In my eyes, CrossFit for an older individual is about continuously taking on things that are challenging that encourage me to grow so that I'm not starting to shrink my world as an older person, because that's easy to do.”

Denise Carlson

Kôr Fitness & Performance
862 12th Street
Newport, MN 55055
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Denise Carlson is going to the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games.
A Woodbury resident who works out at Kôr Fitness & Performance in Newport, the 5 foot 2-inch 60-year-old will soon compete Aug. 29 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala. for the title of “Fittest on Earth” in the 60-64 year-old age group. Kôr Fitness & Performance in Newport is a group fitness based gym that focuses on functional fitness, CrossFit being a fitness program led by a trained coach meant to produce measurable outcomes through lifestyle changes, centered on training and nutrition. A typical workout will include a whiteboard brief and class introduction, followed with a warm up, skill practice, workout, and cool down.
As for Carlson, the soon to be 2024 Masters CrossFit Games participant was born in Atlanta and raised in Nashville, growing up immersed in sports. As such, Carlson competed in swimming during high school as well as playing tennis throughout high school and college, before taking part in triathlons in her 20s.
A mother of four children as well as a sports coach, Carlson found out about CrossFit by accident in 2017, after a CrossFit coach came over during a dry land swimming practice and asked why she was wearing a brace.
Taking the CrossFit coach’s offer of help through an injury, her interest in CrossFit was piqued after watching a few of the CrossFit classes. Her competitive side came out and she became curious as to what competing in the sport of CrossFit entailed. Then signing up for the CrossFit Open as an online qualifier in 2018, Carlson ended up finishing in the 85th percentile as well as being in the top 300 in the world for workouts in her age group.
Re-entering the Open each year from then until now, Carlson is now ranked 12th in the North America West region and 20th in the United States as a whole, being ranked 31st worldwide. Her journey to the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games started this spring, when Carlson was one of 2,600 people who registered to compete in the 2024 Open, finishing with 161 points to advance to the next level. Carlson’s workout path to advance from the 2024 Open into Quarterfinals included Handstand Push-Ups, Rope Climbs, and Barbells ranging in weight from 75 pounds to 105 pounds, all at KFP CrossFit.
Advancing with the top 600 competitors from the Open into the Quarterfinals, Carlson finished 18th with 153 points over four events to make the cut for Semifinals. Finishing the Semifinals ranked 22nd with 126 points, Carlson was then invited to compete in the August 29 CrossFit Games at Birmingham for the title of Fittest on Earth in her age division, setting her on course to face off with athletes from the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Brazil, Austria, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, South Africa, and United States.
Asked for her take on fitness, Carlson said the following.
"I think people need to look at fitness as the health of their body. Someone would never say it's too late to start eating healthy, so you would never say it's too late to start treating your body in a way that will keep it strong and vibrant as long as you're on this earth. That's the main thing that CrossFit is about. In my eyes, CrossFit for an older individual is about continuously taking on things that are challenging that encourage me to grow so that I'm not starting to shrink my world as an older person, because that's easy to do."
Journal readers can watch Carlson compete in the 2024 CrossFit Games on YouTube or at games.crossfit.com. For more on Kôr Fitness & Performance, meanwhile, readers can head on over to the gym at 862 12th Street in Newport, or visit its website at korfitnessandperformance.com.