With the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games airing this week on ESPN2, two-time defending Games champions Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir sat down for an online chat with CrossFit fans to answer questions about their diet, training, and what life is like as the two "Fittest on Earth."
Since such a huge part of CrossFit concerns diet and how it affects not only exercise, but overall life performance, CrossFitters have remained curious about the two champions' diets since they won their first Games titles in 2011. A significant portion of the CrossFit community subscribes to the Paleo diet, which can generally described with CrossFit's now-familiar "World class fitness in 100 words."
Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. - CrossFit Journal
The Paleo diet does not, however, include dairy. In the past, Froning has often been cited as drinking milk both before and after workouts, much to the confusion of many die-hard Paleo CrossFitters, who have discussed and debated the champion's diet at length. In the ESPN chat, Thorisdottir also revealed that she doesn't follow a strict Paleo diet, saying, "I try to eat little processed foods, clean and a lot of dairy."
Interestingly, 2010 CrossFit Games champions Kristan Clever, from Los Angeles-area Valley CrossFit, and Graham Holmberg also have gone on record saying they don't follow a strict Paleo diet. Clever said she ate "rice all the time!"
Holmberg, on the other hand, said that he "tried paleo, but hated not being able to drink milk or eat pasta. I try to eat smart, timely and clean. I definitely have cheat days though."
While the Paleo diet is often preached as the foundation of fitness in CrossFit affiliates, Froning helped clarify how elite athletes eat differently by saying, "For competition, it's a little different than doing something for your health. For competition, you just try to get calories."
Similar to their Reebok CrossFit commercials with Chad Ochocinco, Froning told fans that other professional athletes challenge the two "...all of the time. It's funny to watch people get in a normal workout and they'll take off and then they're tanked. I'll take that." Holding titles as the "Fittest" man and woman on Earth inevitably put a target on the two athletes' backs, not only from fellow CrossFit athletes, but those from other sports as well.
Regarding rest, in the past, CrossFit and affiliates around the world have often recommended "Three days on, one day off" or "Five days on, two days off." When on the elite level where Froning and Thorisdottir compete, the two weren't advocates of taking a lot of time off to let loose or recover.
Thorisdottir admitted that she "took four days off after the Games this year. That's the most in two years."
For Froning, who described himself as "miserable" after taking two days off this year, the champion said, "I know how bad I feel if I don't work out, so I know I have to work out." This isn't to say that this should be a regular training schedule for a casual CrossFitter, but rather it shows that CrossFit, and its subsequent training, is becoming just as much a year-round sport as any other professional sport has become today.
Though a three-peat wouldn't be impossible from the first-ever repeat CrossFit Games champions, the two both realize that they have skills to work on. For Thorisdottir, she said, "Always something new to work on or different weaknesses. I will try to bike more for next year." For Froning, he was less forthcoming with his weaknesses. However, he admitted that he doesn't like running and as a result, doesn't incorporate running into his training. Considering that Froning held his own on this year's triathlon at Southern California's own Camp Pendleton, the champion is undoubtedly confident in his training style.
All eyes will be on Froning and Thorisdottir in the upcoming year as the two will undoubtedly be the favorites to repeat once again as the 2013 CrossFit Games champions. With the growth of the sport spawning new commercial opportunities and locations worldwide, the prestige of being named the "Fittest on Earth" will hold future Games champions to an even higher standard than they are today.
For now, the two sitting at the top of their ever-evolving sport will continue to be analyzed and questioned by fans and competitors alike looking for an edge in either their personal or competitive growth.
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