Strapped in kinesiology tapes, medicated plasters, knee guards and what nots, CrossFit diehards competed in their respective categories to be crowned the fittest in Asia.

Organised by CrossFit Pahlawan, the two-day Hopper Warrior: The Search for the Fittest competition was held at Citta Mall, Ara Damansara, Selangor, last month.

The Hopper Warrior was created last year with the aim of building and strengthening the flourishing CrossFit community in Asia.

In addition to the individual categories, the sophomore event this year also saw the introduction of the team and teen categories.

From the word go, it was friendly rivalry all the way as 180 contestants pumped, cried, bungled, crawled and gave their all as the crowd urged them not to give up the gruelling challenges.

It was a test of cardiovascular fitness, strength and agility. Once time was up, a few even collapsed from exhaustion.

CrossFit is a fitness regimen developed by Greg Glassman, who defined fitness in a meaningful, measurable way, i.e. increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.

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Working the arm muscles in the pull ups.

All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, which reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more – the core movements of life.

Intensity is essential for results and is measurable as work divided by time – or power. The more work you do in less time, or the higher the power output, the more intense the effort.

By employing a constantly varied approach to training, functional movements and intensity lead to dramatic gains in fitness.

The community has spread like wildfire and given birth to a global network of CrossFit affiliates.

The Hopper model relates to selecting workouts at random, scheduled based on the whim of the programmer. This model views that a fit individual is able to perform well at any point of time.

Contestants for the Asian challenge flew in from Brunei, Hong Kong, Thailand, and even the United States, to be part of the event – such is the craze.

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The team events saw two males and two females in each team. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli

Among the movements required were power snatches, box jumps, 200 metre runs, clusters (weightlifting), legless rope climbs, burpees, pistol squats, synchronised pull-ups and synchronised thrusters (for teams).

Edmund Tan, who has been CrossFitting since 2008, took top spot in the Men’s RX category.

“Actually, I was planning on pulling out since I was badly injured a couple of weeks before the event. Then I saw that there might be a chance of winning after the first day. Though it might worsen my injury, I decided to give it a go,” revealed the head coach-cum-general manager of CrossFit 852 in Hong Kong, who also co-founded PushMore Fitness Centre in Malaysia.

And win he did, though Tan admitted the intense heat affected him.

He added, “It is not entirely about winning or losing, but about coming together with all these amazing people who share the same passion, competing and supporting each other, regardless of who you are.”

In the Women’s Scaled category, American Whitney Bradley from Florida clinched the first prize.

“I do CrossFit Monday through Saturday and there was no way I was going to go an entire summer without going to the gym while abroad,” said Bradley, who is currently interning at the Malaysian Red Crescent.

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Bradley is all smiles after clinching the top spot in the Women’s Scaled category. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli

“It’s truly an addiction; the camaraderie, the results, the satisfaction, the adrenaline, everything! So I set out to find a CrossFit box here in Malaysia and joined the first week I arrived. When I learned about the Hopper Warrior, I signed up immediately.”

When she discovered that “skierg” was on the list, Bradley had to YouTube a tutorial to learn how to use the exercise machine.

She confessed, “I became worried because I had never tried the skierg before. I didn’t even know what it was! The first day of competition was my first time on the skierg, and to my surprise, I actually loved it.”

Overall, she found it tricky to strategise certain elements in the competition.

“The challenge was not knowing what the final two workouts would be until the end of the first day. I had to go equally hard, but paced myself throughout every workout in order not to burn out. When they called my name during the awards to step up to the first place spot, it was riveting. I cannot explain how satisfying it feels!” Bradley gushed.

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Anguish and fatigue is written all over this contestants face. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli

One of the youngest competitors was Tara Azahari Yeo, who emerged second in the teens (girls) event. At 13, she took part in the competition to gain experience and have fun.

“I started CrossFit about a year and a half ago. I did not expect to win anything, but coming out number two was a good feeling. It also gave me motivation to work harder to join future CrossFit competitions,” said the teenager from Kuching, Sarawak, whose interest in the sport sparked off after she followed her mother to the box.

She trains four times a week and aspires to make it to the CrossFit Games, which sees the world’s best competing to be the “Fittest on Earth”.

Winners took home cash prizes and trophies for their effort, and the pride of knowing they stand among the fittest in Asia.