Wine Country CrossFit

If you come to the mid morning classes you’ve probably met Vince Parga. He’s the compact, sturdy guy with the dark hair that doesn’t talk a lot. He’s a firefighter in Benicia, and a happy father of three in Napa. He recently completed his one year probation in the department, and he was voted 2010 Rookie of the Year!

I started CrossFit in January, 2010 because a buddy of mine did it and got phenomenal results.

Was it pivotal to the fire fighting job?

Difference was night and day. Once I started CrossFit I had quicker recovery times in fires, less air consumption, greater flexibility and movement.  It is the only thing that mimics the short intense periods of work like fire fighting.

Tell us about being voted Rookie of the Year

For 1020 any new city employee went thru performance and peer recommendations. I was totally stoked, and it was a big honor. My captains gave me really good marks under performance and for how I handled stress. CrossFit helps with that cuz of the mental and physical toughness that it breeds. The quicker you get exhausted the quicker your mental state starts to slip, and then you’re not as focused. If you’re in good physical shape you have more confidence, and that helped. When you finish a workout like the filthy 50 it makes you feel good about yourself. Kinda makes you think you can do anything.

What’s next for you with CrossFit?

I’ve always wanted to try and compete. I know I have a long way to go, but after watching the games this year I’d like to get to a place in the next few years that I could compete at that level. In the meantime I show up and work hard. And I work a LOT on flexibility, cuz I know that is one of the keys to my future.

Congrats to Vince and his family!

-Beth

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Cleans – work full clean from the floor

Every minute on the minute for 12 minutes perform 2 power cleans.  Work as heavy as possible for as many rounds as possible.