When he retired, he turned his focus to CrossFit and made the Games in 2018 in the 40-44-year-old division, where he took 7th overall. 26:36 â Qualifying for the 2018 Games as a master.33:40 â Performance anxiety in hockey vs. CrossFit.15:01 â Learning to move on afterward.16:43 â On parenting two teenage boys.10:50 â The incident that changed his life.22:48 â Finding a new competitive outlet in CrossFit.8:27 â Top memories from Joeâs pro-hockey career and why the guys called him âLucky.âNow available for iPhone, iPad, Android and Alexa32:27 â His best Games event finish.36:03 â Training as a master.30:24 â Why Joe doesnât take PEDs.39:00 â Competitive goals for the future.The easiest way to listen to podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, Android, PC, smart speaker â and even in your car. (Photo courtesy of Joe Corvo) Joe Corvo … Once hockey was gone, that outlet was gone. “There are certain attributes that he has that normal people don’t have. And of course, competition. Although Corvo was an elite athlete, he still found CrossFit to be a challenging pursuit.Corvo, 41, recently was named one of only 20 qualifiers in his age group for the 2018 CrossFit Games, which begin Wednesday in Madison, Wis.Sisco pointed out that CrossFit Games competitors don’t know the exact tasks to be performed until they arrive. They’re special. This is perfect for me.”Corvo was born in Oak Park and spent some of his earliest days skating at Ridgeland Common. Depending on the nature of the prescribed workouts, Corvo could have the upper hand due to his size and NHL background.Copyright © 2020, Chicago TribuneCorvo is ranked 11th in his age group heading into the CrossFit Games. Tell me to run through a wall, I’ll do it.Corvo knew that CrossFit could be the answer to the rigorous training he sought. He attended Fenwick as a freshman and sophomore and greatly enjoyed his time there.“I’ve always been a hard worker my whole life,” Corvo said.
He joined the Omaha Lancers of the USHL as a high school senior, then played Division I hockey at Western Michigan.“The competition aspect, not just with yourself but with other people in the gym? Hundreds of thousands of athletes participate in CrossFit at gyms nationwide.Prior to his junior year, Corvo moved to a prep school in Minnesota. I really don’t know what else I would be doing.”“One of the things Joe has to do — and he’s 6-1, 210 pounds — he has to kick up on his hands and walk across a floor 50 feet on his hands,” Sisco said. Joe Corvo was just killing time, really. That’s what drew me to it.
He had played hockey his whole life, thus preparing him for a new athletic challenge.
Joe Corvo, an Oak Park native, finished 11th in the world in the 40-44 age group to qualify for the CrossFit games in August. He plans to improve upon his seeding.Corvo, who had just retired from pro hockey after 11 NHL seasons and 708 games played, needed a new challenge. Prior to his retirement, he had begun to work out via CrossFit, a high-intensity fitness program that combines power and speed. That background makes him really easy to coach.”Sisco grew up in Melrose Park, graduated from Holy Cross in River Grove, and has “been pretty much in a mile-and-a-half radius my whole life.” During his career, he played for the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, and Boston Bruins. “I don’t care how many snapshots he’s done in his life, he’s never been trained for that. “Making friends there from other towns that you normally wouldn’t know or come across, it was a great time.”But though Sisco said that gymnasts and weightlifters might have an inherent advantage, elite athletes from all sports also tend to pull ahead in CrossFit competition.He was a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1997 NHL draft and also played for the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins.Three-and-a-half years ago, Joe Corvo walked into Angelo Sisco’s office with an idea.“I’ve always loved manual labor, lifting and working hard. And on top of that, they know they have to do the work. Bonus and ad-free content available with Stitcher Premium.40:36 â The differing rewards of hockey and CrossFit.7:07 â Cross-checking John Marino.
Sisco founded O’Hare CrossFit in November 2010, and he estimated that the number of CrossFit gyms has quadrupled since then.“I loved Fenwick, it was a ton of fun,” he said. For free.