"You're never “done” in crossfit — just start."
Jonna Paajanen, MVP #10
Jonna Paajanen moved from Kotka to Turku in 2023 to study. This June, she stood on the competition floor at Turun Tuomiopäivät, one of Finland's biggest crossfit events. The year before, she watched from the crowd.
She found crossfit through social media, following athletes from her hometown. When she moved to Turku, she ran into someone who trained at Crossfit Portti. Regular gym training had started to feel flat. Crossfit offered something different: a community, but one where your performance is entirely your own. Someone else's success doesn't take anything from you.
The progress has been fast. A year ago, handstand walks, bar muscle ups, and butterfly pull-ups were all uncertain movements. At Tuomiopäivät this year, she walked 60 meters on her hands, nine months after the same movement failed at two and a half meters at Box Athletics Challenge competetition.
Daily life is full: studies and training. Food needs to be fast and nutritious. Fridge staples are ground meat, pasta, and frozen vegetables — straight into a pan. University lunch covers midday. In the afternoon, Grit Farm Performance Oats, cold, ten seconds to make. Coconut-chocolate is her favourite.
Goals for the next 12 months? In between all of this she is studying physiotherapy full time, managing her training schedule, and figuring out how to keep her body and her head in the right place — without turning sport into something that feels like an obligation. She doesn't set hard targets for next year. She wants a full training year without injuries, to keep developing, and to keep the feeling good. That's enough.
Follow Jonna's journey on her Instagram page!
