Talking about the 2017 CrossFit Open with Jared Enderton

Q: First off, congratulations on your new position as Strength & Conditioning Coach for the USA Spring Cycling Team!  Let’s hear a little more about the opportunity and what you’ll be doing?

Jared: It’s a very humbling opportunity for me. It’s been going really well & the athletes are making some serious progress. I’m just excited to be able to bring value and to help the athletes progress! My main job is to not only get them stronger, but more powerful. They’re not on the bike very long, but they have to turn over a big gear, which means lots of power output & short burst efforts. Thankfully, that’s what I’ve spent most of my career doing & also what I’ve coached for a really long time so it fits perfectly!

Q:  We’re just a few weeks into the start of the 2017 CrossFit Open.  How are you feeling this year about the Open?

Jared: I feel very good about the open this year. As always,  the open is very competitive so I know it’ll be a fight just to get back to regionals. I know I’m in much better shape this year so I’ve just got to stay focused & show it!

Q: Last year, you hadn’t been training for CrossFit very long and made Regionals.  What would you attribute your natural transition into CrossFit to?

Jared: I played every sport our school had growing up: wrestling, football, golf, basketball, track, etc. I won state in Iowa wrestling and got 3rd a couple times as well. I think this is probably the most useful background that I have. From there I went to strongman & weightlifting for about 8 years. That strength background of course helps as well! It took me about 10 years but it just feels like I came back to wrestling, ha ha! CrossFit gives me the same type of feel physically that wrestling used to, except the competition is different. Instead of trying to break an opponent you’re usually just focused on yourself not breaking mentally in the workouts!

Q:  This will be your second year competing in the Open, how has your training changed over the last year?  And are there any specific weaknesses in your game you’ve been focusing on?

Jared:  Yeah I’ve definitely focused a lot on my weaknesses. Longer, aerobic efforts & gymnastics are the 2 things I’ve focused most on. There are some smaller weaknesses that I’ve worked on but those are the main two!

Q: What’s your ultimate goal this year with the Open?

Jared:  To qualify for regionals, and to come out of the open healthy!

Q:  I know you’re always traveling a ton for weightlifting seminars you host, how do stay motivated to train while on the go all the time?

Jared:  I won’t lie - it can be very difficult. These last 6months I’ve done a lot better job of consistently training while traveling. I think I just had to learn to stop rationalizing with myself & making excuses. There’s no big secret, but a healthy dose of tough love with myself always helps. My fiancé usually preps meals for me for when I travel so of course that helps a lot too!

Q:  On that note, we’ve seen some awesome numbers being hit in your Olympic lifts over the last few months, what can you attribute that to?

Jared:  Focus. Now that I don’t weightlift nearly as often- when I do the Olympic lifts I’m really dialed in & focused on them.

Q: Your physique has really gotten dialed in over the last couple of years, what type of nutrition plan do you follow?

Jared:  I’ve been following RP Strength for the past 10 months or so. Last open I was 210 lbs. while this year I am 195 lbs. Quite the change. Again, my fiancé preps every meal for me so I have it pretty easy.

Q:  Obviously, nutrition is key in performing well in the gym, but what supplements do you use to also fuel your training?

Jared:  I stick to the basics for the most part: Protein, Creatine, Fish Oil, Xendurance, HMB, ZMA, & PEAK ATP.

Q: Have to ask, are we growing the beard back out again for the Open?  Is that your good luck charm?  Does it give you extra power?

Jared: I’m actually not growing it back out for the open…I never shaved it from last years open, ha ha!

Q: Any shout outs or other news you want to share with everyone?

Jared:  To stay up to date with what I’m up to you can follow me on Instagram: @jaredenderton

Thanks Jared for taking time out of your hectic schedule to chat with us!  We wish you the best of luck during the CrossFit Open this year!