Olivia Titus – August 2021 Athlete of the Month
Olivia Titus, 18, of Plainville, has been training at Elite for almost 3 years now. Her journey began in Physical therapy after a traumatic knee injury to her PCL and meniscus that resulted in surgery. After months of rehab at Elite with Sports Physical Therapist Ben Godin, Olivia transitioned to Sports Performance Training and began training with coach Katie McCarthy, BS, CSCS in hopes to return to sport. Olivia participated in gymnastics at King Philip Regional High School, but her true love for exercise was through the sport of Krav Maga. Krav Maga is a karate style that specializes in self-defense. Olivia has been training in Krav for 14 years now with the ultimate goal of receiving her black belt.
Of course, the injury to Olivia’s knee was a significant setback and created more challenges, along with her busy course load at school and maintaining a part-time job. But Olivia never considered giving up on her goal of attaining her black belt. She prioritized her training at Impact Fitness in Walpole (a gym that specializes in teaching Krav Maga) with her instructor Mr. Lynch, and her training at Elite to improve her strength, power, balance, and stability to where it needed to be to safely tolerate the challenging black belt test. Olivia believes that “if you don’t make time to put in the work, it won’t make time for you to succeed.”
Olivia performed intense workouts that not only challenged her body, but also her mind, including long-duration planks and the “horse stance,” two common exercises during a Krav Maga black belt test. Her longest plank hold was an impressive 18 minutes and 30 seconds! Olivia pushed herself to her limits every time she stepped in the gym because she knew that was the only way she was going to withstand the black belt test. Despite these grueling workouts, she ALWAYS finished her set and training session with a smile on her face!
On Saturday July 24th, 2021, after an epic 10-hour test (that was delayed by over 2 years due to injury and COVID), Olivia finally earned her black belt. Mr. Lynch, Olivia’s Krav Maga instructor, mentioned at the beginning of her test that his goal for the day was to try to make her quit. She never did. She believed in herself and knew she had what it took to push through and complete the test. When Olivia showed up on test day, she was confident that her knee was ready and that she had done everything she could to prepare for the that day. Olivia believes that a true athlete needs to have “perseverance, confidence, and mental toughness” to achieve their goals. Through Krav Maga, Olivia has realized that “the only fight we face is ourselves, once we get over that, your body can do anything.” Powerful words, Liv!
Olivia enjoys training at Elite because of the supportive atmosphere, challenging workouts, and customized training programs. Because Olivia was training for a very unique sport and was returning from a serious injury, her training program required sport-specific training methods and strategies that were different from other athletes. She may be done working toward her Krav Maga black belt, but she continues to train consistently at Elite with Coach Katie to learn exercise programs that she can perform while away at college. She will be attending Baylor University this fall where she will be studying nursing. We know Olivia will miss those 18+ minute planks, sled shuttle runs, and “Country Music Saturdays” at Elite, but we are so excited to see her thrive in her next chapter in Texas! Congratulations to Olivia for earning the well-deserved honor of Elite’s Athlete of the Month for August, 2021 and, even more impressive, for earning your Krav Maga black belt! We are so proud of you and know that the sky’s the limit for what you can accomplish!
Elite offers Sports Performance and Athlete Training programs at both our Foxboro and Stoughton locations. To learn more about our programs for athletes of all ages and sports, how you or an athlete in your family can become our NEXT Athlete of the Month, click HERE or email us at EliteSPC@EliteFitCenter.com!