Jason Khalipa (born October 2, 1985 in San Jose, California) is an American former professional
CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weightl ...
athlete
known for his accomplishments as the
2008 CrossFit Games
The 2008 CrossFit Games were the second annual CrossFit Games to be held following the inaugural Games in 2007. The Games were held on July 5–6, 2008, on a ranch in Aromas, California, United States.
As with the first Games, there was no qualif ...
champion.
He also received the Spirit of the Games award at the
2009 CrossFit Games and was selected to participate as a member of Team USA at the CrossFit Invitational in 2012,
2013,
and 2014.
Khalipa is the founder and CEO of NCFit headquartered in
Campbell, California
Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 43,959. Campbell is home to the Pruneyard Shopping Center, a sprawling open-air retail complex which was in ...
.
Personal life
Khalipa was born in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, and attended
Archbishop Mitty High School
Archbishop Mitty High School (commonly known as Mitty) is a private, Roman Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, United States. The school is named for the late John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco. It was the ...
where he played for the varsity football team as a
nose guard
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
. He also participated in track and field for the
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
event. Khalipa began his fitness career in high school by working part time as the front desk representative at Milpitas Health and Fitness, a gym in
Milpitas, California
Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marà ...
. After high school, he attended college at
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...
in
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
, but he did not participate in organized sports. He continued working full-time at Milpitas Health and Fitness where he trained for his first CrossFit Games and devoted the rest of his time on his education, graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in Business Management. Khalipa opened his first gym, CrossFit Santa Clara
nearly a month after winning his first CrossFit Games in 2008. Khalipa's recognition grew in the CrossFit world and wrote ''As Many Reps As Possible'' about his career.
He became dedicated to learning more about health and fitness as a competitor and a coach.
He renamed CrossFit Santa Clara to NorCal CrossFit in 2011
and then renamed again in 2017 to NCFit.
In January 2016, Khalipa's daughter Ava was diagnosed with
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
. After Ava's final treatment in 2018, Khalipa and his wife Ashley have since focused on spreading awareness for
pediatric cancer
Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases can be successfully treated thanks to modern medical treatments and optimal patient care. However, only about 10% of children diagnosed with cancer reside in high-income cou ...
.
In June 2020, Khalipa announced NCFits disaffiliation from the CrossFit brand, following then-CEO
Greg Glassman's controversial posts on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in 2020.
Athletic career
Khalipa competed in eight CrossFit Games competitions throughout his professional career, winning his first in 2008 where he placed first. As the champion of the 2008 CrossFit Games, he automatically qualified in the 2009 CrossFit Games where he placed fifth and earned the Spirit of the Games award.
From 2010 to 2015, Khalipa continued to place first in CrossFit Regional events and once during the CrossFit Open, which was a world-wide event, but he did not place first overall in another CrossFit Games. In 2015, he competed as a team member with his affiliate, NorCal CrossFit, in the team competition.
He decided not to compete in the 2016 CrossFit Games to take care of his daughter following her diagnoses with Leukemia.
He briefly participated in the 2017 Open, but withdrew after one event.
In 2016, Khalipa began training in
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
(BJJ).
He placed first in the adult 208lb division of the US Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the
Kaiser Permanente Arena
Kaiser Permanente Arena is an indoor arena located in Santa Cruz, in the U.S. state of California. It has a seating capacity of 2,505 spectators. It hosts the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. It was also the home of th ...
in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
, on October 23, 2016.
Training and diet
Khalipa trained three times a day for a competition. The morning workouts usually consist of aerobic training: bike, row, or run. In the afternoon, he engaged in
CrossFit
CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...
and he reserved the evenings for stamina building in complex skills such as handstands, muscle ups, or Olympic lifts. When Khalipa is not training to compete in CrossFit events, he maintains a regular training schedule that includes daily classes at NCFit and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu two to three days a week to maintain conditioning.
His diet differs slightly from when he trained for competitions, which was a gluten-free and mostly
paleolithic diet
The Paleolithic diet, Paleo diet, caveman diet, or stone-age diet is a modern fad diet consisting of foods thought by its proponents to mirror those eaten by humans during the Paleolithic era.
The diet avoids processed food and typically incl ...
.
Khalipa replenishes calories with more food more often by eating meats and veggies, and he does not keep track of type, volume, or a
macronutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
breakdown.
CrossFit Games results
Bibliography
* ''As Many Reps As Possible'' (2018)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalipa, Jason
1985 births
Living people
Sportspeople from San Jose, California
Sportspeople from Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara University alumni
CrossFit athletes
CrossFit coaches
Archbishop Mitty High School alumni