Sport/Event/Specialty: CrossFit

Website: CrossFit Lincoln

Tell us a little about yourself:
Originally from Belleville, Kansas, Phil moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 2001 to play football at the University of Nebraska. After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in University Studies, he got a job as a firefighter in Colorado. It was during his time in Colorado where he was introduced to CrossFit. In 2008, Phil accepted a position as a firefighter with Lincoln Fire and Rescue in Lincoln where he eventually opened CrossFit Lincoln. Phil currently manages CrossFit Lincoln full-time. Phil is CrossFit Level 1, CrossFit Endurance, CrossFit Mobility and USAW Sports Performance certified. He's been a co-owner/founder of CrossFit Lincoln since their opening in October of 2009. His CrossFit accomplishments in 2011 include a 37th Finish in the Reebok CrossFit World Games, 1st place finish in the North Central Reebok CrossFit Regional, 26th place world-wide in the Reebok CrossFit open, 2nd place regionally in the Reebok CrossFit Open, 1st place-Life as Rx'd Tour-Chicago, and a 1st place in the Again Faster Competition Series. Within the last year Phil signed Sponsorship deals with Reebok, Again Faster Equipment and most recently Max-Muscle. Phil's hobbies include developing a relationship with God, coaching, snow-boarding, hunting and watching college football.

Accomplishments:
The sport of fitness was introduced in 2007 with the inaugural CrossFit Games. CrossFit is an evidence-based fitness program that blends weightlifting, metabolic conditioning and bodyweight movements into an all-encompassing workout. The CrossFit Games is a competition that uses those elements to find the fittest man and woman on earth. Since those inaugural games and a trip to the regional qualifier in 2010, Phil Kniep set his sights on qualifying for the 2011 CrossFit Games and developing into a top CrossFit athlete. Phil started the qualification process by competing against 26,000 other athletes until advancing to the North-Central regional in Chicago, where he competed for three days and tied for first place to earn an invitation to the CrossFit Games. Phil traveled to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to compete against the best CrossFit athletes from around the world. The competition included a wide range of exercises and movements such as an ocean swim, sand run, rope climbs, cycling, weightlifting, powerlifting and bodyweight movements including pull-ups, pushups and squats. Next up for Phil were the Life AsRx games in Chicago and the UFC Fan Expo in Houston. Phil joined the Hi-Temp/CrossFit Faith team at the Life AsRx Games and Ricky Frausto, strength coach at CrossFit Omaha, for the UFC Fan Expo. Both competitions were multi-day events in front of thousands of fans and spectators. He enjoys competing, but his passion revolves around training the members of CrossFit Lincoln to improve their health and wellness. "The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability that professional athletes, elderly individuals or the general public can perform," he said. "There is a great deal of reward seeing our members achieve their fitness goals."

Favorite MMSN products:
Pro BCAA, ARM, Triple Whey, Max Nutracuetical Phosphatidylserine and ZMA.