What makes champions tick? Competing in grueling sport gives West Michigan …

Crossfit Gym4Steve Hamming, a CrossFit World Championships qualifer, does push-ups during his workout at 8th Day Gym.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Steve Hamming practice what he preaches.

Hamming is a clinical and sports psychologist in West Michigan, and has always been interested in what makes an elite athlete tick.

The 52-year-old has played sports at a high level, including professional fast pitch softball, but now has taken his choice of sport to a new level.

Hamming recently qualified for the CrossFit World Championships masters division, which will take place July 13-15 in Carson, Calif.

CrossFit is a grueling sport that tests an athlete's endurance in 40 skills, some of which include Olympic lifts (clean and jerk and snatch), dead lifts, back squats, box jumps, wall balls and burpees, which are also called up-downs.

“This is part of why I do what I do with this training,” Hamming said. “It's my classroom to help me understand why athletes head into the pain of training and competing like they do.

“There are some sports where running into the pain, or enduring pain is part of the challenge of the sport, like in track,” he added. “If you are running the 800 meters, the guy who wins is the guy who can most endure the pain. What we understand in sports psychology is that our body starts to act like an alarm when heart starts pounding. What I have learned alarm goes off before you have to stop.”

Hamming's classroom in this study has been 8th Day Gym in Grand Rapids where he trains. He was attending another gym doing basic weight lifting before he made the switch.

“When I went to 8th Day I thought a was in decent shape, but after first day I was on my knees, it totally kicked my butt," Hamming said. "It's quite a group of individuals at 8th Day, they raise my game.”

Shane Davis, one of the owners at 8th Day, has been amazed with Hamming and glad to help him qualify for the World Championships.

Hamming qualified during a five-week sectional which just concluded. During that time Hamming had to do a different skill each week.

At the World Championships, he's have to do two skills per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

“Steve is an amazing athlete – there were roughly 60,000 competitors in the CrossFit games, and 1,000 of them were masters,” Davis said. “It's hard work, and if you are going to go to the championships for anything, you have to be pretty good.

Crossfit Gym2Steve Hamming trains on a bike machine at Eighth Day Gym.

“He's been training with us for two years,” he added. “He has always been active, he plays professional fast pitch softball. Since he's been training with us, he's made me excited to make my 40s and 50s. He's as active as a 20 year old.”

And Davis is excited to see how Hamming will do in California.

“I think he will do really well,” Davis said. “He qualified 11th and he won't get any worse from now and until then. I think he has a good chance to get on the podium.”

Aside from Hamming, 8th Day may also have a team that qualifies for California. The team of six, three men and three women, still have to qualify at a Midwest Regional, which will take place May 11 and 12 in Columbus, Ohio.

Joe Cebulski, Erik Anderson, Jordan Wallin, Kaitlin Rambadt, Jordan Stevenson and Andye Razmus will be the team representing 8th Day.

“There are teams representing CrossFit gyms across the country,” Davis said. “We didn't compete last year as a team, so this is our first year. I think our chances are pretty good to make it past regionals, but I think next year will be better.”

Hamming, who also does CrossFit with two of his children, one a softball player and one an aspiring Olympic decathlete, says his time in the sport has been a valuable lesson learned, as well as a new-found love.

“CrossFit pushes a person the limit every workout,” Hamming said. “Some people throw up, and most of us are on our hands and knees after grueling workouts.

“I tried the World competition last year, but I didn't have that much training under my belt for some of the skills,” he added. “Last year I ended up in 36th and they take the top 20 for the World Championships. This year I was 11th and the guys at 8th Day have been top-shelf in helping me.”

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