A globetrotter at a young age, Alessandra Pichelli has lived in four countries even before she reached high school. Even as she was born in Canada, this experienced CrossFit athlete is now representing Italy since both parents are Italian immigrants. Want to know more about this Canadian athlete of Italian descent? Read on a find out.
CrossFit athlete Alessandra Pichelli
An Introduction to Alessandra Pichelli, CrossFit Athlete
You can find out about her life before CrossFit, stats, bio, training and diet tips and a whole lot more. Let’s get to it!
Life Before CrossFit
Before Alessandra Pichelli appeared eight consecutive times in the CrossFit Games, she already lived in four different countries. Her family moved to Bahrain when she was still two years old. After living for a few years in this Middle Eastern country, the family moved again, this time to Yokohama, Japan where she attended the St. Maur International School.
When she turned 8 years old, the family returned to Canada where she started her rowing career. When she reached college, Sandra received a full scholarship from the Saint Mary’s College in California. She was a division 1 rower where she learned how hard training can be.
During the final year of her rowing career, she was introduced to CrossFit by her rowing coach, Nicole Young. She is currently a US resident and has a Canadian and Italian passport. Both her parents are Italian immigrants while her mother was born in Italy.
Alessandra Pichelli’s CrossFit Journey
When Alessandra Pichelli first joined CrossFit competitions, her team Diablo CrossFit Anejo placed 3rd in the Northern California Regionals. The same team eventually placed third overall in the 2013 CrossFit Games. The following year, she started competing as an individual and became the 4th Fittest Woman in the World in 2013.
While she continued her great finishes in the regionals, her CrossFit Games was a rollercoaster ride. Another highlight of her CrossFit journey is winning the CrossFit Liftoff weightlifting in 2016. For the 2019 CrossFit season, Sandra competed for Italy where she ranked first in the open competition.
Alessandra Pichelli’s Stats
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 155 lbs.
Country: Italy
Born: 1986
Affiliation: Diablo CrossFit
Benchmark Stats
Check out the results of this experienced CrossFit athlete in some of the most popular exercises of the sport
Back Squat: 320 lbs.
Clean and Jerk: 245 lbs.
Snatch: 210 lbs.
Deadlift: 400 lbs.
Fight Gone Bad: 457
Fran: 2:11
Grace: 1:21
Helen: 7:26
Filthy 50: 15:34
5 km run: 20:41
CrossFit Games Results
2012: 3rd Team
2013: 4th
2014: 23rd
2015: 32nd
2016: 9th
2017: 11th
2018: 14th
2019: 13th
Alessandra Pichelli has a storied CrossFit career where she made eight consecutive appearances in the CrossFit Games (including her first appearance in the team competition in 2012). While her best achievement was when she missed a podium finished by one spot in 2013, Sandra is a force to be reckoned with in the Northern California and California regionals ever since she started competing as an individual in 2013 until 2018.
With the changes in the qualification process of the CrossFit Games, she started competing for Italy where her mother was born. While she is a US resident, she carries an Italian passport along with a Canadian passport. In the 2019 CrossFit Open Competition, she ranked first in Italy.
CrossFit Tips from Alessandra Pichelli
Alessandra Pichelli qualified for the CrossFit Games eight straight times, including her first appearance as part of Diablo CrossFit Anejo in 2012. This makes her an established CrossFit athlete in our book. Being an athlete since she was young makes her an authority of sorts when it comes to fitness. Due to this, you may want to know some tips this experienced CrossFit athlete has to give. Check out some of these tips:
#1: Respect The Community
For Sandra, it is important to respect the CrossFit community since these are the people you train with. They also build you up as well as show the things you are capable of doing. You also develop lifelong friendships that help you get through hard times.
These are the people who support you when the challenge seems insurmountable. In fact, when she shifted to the individual competition her team encouraged her and she felt she was still a part of the team. The community will also play a role in shaping you as an athlete.
#2: Keep The Training Space Sacred
You should respect your training space since it will also bring back some good to you when you are doing the last fifty burpees. At this point, you will feel cozy when you are on the gym floor. Do not drop the barbells on their collars and wipe down the equipment. While these are simple things, they will contribute to keeping the gym clean and safe for you to train in.
#3: Visualize
Sandra takes around five minutes to visualize during her training sessions. She closes her eyes and feels the space around her. She also thinks about her movements and tries to think about the best way of improving her technique. Sandra also trains in front of a mirror so she can see even the smallest mistakes she makes. She normally visualizes before picking up the bar or after she finishes a movement.
#4: Learn From Your Mistakes
Mistakes are a part of the game. While some may feel discouraged from the mistakes they make, Sandra learns from them. She reflects on the things she could have done better or review any glaring weaknesses she has each year. This allows her to become better each year. Moreover, she also looks at the performance of other athletes and pushes the limits. This keeps her motivated each year.
#5: Listen To Your Body
Listening to your body is one of the things you can do to avoid injuries during training. It will allow you to differentiate soreness from pain. Additionally, you should also stretch daily, perform bodywork regularly, and get enough sleep.
Alessandra Pichelli’s Diet
As a competitor, Sandra watches her diet whenever she is competing. Her meals are not as complex as some of you may think. It’s quite simple that you can also make it for yourself. The following are the meals she normally has when she is competing:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with some fruit and protein powder
Lunch: Chicken breast with potato and salad or broccoli
Dinner: Rice and cauliflower with meat like salmon
But when she is not competing, she normally looks forward to visiting her family and indulges in some home-cooked meals. Her Italian lineage means she likes Italian food, including pizza and ravioli.
Training with Alessandra Pichelli
Interested in what a training day in the life of Alessandra Pichelli looks like? Check out the following video to know what happens
Alessandra Pichelli’s Instagram
Considered as one of the bigger girls in CrossFit, Alessandra Pichelli already has a respectable following on Instagram with more than 92,200 following her under her Alessandra Pichelli handle. Check out her Instagram account below:
Aside from Instagram, Sandra also has her own website. Check out the website of Alessandra Pichelli below:
Have Your Say about CrossFit Alessandra Pichelli
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