An interview with Annie Sakamoto1

Legendary Crossfit athlete Annie Sakamoto is registered to compete in the 2012 LaLanne Fitness Garage Games Kickoff next weekend in San Francisco as well as the Sac Town Throwdown in February. She was a crowd favorite to watch last year in the 2011 Crossfit Games where she won the “Spirit of the Games” award. To say that Annie is an inspiration to many Crossfit athletes is an understatement. As a busy mother of two small children, she still finds the time to train, coach, compete – and answer a few interview questions from us!

GG: What WOD when you see posted at your gym do you know that no matter how busy you are that day – you are getting to the gym to do that WOD?

Annie: Squat Cluster (from CF Football)

GG: What WOD would you find every excuse not to show up for? (we all have one)

Annie: “Angie”–I’ve actually never done it.

GG: What was your experience training while you were pregnant with your two children? As a woman with competitive drive, how did it impact your training during and after your pregnancies?

Annie: I was lucky to have easy pregnancies and was able to train up until I went into labor with both children. I did have to scale back, on both weights and intensity, which was hard at times, but considering the “prize” at the end of it all, it was a small sacrifice to make. I was also lucky in my recoveries, and was able to start training again just a couple of weeks postpartum. I started off slow, and was in no rush. Fitness is a lifetime goal, so I figured I have plenty of time to “be fit”.

GG: Based on the recent interview of Katie Hogan by Tony Budding, do you think that there should be one RX weight for CrossFit workouts instead of having a Women’s RX weight and a Men’s RX weight? If so, why?

Annie: I believe that there should be Men’s RX weights and Women’s RX weights.  

GG: Were you working on any weaknesses in the months leading up to the 2011 Crossfit Games?

Annie: I only trained for 7 weeks leading up to the Games. I had no intention of going to the Games until the day after Regionals. I focused on strength and toes to bar–which were a disaster for me at Regionals. 

GG: The community loved seeing you compete in the Games last year, what are your plans for 2012?

Annie: I plan on participating in the Open and hopefully qualifying for Regionals. IF I qualify for the Games from there, I have EVERY intention of participating in the Games again. I really had a lot of fun. And if I don’t qualify, I plan on being there and enjoying the show.

GG: How has your competition in the 2011 Crossfit Games impacted your training in 2012? 

Annie: Now I’m training with the intention of competing. I have a coach, Gary Hirthler, who is amazing. He does all of my programming, watches and tracks all of my workouts, reads up on things. I’ve fixed my diet and I pay more attention to getting enough sleep. But I make sure that I’m always having fun. To me, if I’m not enjoying myself and having fun, it’s not worth it.

GG: Do you compete in many local competitions?

Annie:  No. The only other local competition I’ve competed in was the Sactown Throwdown last year. 

GG: What was your biggest motivation to register for the 2012 LaLanne Fitness Garage Games Kickoff event?

Annie: For fun, to see and hang out with some of the members of our community and to practice being in that “competition” mode.