Not Your Typical 65-Year-Old
Barbara Blount is not your typical 65-year-old woman.
Heck, she may not even be your typical 55-, or 45- or even 35-year-old woman.
But make no mistake, Barbara Blount is a badass.
Barbara, who trains at Omnis CrossFit in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the CrossFit Games Open Arkansas State Champion in the 65+ Age Group, finishing 100th world-wide and 86th in North America. And she credits it all to her coaches, her fellow Omnis athletes and her older sister, Nancy Steen, a CrossFit Games competitor herself.
In 2015, Barbara was on the floor with unbearable back pain.
“I hurt it so badly I was crawling on the floor, thinking I would never stand up and be good again,” Barbara said.
But that back pain, some motivation from her sister and the caring and attentive coaches and athletes at Omnis CrossFit have her thriving in life and the CrossFit space.
“I hate to say it, but it is fun,” Barbara says of why she continues to CrossFit. “When I am walking out of here after a workout, I’ve accomplished a lot.”
And it’s those hours in the gym alongside her fellow Omnis athletes that keeps her coming back for more.
“I’m not as competitive as a lot of people are...well, I kind of am,” she says with a laugh. “It pushes me to see what they can do. I know being 65 if I don’t keep moving and working, my upper body strength, my legs...you don’t use it, you lose it.”
Barbara was already an accomplished athlete before walking into Omnis four years ago. She was a member of the first women’s gymnastics team at Oklahoma State University and then taught gymnastics for 20 years in Blytheville, Arkansas.
That ability to coach and to be coaches has translated well as Barbara continues to chase excellence.
“Barbara is very humble and has no idea how awesome she is,” XXXX, a coach at Omnis said. “She doesn’t understand that what she is doing is really amazing. Not just for her age but for a CrossFitter in general. I wish she saw all the magic that she exudes in the gym. It’s really cool just to watch her.”
📸- @focus.501
✍️- @danthemediaman
The Fittest 15 Year-Old In Arkansas
Two-a-half years ago, you could find Jack Ryan Brooks where you would find many kids his age - in front of a TV on his PlayStation. Now the 14-year-old is a regular at CrossFit Conway, placed first in the Arkansas Boys (14-15) division in the CrossFit Games Open and qualified for the next month’s CrossFit Games Open Age-Group Online Qualifier.
At the urging of his parents, Jack Ryan began training with his father, Ryan, who is also a coach, at CrossFit Conway and, according to his father, hated it.
“He was out of shape,” Ryan said. “There were new movements that he wasn’t used to and there weren’t any other kids in the class. He eventually started to figure out the movements and gain muscular strength and endurance. That’s when he started to notice that he felt good after working out and he gained a lot more confidence in himself.”
During last month’s Open, Jack Ryan, who also runs middle distance for the Conway Junior High School track team, won the first and final events of the Open state-wide to lay claim to the top spot in the state while also finishing 63rd in North America.
His success has not only impacted his life, but also the CrossFit Conway community. When Jack Ryan began his CrossFit journey there wasn’t a teens program at the box, forcing him into the regular classes. Now behind the success of Jack Ryan and others, CrossFit Conway has opened a teen class that has trained three of the top four teen athletes in the 14-15 age bracket for Arkansas.
Finding balance in his life has been huge for the younger Brooks. Before starting his CrossFit journey, Ryan Brooks struggled to get his son to ride a bike or even run around the neighborhood with his friends. Now, Jack Ryan trains three to four times a week at CrossFit Conway after his track practices and can proudly call himself the Fittest 14-year-old in Arkansas.
- @focus.501.media
Dan Froehlich & Smitty
Lori's Journey to the Podium
When Lori Webb walked into her first CrossFit gym, it was to do yoga, not CrossFit. Now, five years later, Webb has not only advanced to the Age Group Online Qualifier for the 2021 CrossFit Games season but she did it by winning the Arkansas masters 40-44 women’s division, placing 53rd in North America and 86th worldwide.
Competing in a new age group in 2021, Webb had been rapidly ascending the 35-39 leaderboard the past two seasons. After debuting in 2017 with a finish nearing 3,000th in her division worldwide and 2,000th in the US, she climbed nearly 1,000 spots worldwide and 600 spots nationally in one season.
Webb then made a massive jump in 2019, finishing 447th worldwide and 273rd in the United States. The following year brought her closer to the threshold, finishing 468th worldwide and 267th in the US in 2020 before moving up and onto the next round in 2021.
Recalling her first days of walking into Chopper CrossFit in Wyoming, Webb was dealing with a diagnosis of alopecia, an immune system condition that causes hair to fall out in patches or completely. That’s when she chose to don a bandana, a practice she continues today.
“People just assume I’m trying to be some bad ass but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. I am a pearls and fingernail polish kind of girl,” Webb says behind her 10,000-watt smile.
An athlete and coach at Omnis CrossFit North in Little Rock, Webb thrives on the CrossFit community, “No one cares that I’m wearing a bandana or what I look like,” Webb says. “It’s all about effort and being a great person.”
A mother and wife, Webb, who volunteers and works part time at her children’s school, will take part in the Age Group Online Qualifier over Mother’s Day weekend in May.
Losing to Win with Paul Rivera
Paul Rivera placed second in the 55-59 year-old age division for Arkansas and ranked 43rd in North America and 54th Worldwide for the 2021 CrossFit Open. His accomplishment is a far cry from his former self when he started CrossFit at 270 lbs and needing to take multiple medications to manage chronic disease states.
His life transformation started in 2013 by walking into Rock City CrossFit and began working out five times per week and drastically changed his diet. These changes led him to lose 60 lbs, ditching the medications, becoming a competitive athlete, and even inspired him to become a CrossFit Level 1 Coach and USAW weightlifting coach.
Paul said his doctor told him, "One patient in hundred would make these type of lifestyle changes and maintain it for more than a year." Paul has been steadily improving for eight years now.
Paul recently competed in the Legends Masters Comp held in Arizona, where he befriended several of the top CrossFit athletes in his division and staying in touch to keep each other motivated.
Paul ensured he would remain competitive with his peers by enrolling in nutrition coaching a year ago at Rock City. Since then, he has improved his body fat percentage by 9% while keeping stamina and performance while decreasing his overall body fat to 17%.
Paul's next step is the Age-Group Online Qualifier that will take place over Mother's Day weekend.