Katarina Torrissen - women should not be afraid of going under a barbell

In 2014 three women got the chance to compete at the CrossFit Games from Europe Region. Annie Thorisdottir, Bjork Odinsdottir (both of Iceland) and a Norwegian. Out of seven event, she placed first in two of them, which, in addition to a solid performance in the rest of the five events, granted her the opportunity to compete with the best women from around the World.

Came the CrossFit Games. Annie Thorisdottir placed second, Bjork Odinsdottir - 19th, but Kristen Holte in her first CrossFit Games finished in the 16th place. In three event she placed in the top ten, but in the famous "Triple-3" she won. Why I say famous? Because in this event the four-time CrossFit Games champ finished in his worst place ever while competing at the Games. Kristen finished 4th at the "Sprint carry" and 7th at the Beach. Norway made its mark at the realm of CrossFit.

In November CrossFit Teika (Latvia) organised a competition called "The Baltics Throwdown". Athletes from Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Greece and other countries participated. One of which was Norway.

There I saw an athlete, only 155 cm tall, but doing remarkable stuff with heavy weight. Compared to other women who were much larger in size, she completely stood out. So, I tried my luck, and asked her to do an interview with me. I was thrilled when she said "Yes" and I got the opportunity to ask question about her fitness, experience in CrossFit competitions and other stuff, that could be interesting to all the girls who are competing and training in CrossFit. Maybe in the future we will see Katarina Torrissen competing at the Regionals. And I truly hope, that this was not the last time Latvians got to see her perform live.

LatvianCrossFit: First things first – who are you and what do you do for a living?

I’m Katarina Torrissen, a 21-year-old girl from Bodø, Norway. I currently live in Tromsø, where I study law at the University of Tromsø as a 3rd year student. I also work part-time at H M. 

LatvianCrossFit: When I saw you at “The Baltics Throwdown” I was speechless of your performance. When and why did you start doing CrossFit? 

Katarina: Thank you! To be accurate, I did my first CrossFit session on August 10, 2013. That was the day the CrossFit box here in Tromsø opened for the first time. I loved it right away, and I signed the contract for a membership the same week. 

LatvianCrossFit: Women in CrossFit. Some say that women are more into CrossFit than men. Is it true? Why women should do CrossFit? Or more important, why women should not be afraid of going under a barbell? 

Katarina: Well. At our box we actually have more members that are men, than women. But most of the women workout more frequently than the men. So maybe we are more into it! I don’t know. 

I don’t see any reasons for why women shouldn’t do CrossFit. I love the fact that we specialise in not specialising. There are so many things and movements to learn, and it is such a great feeling when you manage something that you just a couple of months ago thought was impossible! 

I understand why some think that it is scary to go under a barbell and lift very heavy weights. But women should not be afraid of going under a barbell because there are so many benefits of lifting heavy weights. In addition to that, technique is more important than load. We don’t put weight on the barbell before we know and are comfortable with the movement. 

LatvianCrossFit: You are from Norway. What is the situation of CrossFit in your country? Is it booming or still in diapers? 

Katarina: It is growing – just like in the rest of the world! It is getting more and more popular. 

LatvianCrossFit: In the Baltics Throwdown you finished in the seventh place. Was it a good performance or were you hoping to be higher? What prevented you from being higher?

Katarina: Considering that I placed 4th in the qualifier, I was a bit disappointed and was hoping to place a little higher. But it was definitely the WOD 1 and 2 that prevented me from being higher. I placed 4th on WOD 3 and 4. 

Remarks on wod 1:

Since I’m short and light (155 cm, 52 kg), rowing is obviously not what I’m best at. So I knew that this would be a tough workout for me, and that I probably would not place very high. I ended up as number 11. 

Remarks on wod 2: 

On the ground-to-overhead ladder I managed to lift 60 kg, which was fine considering that my PR is 62,5 kg. I knew that I couldn’t stand a chance among all the bigger and stronger girls, and was actually happy to place 9th. 

All in all, my assumptions taken into account, I don’t think that I could have done anything differently on the competition day to place any higher. I did my best. I just need to get stronger and work on my goals. 

LatvianCrossFit: What is your CrossFit competition background? Could you please tell something more about CrossFit competitions held in Norway?

Katarina: I’ve only just started competing and doing qualifier workouts this fall. I went to England and competed at "The Thorium Throwdown" in October, where I placed 12/35. I also qualified for "Brussels Throwdown", but I didn’t go. The Baltics Throwdown was my second competition. 

There are not many competitions held in Norway. But right now I’m doing qualifiers for a team competition called “The Winning Team League”. There are 6 qualifiers over 6 months, where the two best male and female teams from each region in spring will compete in Oslo. 

LatvianCrossFit: Some are good at weightlifting, some at gymnastics. What is your speciality (movement) and where do you have to put in more work? 

Katarina: My speciality movement is definitely the deadlift. For being so tiny I have a pretty good 1-rep max (135 kg). I also love all kinds of squats. 

But all over I’d say that I’m better at gymnastics than weightlifting. I’m good at movements like toes-to-bar, pull-ups, handstand push-ups and muscle-ups. 

Movements I struggle with the most and have to put in some extra work are as I mentioned Olympic lifts and rowing. I’m not good at kettlebell movements either. 

LatvianCrossFit: What is your proudest moment in CrossFit? Was it a new PR or something that happened during a competition?

Katarina: I remember being extremely proud and happy when I managed the bar- and the ring muscle-up for the first time! 

When I was in England at "The Thorium Throwdown", I did a WOD that was: 100 Hang Power Cleans at 35 kg. Every time you drop the bar 3 down ups. Then 16 x 25 m sprints. 

I started those sprints a good while before any of the other athletes. I won that heat and beat my own time during practice by over a minute. So that was a fun and a “proud” moment.

LatvianCrossFit: If I have understood correctly, you have a CrossFit Level 1 certificate. Correct? Where did you complete the course? And why?

Katarina: Yes, that is correct. I completed the course in Stockholm in June. The head coach and owner of my box (who is also my boyfriend) thought that I was ready for it, and offered me to go and take it. I really wanted it, and he could use some more trainers at the box. 

LatvianCrossFit: 2014 CrossFit Game season. Did you follow the action regarding the CrossFit Games and the offseason event Team Series? Who’s your favourite from Individual men and women?

Katarina: Yes, I followed the action! For the first time a Norwegian athlete - Kristin Holte - competed at the Games, so it was really fun to watch. My favourite of the women is without any doubt Annie Thorisdottir. She is so cute! I love how she is always smiling. Of the men I guess I have to say Rich Froning. 

LatvianCrossFit: Lets talk about your CrossFit Box. I would believe that you probably have visited many different CrossFit boxes. What makes your one different from all the others? 

Katarina: CrossFit Tromsø is the northernmost CrossFit box in the world! That makes it a little special. Plus we have the best pull-up bar. Like in all boxes, the people are fun and the atmosphere is always good. It is always good to come back to the box after being out travelling. 

LatvianCrossFit: Have you trained with or does your box have a CrossFit Regionals athlete?

Katarina: No. 

LatvianCrossFit: How do you recover from a hard workout? Once I interviewed Kevin Jurs, athlete from Estonia who is worth keeping in mind, and he said that he just takes a protein shake, stretches those muscles that were mainly used, and that’s it. Dmitry Klokov, although not a CrossFit athlete but worth mentioning, drinks a lot of kefir (Greek yoghurt). What do you do?

Katarina: I don’t have any specific routines that I do after a hard workout. I rarely even take protein shakes. I used to, but stopped for a period to see if it affected my progress. That was about half a year ago. Since I still seem to increase my strength, I haven’t started taking shakes on a regular basis again, yet. But of course, I stretch and I use foam rollers like most other athletes! 

LatvianCrossFit: You probably know what it takes to get to the CrossFit Games. Would you be willing to do the work in order to make it to the Regionals and eventually to the Games? Or that is not on your list of future plans?

Katarina: I must say I’m flattered to even get that question! Right now even Regionals seem pretty out of reach. There are so many good athletes out there, and each year it just gets tougher. So that is not what I’m training for as for now. But I guess, if in the future I feel like that would be manageable for me, I’d put in the extra work. 

LatvianCrossFit: Which is the hardest workout you have ever done? Which one took you to the dark place? 

Katarina: It is hard to say, but the hardest workout I’ve ever done is probably the Open Workout 14.5. The one with the thrusters and the burpees. I did all the other Open workouts 2-3 times, but I only did that one once. It was such a killer! It really took me to the dark place, and I’m still reluctant to do it again. 

LatvianCrossFit: There was a video where women showed, that they can do pull-ups, because, as it turned out and by some mystical reason, some thought that they could not. How many unbroken pull-ups and chest-to-bar pull-ups can you do?

Katarina: I can do 17 strict pull-ups, 19 butterfly pull-ups and about 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups.