Sixty-eight family members, 37 CrossFit athletes, and seven CrossFit coaches. It’s safe to say the Michaelsens are one of the largest families of CrossFit athletes.
But well before the inception of CrossFit, Larry and Chris Michaelsen, the heads of the family tree, were already instilling three important lessons to their nine children: stay active, eat right, and have a work ethic.
“I took my calling as a mother very seriously, and I still do … . All I can do is keep setting a good example,” Chris said. “I’m responsible for their physical health when they are little. I’m responsible for what they eat. I’m responsible for where they go, what activities they participate in. I’m responsible for encouraging them to do good things.”
As each child grew older and moved away from home to start their own families, Chris and Larry only hoped they would remember the lessons they had been taught during their childhood.
Little did they know CrossFit would become an integral part of their family, keeping four generations of family members connected and healthy.
CrossFit Spread Like Wildfire
In 2004, Shelly, the second eldest, stumbled across CrossFit.com, but it wasn’t until 2011 when she sustained a running injury that drew her into affiliate CrossFit OKC.
She soon found that CrossFit embodied everything she had been taught growing up. It kept her physically fit, promoted good nutrition, and emphasized hard work.
Shelly knew she wanted the rest of her family to be involved, so she first tried to hook her older brother, Doug, then her younger sister, Linley.
“From there, it’s kind of worked its way through the family,” Shelly said.
By dragging their siblings into a CrossFit box each time they would visit, the passion for CrossFit spread like wildfire. Eventually, Matt, Maren, Soren, and Kendall joined in, spreading their love for CrossFit to their spouses and children.
CrossFit became a staple in each of the seven families. It was a way for the Michaelsen siblings to spend meaningful time with their kids and to teach them how to live healthy lifestyles.
“It’s a time away from phones, it’s a time away from TV,” Doug said. “You have the way to pull your kids away from whatever might be drawing them away from you and sort of just bonds you together.”
Matt added: “Even when we are at home we’re talking … we’re talking about the workouts, we’re talking about exercise, we’re talking about health.”
Matt Michaelsen’s family
Once the siblings noticed how beneficial CrossFit was to their own families, they felt a strong need to get their parents into it, too.
“They encouraged, they’ve helped us, they’ve taught us so much,” Shelly said. “Now it’s my turn to give back.”
In 2018, after years of pressure from their children, 73-year-old Chris and 74-year-old Larry finally gave in — and they dove in head-first.
Attending classes five times a week, CrossFit became an integral part of their lives. It has helped them stay fit enough to attend to their large property and travel to visit their children. It has introduced them to communities all across the world. Most importantly, CrossFit has given the pair something to do together.
“We do a lot of things folks my age can’t do,” Larry said. “With the average lifespan, half of them are dead at our age. The other half, we see a whole lot more who are just barely getting around.”
Although Larry and Chris spend most of their time at CrossFit Believe in Warrensburg, Missouri, they take CrossFit with them everywhere they go, from mission trips in Iceland, Israel, and Denmark, to all across the United States to visit their children.
Larry and Chris Michaelsen at CrossFit Reykjavik in Iceland
A Family Bond
“(CrossFit) is something we can all relate to one another,” Shelly said. “Even though our lives are so far apart and so different with so many different experiences, (CrossFit) is something that we understand in each other. It really has created a bond among us.”
The Michaelsen family may be spread across the United States, but they feel as connected as ever.
Every year during the Open, the family creates a group chat where they share their scores and experiences with one another. No matter how busy life gets, this forces every sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent, and grandchild the opportunity to bond with each other.
When the family does get the opportunity to come together for a family reunion, they make sure CrossFit is involved.
In June 2024, before a weekend of festivities, 35 family members gathered at CrossFit Believe to throwdown in the Michaelsen family reunion WOD. Linley programmed a workout to allow the youngest at 8 years old to workout alongside their 80-year-old great grandad.
The Michaelsen family after their family reunion WOD at CrossFit Believe
After a 43-calorie row buy-in, athletes had to complete 9 rounds of 9 air squats, 6 sit-ups, 3 hang power cleans, and 42 single-unders (or 21 double-unders), followed by a 44-calorie row cash-out. Every 2 minutes during the 9 rounds, they were to complete a 58-foot kettlebell farmers carry.
Every aspect of the workout was significant to the family. The 43 calories represented the year Larry was born, nine represented the number of children, six girls and three boys, 42 represented the number of grandchildren, and 44 was the year Chris was born. Larry and Chris have been married for 58 years and, early in their marriage, a new child joined the family approximately every two years. Every movement in the workout was in honor of them, as they represented their favorite CrossFit movements.
“They (our parents) were the last ones (to finish) which was really cool,” Shelly said. “We got to all gather together and cheer them on.”
As the workout came to an end, there was a powerful sense of unity in the air. Four generations, spanning energetic great grandchildren to resilient great-grandparents, came together not just to workout, but to celebrate the legacy CrossFit had become for the Michaelsen family.
For Larry and Chris, their hearts swelled with the knowledge that the most important lessons they had instilled in their children were passed down through generations and would continue to build in generations to come.
The Four-Generation CrossFit Family