Marie, welcome to the Newsletter! For the very unlikely case anyone doesn’t know who you are - please introduce yourself!
Thanks for having me! Marie here! Coffee-addict. Chocolate-lover. Dutch, living in Zug, working in Zürich. I have two kids, my son is 24 and my daughter is 22. Pierce finished uni in Rotterdam and is now serving in the army, Erin is in her final year at uni in Zürich. Proud mama here, just wanted to throw that in.
You’re mostly known for your high energy and good mood. Where does that come from?
Is that how people know me, really? Maybe it's a Dutch thing? I love coming to the gym so as soon as I walk in, I am happy (most of the time anyway). Add a sprinkle of dance and music to the workout and it's very difficult for me to NOT be happy. I guess if people would meet me outside of the gym, they would not see a much different Marie. I am just me, always.
Working out gives me a boost for sure, the adrenaline and endorphins are happy pills, what can I say?
Having said that, recovery is as important. I do not always find it easy to take that rest day and give the old body a break, but I have noticed that it really helps, not only physically, mentally too. A good night's sleep does wonders. Recovery gives energy for the next workout! Oh, and hydrate ;)
And please, care less about what people think of you. Be you. You are more than good enough.
And be kind to those around you.
And carpe diem.
Lately, you’re all in for Hyrox. What do you like about this training?
I have always enjoyed the endurance classes, way back when that was what it was called: Endurance class. Little did I know that that was resembling Hyrox. I did that class every week, it was my favorite, already then. The long workouts, mind dialled down to zero and just workout. It wasn`t until much later, when Hyrox became a thing, and the name changed, I was doing Hyrox haha.
What I like a lot about the classes are the long-ish workouts, the movements that are technically not complicated, the variety of the training program. No class is ever the same and yet I can put my mind on blank and just workout. And very important: very low-risk in terms of injury.
Which is why, honestly, anyone can do it! If I can do it, you can too!
As for a Hyrox comp, you know exactly what you`re up against. The stations are always the same. It allows for specific targeted training, if that is what you`d want to do, and it gives you a new benchmark every time. You can focus on those areas that need improving.
You competed this month in your first women open single Hyrox in Frankfurt and you will do St Gallen in January! So cool. Are you excited? What was/is your goal for those competitions?
Yep. I did Frankurt a few weeks ago. My first ever official Hyrox, solo.
Michael Talaepa and I did a mixed doubles simulation at Crossfit Baden in September, which was so much fun! Mixed doubles means men`s weight, so the sleds, the sandbag, the kettlebells and the wallball are a lot heavier than in women`s open solo. The running you do together, the stations you can split. So yes, he did most of the work :)
My goals for Frankfurt were pretty straight forward: not getting time penalties on any of the stations, not getting DQ`d by dropping the sandbag, finish the race and enjoy every minute. Checked all those boxes, so I was chuffed. The wallballs absolutely killed me though, I took my shoes off mid-workout and almost forgot to take them with me towards the finish and had to walk back LOL - only a few steps but it felt like 100 Meters. The whole thing was so much fun though. Recovery week went a lot better than I thought so I was extremely happy with that too. The old body not doing too bad there.
I now know what to work on: lunges and wallballs. So for the next few weeks you will see me practicing those A LOT after training, under fatigue, in OG. Anyone joining me, please? Shared pain is easier to suffer.
I am very excited for Sankt Gallen because a lot of my fellow Foxy Roxies are participating too. CF Zug will have over 10 athletes competing which I think is fantastic! It`s going to be a cool weekend, no matter what, and we will all have tons of fun, supporting each other.
How do you prepare for the competitions?
Competitions? Plural? I only did one LOL
Other than the usual workouts, I added some running to my training. And I have become somewhat of an 5:30am Open Gym Girl for some strength training. Pretty unbelievable but it is true. You know, that's the other thing. This whole Hyrox journey, since setting that goal of doing a Hyrox solo a few months ago, has taken me to places I didn't think were for me. Running? 5:30am Open Gym? Me? What a trip hey?!
As everyone will know, I never did any running! When a run was part of the workout, Marie would jump on one of the erg machines. But a few months ago, I think it was late Spring or early Summer, Coach Fin said to me ‘No scaling Marie, you are going to run now. Just one lap around the building and see how it goes` - and I did. When Coach Fin tells you to do something, you do it. I will never be a good runner, but at least I am running and never thought I would say this: I am enjoying it. A little bit :)
Michael has helped me a lot too. He put together some workouts, some of them we did together, or he coached me, and he gave me some fantastic tips. Technical ones, like on the lunges and the sleds, on how to transition between stations, but also on mobility, nutrition and recovery. He is a strength and condition coach and has been really kind to share his insights with me. You should consider inviting him for an interview:)
In the classes, is there anything you really don’t like doing?
Not a fan of barbell work, overhead. Anything technical. And everyone knows by now that Mr Box Jump and I are in a very, very complicated relationship.
You’re often seen dancing and vibing during the classes. What is your favorite workout music?
The loud kind :)
When I am working out on my own it's EDM and house, mixed with some 80`s and 90`. In class it can be pretty much anything, from Abba to AC/DC. Any re-mixes and music with a good vibe. Music makes me work harder. I like to listen to rap too (thanks to my son) but it's the wrong workout music for me.
Can you share one memorable moment you had with Crossfit Zug?
There have been many cool moments and if I would mention only one it would make the other 999 less memorable. That would be wrong! I met so many nice people, some of them have become real friends, so that`s one. What I always find cool to look back on is getting the support from the coaches and the girls and boys in the class. Supporting each other LOUDLY. What`s awesome is when someone tells me I am an inspiration to them. Someone at the box said to me recently: “I want to be like you when I grow up” - that`s certainly one to remember for me.
Oh, when I occasionally manage to do a box jump, that`s memorable too LOL
Do you tell us something about you that we don’t know yet?
Mmmmm….I could tell you a lot of things about myself that people don`t know (yet) but that`s not for the CF Zug monthly newsletter - if anyone wants to get to know me more, just come up and ask! For chocolate I will tell you everything you want to know.
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