Fashion designer Anne Namba combines determined drive with CrossFit

The world of fashion brings to mind elegant dresses and glamorous runway shows, but when kimono couture’s Anne Namba isn’t prepping silken fabrics for her latest line, you might find her back-squatting 205 pounds. Or doing a series of pullups, perfecting her handstand pushups or buzzing through a drill of jumping rope so fast the rope is a blur. That’s all just a tiny part of the 63-year-old’s CrossFit regimen.Namba religiously attends her hourlong workout several times a week, and she’s been doing so for the past five years. Despite growing up in a sports- oriented family and boasting a tri-state champion weightlifter as her dad, she hasn’t always been an exercise fanatic.

By Bruce Asato