Now the doubter's know they are truly the fittest on the earth. I guess I became too invested into triathlon to go in crossfit when it started coming up. Didn't like how you didn't know workout till last minute, but now you are told in advance, which made me try some of the open 20.x workouts this year (if I had access to equipment).. I did enjoy it

As with most athletes you only see on TV, you never really appreciate just how big some of these guys are. I'd seen him pop up in my Insta feed a couple of times (in a Tri setting), and thought this guy looks pretty solid. But then I saw him on the run course at IMWA, while I was offering free advice with a beer in hand post 70.3 finish. This dude is thicc. He is literally a ball of muscle and I was really impressed with the efficiency that he appeared to be running with at his size. Unlike Nick Bare, who people may have seen crossing from body building to Ironman, James Newbury looks like an athlete. The dude is big and ripped, but looks powerful, like a Rugby No.7, or an NFL RB.

Interesting you mention Nick Bare. Good comparison of body builder(Nick) versus athlete (James) He didn’t do so bad either for his first go. I like Nick okay. His videos were entertaining at times, but yeah, cool you saw James on the course. He is truly fit and athletic. Now if we can get Mat Fraser out there. ;) and to do that after a major bike crash is epic!

American only on this forum, please.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

He and his girlfriend also seem like they are just real nice folks. Maybe it’s the Aussie accent. That was a treat to watch. I’m not drawn to full IM distance- I think I’ll stick with the 70.3- but I do love seeing people choose a different modality and tackle it.

now this makes me feel like shit...


400m = 53
5k = 18:44


deadlift = 534


his background is rugby.


On that note, a local guy in SD kicks butt in tri and has rugby history. hmmm.

My bad. Translation: athletic pest, usually abnormal strength to size ratio, above average endurance to muscle mass ratio. Google David Pocock.

My take: It's not that Crossfitters are the fittest in the world and, on that basis, able to step right into a triathlon and do well. It's also not that they are fitter athletes than triathletes. The reason is that he's already an athlete who is accustomed to working hard, and in a structured way, towards some performance objective.

For starters, being the fittest in the world is impossible to prove, and that's assuming people could even agree on a single metric that indicates how fit you are compared to the next person. Second of all, Crossfit named their own competition fittest in the world. It's like when the NFL and NBA crown their champion the champion of the world, even though they are American sports leagues. American football doesn't even really exist in other countries...

The guy is just a beast and accustomed to putting in the hard work to achieve big things. He knows how to set goals, research coaches and training programs, stick to a plan, push himself hard, eat well, sleep well, and function as an athlete. Crossfit takes a lot of strength and endurance, but they do hard and heavy lifts. They are accustomed to the suffering that comes with training and competing. They can deal with it well.

And with that, I'm inclined to say someone like Kipchoge or any number of top, elite triathletes are the fittest people in the world.

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Nourish - Sports Nutrition Made Easy

100% agree on the subjectivity of "fittest on the planet". Personally, I believe that I am the fittest man on the planet. I just havn't figured out how to measure it or who to measure myself against. It's also in my best interest to not validate my claim......so as not to upset someone else.

So what's up with doing a 7 day fast after an ironman? Is that a crossfit thing to fast for a week at a time, or just something else crazy in his life??

As I recall watching some old crossfit competitions, they always had some endurance events thrown in too? Remember a triathlon once, maybe 45+ minutes or so, and some beach stuff that takes nearly an hour. So it is not completely out of their realm to have a certain level of endurance, even the power events take some time, and they do a lot of them over and over. It's a good effort to be able to do an ironman in 10+ hours, but keep in mind that 60+ year old dudes crush that time, and in Kona too!!!

Have to say he has one hell of a support crew in his girlfriend, she really helps round out that hour or so of vid time...

The whole time I was thinking "It looks like Durian Rider and Freelee have moved into the UFC House"... :-)

Fitness is resistance to fatigue. He’s not the fittest anything.

Also, I’d take anything these vector sport guys do with a grain of salt...

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

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Not debating the test for fittest in the world, just noting the man’s accomplishments. I totally agree by the way, especially with this last year at the Games, the tests were very skewed. Just showing that athleticism can come in many forms.

It's worth mentioning that even when he's going full-bore on training for the Crossfit Games, he still bikes a fair bit and swims some (he's an Aussie so there's probably also some level of swimming in his past). He's noted many times on Instagram and in his videos that likes to do an easy 2h on his TT bike as a recovery workout. On top of all of that, at his level with so many events in a day at the Games, recovery and the event as a whole has a large aerobic component (https://opexfit.com/...aining-for-crossfit/). It's feasible to do triathlon work as his aerobic base building for his actual sport. These guys train in similar volumes to pro triathletes - the manner of the majority of the work is different, but having an elevated heart rate for 3-5h/day is definitely going to have a generally positive effect.

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"Don't you have to go be stupid somewhere else?"..."Not until 4!"

And how much can kipchoge lift over his head? CrossFit is open to anyone. They post 5 workouts that range across many varying athletic feats. You prove you can do the workout via video or certified facility, and get ranked . From there you get invited to the competitions. Kipchoge, is the fittest endurance runner in the world. But not overall fitness

You mean a number 6...

In regards to Newbury. If you train hard and long enough for a specific sport you'll probably do ok when you've got higher level genetics.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

No I’ll stick with 7. Do you look at Dean Mumm and think “now there’s a freak athlete”?

I have found a new level of respect for CrossFit athletes, as I recently started doing cross fit in the off season. But looking at his size, I’m only going to believe he can do :53 sec 400m when I see it.

Dean's a big lad. But traditionally the blindside is your big guy unless you're South African and then they put the Massive man out on the openside. Dean also played a bunch of lock...

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I think we’re imagining different shapes here. I’m talking 7 as the more complete athlete. More power to weight and more endurance. Hence my reference to David Pocock. And taking this back to the original topic, James has the shape of a 7, of the more Australian mold. Actually looks a lot like the vintage George Smith with the dreads, only ripped.

Having been 10 feet away from Pococks biceps...I agree. But he and Hoops are also shorter than Newbury which is why I'd say he more resembles a 6 than a 7 unless we're shaping a guy off McCaw.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Newbury is a great athlete and great ambassador of CF. Glad he did well at his first full.


.

I would personally take XC skiers as the most well rounded athletes. They regularly lift weights and do plyometrics and use their whole body. A 5k skate race is one of the hardest things I've done, harder than cyclocross or a short track MTB race.

Having seen James running I’m certain he’s not at McCaw height. If he’s taller than David it’s only be by an inch at most.