Sevan Matossian (00:01):
Bam. We’re live. We did it.
Rebecka Vitesson (00:04):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (00:06):
I always, um, uh, re uh, Rebecca, where are you?
Rebecka Vitesson (00:11):
Uh, I’m in Nashville at the moment.
Sevan Matossian (00:13):
Oh, you are? You’re already here in the States?
Rebecka Vitesson (00:15):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (00:16):
Oh, okay. Whenever I do, um, international podcast, I’m always think I’m on edge about the, um, time zone, you know, or the, you know, when you cross the international Dateline, someone will think it’s on a Wednesday. I think it’s on a Tuesday. And we miss each other. <laugh> are are, are you Mayhem athlete?
Rebecka Vitesson (00:33):
No, I’m not. Um, no. So I’m actually with Andrew Huda, no shortcuts.
Sevan Matossian (00:39):
Oh, wow. Yeah.
Rebecka Vitesson (00:41):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (00:42):
Who did I have yesterday? I was with, um, who’s with Whoe?
Rebecka Vitesson (00:47):
Manan.
Sevan Matossian (00:48):
Manan, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Wow. I didn’t realize, uh, whoe was working with so many high level athletes. Incredible. Yeah,
Rebecka Vitesson (00:56):
It’s cool. Yeah. Or he made us high level <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (01:00):
Um, you know, he, he was at the games last year, right? Or was it the year before?
Rebecka Vitesson (01:06):
Yeah, both
Sevan Matossian (01:07):
Two years ago. Yeah. Um, people always spoke about him with such a high regard that he had a great eye, great, a great, uh, tech technical, um, athlete, but, but also, uh, very patient and a good teacher. That’s crazy. How many, how many, um, games athletes does he have?
Rebecka Vitesson (01:26):
Uh, he has three games athletes and one masters at the games as well.
Sevan Matossian (01:30):
Crazy. And then who, who else besides you and, um, uh, mano?
Rebecka Vitesson (01:36):
Uh, j
Sevan Matossian (01:38):
Oh, no shit.
Rebecka Vitesson (01:40):
Yeah. And then the mom also is, uh, Belinda, Belinda Becker.
Sevan Matossian (01:48):
Are all of you guys meeting up in, um, Nashville?
Rebecka Vitesson (01:51):
Uh, no. So I just came a week earlier and then I will meet up with them next week in Madison.
Sevan Matossian (01:57):
Why, why Nashville?
Rebecka Vitesson (02:00):
Um, because, uh, yeah, it was quite random. Uh, I wanted to come earlier because me and my boyfriend were just back home in, in Denmark and thought like, why not move to States a little bit earlier and it would be too boring to stay in Madison. So we just thought that it could be a cool experience. And it’s the same time zone, same climate, so yeah, quite easy and good environments, good training gyms.
Sevan Matossian (02:29):
Yeah. Where will you train, where do you train when you’re in Nashville?
Rebecka Vitesson (02:33):
So right now I’m training at CrossFit East Nashville. And then we’ll also go to Mayhem on Friday, I think Thursday and Friday.
Sevan Matossian (02:42):
Is that, um, is, is that accommodating? Are they accommodating over there mayhem since you’re with, uh, Andre Hue and then No. Uh
Rebecka Vitesson (02:52):
Oh. Oh wait. Uh, what do you mean?
Sevan Matossian (02:54):
Are, are I the Mayhem people are okay with, uh, Andre Hodes athletes coming there and training? Yeah,
Rebecka Vitesson (02:59):
Yeah, that was fine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. As long as when I don’t interrupt with their training and <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (03:05):
Yeah. Do, do you call them ahead of time? Do you call someone over there and be like, Hey, we’re coming over there. Is that We’re, um, I’m an individual athlete. I’m coming over there to train. Is that cool?
Rebecka Vitesson (03:13):
Yeah. Just to make sure. So I have, I also like to, to kind of schedule everything and, and know the plans so it can be a little bit more structured.
Sevan Matossian (03:26):
This is your first individual?
Rebecka Vitesson (03:29):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (03:31):
Yes. Congratulations. One of the 40, uh, fittest women Walking Planet Earth.
Rebecka Vitesson (03:38):
That’s crazy. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (03:41):
Uh, what do your mom and dad think?
Rebecka Vitesson (03:44):
Um, so my mom is obviously very, very proud. Um, I’m not sure she maybe realize it yet, same as me, <laugh>, um, but she’s very happy. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (03:57):
And, and your dad?
Rebecka Vitesson (03:59):
Uh, so I don’t have contact with my dad.
Sevan Matossian (04:02):
Yeah. You raised by by your mom?
Rebecka Vitesson (04:04):
I’m raised by my mom. Uh, I did have contact with my, my, uh, dad until I was like 14 or something. Um, but then we just moved separate ways.
Sevan Matossian (04:16):
Is is Denmark’s home for you?
Rebecka Vitesson (04:19):
Yeah, right now.
Sevan Matossian (04:20):
And, and born and raised there?
Rebecka Vitesson (04:24):
No, I’m from Sweden. I moved to Denmark like six years ago.
Sevan Matossian (04:30):
And why did you move there?
Rebecka Vitesson (04:33):
Um, so, uh, it’s was actually for a Team Butchers lab. Um, so in 2018 they kind of got me in the team to be there for a year to, to try to qualify for the regionals. Um, and yeah, and then I just thought that Copenhagen was really cool, nice people and yeah, so I stay there.
Sevan Matossian (04:55):
Yeah. Are are Sweden and Denmark, I apologize. Bordering countries.
Rebecka Vitesson (04:59):
Yeah. It’s,
Sevan Matossian (05:00):
Is it a big deal to, to, to switch to move from Sweden to Denmark or is it easy?
Rebecka Vitesson (05:04):
It wasn’t for me because I live, uh, south Sweden, so it’s like one and a half hour train travel to Denmark. Um, so I think it depends on where in Sweden you live. ’cause Sweden is quite like
Sevan Matossian (05:17):
Long, I guess I meant legally. Do they have an issue with it?
Rebecka Vitesson (05:21):
Uh, legally, no. No. If you’re from Scandinavian, generally, like Norway is Sweden, Finland, whatever, then it’s quite easy.
Sevan Matossian (05:30):
And, and Rebecca, what’s your, um, what’s your first language?
Rebecka Vitesson (05:34):
Uh, Swedish.
Sevan Matossian (05:36):
And then, and then how quickly do you learn English?
Rebecka Vitesson (05:39):
So we have it in school, um, already from age of, I think 10 or or 12 years old, I think.
Sevan Matossian (05:48):
And do you speak any other languages?
Rebecka Vitesson (05:51):
Uh, we did have Spanish in school, so I kind of know a little bit of that. And then my mom is Lithuanian. My father is Romanian, so I kind of know those languages as well. And I speak Danish, <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (06:06):
And, and, because I guess you’re in Denmark now, and is your boyfriend, um, Swedish?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:10):
No, he is Danish.
Sevan Matossian (06:11):
Oh shit. Wow. And so, so you guys speak English to each other?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:15):
No. Danish.
Sevan Matossian (06:16):
You do speak Danish. Does he speak English?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:19):
Huh?
Sevan Matossian (06:19):
Does he speak English?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:20):
Yeah, he does.
Sevan Matossian (06:22):
But you speak Danish to each other?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:24):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (06:25):
How close are Swedish and Danish in the, in the, in the languages? Are they close at all?
Rebecka Vitesson (06:30):
Uh, yeah, it’s quite close, but, um, the pronouncing Asian is very different, so it kind of doesn’t sound the same, uh, but when you see them written, it’s, uh, quite similar. Um, but I just, like, I love languages, so I, I just wanted to learn that. And, and for me, since it’s quite close to Swedish, it’s more natural to speak Danish with him than, than English. And for him as well, since it’s his native language.
Sevan Matossian (06:57):
Um, when did you, when, how old were you when you learned Danish?
Rebecka Vitesson (07:00):
Uh, uh, since I moved here six years ago.
Sevan Matossian (07:04):
Wow. Crazy. I can’t even imagine learning. How, how old are you again?
Rebecka Vitesson (07:08):
Uh, I’m 29.
Sevan Matossian (07:10):
29. How good is that for your brain at 23? Still learning other languages? Do you think you could learn another language too?
Rebecka Vitesson (07:15):
Yeah, I would love to. I love languages. I, I real like Chinese could be super cool to, to learn <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (07:24):
Hey, do you think that, because, do you think that because you speak three, I mean, you speak three languages fluently then, right? Danish, Swedish, and English.
Rebecka Vitesson (07:32):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (07:35):
Do you think that that changes significantly, changes your reality?
Rebecka Vitesson (07:42):
Um, yeah,
Sevan Matossian (07:43):
Because words are so powerful in, in how they describe things.
Rebecka Vitesson (07:47):
Yeah. Maybe. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (07:50):
Like sometimes you see things and it’s just, you’re like, why can’t these people see it this way? And it’s just, well, shit, they don’t even have, they don’t have the tools.
Rebecka Vitesson (07:57):
Yeah, true
Sevan Matossian (07:58):
<laugh>, it’s like asking them to swim, but they don’t, they don’t even see water. They don’t even know what water is. Yeah.
Rebecka Vitesson (08:02):
<laugh> basically.
Sevan Matossian (08:05):
Um, I I guess where you’re from, maybe three languages isn’t a big deal, but here in the States it would be. It’s huge.
Rebecka Vitesson (08:13):
Yeah. I mean, ’cause English is the common language for everyone, so you don’t Yeah. In the States, you don’t really have to learn other languages, I guess.
Sevan Matossian (08:25):
I, I think that you start getting into some, like rare, someone will tell us in the comments, but some rare group, once you start getting to like, you are, you’re just one or two languages away from being in this really exclusive club. And then I think once you get to like seven languages, there’s some special word for you. You, you’re basically a freak at that point.
Rebecka Vitesson (08:46):
<laugh>, yeah, probably.
Sevan Matossian (08:49):
You think you, you think you could learn. Chinese
Rebecka Vitesson (08:52):
Could be cool. I mean, just imagine being in a metro or whatever, and, and no one knows that you know the languages, but you can just hear all different kind of people talking and you understand <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (09:05):
It, it is always, it is always weird to see a non, um, Chinese speaker or even Japanese speaker, um, or non-Japanese person or non-Chinese person speaking those languages for some reason. I guess it’s because it’s so rare.
Rebecka Vitesson (09:19):
Hmm.
Sevan Matossian (09:20):
I mean, shit, you’re the, you’re the top 40 fittest woman on the planet. Anything’s possible for you.
Rebecka Vitesson (09:27):
Yeah, true. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (09:30):
Um, tell me your, um, how Rebecca crossed paths with CrossFit.
Rebecka Vitesson (09:36):
Um, so I, I have always done like sports in my whole life. And, um, yeah, I’ve, I come from two a c l knee injuries. Um, and off that, I kind of stopped doing sports and training at all. And, uh, yeah, after a year of not doing anything, I started a little bit fitness bodybuilding, just for fun. And then I had a good friend, ’cause I did like those fun kind of stuff, like Tabata and Las meals, you know, body pump. Uh, and I had a friend doing CrossFit and she said like, you should try this instead. Is, it’s quite the same, but it’s much more fun. I think you would love it. So yeah, it was in, back in 2014 where I tried it out and then I just fell in love with it.
Sevan Matossian (10:24):
It, it’s interesting, isn’t it? Um, you hear about the, I can’t remember who I had on, but Matt Fraser’s, the classic example, he breaks his back and become, comes to CrossFit and becomes the fittest person, uh, in the world five times. And here you are with, there was someone else we had on, who was it? Uh, she broke her back twice.
Rebecka Vitesson (10:45):
Oh,
Sevan Matossian (10:47):
A couple days ago. We had someone on, I can’t remember who, but she basically, she broke, someone will tell me in the comments in a second, but she broke her back twice and here she is, uh, doing CrossFit. Yeah. And you had two a c l. It’s a, it’s just a huge testament to what CrossFit is. Yeah. You know, this thing that like Greg used to say, Hey, I didn’t invent this. This is part of your d n a, this is God invented this, this is, we we’re not doing any, anything that you’re not made to do. Yeah. Um, here you are with two two A C L, two A C l tears.
Rebecka Vitesson (11:19):
Yeah. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (11:21):
Were you a soccer player?
Rebecka Vitesson (11:22):
Uh, on one of them, yes. And the other one basketball player. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (11:29):
And, and what cau what causes a c l? Tears changing, direction changing,
Rebecka Vitesson (11:33):
Yeah. In football? Yes. And then the basketball was, uh, I was doing a layup and, and I always been quite explosive, so I did a huge jump and then I just landed on my leg on the good knee and it just popped <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (11:50):
Both times. Do you know when that happens?
Rebecka Vitesson (11:53):
The first time I didn’t know. ’cause it was very, like, I, I didn’t recognize the, the feeling or I’ve never done it before, so I had no clue. And, and I remember my doctor when I, when the first time he said like, yeah, you’ll be good in training, like in two weeks just be a little bit careful and then just start training two weeks. And yeah, I listened to that. And then I went to training two weeks later and then it just like cracked it. It was something wrong. And then they knew that it was the A Z L. Uh, but then in basketball, I, I already knew when it happened, like directly. Like I kind of, I started crying so much, not because of the pain, because I knew that I’m fucked up right now. Like I’m done. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (12:40):
Yeah. Um, it was someone in the comment said it was Abigail, uh, Abigail doit, doit that broke her back. Yeah. Twice. And then, and then here she is making her first, uh, trip as an individual to the games too crazy. Hey, and, and you said you’re crying because you know it’s damage, but you know that, that means months or a year away from your sport. You know that about is it, you start thinking about the recovery?
Rebecka Vitesson (13:05):
Yeah. And also ’cause I couldn’t, I couldn’t go back to football because of the A Z L. So I was kind of like, basketball have always been like my favorite sport. And I just knew that I was scared of that I wouldn’t be able to get back to, to the sport again. And also because of the recovery was so tough.
Sevan Matossian (13:26):
Wh where were you playing in, in, is it, is it high school or college basketball? Uh,
Rebecka Vitesson (13:33):
No. So in, in Sweden it’s, it’s not related to school, but, so I was playing in when I was like 12 years old and then I stopped and then I got back around high school. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (13:50):
And then, and then, and then you said that, um, you, you went through those, uh, so you played a bunch of sports and then including basketball, and then you had, in soccer, you had these injuries you take, how long do you take off before you get into stuff like less mills? These, the classes
Rebecka Vitesson (14:04):
I, I had a year off where I didn’t do anything. So first I did my recovery for a year and then I took a year off because I realized that I would never be able to play sports again. Um, and it was, I’ve always been that kind of person that I do everything 100%. And when I realized that I did basketball, like 80%, that wasn’t fun anymore. So yeah, I had a year off where I did some, some non-sport related stuff, like partying and all this kind of shit. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (14:39):
How old were you then?
Rebecka Vitesson (14:40):
I was 20. Yeah, 20.
Sevan Matossian (14:45):
You, you think you missed, you think that, um, you think you realized at that point that, um, sports and and movement was something more to you than you. You realized how much it meant to you that it was more to you than just sports and movement, that it was your lifestyle, your, your way of making yourself feel good.
Rebecka Vitesson (15:04):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (15:05):
I can’t imagine not moving for a year, taking a year off. Can you imagine that now?
Rebecka Vitesson (15:10):
No, not at all. Like that, that was also, ’cause I’ve been doing sport my whole life. And that was also like, after that year, I just looked myself in the mirror and said like, dang, I, I need to keep, start moving. And just like the, the free feeling of knowing that you can lift things yourself and, and be independent in that way.
Sevan Matossian (15:33):
Rebecca, are you pretty, do you describe yourself as, are you pretty fierce? You pretty aggressive per person?
Rebecka Vitesson (15:39):
Yeah. Yeah. Maybe.
Sevan Matossian (15:42):
Yeah. You like, you like you’re, you, you, you ha you. How would you describe yourself? You, you’re, you’re, you’re your, your, your, uh, persona,
Rebecka Vitesson (15:51):
Um,
Sevan Matossian (15:52):
Your, your specifically your athletic persona.
Rebecka Vitesson (15:54):
My athletic persona? Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (15:55):
How?
Rebecka Vitesson (15:58):
Yeah, like very independent, hardworking, um, dedicated, um, reliable. I would say like in a way that,
Sevan Matossian (16:13):
Is that the same as discipline? Reliable, like just your discipline structured?
Rebecka Vitesson (16:18):
Yeah. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (16:20):
How about competitive?
Rebecka Vitesson (16:22):
Yes. We’ve always been competitive.
Sevan Matossian (16:24):
Like very competitive.
Rebecka Vitesson (16:26):
Um,
Sevan Matossian (16:27):
Competitive against your boyfriend?
Rebecka Vitesson (16:30):
Yeah. <laugh>. But I can be fair, but competitive. <laugh>, <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (16:38):
I like that. But I’m very fair.
Rebecka Vitesson (16:41):
Yeah, very fair. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (16:42):
But, but, uh, you don’t like losing?
Rebecka Vitesson (16:45):
Um, it depends. Like that’s where the fairness come in, comes in. So I’m competitive if I know that my competitor are like the same level level than me, that I know that I compete with that person. If the prison are like much lower level than me, then it’s okay to lose, if you know what I mean. Like, I’m fear in that sense.
Sevan Matossian (17:11):
If they’re lower than you, it’s okay to lose.
Rebecka Vitesson (17:14):
Yeah. I
Sevan Matossian (17:15):
Don’t understand. What do you mean? Like, so if, uh, you and I were to do Mur uh, together, you would wear a 20 pound vest and I could, I could, um, I could do run half as far. Just, and if I beat you, that’s okay. <laugh>,
Rebecka Vitesson (17:29):
Um, uh, no, maybe not <laugh>. That was bad example. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (17:33):
Yeah. I’m not understanding. Hey, I, I, I, it’s interesting ’cause I heard you say in, in, in a podcast I was watching you in last night, that you are, it sounds like you’re trying to get in the mindset that you just need to focus on being the best that you, that you can do. Like when you were at the regional or the semifinals, and that’s kind of the common line that you hear from athletes, right? They’re trying to figure out how to reduce the stress. Mm. Um, but is that all at the end of the day? Is that just fake? Is it you’re just making that up? Just is it all pretend and at the end of the day you still go back. If you win, you’re excited and if you lose, you go back to your hotel room and cry
Rebecka Vitesson (18:12):
<laugh>. No, but I think, uh, I think there’s a truth in it. I think you need to find your own way of how to believe in that sentence. If, you know, like for, for me to take off pressure is a lot about being playful and to have fun with things. Um, and of, of course, like in the end, if, if you do a bad event, then if, if it doesn’t go your way, you go home and cry. But then, yeah, you kind of need to find that, that way where, where you feel that you do your best and you are playful with things. And then if it doesn’t go the way as a leader as you want the leaderboard to be, then you’re still happy. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (19:00):
Yeah. Um, I think I heard there’s a guy, Tony Blauer, I think I heard talk about it one time. He said it in terms of fighting. He said, if you get, he said something like, if you get into a fight, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it matters that you’re true to yourself and you get out of it emotionally intact. So I, I think I am getting it now. You’re basically saying that if you lose, it’s gonna hurt either way. But if, you know, you gave it your, all the wound will heal, heal quicker. Like yeah, you did what you did. You did you, if, if you weren’t out drinking the night before and you did everything, you got enough sleep and you trained hard and then you went out there and you absolutely went until you, you broke then you know, like, hey, shit, I just gave it my best. It sucks that I lost, but like what
Rebecka Vitesson (19:47):
Exactly, because you know, you know that you couldn’t do more. You know that you prepared everything you could for the event coming up. You ate to slip everything. And then you know that there, there’s nothing more in my control that I can do if my competitors are better. That’s not in my control. Like, I can’t, I can’t change what happens on the floor with everyone else. I can just control what I do on the floor.
Sevan Matossian (20:15):
Can, can you remember the first time you were in a, um, CrossFit competition or, or any athletic competition where you ran outta air, you just, you had to stop because you couldn’t breathe anymore and you had to watch people keep working? Yeah.
Rebecka Vitesson (20:31):
Yeah. A lot of times.
Sevan Matossian (20:33):
Yeah. Well do. Is that just a horrible feeling?
Rebecka Vitesson (20:38):
It is. It’s very frustrating. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that’s also comes with experience in a sport. ’cause it’s not always about like going full cent from the start. ’cause obviously like if you lose gas in the end, that’s maybe because it’s strategized bad or something like that. And, and sometimes it’s also a lot in, in the minor thing, like whether you come into work and you’re scared of the workout already beforehand, then you just know the ICE’s gonna end that way as well. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (21:13):
It is, it is weird right? That the person who wins the workout comes across the finish line all fucking pumped. Yeah. And that everyone who comes after them is collapses and it looks like they’re dying. Yeah. And you’re like, wait a second, that guy worked harder than you and they’re celebrating.
Rebecka Vitesson (21:29):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (21:31):
And at that point you kind of have to start wondering, yeah, there’s something mentally going on, right?
Rebecka Vitesson (21:36):
Yeah. I had it two times at the semifinals and it’s, it’s unbelievable. Like how you can, for example, the the last event that I tested it back home and it was horrible workout. It is a horrible workout. But when I just finished that, uh, like crossed the line. Yeah. I just had, I was just so pumped up and, ’cause I won my event heat.
Sevan Matossian (22:02):
Yeah. That’s crazy. Were you in the final heat?
Rebecka Vitesson (22:05):
No, I was, uh, in the top, uh, the second final.
Sevan Matossian (22:10):
And, and you and you got second place four 13.
Rebecka Vitesson (22:13):
Yeah. So I won my heat and Yeah. And second Overall,
Sevan Matossian (22:18):
Yeah. Crazy. What was that workout again? That was the, that was the Echo Bike, the toaster bar and the sandbag. Carrie?
Rebecka Vitesson (22:26):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (22:27):
How was that Sandbag?
Rebecka Vitesson (22:30):
Uh, I don’t remember <laugh>. It was like, I was in a whole different state in that workout. <laugh>. But, uh, yeah,
Sevan Matossian (22:40):
Because you knew that you were, you were on, when you went into that workout, were you on the cut line?
Rebecka Vitesson (22:46):
Yeah. Were you
Sevan Matossian (22:46):
Below it?
Rebecka Vitesson (22:48):
I was on place 13th, but five point points out. So the, the girl above me on 12th place, she was one point out. So everything was very, very close.
Sevan Matossian (23:00):
And so you got second play so that you were outta your mind, you just sent it?
Rebecka Vitesson (23:04):
Yeah. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (23:06):
Full throttle. Full just maniac on the Echo bike toes to bar don’t let go and then pick the sandbag up and go.
Rebecka Vitesson (23:13):
Yeah. Well, well not really. ’cause I, I kind of paced a little bit. I remember I was the last person out of the Echo bike.
Sevan Matossian (23:21):
Oh
Rebecka Vitesson (23:22):
Yeah. So
Sevan Matossian (23:23):
Did you panic when you saw that? Were you like, oh shit, what am I doing? A little
Rebecka Vitesson (23:27):
Bit. ’cause Andrea told me before going into the work, like it’s, it’s a sprint workout, but still hold back a little bit. So when I was the last person out of that echo bike, I kind of like, oh shit, did I past it too much <laugh>? Um, but yeah, but then from that point it was kind of easy to calculate what kind of RPM I needed on that Echo bike to be able to, to keep the pace and, and keep up with the rest.
Sevan Matossian (23:56):
There was no break, right? It was just three rounds. Yeah.
Rebecka Vitesson (23:59):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (24:00):
And um, when you, when you’re crossing here, you know, you, you know where the other girls are in your heat, you’re like, at some point you passed all the girls.
Rebecka Vitesson (24:09):
Yeah. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (24:11):
Do you remember where you passed them?
Rebecka Vitesson (24:13):
It was, uh, on the last toaster bar. So it was me, Jacqueline, and Sarah, signal star. We jumped, or Sarah was a little bit earlier on the toaster bar. I think Jacqueline was a rep ahead of me in the toaster bar, but it was us three jumping up and then Sarah dropped off. Jacqueline dropped off and I kept doing unbroken <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (24:35):
Wow. All three sets of toaster bar unbroken.
Rebecka Vitesson (24:38):
Yeah. So I ran to the sandbag, like first of them. And that was just where I knew like, okay, just pick it up. Don’t matter how I pick it up, just run <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (24:49):
Uh, and, and, and when you were finishing that last sandbag, Carrie, did it feel like you were gonna drop it at all?
Rebecka Vitesson (24:55):
Um, I, I kind of picked it up a little bit bad, so it was kind of just holding on and I am, I know from experience that I’m not very fast when I run with a bike, uh, bag. So I was kind of scared that I was gonna get past. But uh, yeah.
Sevan Matossian (25:12):
How tall are you? Are you tall? You look tall on these
Rebecka Vitesson (25:14):
Like quite tall. 1 73 centimeters.
Sevan Matossian (25:18):
Huh? Someone will tell me how tall that is in Yeah, <laugh> in English. Talk
Rebecka Vitesson (25:22):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (25:24):
Um, what was the, and and where is this? What event is this that you’re crossing the finish line that you’re so happy? Uh,
Rebecka Vitesson (25:29):
So that’s the, the, uh, runner, the 800 meter sprints.
Sevan Matossian (25:34):
And how did you do in that one?
Rebecka Vitesson (25:36):
Uh, I did, did well, so I won my heat that as well, but in, I think it was fifth overall,
Sevan Matossian (25:44):
The, these events, um, where you win your heat, um, would you’ve gotten those times without your competitors there? Or is that, um, Rebecca, the competitor. Like you, you know, like you’re trying to win the heat and you’re pushing harder than like maybe you’re comfortable with if you were by yourself.
Rebecka Vitesson (26:05):
It’s, it’s Rebecca the competitor.
Sevan Matossian (26:07):
Yeah. You’re going for it.
Rebecka Vitesson (26:09):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (26:10):
I’m gonna beat you girls.
Rebecka Vitesson (26:11):
Yeah, or kind of like beating myself as well. Again, that the sentence I was talking about earlier, that being, being the best that I can be. So’s really like pushing my own limits.
Sevan Matossian (26:23):
Like how,
Rebecka Vitesson (26:24):
How fast can I go?
Sevan Matossian (26:25):
Uh, thank you guys. Uh, 1 73 is at least five seven, so she’s one of the taller people.
Rebecka Vitesson (26:32):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (26:33):
Look at this guy’s trying to tell you. She has a boyfriend. Sorry, Austin. He says, well, I’m five eight, right? Um, that, that’s gotta be kind of scary flirting with that line. So on one hand you do the assault bike and you’re the last person off of it, but if you’re the first person off of it, it could also be like Uhoh.
Rebecka Vitesson (26:54):
Yeah. Did I go too fast? <laugh>?
Sevan Matossian (26:57):
Yeah. What a, what a crazy game you play. You guys play.
Rebecka Vitesson (27:01):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (27:02):
Uh, is is, do you think that’s what it comes down to As you get to be, as you get to the very top of the sport, pacing is becomes you. What percentage of pacing do you think plays a role?
Rebecka Vitesson (27:14):
A lot. And it also depends on the work, of course. Um, but both the pacing and the mental aspect is huge. I think like our fitness, the, the top 40 women at the games, the fitness is huge and, and big on all of us. So it’s, it comes down to all the small kind of things.
Sevan Matossian (27:33):
And, and when you say mental, what does, what does that look like?
Rebecka Vitesson (27:38):
Yeah, so again, the thing that, to learn how to compete against yourself and to be able to push your limits, like kind of knowing that the limits are just a perception and, and try to compete with that.
Sevan Matossian (27:56):
Your limits are just a perception. These, um, what did, what else did you, what else did you say you did besides Less mills? Less mills and something else?
Rebecka Vitesson (28:06):
Uh, when I did the bodybuilding or what?
Sevan Matossian (28:08):
Yeah, you said you were dabbling in some other things. Less mills, um, bodybuilding. Was there something else?
Rebecka Vitesson (28:13):
Tabata.
Sevan Matossian (28:14):
Oh, what’s Tabata? Is that like your It’s all tabbada exercises. Yeah,
Rebecka Vitesson (28:18):
So it’s like, uh, 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off. Can’t remember. No, four seconds off. Yeah, I can’t remember. But then it is like all just surgical training kind of.
Sevan Matossian (28:29):
And, and how, and when you went to CrossFit, how was CrossFit different?
Rebecka Vitesson (28:34):
Um, the community, like being in classes with a lot of like-minded people and, um, you work much harder, like being in a body pump class, it’s more look pretty and, and have a cute little marble that’s not really a marble. Um, wearing CrossFit, you could be much more rough and smashing with barbells and lifting heavy and sweat out however you like and yeah, just pure training.
Sevan Matossian (29:11):
Yeah, the, I I like that. Hold on one second. Let slap these guys around a little. Listen tabba, when I, I know what, we know what Tabata is. I was trying to figure out if it’s like an actual, like the name of a storefront there. Like Les Mills is the name of a storefront. I was just trying to figure out whether she just did Tabata on her own or if they have gyms there. They’re called Tabata gyms.
Rebecka Vitesson (29:29):
Yeah, they had a class called Tabata.
Sevan Matossian (29:31):
Tabbada. Okay. Yeah, these dickhead trying to make fun of me.
Rebecka Vitesson (29:35):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (29:36):
Oh, shut it. Shut it guys just shut it. Um, and um, so, uh, Les Mills was kind of, um, I don’t wanna say CrossFit light, but you, you, you liked the variance, the community and kind of the toughness there. There was a little bit more badass.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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