Barebells Prepared

Meet our global functional fitness team – Barebells Prepared with Alexander Elebro, Mia Åkerlund, Synne Krokstad and Phil Hesketh. Recently they won the CrossFit® sanctioned event Lowlands Throwdown in the Netherlands, which also gave them a well-deserved ticket to the CrossFit® Games 2019. We had the chance to meet them and ask them some questions right before the Lowlands Throwdown.

What makes the four of you the ultimate team, how do you complement each other?
One thing that makes us a great team, is that we all are really strong which makes the synchronized workouts easier. As well as strength the whole team is also good when it comes to cardio. Mia is super strong, Synne is awesome at rowing and cardio and the guys have a good mix of both strength and cardio.

Do you have any weaknesses as a team?
Since we complement each other very well, we don’t have any specific weak area as a team. If we had to pick one thing, maybe it is that we haven’t trained together as much as the other teams. But on the other side, we aren’t tired of each other, ha-ha!

How do you prepare for CrossFit® Lowlands Throwdown?
In April we had one week of training together in Dubai and then we had another three training days in Dubai a few weeks ago. There have been a lot of team competitions lately, and we have done the exact same events in our training sessions as other teams have been doing at the competitions. After our workouts, we were able to compare our scores against others and that made us feel quite confident!

There have been huge changes in qualifying to the CrossFit® Games this season. As a team there is only one way to make it to the CrossFit® Games – you have to win a sanctioned event! What are your feelings about that?
The changes made it easier to qualify as an individual, but since you have to win a sanctioned event to make it to the CrossFit® Games as a team it is much harder to qualify as a team. However, we think it’s good that you don´t have to choose team members from your box. That change made it possible for us to create a global Barebells functional fitness team!

Mia, you competed in the sanctioned event CrossFit® Fittest in Cape Town and got an invitation as an individual to the CrossFit® Games, why do you want to qualify as a team instead?
In previous years it was more prestigious to have an individual spot in the CrossFit® Games. Before the changes everyone went through the same events, now you qualify through different events, and it doesn’t really say anything about you as an athlete. Since it’s a new set up, there are a few uncertainties about the individual competitions, that’s why I want to qualify as a team instead.

Which ones are you favorite Barebells products?
Mia: Barebells Hazelnut & Nougat Protein Bar
Alex: Barebells Chocolate Milkshake
Phil: Barebells Hazelnut & Nougat Protein Bar

Anything else?
WE ARE SUPER EXCITED!!

Congratulations on your spot in the CrossFit Games, we wish you the best of luck!
Fotograf: @michelbijland