Crossfit: Gym owner aims for 2013 glory

Two days after competing in the CrossFit Regionals in Australia, Madhi Te Heuheu is already planning his assault on next year's competition.

The Mt Maunganui fitness fanatic has blanked out his aching muscles and is talking about getting back into the gym.

Te Heuheu, part-owner of the Mount CrossFit gym at Owens Place, finished eighth from among 60 of Australia's fittest men, after three gruelling days of competition at the weekend.

He scored the best result of seven Kiwi males competing in Wollongong, south of Sydney.

Te Heuheu's business partners, Luke McGruer and John Templeton, also fared well, with Templeton 16th and McGruer 31st. After five of the six events, only the top 18 athletes qualified to advance to the final workout.

All three Mt Maunganui men were among 50,000 worldwide competing in the Crossfit Open competition, with the top three from Australia qualifying for the Reebok CrossFit Games in California.

Te Heuheu won event three on Saturday - 10 one-arm 45kg dumbell snatches followed by a 50m sprint, repeated four times - but followed that effort with his worst result of the weekend, tied for 41st in a workout he expected to kill - 50 back squats (holding 61kg), 40 pull-ups, 30 shoulder-to-overheads (39kg), 50 front squats (39kg), 40 pull-ups, 30 shoulder-to-overheads (39kg) 50 overhead squats (30kg), 40 pull-ups followed by 30 shoulder-to-overheads (30kg).

"In training, I'd smoke that workout but [I] just had a bad day, really bombing out.

"If it wasn't for that score, I would have gone into the final two workouts with a chance at the top three."

Mount CrossFit's six-strong team were 24th out of 30.

Templeton saved his best until last, jumping up the rankings with fourth overall in the sixth and final workout, a lethal combination of deadlifts, muscle-ups, wall ball shots, toes to bar, farmer carries and burpee box jumps every bit as painful as it sounds.

Te Heuheu said the competition in Australia wasn't as tough as he was expecting.

"Some of the guys I overestimated a bit based on their qualifying results, but now I've had a taste, it's a matter now of getting back into the gym and getting as strong as I can over the next 12 months," he said.