S06E132 BISON 15 - CrossFit Built Me For The Long Game - Raina Yurchak
Sam Rhee sits down with Raina Yurchak @yurchak_cfwe_life, longtime CrossFitter who turned a tough season of grief into a life built around training, community, and family.
We talk about the mental game behind big performances, the realities of owning CrossFit West Essex and Caldwell, and how discipline in the gym carries into work and parenting.
• meeting her spouse at the gym
• what gym ownership teaches about community, boundaries, and emotional load
• pre-workout anxiety and why the mind is harder to train than the body
• setting long-term fitness goals that survive careers, kids, and busy seasons
• using the whiteboard as motivation without letting it become toxic
• staying healthy through years of training, pregnancies, and smart scaling
• advice for new CrossFitters who feel intimidated walking in
#crossfitcoach #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #gymowner #HealthyLiving #GymLife #CrossFit #FitnessJourney #BotoxAndBurpees #podcast @botoxandburpeespodcast @crossfitbison @crossfit
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TRANSCRIPT
Sam Rhee (00:00.924)
Hello and welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees. I have with me one of the most OG CrossFitters that I know, Raina Yurchak. She's been doing CrossFit since 2012. And you can see her numbers on the CrossFit Open Leaderboard. She's been killing it every year. She's been making it to the quarterfinals pretty much consistently, at least for the past five years. she is someone who's been at Bison. How long have you been at Bison now?
Raina Yurchak (00:07.086)
I was pregnant with Peyton, so a little over five years. Yeah.
Sam Rhee (00:34.664)
five years now and sh she is someone I will tell you, Raina, you always look the most nervous and like concerned before every workout that I've ever seen you at, especially the open workouts. But you but you always kill it. Like you are one of the most consistently driven and high performers that I've seen during a workout. So it's so funny when I see you before and after. So welcome and thank you for thank you for guesting today.
Raina Yurchak (00:42.263)
Ha ha ha.
Raina Yurchak (00:46.466)
That checks.
Raina Yurchak (00:59.072)
Sam.
Thanks for having me.
Sam Rhee (01:06.214)
Now the first thing I wanted to ask you, Raina, is there are a bunch of things, but the first is how did you get into CrossFit and w what got you interested in it?
Raina Yurchak (01:17.393)
I guess my CrossFit journey is a little bit has a lot of windy roads to it. So I could say I could start with my fitness journey in general probably started when I was four and I was the only girl on the baseball team. So like I had to, you know, always like proving up a point and had to always be active and in physical activity in some way. And then that led into a pretty competitive softball career and soccer career.
And during that time period, my dad my whole life had an autoimmune disease called scleroderma. You're you probably are familiar with it. and it was a very rare disease, so they didn't know for a majority of my life and his life if he was going to live or die. So I never took my health for granted. And every day he would say, you know, if you have your health, you have everything, despite money, despite anything else that we would possibly have, if you had your health, you were good.
So I always felt like any opportunity that I had to be active was a blessing and never took that for granted. So that leads to 2012. I was doing like regular activity in the gym, would run every day, would do spin classes, would do kickboxing, things like that. My dad took a turn for the worse. and I was living on my own at the time and was helping be a caretaker to him.
And he lived in Manhattan. So it was me driving bo back and forth every day, making sure that he was all right. And ultimately it was a long battle. But he passed in that was March of 2012. And I was looking for some sort of direction to keep myself positive. Where I was living in the town I grew up in, I was living on my own. I didn't want to fall into, you know, any kind of negativity of doing the wrong things. So
I remember talking with my mom and talking with people at work and I was thinking, would I join a hiking group? Would I join a art group, a pottery group? Just really random things, just something to have in like a more this was I was twenty-seven years old, so a more adult time in my life, where where do you meet new people so I'm not falling into a trap during a really hard time in my life. and somebody told me, you know, a few weeks after my dad had passed to go and
Raina Yurchak (03:42.085)
check out CrossFit. So I put on Facebook and I which CrossFit should I go to? I'm gonna see what it's like. And somebody said you would really love Kevin Yurchek. You should check out CrossFit West Essex. So he's as you you know Sam, he's my husband. So at that time I had no idea who he was. He had owned a CrossFit gym in Fairfield. So I was actually on my way to a trip with all my girlfriends. I walked in the gym and I said to him
I just want a year membership. I'll give you cash. I'm not I'm not gonna start today, but I'm gonna start when I come back from my trip. You know, where do I sign? And he was a really good coach and a really good CrossFitter, but probably not the most like business oriented. So he was like, Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, we can't do that. You can't pay up front, you can't pay for a year. I wanna learn this new credit card system. So he he
Sam Rhee (04:25.391)
That's okay.
Raina Yurchak (04:36.294)
He had me sit down with him to try to go and do like this monthly thing. I'm like, I'm telling you I'm gonna give you money and sign up for a year, but that's a whole other story. So so I ended up signing up and I came back and I remember that he was he was making fun of me that I couldn't lift much and that I was a little weak. And so in my again, like this is back to proving myself. I felt like, well, I needed to make sure that he knew that I was very capable.
And then needless to say, we fast forward. He well, that's how I got into CrossFit. So I don't know what you want to know from there. Yeah.
Sam Rhee (05:13.402)
Okay. Well, so let me unpack this a couple of things there. So the first is is what town did you grow up in in Jersey? In Pompton Plains. Okay. And all right. And then the second thing is is that I guess it's okay for owners and coaches to date members as long as they end up marrying them, I suppose, would be the second thing I would take away from that. And what?
Raina Yurchak (05:21.006)
In Pompton Plains, New Jersey. Still here.
Raina Yurchak (05:35.685)
Well I will say something. but that would lead to how we actually end up dating. He was very Kevin is very like routine oriented, very structured and like right from wrong. And as much as he thinks he has game, he didn't have game. So he really didn't want anyone to to think that he was being inappropriate in any way, shape, or form. so
I he was helping me with my eating as he was everybody in the gym and with my diet and what kind of food and whatnot. And he was having me log my meals. I was very unhealthy as far as that aspect of my life. I would have Twix bars for breakfast and bagels with like heated cheese. And that was my meals. And he couldn't believe when I was logging it that this was actually, you know, like how I was living. So he said one day, I'll take you to the grocery store. This is before we were dating.
He said, We'll actually go through and we will pick out stuff to eat. Now he was like so hands-on with everybody in the gym that I really didn't think that this was any kind of, you know, him trying to actually take me on a date. And so we went to the grocery store. He helped me. All my friends were like, He's never asked me to do that. I don't think that this is just him trying to help you with your nutrition. I think there's something more to this, and I'm not thinking anything of it. and then fast forward.
He said that he would help me try to cook the meals. So he can't he can't cook, by the way. So we he came over and then that night Hurricane Sandy hit and the power went out and that was that was it and we were engaged six months later. So no, it is not normally okay for the CrossFit owner to to be flirting or dating the members. But this is an acceptable
Sam Rhee (07:14.662)
Wow. So
Sam Rhee (07:20.834)
Okay. All right. 'Cause all right, yes, it is a rare exception. I will say the other thing that I was going to take away is that I guess shit talking someone is a possible way of flirting with them, which I guess worked for Kevin to make fun of how little you could lift. So that was something I haven't tried maybe. Well, I don't need to now, but maybe that's the advice I would give my kids if they were dating people, is try shit talking. No.
Raina Yurchak (07:35.278)
Yeah, maybe.
It I don't know. I don't know.
Sam Rhee (07:48.593)
And then the third it I'm just kidding. yeah, it doesn't sound like Kevin was the most slick person, but it must have worked. I do know him. He is very organized and straightforward. So the the other thing is that if a coach really takes a extreme interest in cooking your meals for you, maybe that's also a sign that it's you know, he or she might be really, really, really interested in you. So
Raina Yurchak (07:54.882)
Yeah.
Raina Yurchak (08:02.523)
yeah.
Raina Yurchak (08:08.715)
Raina Yurchak (08:14.317)
Possibly.
Sam Rhee (08:17.318)
Then congratulations. At that point you guys got engaged. You are now also, I guess, now also an owner of CrossFit West Essex along with Kevin. So I wanted to ask you, what was that journey like dealing with a business and what did you learn from it?
Raina Yurchak (08:31.907)
I mean it that we owned it for close to eight years, so it really taught us a lot about life in general. that I didn't go into that ever thinking that I really wanted to be involved in the business aspect of it or to really coach at a CrossFit Gym at all. I had a a career that I've had since I was 18. so I was working full time and then would
come to the gym to kind of help Kevin. At that time, it was crosswit was just different. And the way the gyms ran, it was just much different. none of the gyms were really making much money. It wasn't like any kind of gold mine or anything like that. It was really something like a labor of love. So for for me, Kevin wanted me to help him in the aspect of having like a female there to be able to relate to some of those clients versus him. And
So I kind of was pushed into coaching and I ended up loving it and I really made connections and friendships that even to this day are some of my closest friends. Brittany and Dave at CrossFit Bison are two of my closest friends. and we've had, you know, Adam coach at the gym. Adam R Ramsen had coached at our gym for a little bit, Mike Delator, and we had Karen at the gym. So I mean, there's still people in my life from
Sam Rhee (09:40.712)
Mm-hmm.
Raina Yurchak (09:56.371)
then that have really stayed connected with us. So that was great. But I will say after having kids, owning a gym, like I I think I probably wasn't what I learned was I probably wasn't the most mature to be able to handle that at that point in my life. Where like you like social media had just come out and you know
you give so much of yourself and then if you see somebody leave to go to another gym and not talk to you but you see them posting or something it was like that was all new. and it would just kill you inside. And I I to be honest with you, I couldn't handle that. So that aspect was a very difficult thing to overcome. And I give you guys all the credit in the world. Like even, you know, doing the survey that you did, I could never be that strong to hear anything. Like so I think
Sam Rhee (10:44.84)
Mm-hmm.
Raina Yurchak (10:49.364)
I think it taught us a lot. I think that I I really give kudos to you guys because it is a it is really like a selfless job and probably behind the scenes people don't know how much of yourself you give. And it's a hard thing. Like if you want to have children, if you have obligations to family members that you're helping take care of or anything, or if you have other aspects of a career, people want you and you know, I get that. Like they find a connection to you and it changes their life. Like so many
Babies were born in that gym, so many friendships were formed and relationships and marriages and everything. so there is a responsibility there that's very heavy to to hold. So
Sam Rhee (11:30.621)
Yes. I mean, babies being born in the gym in a figurative sense, of course. And also, yes, I d I will have to say looking we stole I don't wanna say stole, but there's so much CrossFit West Essex DNA, obviously a CrossFit bison, like w it would not be the same without all the people like you mentioned and you and Kevin that have like just made the current community what it is. And you're right, it is very difficult
Raina Yurchak (11:34.93)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (12:00.103)
Because they are obviously labor of loves. Nobody is I don't know anyone who's killing it on the financial side. I mean, you could, you know, watch YouTube videos of people who claim they are, but I I don't know anyone who really is killing it financially with CrossFit. and they are your family and a a a big extended family and
I I know exactly what you mean when you know somebody who's been a part of your gym, not be part of that gym. And it's very hard sometimes to separate out those relationships with the business aspect of it. And then the other thing is just the insane amount of work that it goes to running a gym. Like we have minimum four people involved plus everyone else around us. For you and Kevin.
to like shoulder all of that and then like starting a family and and having real jobs and all of that, like both you guys, it's like it is truly a wonder that you guys made it the you know, the institution that it was. And I remember going there, watching competitions, being involved, like seeing people at you know, at your gym and and it was a really special place. And I think you guys, you know, im you know, put your
Raina Yurchak (13:02.845)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (13:18.05)
mark on it and and made it yours. And I think anyone from that era who knows CrossFit in North Jersey, like that was that was a great place. It was very special and it was amazing. So I really appreciate that. so I want to ask you a little bit about your your fitness in because you've always been a pretty high level CrossFit athlete. You also take it extremely seriously like I was just saying before
We started I mean at the beginning, like you are locked in. Like you are actually, I wanna ask you about this. You are so down sometimes and like self doubting at the beginning of a workout, and then you destroy it, like absolutely destroy it, and then you come out being like, okay, that was all right. Like, what is it about your personality that brings you from like that like, you know, I don't wanna say negative, but like definitely like very
I don't know, serious into leading into your performances.
Raina Yurchak (14:18.491)
I think I don't know, yeah, I am a little bit of a head case before I start over. There's a little anxiety there. I don't know. I think that the physical aspect of it all is is not actually nearly as difficult as the mental aspect. And I say this to Kevin all the time. You know, it's it's not as hard to train your body where you just get used to doing something over and over again. So it's just like another day as far as your body's concerned, but mentally I know.
Sam Rhee (14:24.922)
Ha ha ha
Raina Yurchak (14:48.366)
You know, there's so many amazing CrossFit athletes at Bison that really do like push hard and work hard. And I I train with Mindy a ton and I know that she could put her mind somewhere else and kind of just go. And I know that if I'm training next to her, that I need to mentally do that. So I think that negativeness maybe sometimes is like I know where my mind has to go before this workout starts. I don't know if yes. You good?
Sam Rhee (15:12.508)
Might have lost you for a second here, Raina. there you go. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, good. Keep going. just go.
Raina Yurchak (15:17.133)
Where'd you lose me? What part? I So I think like when when the workout starts, the negative aspect of it that you might see in me is that I know I have to go to a place mentally that I don't really wanna go to, but I'll like I'm gonna go to if I'm gonna be there. So
Sam Rhee (15:33.287)
Mm.
Sam Rhee (15:39.558)
You know, I I I can relate to that. I am always like, What the F am I doing before an open workout? Like I'm like, why am I doing this? And so I I
Raina Yurchak (15:50.066)
You do amazing though. You're you're unbelievable in itself. So it's you know
Sam Rhee (15:55.315)
Thanks. I appreciate that. But I mean, like looking at your numbers at the open so you you have done consistently performed at a v at an extremely high level. But so that's why I wanted to ask you, like, how do you approach your training? How do you look at your fitnessing? Like what are your goals? Like how do you approach day to day? Like what is it that that you do?
Like you live in Pompton Plains, so obviously it is a hike to get to Midland Parks.
Raina Yurchak (16:25.568)
Yes. Yes. I again like back to the my dad, where I really just my goal is more so that I just don't ever want to take this for granted. And I wanna be when I'm in my seventies, eighties, if God will I'm still here, that like my kids I'm doing all the same stuff with them, maybe to like a different degree, but that I'm able to just do the same and my life doesn't change nearly as much. That's like the ultimate goal for me.
Obviously, I feel like if I'm going to participate in something, like I want to be in the top half of that. So that's that's my aim, is that if I'm in the gym, especially with the women in CrossFit Bison, there is such an unusual amount of highly competitive and just amazing athletes that are moms, that are some are in their 20s, some are in their 50s, some are in their 60s, that are just
really inspirations that I want to be right there with them and that I don't have an excuse. I can't say like, well, I have two kids and I have a career and I'm exhausted and I didn't get to sleep last night because this one was sick or whatever else. Cause when I look around the room, everybody else is, they're in the same boat. So it's, you know, just keeping up with that and being able to look at the leaderboard. Like I I listen to all yours and Dave's podcast where I know that there's controversy over putting the scores on the board and whatnot.
But I personally love that. to just look, not in a negative way, but just to say like, hey, like I'm I'm here right now and and I know where I need to be and I know where I can reach and it's it's part of that journey is the fun part, is like chasing the other people. So that's really what I think motivates me.
Sam Rhee (17:57.832)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (18:12.668)
Yeah, I like that. I like that about your attitude. I would say is that you are very motivated. You d you use I think you use the whiteboard in a great and super healthy, productive way. You don't you don't look to try to like you're not you're not competitive in the sense like I have to beat this person, I have to beat this person. You're looking at is at as a motivation for yourself. you're not w wishing ill or like needing to beat someone. You wanna
you drive yourself based on what numbers you see. And when you do that, I think that that is a super healthy way of using the whiteboard as opposed to necessarily making that your end all and be all. And I have seen you like where you've done sometimes awesome, maybe not as well as you wanted, but you really sort of pushed yourself for that workout and you said, you know what, that it that was my performance and and I've also seen you say, maybe I'm gonna redo that workout as well. So I
I I so I think you're like a lot of us where we we try the best we can and we try to make the most of it and and hopefully it works out. but you don't ever look at anyone else and feel inadequate just because they've done better or worse than you or you know, like that that's so I I I really like that about how you've always approached your workouts. And I also like the fact that you have someone at home like
Raina Yurchak (19:22.664)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (19:39.079)
both your Kevin and your family and I see you post your workouts with them. And then I also see how the people at the gym also drive you and push you. So I think that that's an that's a pretty awesome balance that you have in terms of like your lifestyle and like, you know, trying to like get your fitnessing in along with your career. let me ask you about your career. So you work at real safe title and I was commenting you have like
I don't know how many Instagram accounts, but you have one like business and one f you know, social and another, I don't know, maybe one's a Finsta, I don't know. ta talk to me about your your work as a business development executive at Real Safe Title. I don't know anything about financial stuff, so I need you to explain it on a low level for me and how you work that in with everything else that you do in terms of your life.
Raina Yurchak (20:22.844)
Yeah.
Raina Yurchak (20:26.649)
Yeah.
Raina Yurchak (20:33.822)
Kevin loves when I get this question asked to me, 'cause he's like, You never make sense when you answer it. And even everyone that I work with, we all say, We're like, How do you even explain what the heck we do for a living? I've been doing the same thing since I was eighteen and it's in the real estate world. So when you've purchased the house you probably had title insurance. Well you must have had title insurance when you purchased and
Mm, nine out of ten times the attorney that is involved in that transaction is the one that's pushing you towards which title company you're gonna use. So I was very, very, very fortunate, very blessed that at a very young age there were about five of us that came together and formed a team. And I don't know life any other way. So with them we've had really had each other's backs and we've took law firm law firms and helped them.
We've helped them grow during the process where it might be somebody who just came out of law school who wanted to get involved in real estate law. And then our job is to basically build that law firm up, have them be the best that they could possibly be as far as their marketing, as far as their way that they communicate and the way that they interact, and then get them to meet the real estate agents that we have relationships with, whether that be through networking events or education, whatever.
you know, all just non stop saturation of having those attorneys in front of the realtors and then expanding that those relationships. So then when the attorney is on a transaction, they're using us for the title insurance aspect and the realtor is going back and referring those attorneys. So like I have the same attorneys I've worked with since I was 18 that are still working with me now. and it's a very close relationship built business. And
Thankfully I the team behind me that we've grown to be like one of the top title insurance companies in the state. and we're affiliated now with Call Well Banker, Compass, Christie's, the agency, and hopefully just more and more. So it's it's really turned out to be great. It is a business where, similar to CrossFit, I could stay in bed until 11 o'clock every day and not show up. It's on me to make my schedule. It's on me to, you know, be
Raina Yurchak (22:55.003)
determined to kind of grow it. So it's hard to make a structure and a non structured kind of business, if that makes sense. So that's where again, like the team of five of us, we push each other to make sure that we're holding each other accountable. Did I lose you, Sam?
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (23:19.078)
I might have lost you for a second, Arena.
Sam Rhee (23:30.728)
Are still there?
Raina Yurchak (23:38.455)
Sam, can you hear me?
Sam Rhee (23:43.688)
you still there, Raina?
Sam Rhee (23:59.433)
Did I lose you? let's see here.
Sam Rhee (24:26.183)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (25:34.696)
Hey. Okay. All right. No problem. So let's see. I'm gonna turn on
Raina Yurchak (25:34.911)
Sorry about that.
Sam Rhee (25:44.488)
Let's see.
Do you have echo suppression on?
Raina Yurchak (25:48.215)
I don't know.
Sam Rhee (25:53.712)
Let me see here. See if I can do that for you.
Sam Rhee (26:10.45)
Did you say I am using headphones or not? actually that sounds better. Now I can't hear myself good. Yeah, good. All right, so let's keep going. so and I can cut all that part out so that won't be a problem. the question I wanted to ask was h obviously you've built up relationships over a long period of time, and that's very important. Does that have any relationship to do with like, you know
Raina Yurchak (26:16.362)
You okay? Okay, about that.
Sam Rhee (26:37.064)
parallels with CrossFit or your training or or anything else that you can take lessons one from the other or the other from the other.
Raina Yurchak (26:44.629)
Yeah, for sure. I again, I'm in like a non-structured type of business where there's no schedule. There's no like, you have to be here at this time. It's on me to do what I need to do with it. So if, again, if I want to sleep in every single day, then I'm not going to get anywhere with that. If it's similar to the gym, if I want to skip the days that I don't feel like doing it, then that's the results are going to be in that too. So those two things kind of
gel together. Like what I was saying before about like mentally knowing where my mind has to go when it comes across it. It's the same thing with work. That sometimes you just, it's, the gym helps me train myself and my mind to do things that you might not always want to do and to do the hard stuff and to stay disciplined and to just know that you have to get through it. And it's, it's always worth it in the end. So doing the hard things are always.
we reap the benefits of it. So the gym teach you to that for sure. So the two things definitely do go hand in hand.
Sam Rhee (27:47.645)
What do you do about your nutrition? I know well I I've heard Kevin talk about his nutrition a little bit and I don't know how you deal I mean, I don't know how far in the weeds you go, hopefully not as far as Kevin does, but I wanted to hear what your take was in terms of how you approached it.
Raina Yurchak (28:04.813)
well, like I said, he was, our first date was at the grocery store. So I was eating Twix bars for breakfast. I, I come from a really Italian family. I'm a hundred percent Italian. We like to eat and it's not exactly the CrossFit way of life of what I grew up being used to. I remember when my family met Kevin, they thought he was extremely weird when it came to his eating habits and that it was rude if he didn't eat the pie.
Sam Rhee (28:13.2)
huh.
Raina Yurchak (28:34.25)
and he'd come with his sweet potato and his ground beef. So it's like, I am not to that extreme where he really looks at food like he has no relationship with it is what he would tell me is like, I don't crave anything. I don't feel like I have these like I need to have ice cream or pizza or anything like that. He was just saying, I just use it as fuel of what's gonna make me feel good. And that's kind of how I eat and that's how he eats. Me on the other hand,
I used to sneak Cheez-Its in the garage and eat that behind his back when he was sleeping in the or something. I think after having kids, more so than just even doing CrossFit, it was I wanted to just be healthier for them and make sure that their eating habits weren't bad. So like I needed to also show them that mine weren't bad. So it was more about that for me.
So taking like all the chemicals and the food die out and all of those things is more important rather than like macro counting if that makes sense. So but with that we also we buy a steer like every three months. I know that sounds absurd, but that's how much we go through of meat. So my diet is basically a lot of steak a lot of ground beef and like pretty simple stuff nothing crazy.
I'll have hard boiled eggs, but I'll also, you know, I also do like pizza and a mini muffin often. So it's about balance.
Sam Rhee (30:05.512)
You know
That is good balance. although I wanted to ask, because I know people who do that who buy an entire cow. and I always wondered, it have you ever had like a bad cow where you're like, this just does not taste as good as the other ones do, and then now you're stuck with it for three months eating this like mediocre meat from this single animal? Like, how do you feel about that?
Raina Yurchak (30:24.944)
Meat? I think that that happened once, like one time where it wasn't as good, but to be honest with you, it's actually hard to go from eating like that meat to then going out to dinner somewhere and having a steak at a steakhouse. It's different. It actually does taste different. So no, not in that way. Now my kids are totally spoiled because they think that's just normal to eat that way.
Sam Rhee (30:53.07)
Mm. Mm. I guess that that meat is on average probably much better quality than anything else you'll probably see anyway. So
Raina Yurchak (30:54.826)
no.
Raina Yurchak (31:01.679)
Right, for sure, for sure. But it's definitely not, I realize how not normal our way of living when we have friends over and they are so curious about Kevin more so than ever about me. Our looks are probably a little different. I look like I like to eat a mini muffin occasionally. He is just not a normal human being. So there were times where I didn't even realize that I would have ground beef.
defrosting on the kitchen counter or something and I didn't notice that he was giving us like heart and liver that he got mixed into the meat the whole time and I saw it on one of the labels when my friend was over and I'm like my god like I'm not eating this this is disgusting and he you know let me know that I've been eating that for the last six months or however long it was so that's how life is in this house
Sam Rhee (31:54.877)
He is the closest to that Dolph Lundgren character from Rocky Four that I've ever seen. Like he's just locked, he's constantly locked in. Like it's yes, it's like he's very, very analytical with that. But I will say this. So about your injury history. So obviously CrossFit athletes get injured. I don't know if I've ever seen you like significantly injured, but tell me, have you ever been and how do you manage it? Like how do you deal with it? How do you how do you prevent it?
Raina Yurchak (32:05.998)
you
Raina Yurchak (32:24.493)
I'm gonna knock on wood. I've been doing it for 14 years and I've never battled a single injury. I mean, I might be like a little bit more sore than not. I think like when you do this for so long, you also know your body. So I know the things that are not gonna sit well. I know the things that are gonna be okay for me to do. I probably like in the earlier years was way more ignorant than now, but I don't know. I just feel like it's...
Sam Rhee (32:26.311)
Yes.
Raina Yurchak (32:52.364)
It's just routine. So I'm not doing anything that's that crazy. I know that if I go from, I'm not training like two days like I was before I had kids. So I don't think I could go back into that lifestyle so easily at my age now, or I'd have to ease myself in if that was something that I wanted to do. So I think it's just always having some sort of a balance where I didn't go overboard in my training, but I still like to push myself. And like, if I could do the level ones at Bison, I will.
even if I don't get the best score or whatever. I don't know, I've just been very fortunate that I haven't had any kind of injury. The only thing to battle really for me was just in pregnancies, like trying to train through two pregnancies and then coming back from that is like, it's a lot easier being at CrossFit Bison and doing that versus not, versus maybe when I was first with Dallas and I think I was like one of the only ones that was pregnant at that time.
Sam Rhee (33:46.098)
Yeah.
Raina Yurchak (33:51.2)
you know, still trying to do this. that is what I could, guess, the closest thing I could, I guess, go to compare to an injury. I know that's like a terrible thing to say, but to look at like how people with injuries must feel and train and have to scale things and whatnot to, you know, try to come back from a pregnancy.
Sam Rhee (33:54.557)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (34:12.504)
Mm. Yes. There are many people out there who are look listening to you with a great deal of envy and also like that you have never been injured. And also I I no, don't. No, that's not my fault. No. And no. Yeah. In fact, at this point I I would implore you to be twice as careful from here on out. I it's so funny. So now you are in the
Raina Yurchak (34:25.394)
If something happens to me now, I'm blaming you. Now what again?
Raina Yurchak (34:36.107)
I know.
Sam Rhee (34:42.022)
what are you, forty to forty-four division, right? And it was funny when I looked up at the open, you had three benchmark stats listed. And I wanted to ask you if you still kept to that. It's it's funny when we see some of the stuff we put in, but you're how tall? Like five foot, five one, five two? Five. Yeah, I was about to say I was I was gonna say five and then I was a little afraid that maybe that was selling you short. But yeah, you're five foot you had a two forty five back squat. Is that true?
Raina Yurchak (34:45.712)
Uh-huh.
Raina Yurchak (34:59.497)
Five nothing, five flat.
you
Raina Yurchak (35:11.931)
I did, yeah. Probably whenever I answered that I did. I don't know, because I hate, I personally hate training my one rep max. As you probably see, it gives me major anxiety. don't enjoy it. So I'll enjoy the five reps as close to my one rep max than trying to reach that number. So I don't really know. I guess maybe I'd be out like, if I...
Sam Rhee (35:12.75)
And and now is it and now what do you think it is?
Raina Yurchak (35:42.32)
If I'm really locked in at like 210, 215, 210.
Sam Rhee (35:46.576)
What are you doing your five reps now? 'Cause I know we just had a series where we're doing some five reps.
Raina Yurchak (35:50.897)
I was on vacation for majority of the summer, I just came back. think I did it at like 160.
Sam Rhee (35:52.346)
okay.
Okay. That's that's pretty good. All right. And then w three five deadlift. What do you think about that now?
Raina Yurchak (36:02.588)
That might still be the same. I don't have to pull far from the ground, so.
Sam Rhee (36:04.488)
Nice. I think as we get older, deadlifts can still hang in there for some reason. I don't know what it is. Yeah.
Raina Yurchak (36:11.248)
Yeah, I don't know why that is that that never felt I never felt a struggle with the deadlifts and all the strength movements that just kind of has always stayed the same.
Sam Rhee (36:20.418)
Mm. And Fran two fifty two, what do you think about that?
Raina Yurchak (36:25.32)
Not that. I don't know.
Sam Rhee (36:26.888)
Really? I f I bet you that if you I mean, not that I would want you to because that I mean, you know, obviously when you red line it now you're you're running more risk, but like I bet you you wouldn't be that far off, honestly, don't you think?
Raina Yurchak (36:40.023)
I don't know. Yeah, I don't even know what it would be.
Sam Rhee (36:43.304)
'Cause I think your gymnastic skills, if anything, have probably gotten a little bit better. What would you say?
Raina Yurchak (36:48.173)
Yeah, the gymnastics definitely has gotten better. I don't know if like my ability to just like hang on for the thrusters where I probably went unbroken. I don't know if I can do that again. I don't know. I don't want to find out though, Sam.
Sam Rhee (37:00.018)
Mm, mm.
Sam Rhee (37:04.206)
I know. I think one of the things that always stands out to me when I think of you is you working on ring muscle ups because anytime there was a big comp or event or something with ring muscle ups, you manage to really grind it out. Like, do you have a love hate relationship with ring muscle ups, I would say.
Raina Yurchak (37:21.959)
I think it's fun. Mindy and myself will go in a lot and just work on it together. it's like fun... That's what CrossFit is. You can't ever be too... You're never like... Even the people that are at the games, you're never perfecting anything. So it's always fun to just work on the stuff that maybe you don't have that well. So that's like one of them. don't... A love-hate relationship, I guess, would be the way.
remember whatever open workout it was, maybe in like 2014, somewhere around that time, it where it started with the seven muscle ups, the seven ring muscle ups, you remember? And I remember just living at the gym and that's all I did was just stare at the rings for like hours and hours and hours and like cry because I couldn't get it and.
Sam Rhee (37:51.591)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (38:00.413)
Yeah. Yep.
Raina Yurchak (38:13.325)
And then making it my determination, I'm like, I'm going to make sure that if this ever comes out in an open workout, that I can at least like grind one out, no matter what, no matter if I'm in my 20s or if I'm like in my 80s, that's gonna be my goal to just hang on to it as long as I can. know, like Ash and I would train at West Essex and work on those. And it's just a fun thing to do.
Sam Rhee (38:36.732)
Yeah, I think every OG I've talked to always has stories of when they were first learning their gymnastics skills, how much time they spent at the gym working on them. But it was more of a like you said, group fun, like a couple friends hanging out after hours and like doing that. And I think I don't know if that happens as much anymore. Like I think people, at least where I've seen, are very time crunched and it's not like
I mean certainly people our you know, who are older, who have families can like just sit there and hang out and sort of play around with stuff. But I I do think there is something to working on skills for an extended period of time, playing around with it. I think anyone who's working on gymnastics, like that that sort of seems to be an essential part of of the learning curve, maybe.
Raina Yurchak (39:12.003)
Right.
Raina Yurchak (39:30.423)
the bring muscle up aspect or just yeah, yeah, I think that's the that's the fun part of it, you know, is, is being able to go in and work on those things. I realized how not normal it is probably when like, I go from the CrossFit world of like friendships and whatnot, and then go to my like, you know, drop off and pick up of my kids and, you know,
Sam Rhee (39:32.336)
All gymnastics, like yeah, when I see people working on it.
Sam Rhee (39:54.3)
Mm-hmm.
Raina Yurchak (39:55.362)
those friends thinking like, this is, that's like unheard of. Like whatever you guys are doing is like some sort of carnival type of stuff that's crazy. No. And I'm like, no, you don't understand. Like everybody can do this. Like you, I really believe that. Like everybody can do this. You just have to like put your mind there that like you want to do it. And if you do, then it's just a matter of working on it, which is, which is what I love about CrossFit in general, is that anybody's capable of it. It's just, you don't even have to be some freak athlete or
Sam Rhee (40:00.99)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (40:18.376)
That is
Raina Yurchak (40:24.252)
know, crazy talent that it's just whether or not you want to put the work in to figure it out.
Sam Rhee (40:28.338)
That is so true. So now that you have two kids and now they're getting into sports and everything else, what is your what is your own personal fitness goals for the future and how do you shape that around the life that you have now?
Raina Yurchak (40:44.718)
well, that's it's yeah, it's hard. It's as you know, I it's such a, I couldn't explain really like what a joy it is to watch my kids play sports and to be involved in that part of their life with them is like so incredible. And now, you know, my son wants to train with us. He wants to work out with us. His friends want to do it with us. And it's such a cool thing that I could have.
never really expected because that could have went one way or the other where they would have hated it because they were around it so much or really embraced it and both of them really have. And I think it's just, it's allowed for in his mind, like whether it's a Saturday or Sunday, he's like, are so-and-so gonna come over once they're done doing their workout? And I'm like, no, it's probably not how everybody else lives. in their mind.
normal and I think that's really like my goal is to make sure that they know that that's like that's our that's our life together and that is a normal thing. Yeah I think I just always want to be able to to go and play baseball at any point with Dallas. I want to be able to go and take a loan by grad with Payton or to do anything that she wants to do to be able to help and coach her and then hopefully you know there when I see some of the teenagers that are at
CrossFit bison that come in and they're there like before the sun comes up. I think that that is such a testament to the parents that are there. That's really, that's so unusual and that's such an uncommon thing to watch there and I have so much admiration for it. I really hope that that's my goal is to have my kids want to go with me before school starts or before their day begins to do something like that because I think it will just spiral into their careers, spiral into how their parents and whatnot.
That's really my goal at this point with them and just making sure that I get there. I was having the conversation with Dave where it is hard because we live a little further away. So I want to be a part of the community where there's like this very positive push and very positive environment and competitiveness. Like I'm there. I want to obviously get a higher score, beat the person next to me or whatever. That's like human nature as long as it's in a healthy way. So I think that that
Sam Rhee (42:45.189)
Mm-hmm.
Raina Yurchak (43:04.51)
push of being in the gym is wonderful, but then also sometimes it is hard to get there. So I'll just work out in my garage and do what I can. So I think just getting there for an hour a day or being available for myself for an hour a day and including my kids in it or not when I can and just staying consistent is my priority right now.
Sam Rhee (43:23.804)
Yeah. I think that makes sense. I mean, yeah, I look at the teenagers like a Jamie, or Anthony or or the Goofsas and it it blows me away because yeah, my kids never did that. I mean, they did to a certain degree, but not
Raina Yurchak (43:39.665)
Your kids were really involved in it too. It wasn't as common, I guess, when they were younger though, no?
Sam Rhee (43:47.491)
No, that's true. And I mean, like, you know, the Harringtons, like their kids were all in it. Like they're a bunch of kids and and I love seeing them. Sasha's n now into Pilates big time. So, you know, it's a young girl, like a a young adult woman thing. Like they have their you know, f you know, fitness is a fashion you know, it goes up and down. There are trends and right now she's really into it. But she still does she still comes and works out at CrossFit.
She blames us. She blames slash credits us when she does. but you're right. I think a culture of fitness for children and for the kids that you have around you, like I think my kids understand that and they realize that to to a big degree. Even if for example, Nick doesn't work out as much, he still really likes playing basketball at school and he does his thing. So and I don't think any of them would ever feel like fitness is a
is something that should be ignored or like I think they both realize that for the rest of their lives, like that's gonna have to be a big healthy part of their life. And and that's all we sort of asked for. It wasn't that they had to be CrossFit champions or anything. They just they just know fitness is important. And I don't know if every family has that, but certainly the ones I saw at CrossFit, like at Bison and you guys and everyone else, like I think that that that's the sort of principles that
Raina Yurchak (45:02.181)
Okay. Yeah.
Sam Rhee (45:12.678)
are really important. And you guys show it not by like making them do it, by but by leading by example. So I know if you and Kevin were my parents, I'd be like, Holy shit, I need to really step up my fit fitness game here. My parents can't can't be doing this and me sitting there playing Fortnite every night. I think that that would be a problem. So
Raina Yurchak (45:29.275)
Well, that's actually another thing. I mean, they're probably go to the extreme. Like I won't even let them watch TV at this point unless they ask for permission. And it's like the end of the night. Like they'll never have a device. never, I don't allow them to play video games. It's like, they're not, they don't have access to those things unless I'm giving it to them. So it's really my fault. Like if they're, know, screen type of kids or they're checked out because they're behind a phone or an iPad or whatever, then it
Sam Rhee (45:40.424)
Mm.
Raina Yurchak (45:58.714)
So I'm not saying that it's easy because there's sometimes when they're out of control I would love to just like hand them off to something else But I'll just say like now it's it's good where it's like go outside go work out if you want to work out go get that energy out somewhere else but we're trying to give them a 90s childhood I guess in our household with fitness included in it
Sam Rhee (46:21.394)
I appreciate that. Listen, it's it's hard enough as parents and and you you definitely wanna do your best for them. And I won't ever disparage any parent for making whatever choices they make in terms of digital devices or you know, and you know, I think I made you know, just looking back, Susan and I probably made some missteps along the way 'cause we didn't know. Like I think we gave our kids phones a little bit too early. but that being said
Raina Yurchak (46:32.813)
Yes.
Raina Yurchak (46:49.985)
It's hard though. It's hard because everyone, like he's like the weird kid that doesn't know how to play video games when he goes over to a friend's house. So it is hard.
Sam Rhee (46:51.158)
It's it's yeah.
Sam Rhee (46:58.682)
It is hard. And so I think it's a as long as we're discussing it as parents and and making conscious choices about it, I think I'm okay as long as people are really sort of seriously discussing it, as opposed to like you said, taking the easiest way out all the time. So I'm I'm good with that. if you had to give advice now for the starting CrossFitter, someone who's just come into bison, they're like, Okay, I'm I I I I what is this and I wanna try it and
Raina Yurchak (47:14.424)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (47:28.33)
w what would you tell them based on what you know now?
Raina Yurchak (47:34.392)
I think that every single person that's in that gym was in their shoes at one point so that they're not outsiders or they're not you know like have anything to be intimidated of although it is intimidating when you walk in and you see kind of like what everyone is doing because it's incredible that everyone was in that same exact position at some point the person that's been doing it for 15 years and the person that made it to the games the person that
you know, is the most equipped. Like everybody was in the same spot and really to try to embrace it and to try to just know that as much as we all think that everybody's paying attention to us, whether we screw up or we're doing like the most amazing thing in the world, everyone's kind of like focused on their own stuff. And no matter what you do, good or bad, like it'll score on the board, like they go and have everyone's head, you know, literally an hour after the workout's over. So to just,
Embrace it and be there with yourself in that moment and just take as much as you can out of it because it could really It can and will really change your life for the most positive. I would never have Any of the things that I have in my life if I didn't take the chance to walk in there when I was at a really bad place in my life and now I have a whole family and a marriage and kids and friendships and
just a mindset that's different than I probably would have if I'd never walked in those doors and just gave it a chance.
Sam Rhee (49:07.494)
Raina, it's been so amazing to talk to you today. I have always I've known that so many people look up to you. I know I do. Like I see what you do, I see how you live your life, I see what you do with your family and and how you approach working out and and how seriously you take it. Like, sometimes I want to slack and then I'll see you like take it very, very seriously. And I'm like, you know what? I I can't just like
sell myself short. You never sell yourself short. You always know like you you're very invested and that reminds me always like don't sell myself short. I need to invest in myself, which is what I think you've done for pretty much everything that you've had around you. So thank you again, Raina. I know our times are a little bit different at the gym, but I usually end up seeing you at least a couple times during the the the open and and
Raina Yurchak (49:46.941)
.
Raina Yurchak (49:52.564)
Thanks. Because I'm crazy.
Sam Rhee (50:01.191)
You're probably one of the like I said, most favorite people I like watching work out just just because of yes, I I commiserate with your anxiety and then I like watching you perform and then I like seeing you afterwards like being like, Okay, that was okay and and like yes, I like that roller coaster. I like it any any time I see an athlete go through that roller coaster, it it makes me feel better too. So
Raina Yurchak (50:25.372)
And I just want to give like a shout out to you and to everybody at Bison that it really is such a special, special place and you guys do everything right. So it's like from owning a gym and looking at what you guys did, I don't know how you're doing a lot of the stuff that you're doing and all of the creative different ways of looking at things. I'm just blown away that it really is the most successful gym that I have ever been to and been a part of.
I'm just happy that we found a home outside of our home. And it really is. You've created a culture and the reason the culture is what it is is because you and Dave and the rest of the owners have made it that way. So it's a special thing.
Sam Rhee (51:09.756)
Well thanks, Raina. Like I said, there's a lot of West Essex that runs through it and it is a community. it's not any one of us and except maybe Dave. I would I would give definitely give most like it the singular credit to Dave. And we're just here trying to help. Like you said, it's a place that I want to work out at. I want you and everyone else to feel like it's the best place to work out at. And like you said, I I feel it just like you did and
Like everyone should be there. If they d they're not, you're like, Why? Why are they? Like, what can we do to make it better? Like and so if we keep sort of working toward that goal, I think I think we'll be okay.
Raina Yurchak (51:40.59)
Okay.
Raina Yurchak (51:48.334)
I don't think you need to do anything to make it better. think it just, the fact that you're even asking that is like the reason why it is what it is. So it's great.
Sam Rhee (51:56.636)
Thank you, Raina. I will see you soon and good luck this have fun with your family at the end of the summer this weekend. Hope you guys are doing something fun.
Raina Yurchak (52:03.142)
Thanks. Yeah, yes, same to you. And I'll see you at the pin. Bye.
Sam Rhee (52:07.571)
Thank you. You got it.
