Q&A Cate Grosskopf and Tyler Kanski
Hometown:Cate: Hingham, Massachusetts
Tyler: Hometown: Normal, Illinois
Current Location:
Cate: Villanova, PA
Tyler: Villanova, PA
Age:
Cate: 21
Tyler: 21
Occupation:
Cate: Student
Tyler: Student at Villanova currently; working in Franchise Development after graduation.
College:
Cate: Villanova University
Tyler: Villanova University
How long have you been a CrossFitter?
Cate: I’ve been doing CrossFit for about 3.5 years; I started CrossFit right at the beginning of my first year at Villanova.
Tyler: It will be 3 years this January.
Did you ever play sports?
Cate: I played varsity soccer, tennis, and ran track in high school!
Tyler: If you consider it a sport, I played golf all 4 years of high school.
Got some cool (or uncool) hobbies you'd like to share?
Cate: One of my big hobbies has been cooking and baking. I put a lot of time and energy into nutrition and learning about food, and I love finding healthy and creative recipes to cook for my family and for meal prepping in my apartment. I also bake a TON of banana bread.
Tyler: In my free time, I like to read, play golf, and recently I have started cooking as I no longer have a meal plan at school.
What has been your biggest achievement at CrossFit in general?
Cate: My biggest achievement at CrossFit in general was getting my first bar muscle up. When I first started CrossFit a few years ago, it took me a year to do my first strict pull up. Ever since then, my goal has been to build up to a bar muscle up, and I finally got one about a month ago!
Tyler: In general, my biggest achievement has been my overall increase in strength. I remember
freshman year when I could barely snatch 95 pounds. Recently I was able to get on the board
for the snatch + overhead squat lift complex and that was a really exciting moment for me.
What skill have you been working on during 2020?
Cate: I’ve been working a lot on my bench press lately. Since quarantine started back in March, I’ve bench pressed every single Monday either in my basement or now at the gym at school. It’s honestly helped a lot of my CrossFit progress overall; my dips, push-ups, and shoulder press movements have gotten so much stronger. It’s been so cool to see how working on a foundational lift helps other movements!
Tyler: Life skills or crossfit skills? Lately, I have been trying to learn video editing/ content creation
skills through adobe’s software. As far as crossfit, my latest venture has been the deficit hand
stand push up and the strict press. I just want to get stronger in those areas.
Goals for the rest of this year? CrossFit goals?
Cate: Improving my clean form, maxing the hell out of my deadlift, and definitely going for a ring muscle up.mReal life goals? Getting good grades, graduating college, getting a job. You know, the normal stuff.
Tyler: With the rest of the year, I want to keep focusing on school and fitness and take it one day at a
time and do the best I can each and every day.
What's your favorite WOD?
Cate: I would say Diane is my favorite. I also really like doing Murph every year!
Tyler: My favorite wod is JT. I really like heavy cleans and hand stand push ups. I also like how the
wod has both an ascending and descending ladder between the movements.
How about your favorite food/snacks?
Cate: Ice cream is my favorite food of all time. Mint chocolate chip or mint oreo are my favorite flavors. I honestly have an ice cream obsession and I will never say no to eating it. Other foods I like are tortilla chips, avocados/guacamole, sweet potatoes, zucchini, chicken parmesan, seafood, and steak.
Tyler: I love a good burger with sweet potato fries.
What is the craziest workout outside of CF you have ever done?
Cate: One summer I hiked a bunch of peaks of the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire with some friends. We hiked Mount Washington, Mount Clay, Mount Jefferson, and some of Mount Adams. It ended up being an 11-hour hike and we had to sprint down the mountain at the end to avoid getting stuck in the dark!
Tyler: I have done a few half century bike rides. One of those rides was through Grand Teton National
Park in Wyoming. At the halfway point of the ride there was a 3 miles hill that really kicked my
butt. It was a lot more fun going down on the way back.
What’s your least favorite WOD?
Cate: Nasty Nancy was honestly the worst WOD I’ve ever done in my whole life. I genuinely shed a tear during that workout, and I will never, ever do that again. Unless Aimee programs it again. Praying she doesn’t.
Tyler: My least favorite WOD is Kalsu. Never before had I struggled through a WOD like Kalsu. I still
haven’t done it Rx to this day, and don’t think I ever will.
Favorite lift/movement?
Cate: I love deadlifts, toes to bar, and double unders. Oh, and running. But that’s definitely a hot take.
Tyler: My favorite lift is bench press. I also really enjoy snatching.
What’s your least favorite lift/movement?
Cate: The overhead squat will forever be my nemesis. Worst movement of all time. Absolutely horrible.
Tyler: My least favorite lift is the deadlift. It is a lift I would like to improve on in the future.
Whats your favorite piece of workout "gear"?
Cate: My purple Metcons and my purple lifting belt! I like purple, lol.
Tyler: No question… I love my lifting belt.
What would you say is your biggest improvement since starting CF?
Cate: Definitely my overall strength. I used to not even be able to handle an empty barbell, and now my strength has grown astronomically. I have also improved my mental attitude towards CrossFit. I used to get very frustrated with my progress (or lack thereof), but I’ve learned that improving strength and skill takes time, and it pays off with practice.
Tyler: Since starting crossfit, I have seen my cardio improve drastically. I remember my first crossfit
wod was an AMRAP or thrusters, pullups and a 400 meter run, and I think in 15 minutes I got 1
round. I think today, I could definitely get 2 rounds.
Who is your favorite coach?
Cate: Jenna, hands down. She has known me since my freshman year and has been my CrossFit role model, she pushes me to be better in each workout, and I’m so happy that she has become a really good friend of mine. Seeing her almost every single day at 2:30 brightens my day! I also want to give a big shout out to Aimee for being so welcoming to me and CrossFit Villanova. Without you, we wouldn’t be a part of the amazing CrossFit KOP community!
Tyler: Without a doubt Jenna. She has made crossfit so much fun these past few years and I am very
thankful. She’s an amazing coach and friend. When I joined the crossfit club my freshman year,
a week in, the gym we were at closed and we didn’t know if the club would survive. Aimee and
crossfit KOP let us join and kept the club alive. In doing so, I have met so many amazing people
and fostered great relationships that I never would have. Thank you Aimee and thank you Jenna
PR's to mention? Goals Reached? Nutrition highlights?
Cate: I recently PR’d my 3RM deadlift, I can now bench press 120#, and I FINALLY hit a 140# clean. My goals are to keep improving, stay healthy, and to keep having fun :)
Tyler: I recently PR’d my snatch and clean in the last month. That was exciting because I’ve recently
started doing more extracurricular running, so it was nice to still keep adding strength despite
the increased cardio.
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