What does a university physiotherapy student who has always been unable to stop sitting still like Enrico Zenoni? Become one of the most promising CrossFit champions in Italy. In recent Italian Showdown ranked first among Junior with high level performances.
We interviewed him for you.
Tell us how the race went, if there were difficult moments, especially WOD.
The race was important, sanctioned, it went well, there were many strong athletes and I won it. I have all prepared the WODs in advance, but I did the best times in the race. I can only be happy with how it went! I had the greatest difficulty with the SkiErg: not having it available in the garage, I didn't know how to use it.
But is it true that you only do CrossFit a year and a half? I guess you have previous athletic training! Tell us a little more about yourself.
I actually started CrossFit two and a half years ago, but I've been following a dedicated athletic competition for a year and a half. As a child I had already done other sports like judo, made for 10 years with various national and international competitions. When I finished judo I started doing Krav-Maga, mixed martial arts, sometimes I also went to run in the mountains and climb, but meeting CrossFit it seemed to me a complete discipline in which there is a bit of everything and I continued with that.
I felt that your training routine is 4 hours a day of CrossFit and only one day of rest, right? How do you manage the four hours of training?
The situation has changed a bit: in reality now I train 7 days a week, I do about 7/3 hours a day on the most intense days, instead of Thursday and Sunday I only train for two hours. Maybe on Thursday I do active rest and work on aerobic capacity and I do accessory gymnastics exercises. On Sundays maybe I do climbing, swimming or similar work. During the week the sessions last 4 hours, some days I divide them into two sessions, morning and evening. On those days I do activation, force, workouts and exercises that complement the session such as cardio or strength, also based on the time of year.
Just below you at a distance of just a few points, there was Niccolò Colli. Did you already know him I guess? Can you tell me something about him?
I had met Nicolò before at the Fall Series, but we didn't have much time to get to know each other. while at the Showdowns we met we have the same goals, it's complete, it has no particular weaknesses. He's nice, we got along well even in the warm-up zone. I hope I can train with him to have fun and without the pressure of the competition.
I'd like to know what your athletes are and why you like them.
I tell you, my favorite athlete like many is Rich Froning because I like how he manages the workout and how he trains and also because before starting CrossFit I saw some of his videos that made me want to start. It has been and is one of my points of reference since the beginning.
Last thing: we uncompetitive crossfitters are all working to acquire movements that are still obscure or very difficult to practice with our times. How did you get there?
The best way to learn a complex skill is to start from the basics, then get strong in the coordination exercises, get strong in the angles of movement you need and then approach the full exercise. For example in the muscle-up you try to go tentatively by climbing with one arm and then with the other taking risks injuries, in my opinion it is better to become strong in strict tractions, then learn the movement of kipping, ofhip to the bar and surely the muscle up that will come out will be cleaner, there is no risk of injury. Being complex skills one of the most important things you need and give your body time to get used to.