Fitness champ ramping it up

STRONG: Kahn May in action at the Wellington Cup. This particular workout required him to pick up the medicine ball and hurl it over his shoulder as many times as possible in a given time frame.PHOTO/CINDY McMURTIE

A Kaitaia expat who recently beat some of the best in Australasia at a major fitness challenge in Wellington is now focusing on stepping up to the next level.

Kahn May won the men's title at the Wellington Cup in Kilbirnie, emerging victorious from a field of 60 top-class competitors who came from New Zealand and Australia and went head-to-head over two gruelling days of set exercises.

The son of Gary and Trish May from Kaitaia, and the Kaitaia College head boy in 2001, the 31-year-old real estate agent powered his way through the nine WODs (workouts of the day) over the course of the weekend late last month to claim the prestigious title. To boot, the women's title at the same event was won by another Kaitaia local, Puawai Munro Halkyard.

Two weeks after the result, May said he first took up the emerging gym trend about 2 years ago for fun. "It suited the way I worked out as what I was doing was a very mix-and-match kinda thing. Someone said, 'you should give CrossFit a go.' So I did ... " The first time he tried, however, May said he found the discipline extremely "gnarly".

"I really struggled. When I first started I could barely squat 100kg multiple times. Now, it's probably up around 170, 180kg. I struggled to snatch 50kg when I started, now it is 120kg-plus," he said. "It was an eye-opener as to how strong those top guys are ... strength is definitely a work in progress for me, I still have a way to go."

A top swimmer at secondary school, May said his swimming training had also helped to be "well-rounded" in disciplines like strength, Olympic lifting, gymnastic skills, along with being able to move at a high intensity for prolonged periods in competition.

May has ramped up his training over the past year under the guidance of Ruth Horrell, a three-time CrossFit Games competitor.

Next on the agenda - for Munro Halkyard and May - is the Battle of the Fittest in Auckland in November, widely regarded as the unofficial nationals of the emerging fitness challenge scene.

The primary goal, however, is to qualify for a "regional" event in Wollongong next year which means he must place in the top 48 of the more than 8000 males from New Zealand and Australia eligible to contest the open (under-40) category. For this, each individual's results from the various WODs given by the governing body each week are compiled online to establish a ranking system. The top three from the regionals earn an invitation to compete at the CrossFit Games in America where a prize pool worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is up for grabs, plus massive exposure with the event shown on ESPN.

May was realistic about his chances about qualifying for the games, regarded as the pinnacle of the gym sport.

"Those games athletes are on another level ..."