Enrique Tasende
Age: 42
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
How long have you been CrossFitting? 6 years (4 in Cayman and two in Italy)
What is your favorite WOD/Exercise? I found the tabata WOD very fun and I can stay on the rower for ours.
What is your least favorite WOD/Exercise? Is strange… while I like front squats and shoulder press I hate the combination of both (Thrusters). Additionally, you will never see me on a morning class. My body doesn’t react until 11AM.
What is your previous workout/athletic background? For every Argentinean soccer is our religion, so I play every week since I was a 5 years old (I used to play almost every day when I was young). I also did 3 years of spinning.
What was your first experience at CrossFit Cayman like? In the beginning was a little intimidating. So many things to learn on every movement, but after the first two months everything comes together.
What results have you seen since CrossFitting? I can definitely see that my body changed for good. Less fat, more muscles (still a lot of work to do!). I also noticed that my fitness condition improved 100%. Sometimes at the office I take the stairs to go up three floors with some people. Once we reach the top, I am “fresh as a cucumber” but they need to call 911
What do you do to get yourself through a tough workout (mental thoughts, tips and tricks, etc.)? I always tried to put the right strategy in place… Choose the right weight, do I need to scale down something?, should I push for RX, etc? I also choose the portion of the WOD on which I will push harder than normal.
What’s your favorite aspect about working out at CrossFit Cayman? When you work in Hospitality you are always connected with the business. It doesn’t matter if you are at the office. You brain is always thinking on new strategies, problems, investments, etc. When doing cross fit, on those 25 minutes of the WOD, my brain completely disconnect from my job. I forget who I am, where I am, etc. It is just me and the barbell. The days I don’t work out (with the exception of Sundays) I feel lazy and can’t sleep well at night.
It also makes you mentally stronger. It is hard to explain, but since I do my work out always at 5:30pm any activity I have to do during the day seems like a piece a cake. I approach every challenge at my job or personal life with more confidence than the average person (is like the brain says to you… “If you think this is hard, wait until you see what the coaches have on the white board waiting for you”).
What advice do you have for someone thinking about joining CrossFit Cayman? This is the closest thing to having your own personal trainer. With hard work and consistency the results come immediately. Sometimes my friends say to me “I heard a lot of people got injured doing Cross Fit… cross fit is very insane, bla, bla, bla”.
The reality is that if you listen to the coaches, choose the right weights, understand your limitations and follow the technique of the movements you can do this forever and will never get injured (plus you can eat unlimited gelato without gaining any extra weight!)
