can't really do that.
You can't plea, you can't keep everybody happy. No, it's impossible. It's,
[00:36:32] David Syvertsen: it's impossible. You know, one thing I can relate there is that you said that kind of stood out is that, you know, you're, you're a, a big reason why you got into coaching and a bigger, bigger reason why you are making a difference in people's lives is that you are the one that's like, kind of, you're trying to be the most strongest, most consistent force in the gym.
Mm-hmm. , but you're a human being. Right? . But like I, everyone knows, we all have ups and downs and it's sometimes you'll come into the gym while you're on a down. But you still feel that pressure to be like, no, I need to be the one that's consistent. Let them be That's right. The one that are upset about their muscles or being sore or something hurts or they can't do the open.
Right. You know, they need a strong, consistent force in the gym to keep them. That's right. Motivated. And when you don't have, if you just keep throwing yourself into the. Fired. Like, all right, I gotta suck it up, suck it up, suck it up. Eventually you can't, and it doesn't mean you're not tough. It doesn't mean that like you're a failure, you're a human being, right?
We're all humans before anything. Before we're athletes, before fathers, before hus, you're a human. And that's something that I'm constantly working on, and I think that you could probably share that or just shared that no matter what, you do have to make sure you're taking care of yourself. Because if you are 80% of.
trying to portray yourself as a hundred percent. It's impossible. People will catch on. Yeah. And you actually probably will put out a lesser product at some point. Yeah. So you have, again, that balance thing. That's, those are good words. I think that's really important for people to hear.
[00:37:54] Tracey Magee: Yeah. And there, there was definitely a period, and I think it was, and you know, you hit on it just right there.
When I had in 2018 I had an incident at, at the gym and it was, it wasn't, it was in the middle, middle of summer, but I was born. Wpw. It's, it was a heart conditioner, arrhythmia condition. Wolf Parkinson white syndrome. That's right. Yes. Yes. I was about to say the
[00:38:14] David Syvertsen: same thing.
[00:38:17] Tracey Magee: doctorate, right? . So, and it never really interfered with, with my, with my life or like as, as an as an athlete.
But I think there was, maybe, there was a lot of factors that kind of came into play that particular day. We had a really, really intense workout and, but I, you know, to flash forward, I blacked out and I collapsed in the gym. And I guess I just had like an incident. There's probably been many occasions where my arrhythmia triggered, but it didn't lead to that.
Mm-hmm. . And so I came round and there happened to be one of the members that were there was an, was a nurse, so could see right away that my pupils were not dilating. And because I kept saying, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm okay. And they're like, well actually no, you're not fine. Yeah. And so I end up having.
Go to the, to the emergency room and. , I end up having to have ablation, heart ablation surgery. Yeah. Because they said it was my blood pressure skyrocket. There was all sorts of things that were going on that things just weren't kind of like regulating. And they said, well, you know, you could probably still be okay and that, but the, the risk is if this ever happens in a very dangerous situation, we are driving or I just happen to be And typical of, of CrossFit gyms, there's a bay door, but not like you're as ours at a complete drop off to like.
Four feet. Right. And I was right by there and I fell like just inches. Yeah. From there. And if that have been a different incident, I could've, it could have been a lot worse. Yeah. It could've been a lot worse. Yeah. So I realized for me, again, I mean I was totally new experience for me recovering from that type of, you know, the type of procedure.
And you, they say that you have to adjust to your new rhythm. Mm-hmm. , and again, I was under this, I put myself under this pressure. To, to go back. I mean, the, the great thing about the cross community that, that particular day is everybody rallied around me that day. Mm-hmm. , they all made sure they didn't listen to me like, no, no, no.
I'm fine, I'm fine. They got me their mic, they got mic right away. We went, went to the hospital, but once. On the outside, I felt everything was fine. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm recovered, but I tried too soon to go back to coaching. To training. To your routine? Yeah, back to my routine. But it was even, it, it was less so like some of the training, cuz there was lots of stuff that you can do that's, that's not going necessarily jack a heart rate up or whatever.
Mm-hmm. . But I was standing, I forgot like my whole. When you're a coach and you're doing that much like yourself, Dave, you're, you're on your feet so much like nonstop. And it's the worst part. Yeah. And I just, so I did not recover as, you know, as well as I could have. Mm-hmm. and that was the self-care that I'm talking about is being able to take that step back and, you know, getting a little bit more support and not say, I got this, I got this, I got this.
Yeah. I'm tough, I'm tough, I'm tough on top. Yeah. Thinking that people are expecting the of you. Right. You know? Right. So, yep.
[00:41:04] David Syvertsen: Can you give yourself some grace on that? Now, you know, with, without getting into too, too many details, this is the last part I really want to get into and just give you some opportunity to reflect on this with us a little bit is so, so you're no longer owning a gym.
Don't need to go into the details unless you want and I think still doing a little bit of coaching on the side. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So you are now with us. You're, you're a member at our gym. You are, you know, one of the staples of our, you. late to mid to late morning classes. Yeah. I've had so many people say like, how much they love your energy working out with you.
Like they, it's really, it's cool. It's cool to hear. And I hope you know that you're doing a,
[00:41:39] Sam Rhee: a very high level of fitness Yeah. Like, of
[00:41:42] David Syvertsen: achievement. Yeah. Kicking ass. Like a lot of people watch you and they are, Pretty amazed with I've, I've had so many people maintain. Thank you son. So many people have been like, dude, who is she?
Oh my gosh. You just started crossing last year. Just like scare people, . Yes. But, you know, what are some of the, just, you know, either surface level or depot, things that. Things that you're dealing with as, do you like coming in and just having to work out and not worry about the leaking toilet? Yes.
Oh my gosh. Or having to cover tomorrow morning's class. But you were planning on working out tomorrow. Like what are just some of like the subtle differences that do make a big difference for you personally?
[00:42:19] Tracey Magee: Yeah, well, fir the first thing I can say is that I, the, the way I've been embraced by bison has been amazing.
Mm-hmm. and actually probably got me very emotional, but Yeah, it's okay. It was just, it came at a really, a really important time Yeah. For me. And it just, it's really, it's been fantastic and just the people, the environment, everything. And I wasn't even sure, and again, we won't need. Too much detail. Yep, yep.
But like back the summer before that, I, and after I sold my gym, I'd gone through some, some health issues. Yeah. Again, and whatever. And I had some, and injuries that compounded it. So I really didn't think I was gonna go back to CrossFit. Right. Okay. I, I had seriously considered mm-hmm. , I need to do something different.
Yeah. I need to not do this anymore. Mm-hmm. and it was, it was friends of mine. that were coming here. Mm-hmm. . There was Britain Day, Jenny. Yeah. You know, that, that said, for the longest time to come even do a workout, and I, I kept regretting why did I never go and do that workout with them? Like just on a Saturday or, or what have you, because now I don't think I wanna do CrossFit anymore.
Yeah. Yeah. You know, so, and it was, my family came over, my two sisters had been over that summer. We hadn't seen. For the longest time, COVID, you know, which was like the lowest point I think from, from owning the gym, which kind of almost was the catalyst for, for selling. Yeah. The gym was when, when they came over, it was, there was, you need this Tracy.
Yeah. This is what you do. It doesn't have to be at any great level. It doesn't, it just, but you, you need to be, you know, fitness. You need to be in that environment. And I'll never forget the, the first day that I walked out, I came with my sister, first of all. I remember that. And it was Adam. Amazing.
Like just on amazing welcome, such a great guy. And I'm like, wow, I like this. This is really organized. I mean, I look, everything was all set the way it's supposed to be. I'm a little bit you know, OOC d that's the gym, that's the gym owner in you . So it was like, this is great, you know, it's really efficient.
It's, you know, but still, I wasn't sure, cuz I had my sister there as my, you know, to kind of like do it with me. But then the, the work at, then I came. in by myself. And you were probably coaching Dave and, and Jenny was there, and it's just like, I felt like I belonged. Mm-hmm. , I'm like, I'm still nervous.
I'm still very, you know, I feel a little bit kind of shy and awkward about, it's an, it's a new environment, but the, the support and com camaraderie, I mean, it's not like I didn't have that before, like when I own my gym in the early days, I would say. But when things started, To go, I would say go south a little bit.
And it was like post covid where we, I lost a lot of my staff. People were disenchanted with the fitness industry. It was almost like, you know, oh, this is, it's, it's dying industry. It's never gonna come. And like, it's really tough. My, yeah, my, my right hand man who was always going to be the, you know, the successor so to speak.
Yeah. Got totally disenchanted and that was Axel. Totally dis. It's
[00:45:02] David Syvertsen: also had like the CEO change, a lot
[00:45:04] Tracey Magee: happened, A lot happened across, and it's completely. Understandable. I completely understood like where they're coming from, so I'm like, well, I can't really do this like on, on my own. And so that that whole kind of really support system kind of fell by the weight side.
It was just, it was very different. I trained a lot by myself. It was just, and I just wasn't like enjoying it. Then all of those. So those health issues and injuries that happened all last year, it was just like, no go. But it, it was just, it was renewed. Yeah. A renewed appreciation for everything. Yeah. It was just, and I feel like it's just, I gotta compliment you guys like so much like your staff, your members.
It really is. It's a testament to, and what an amazing job that you guys. Do here. And it, whether it's said, whether it's a member or, or it's staff, you know, a member of your staff, you know, you just got equal support. Yep. You, everybody just feels like, you know, you're just as important as the next person and Yeah.
Absolutely.
[00:45:56] 2023_0212_1124: You
[00:45:56] David Syvertsen: know, it's just, yeah. That's always been the way it's been here. Right. We, we try so hard not to put people on a pedestal, you know, there's certain situations where it naturally happens, but day to day, I don't think we have a problem there. And I think one thing that we've tied together here, That is the subliminal reason why I think you're feeling comfortable and rejuvenated is you are an old school CrossFitter.
Like you, you like, one of the first things you said on this episode was you just love, like the mixed stuff, the CrossFit, like a real CrossFit workout. Mm-hmm. is your favorite kind of workout. Absolutely. And we've been talking about this like Sam, myself and Chris, like. . We don't, we don't, I don't think we do anything overly special here.
I think there's a lot of things we can do better, but we are a CrossFit, that's what we do. We're not a bootcamp that doesn't CrossFit. We're not a CrossFit that does some bootcamp. We are a CrossFit gym. The programming is CrossFit. Very CrossFit, and that's who you are. Mm-hmm. . Right? And, and then you throw in the community aspect as well.
It's like that's where, you know, you started off as the New York Sports Club trainer wanting to engage with people and help people. . Right. That's why it's like, it's like a perfect marriage, right? Like that's what this place is. Like. You come in here, coaches and members, they wanna help you out. Whether it's helping you out with a technique on a lift, or just making you feel more comfortable and feel supported.
Mm-hmm. , you know, help you get ready for the open the quarter finals, legends, all that stuff, right? Yeah. You're a competitor.
[00:47:12] Sam Rhee: You killed it at Legends.
[00:47:13] Tracey Magee: Yeah. Oh, thank you. Very impressive. Yeah. Thank you. It was, it was a Never say die. Yeah. It. Yeah, it was a good, it was a good comeback. Well, a good kind of bringing me back into the fold and feeling of competing.
Yeah. But yeah, it's just bison is, I mean, it is, there's no question about it. It's special and it is the balance that you have, like with that support and with the coaching, it's just, you know, it really is like second, second to none and it's just, I mean, I've just felt, I felt like right at home. Mm-hmm.
That's great. I'm glad to hear that from day one.
[00:47:44] David Syvertsen: I want to be jealous. Real. I wanna be, I wanna be jealous even though I'm already jealous. You competed at the games, right? ?
[00:47:48] Tracey Magee: What's 1 20 15. It's a long time ago. . So what? I'm still jealous.
[00:47:52] David Syvertsen: What's one thing you don't miss about owning a J ? Well,
[00:47:55] Tracey Magee: one thing.
Oh my gosh. You know, it, it was stressful. Yeah. Yeah. It was stressful. Constant. Yeah. Yeah. Constant. It is 20, you said? It's 24 7. Yep. It's always on your mind. And just the days are really long. Mm-hmm. , even if your breaks in the day, it's just, there's still not a real break. Just not a real break. Yeah.
And it's over the weekend, everything. I was never away from it aspect of it, you know, cuz I'm, I did like the backend stuff, you know, because that's kind of like my, my background where it was finance. Mm-hmm. , and, you know, as, So, you know, and I like organizations, so I always felt, you know, at home doing that.
Yeah. But it was just, it was just too much. It was, it was a lot, you know, so, so probably that's what I don't miss. Yeah. Don't feel like, don't miss. Yeah. So to
[00:48:36] David Syvertsen: wrap this up then. Mm-hmm. , do you think. That being here and not having to deal with that 24 7 stuff, you know, where, where are you looking to go goal-wise competitively, you know, are, are there still competitive goals or are we thinking more fitness and let's see what happens.
Like where, I'd love you to kind of share that, you know, and let people know, you know, where, where your head's at with comp competition. In terms of your future, like, do you think your training will be easier to stay on top of now that you're, Hey, I'm just an athlete here. I'm not changing that toilet paper
[00:49:06] Tracey Magee: over there,
Yes. Well, yeah, definitely I have more time, you know, just literal time and also like the mental capacity to you know, to train like a little bit more so I can be more, more de more consistent. Right. And doing it at like same times. I mean, when I was. On the gym. It was, I was all over the place. All, yeah.
And sometimes I felt great, sometimes I didn't. The, you know, the other side of it is I am getting older. I do have like a lot of like, injuries that I'm managing, so will I truly be able to keep up with the volume mm-hmm. To be at the competitive level? I don't really know. I'm, I'm just kind of feeling, feeling it out.
Mm-hmm. I do now. The opportunity, which I never really kind of had before, which is, you know, the aspect of of crosses I love too. Which is Olympic weightlifting, right where I am now. I qualified for nationals in March. And that's again, I'm, I'm a small athlete and, and I'm older. So that would be, that's the only time that you, you actually compete in your weight class.
Right. So I'm competing in my weight class, which that's huge. Which really is, that's huge. Is huge. Like for me. Yeah. That's exciting to be able to do that. And I still think of it in terms of like, how's that gonna make me better CrossFit? Mm-hmm. , you know, because again, I'm a very, you know, it's in your blood.
It is my blood. It really is. Yeah. So I would like to see where I can take it, but I am realistic in, in terms of the recovery. Yeah. You know, when you're an older mass. With athletes, just the reality of it. Yep. With all the, you know, you can want it as much as you, as you think that you're, you know, I can take this, I can do this, but it does take longer to recover.
Right. There's some
[00:50:38] David Syvertsen: biology involved here that you're not gonna
[00:50:40] Tracey Magee: win against. Exactly. Yep. So, and things are changing and my age. Division two, which is, you know, which is, is, is kind of, I guess it's good and bad. The, and maybe it'll change, who knows? We'll see when they, when they bring the open is what kind of movements it would have in there.
Right. I like the high level gymnastics. Yeah. So whether I'll get to do that in, in workouts remains to be seen. Yep. So, so we'll see. I'd like to see where it's at, but I don't feel like the, the pressure, you know, that's great to, to like, that I have to perform. If I do, that's great. It's great. And, and, you know, and if I don't, I'll probably be disappointed.
I mean, let's be honest here, , right? But I, you know, I, I, again, it's
[00:51:16] David Syvertsen: in your blood. It's in, yeah. So I think every. Former competitive athlete. Anytime you get to something you just couldn't do anymore and you kind of know you can read the he lives like something's over or it might be over, it's, it's a hard thing to deal with emotionally.
At least the first year too. Yeah. I got hopes for you this year. Let's see how it goes. I do too. I think you're gonna crush the open this year and I can't wait to just be a part of it with you and just watch you support you. Appreciate. We'll be in your corner on that. We'll be yelling at you to pick up that damn barbell
Oh my God. Oh my God.
[00:51:42] Tracey Magee: Suck it up, Tracy. I'm, I'm getting, getting it from the opposite end. Yeah,
[00:51:45] David Syvertsen: let's make the agreement. Yeah, exactly. You're not allowed, you are not allowed to get mad at me over the next three weeks. Right. Okay. all. Well, thank you so much, Tracy. That was was awesome having you on. Very.
Encouraging words. And I think just having that, your background story's gonna help out a lot of people and I'm, I, I know it's not the most comfortable thing in the world to talk about Yeah. On camera. And Sam and I are both really intimidating . Yes. But you know, we're, we're just glad that you came on and we're really happy for your time and good luck this year and your
[00:52:10] Tracey Magee: season.
Thank you so much, Dave. Thanks. Thank you, Sam. It's been a pleasure. I really enjoyed it. Thanks so
[00:52:14] David Syvertsen: much. See you guys. See you guys next week.
