“This sport is a form of meditation.”

From YouTube to the World Cup

He investigated, and discovered that this system called CrossFit had barely made a dent in Spain, with some boxes in Tenerife and Madrid. He fell in love with it so much that in 2013, he opened his fund, AC3D, in La Granja, now in Villaupipo. But he has competed before and now, from September 30 to October 2, he will compete in his first World Cup in Vancouver (Canada) after being runner-up in his category in Zaragoza in August.

“All athletes will have this dream in their heads one day, but I never appreciated it. “It’s a complete surprise to me,” Carneiro explains to Leonotisias, in his box, where he spends long hours training and directing classes and training sessions to the users of his facility.

He is now training “like never before” with “Benzin” motivated to compete for the first time outside Spain’s borders in a sport that already has a federation in Spain, and is not yet recognized by the Supreme Council of Sport, “but it is close.” to achieve that.”

Goal: “Face it with a good attitude.”

This makes it difficult for him to get financial assistance for this world championship, and he has only received registration payments “which are not cheap” and clothing from a collaborating brand. The rest is funded “as much as I can”: “I opened a crowdfunding campaign with friends and family, and my mother also helps me a lot… From here and there, as much as we can, we fund it.”

He still doesn’t know all of his competitors or the tests he will undergo, but he does know that they will be six different competitors and on a completely different scale. His goal, although it’s too romantic to say so, will be to “beat myself” and face the competition “with a good attitude.” “I do mostly mental work, and from what I’ve been able to see from participants and others, my position is to be in the middle of the table.”

Because despite everything, despite the physical rigor of this sport, for Carneiro it is a discipline where “90% is mental”. “Mental attitude is almost everything because sometimes we limit ourselves with fear or face an activity with doubts. Then there is each person’s abilities, but mental improvement is what gets you further.

“It’s a form of meditation.”

Moreover, Carneiro believes that this sport is “a form of meditation” because it “allows you to disconnect from the outside world, focus only on yourself, and approach the matter with a positive philosophy.” “You leave here relaxed, you have already expelled all the bad moods and you see things differently and it helps you face life against situations. Looking back at my past, everything seemed quite dark, and now everything is much clearer.”

There are also many “myths” about CrossFit, such as that it is a significant source of injuries: “You help people prepare and really avoid injuries. There are people who raise doubts, but it happened to us that in the beginning there were not sufficiently prepared coaches and in some movements it was There are injuries.

But Carneiro insists: “The more I train, the stronger I feel and the less risk of injury. This is a sport for everyone, in boxing we adapt every exercise to all levels and there are young and old. A community is created, a relationship between everyone and an environment that makes everyone come with a good attitude, with the desire to improve and that is the most beautiful thing.

Since that video he accidentally saw 14 years ago, CrossFit has completely entered Alvaro Carneiro’s life, leading him now to an unforgettable experience: participating in a world sports championship that takes over his life.