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Going Into The Last Event Of The CrossFit Games, We (Basically) Already Know The 2018 Fittest Man And Woman On Earth

The 2018 CrossFit Games are still going, but unless something *incredibly* unexpected happens, we already know who our first-place podium finishers are.

For the third straight year Matt Fraser has put himself in an incredible position going the last event. This year, as long as he completes the minimum work requirement on Event 11, he will be crowned The Fittest Man On Earth for the third year in a row. 

On the women’s side, in order for Tia-Clair Toomey to lose, Laura Horvath will have to win Event 11 and Toomey will have to fall outside of the top 25. While rookie Horvath showed that she has what it takes to win an event when she won Battleground, Toomey hasn’t fallen outside of the top 14 in any event since 2017.  So the odds are definitely in Toomey’s favor. 

That said, the winners haven’t been officially announced, and Fraser and Toomey have yet to complete Event 11.

What do you think? Will they win or will the unexpected happen?

Main Image: Tia-Clair Toomey/Instagram

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How to Dominate 18.1 Scaled

Watching Samantha Briggs and Kristin Holte absolutely demolish 18.1 was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Between their incredible engines and ridiculous strength, it’s impossible not to feel motivated. While seeing the pros Rx a workout and make it look easy is entertaining, to say the least, if we’re being realistic, that won’t be most of us — and that’s okay. There is no shame in scaling workouts. If you’re doing hanging knee raises or sit-ups, and you’re using lighter dumbbells, here are a few tips for totally owning 18.1.

Find Your Rhythm

Yes, hanging knees raises are the scaled version of toes-to-bar, but make no mistake about it: they’re still highly technical. Similar to T2B, finding your rhythm will massively help in stringing together reps while needing to exert less energy overall. In fact, both require a similar movement pattern. Look at knee raises as an abbreviated version of T2B. You cycle your body in a very similar manner, but cut the movement short.

TWL wrist wraps

While “muscling” the whole movement (meaning relying totally on strength) can be exhausting when you don’t rely at least a little bit on momentum and speed, you also don’t want to be flailing around everywhere. Go back and watch Briggs from the live announcement. She needed but a tiny kip to knock out her T2B. Yes, the Engine of England is stronger than most of us; but it’s still a valuable hint: find a spot in between an enormous kip and no kip at all, and you’ll be able to handle your hanging knee raises more efficiently.

Use the Power of Your Whole Body

This is a good reminder for both the dumbbell clean and jerks and the rowing. The clean and jerks aren’t just an upper body workout — not nearly. Even just a tiny drive from the legs can make a world of difference in sending the DB first to your shoulders and then overhead. Don’t go overboard — a small dip will do. Just remember your legs are stronger than your arms. Take advantage of it.

The same goes for rowing. While your whole body is obviously involved in rowing, you should be driving the majority of the power from your legs by thinking of pushing through the pedals. Do this, and your upper body won’t have to do as much work. (Have you checked out our tips for rowing efficiently? We think it’ll really help!)

If you’re doing sit-ups, remember that you don’t accomplish this position by yanking your upper body up by your head. Engage your core and don’t forget to breathe.

Prepare for a Grip Killer

grip tape

While there’s not as much friction between your hands and the bar with hanging knee raises as there is with T2B, we promise you’re still going to feel it. Same with the DB work. Don’t let the lighter weight fool you; you’re still doing a ton of reps. Hand care is everything. Even if you don’t feel the need for heavy duty gymnastics grips, at the very least, make sure you have a roll of your favorite tape nearby. Your hands will thank you for it.

Remember that the best time to start breaking up your knee raises is before your grip goes. Believe it or not, frequent but quick rest breaks will leave you with more reps, compared to longer but fewer ones. Pace accordingly, keep breathing and never stop moving. You got this!

We’re making it easy to get all the gear you need to conquer 18.1. Shop now and get express shipping!

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Australia, Here are the Times for the Live Open Announcements

The big day has just about arrived: 18.1 is nearly here. The Open happens across the globe and in every time zone. To simplify things, we’re providing the dates and times you can watch each live announcement across Australia, based on your time zone.

18.1 – Friday, Feb. 23rd

Sydney/NSW, Melbourne/VIC, Hobart/TAS (AEDT) – 12:00 p.m.
Brisbane/QLD (AEST) – 11:00 a.m.
Adelaide/SA (ACDT) – 11:30 a.m.
Darwin/NT (ACST) – 10:30 a.m.
Perth/WA (AWST) – 9:00 a.m.

18.2 (Friday, March 2nd) and 18.3 (Friday, March 9th) are the same.

18.4 – Friday, March 16th

Sydney/NSW, Melbourne/VIC, Hobart/TAS (AEDT) – 11:00 a.m.
Brisbane/QLD (AEST) – 10:00 a.m.
Adelaide/SA (ACDT) – 10:30 a.m.
Darwin/NT (ACST) – 9:30 a.m.
Perth/WA (AWST) – 8:00 a.m.

18.5 (Friday, March 23rd) is the same.

Main image: Samantha Briggs/Instagram

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These Elite Athletes Explain Why Mentality is Everything

In Episode 2 of The Journey, we caught up with elite athletes Tom Lengyel in Geelong and Jordan Bender in Melbourne. With multiple appearances between them at Regionals and the Games — and with their eyes on qualifying as individuals this year — it’s safe to say Lengyel and Bender know a thing or two about CrossFit. Each athlete gave us a glimpse into his training and nutrition; and while no two people are the same, there’s one thing that is the same across both Lengyel and Bender’s lifestyle: the importance of the right mentality.

It might sound cheesy or cliche but it’s completely true: mindset is everything. This is something Bender can vouch for, as he does almost all of his training alone. In Episode 1, Luke McMahon and Matt McLeod described how training together gives them each the motivation they sometimes need to get through a particularly grueling workout. In Bender’s case, his motivation, that extra push, comes from one place: his own mind. No one reminds him to eat well and get adequate rest. It’s on him.

Lengyel’s approach is slightly different. He shared with TWL how pivotal his relationships have been in his athletic pursuits. Having friends who understand his goals means they know when he needs support and encouragement, and when he needs space. Because his friends help him get through hard times, Lengyel is all the more motivated to make them proud.

They’re two different approaches that have gotten each athlete very far in life.


Fitness as a lifestyle is something else both athletes touched on. Past lessons taught Lengyel to approach his training with more professionalism. What happens outside the gym is as important as, if not more important than, what happens inside the gym. This helps him stay on track with nutrition and recovery.

It’s a sentiment Bender echoes, adding one important point: while competing (and fitness in general) is indeed a lifestyle, it’s vital you find balance. Sometimes, you bring the gym home with you and it becomes the center of your world. You can get to a place where your performance in the gym determines if you have a good or bad day. This will end badly, Bender notes, explaining fitness should be a part of your life — not your whole life — and something that enhances it. It shouldn’t feel like a chore. It should bring you happiness.

Is a positive and balanced mindset something you’re still working on? We all are! Check out the full episode below; and if you haven’t already, be sure to visit Episode 1.

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Try This “Spicy” WOD From Tia-Clair Toomey

If a WOD has the fittest woman on earth doubled over and breathing heavy, you know it’s a tough one. Tia-Clair Toomey recently shared a rather challenging WOD she and some gym buddies took on, and now we’re itching to try it ourselves. It involves two rounds of 30 hang power cleans, 30 front squats, and 30 push presses. That’s certainly one way to get the heart pumping! See her video clip below.

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Here’s How Tia-Clair Toomey Practices Overhead Stability

Strength, balance, and mobility are key to proper technique for overhead movements. You need to feel in control of the barbell and stabilize your spine — this will make you feel secure when performing any overhead movement as your core is tight, arms are locked out and legs are active. There are numerous ways to practice overhead stability, as Tia-Clair Toomey — CrossFit Games 2017 champion — showed in an Instagram post. By using two weights on each side, Tia strengthens her core and balance, so that neither of the bumper plates touch the floor.

Main Image: Tia-Clair Toomey/Facebook

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What Keeps Your Members Coming Back?

The success of your gym as a business and the personal success of your athletes in their own goals depend on how often and how willing your athletes are to come back. Consistency is key when it comes to improvement. To find out what makes a client come back for me, look at it from their perspective. Ask yourself this question: why would I want to keep coming back to this gym, in particular?

Facilities and Equipment

Look around your box. Do you have the right equipment? Do you have enough equipment? If your box caters to a specific niche, then make sure the equipment you have caters to that niche. It doesn’t take much to start a CrossFit box, but you have to make sure that your clients can get the most out of what you have.

The overall quality of your building also matters. Are the pipes working properly? Is the place clean and pleasant? Keep the showers working right and make sure that everyone feels comfortable. Every detail matters — from a functioning water fountain to the scented candles you keep in the bathroom.

Community

Building a community is more important than you think. Your box isn’t just a space where people go to use the equipment, and then go home. CrossFit is, and always should be, a community. Your members should not feel intimidated by going to your box, and they should not be scared to go back either.

Newbies will always feel excited about the introductory course. The drive is there because they just started. The challenge is to keep them excited enough to move forward with general classes. You can do this by making them feel like they belong and are welcome any time. If your new guys can feel like they can approach anyone for help, then they will be braver to take on tougher classes. One small thing that makes a huge difference? Learn everyone’s name. Everyone’s. Greet them every time they walk through your doors, and initiate conversation.

Not everyone will be in a great mood 24/7. You can help pick up the mood by simply saying hello. It takes very little effort to smile and greet everyone, and it goes a long way.

If you have unhappy customers, you may need to do a check to see what’s going on. Do your coaches focus more on athleticism rather than your members’ well-being? Is your pricing reasonable? Do you deliver on your promises? You can’t just assume that everything’s A-OK. Remember to do some pulse checks with your members to know how they’re feeling. This way, when someone’s not happy, you can get to the bottom of the problem and fix it.

Even if everything seems to be going smoothly, consider holding monthly surveys to ask for members’ feedback. Sometimes, they’ll feel more comfortable submitting things anonymously, rather than coming straight to you.

Now What?

Once you’ve figured out what it is that keeps your members coming back and what stops them from coming back, take action. Fix what needs to be fixed. Capitalize on what encourages them to return. Improve it. Add more to it. If you need help, go get it. After all, this is a community.

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Remember that your business is here because you want to make people’s lives better. You want to help them bring positive change to their lives. Have a clear understanding about what they love about it and don’t lose sight of your vision, mission and your core values.

You will be happy with the results.

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5 Mobility Tips for CrossFit Athletes

mobility

Mobility: it’s crucial that athletes maintain and optimise their bodies to ensure they perform at their peak for longer. The WOD Life had the opportunity to catch up with Australia’s Kelly Starrett and Jon Park from WOD Health. Jon shares these five fantastic tips and hints for better mobility.

1. Use mobility to recover and prevent injury, not just once you have pain

Using different mobility tools can help!

  • Improve your joint range of motion from chronic poor posture or previous injuries.
  • Regain normal joint range and function following intense workouts — this allows you to achieve good positioning in your next WOD.

2. Mobility does not fix everything

Some people mobilise their shoulders repeatedly but complain that they are still getting shoulder pain. In some cases, it is not their shoulder mobility that is the problem but their thoracic spine. In other cases, people are not maintaining good shoulder control during WODs; so no matter how much mobility they do, they keep impinging the joint. Mobilise to restore normal joint range, then control movement to maintain joint function.

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3. It’s not always about hip tightness

Are you one of those CrossFitters that always has tight hips — mobilising with bands, massaging a lacrosse ball into the glutes and doing the couch stretch — yet you still have hip tightness? Mobility works, plain and simple; so you are either doing it wrong, or you are moving your pelvis in a way that closes down the front of your hip joint, creating anterior hip tightness as you get deeper into the squat. Go back to basics and check your hip hinge: can you squat without the gap between your pubic bone (top of your pelvis at the front) and sternum changing?

Sometimes, mobilising the hips just allows you to go deeper with poor technique!

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4. Do not forget your ankles

Can you place your toes 10cm (4in) from the wall, keep your heels on the ground, knee over the foot and touch the knee to the wall?

The number of CrossFitters working hard to achieve a good squat technique and mobilising every other area of their body but not the ankles is constantly surprising. It is very hard to keep your centre of mass over the middle of your feet if your ankles don’t allow you to move forward. To compensate, you will increase trunk angle or lose midline stability. Either of these will lead to loss of strength and power due to poor efficiency.

5. Your thoracic spine likes rotation as well as extension

The thoracic joints require extension and rotation to function optimally. Your upper back is the most important area needing mobilisation for all overhead activities. You need to achieve good thoracic extension to actively position the shoulder blades for optimal shoulder movement and strength. Thoracic extension and rotation muscles help create tension through the trunk, increasing the midline stability. Optimal thoracic extension and rotation will assist your performance with jerks, handstand pushups, pushups, pull ups and overhead squats, just to name a few.

ABOUT WOD HEALTH 

Jon Park is an APA Sports Physiotherapist and a CrossFit addict. Jon has been involved with treating CrossFit related injuries for more than three years and has been a CrossFitter for more than three years.

Jon has been teaching mobility and movement techniques since 2012 to the CrossFit community. These workshops came from the love of CrossFit and the number of preventable injuries that Jon was seeing. These workshops help the individual athlete or coach recognise problematic joint restriction and/or movement patterns that lead to injury and how to correct these problems.

Qualifications

  • APA Sports Physiotherapist
  • Masters in Sports Physiotherapy
  • Certified FMS
  • Level 1 CrossFit Trainer

Experience:

  • More than 10 years working as a physiotherapist
  • Over four years treating CrossFit injuries
  • CrossFit addict for more than three years
  • Ex AFL physiotherapist for St Kilda FC 2008- 2011
  • Current Australian Motocross and Supercross championship physiotherapist

Consulting:

Langwarrin Sports Medicine Centre and Elsternwick Physiotherapy Centre

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Here’s How Tia-Clair Toomey Gets Her Six-Pack Abs

When talking about the fittest woman on earth, one thing comes to mind:

Abs.

Also, insane strength, inspiring dedication, and a killer work ethic. Tia-Clair Toomey is all of the above and more, and fans were thrilled to finally see her standing at the top of the podium at this year’s CrossFit Games. While her list of qualities is a lengthy one, we’re not afraid to admit we’re dying to know how she has such a killer six-pack. Lucky for us, Toomey has been generous enough to share some of her favorite exercises for staying so lean and shredded. Here are some of her top core workouts.

1. Windshield Wipers

Don’t be fooled — these are way tougher than they look. Try one. Seriously — just one. Hanging from the bar (and making sure you’re not sinking into your shoulders), bring your toes as close to the bar as possible and lower them to one side. Bring them back and then lower them to the other. Repeat until your abs burn with the fire of a thousand suns.

2. Ab-Blasting Tabata

This one combines windshield wipers and sit-ups in the form of a tabata. See how many rounds you can get through before you enter the pain cave.

3. Planks on Planks

Planks are so challenging because they burn literally everywhere. If you’re feeling a little feisty and want to be tough like Tia-Clair, try adding weight like she did!

Main image: Tia-Clair Toomey/Facebook

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The 2017 CrossFit Invitational Teams

We all anxiously await November 5th, when the Reebok CrossFit Invitational — what they call the “all-star game” — will come to Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The fittest men and women from around the globe will come together in teams and once again bring the action to the competition floor.

CrossFit knows how much we love being held in suspense, but we now know who will be representing the four regions — and you won’t be disappointed.

Canada: Alessandra Pichelli, Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault, Brent Fikowski and Patrick Vellner will form a team coached by former Games champion Camille Leblanc-Bazinet.

Europe: Bjorgvin Gudmundsson, Sara Sigmundsdottir, Annie Thorisdottir and Jason Smith will come together to compete as a team for the first time. They will be coached by Samantha Briggs.

USA: Coached by Adam Neiffer, Tennil Reed-Beuerlein, Kari Pearce, Scott Panchik and Noah Ohlsen will represent the USA.

Pacific: Rob Forte, James Newbury (who will also coach), second fittest woman on earth Kara Webb, and Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey are ready to represent on home soil.

Stay tuned as we release updates!

Main image: CrossFit/YouTube

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The Fittest Woman on Earth Got Hitched and Didn’t Tell a Soul

She topped the podium. She took home the grand prize. She’s a source of inspiration for athletes the world round. And now, she’s a married woman. Tia-Clair Toomey said “I do” to her now-husband (and coach) this past weekend, and nobody had even the slightest clue it was happening.

Toomey and Shane Orr swapped vows in front of friends and family at the top-secret ceremony, where the athlete traded in her traditional gym gear for a beautiful gown. The CrossFit superstar shared pictures of the memorable evening, exchanging a sweet kiss with her husband, dancing the night away and staying warm by the fire.

Although we’re slightly offended we weren’t invited (kidding!), we’re so happy to see these two lovebirds in such a sweet moment. Congratulations, you two, and here’s to a long and wonderful marriage.

A post shared by Tia-Clair Toomey (@tiaclair1) on

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A post shared by Tia-Clair Toomey (@tiaclair1) on

Main image: Tia-Clair Toomey/Facebook (photo taken by Michael Coppola)