really? That is 100% the opposite of what anyone here will tell you. You think someones going to gain 20-30lbs of muscle mass and still compete in SBR on the same level?


Also why is running the one thing he has to do at your standard of elite level in order to be fit? Why not speed skating? Why not cross country skiing? What about endurance knitting?


You really need to stop being so closed minded on this.

You also have to understand that that randomness is not completely how these guys train. Check out some of the training journals. There are definitely some WODs thrown in there, but the bulk of the training is basic periodization strength training with some endurance work thrown in. I think the idea that most of these guys simply do not have it to be world class at either pure strength or endurance sports so they try something in the middle which suits their abilities best, is spot on. There are a few very serious olympic lifters that compete in crossfit, but they aren't olympic level...but they can destroy any olympic lifter in a 5k.

For the average person who does not have the ability to spend (and recover from) 4hrs a day training because they have to have a real job and life; yes, crossfit is generally pure randomness (and not really the best method to achieving any specific goal).

That is a perfect example of my comment earlier about jack of all trades, master of none. Froning is the best at CF. he is not the best runner, he is not the best oly lifter. Don't think he claims to be either.

But right now he seems to be the best at putting those together.

While that still leaves a lot open to interpretation on level of fitness he does show a reasonable degree of mastery in many different athletic events. To me that does sort of define being fit more than being the very best at one thing.

Congrats to the World Champion of Crossfit!!!!

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

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I am a bit ambivalent about leg shaving. Once or twice a year is ok (but more than ideal).
I am stuck in the 1970-1990s when it comes to chest and ball shaving. (I don't go for it.)
Can I still participate in crossfit?

Maybe I can still be fit. Just not the fittest in the world.

I'll second that.

One thing is for certain, Eaton is likely to have the world's most athletic kids. His wife is the reigning silver medalist in both the heptathlon and pentathlon. Decent genetics.

 
Professional triathletes and cyclists are horrific in the weight room. Even track cyclists who focus on the 1k are not incredibly powerful in the weight room. There are some track cyclists who are decent in the weight room who focus on pure sprint events but that is it. We have a local young cat 1 who can spring around 1500w for 10 seconds which is pretty solid at the end of an road race considering he is 150lb. He can barely squat over his bodyweight and don't even think about him touching the pull up bar. I have found this myself that there is little relationship between cycling and any time in the weight room.

Also does anyone find it funny that triathlon is a sport based around sucking at three sports and then saying look we are decent at three sports and since we do three we are inherently better than every other athlete. Then crossfit comes along and says we are decent at everything and triathletes flip out. It's like triathletes just lost the how many sports can we suck at award.

I'm gonna have to stop you right there. A 1:30 half is a goal that I have yet to accomplish, having come within 90 seconds now on 4 occasions (2 of them this year). On every attempt my average HR was 2-4 beats OVER my LT... so each one represents a solid ~91 minutes in the pain cave. I'm extremely happy that a 1:30 1/2 marathon is easy FOR YOU. I'm thrilled that a sub-20-minute 5k is no big deal IN YOUR BOOK... but for a lot of us athletes, it's a huge deal, a massive accomplishment, something to train for in my case for years, and something to celebrate. Like I said, I'm glad you have such strong natural running ability. Well done. But you're way out in left field if you think you're a typical runner by any stretch.

That's all. Can we go back to mocking the "I can do 40 dead hang pull-ups" guy some more?

-Eric

Given a year to train solely on running, who on here honestly believes that Froning would not be capable of a 1:30 half-mary...and still be WAY stronger than motoguy? The guy has rowed a half-mary in competition under 1:20, after having completed another event that morning.

We all get it, according to motoguy endurance running is the end-all be-all of "fitness".

I wish my spermlets had that much talent. The sperm bank won't even take a gallon of it for less than a buck.

One spermlets of his is worth a 1000 of mine.

You mean, you are not good at lifting things, therefore your view is that strength is not an important component of "fitness"? Color me shocked.

I didn't intend it that way. I'm not typical, no, but I'm not elite either, and I'm nowhere near the best triathlete runner by any means, but I'm not being proclaimed as the fittest in the world, but I can make short work of the guy that is.. at least in running over about 1-2 miles. Yes, He can probably pick up my car and throw it at me, and that's pretty damn cool. He can pick it up and carry it 50y... even cooler. But he can't carry his own weight 3 miles in under 18 minutes. That's not impressive if you are the best.

I think the fittest guys would be somewhere between him and an IM pro. A guy that really good but not elite at lifting, runner, swimming AND cycling.

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This is exactly what i don't get. He says froning can't be the fittest because he is only good at one sport, but then is basing this entirely on his allegeded lack of performance in 1 sport.

What you keep ignoring is he is that guy.

He is strong, much stronger than me and probably anyone in this post, but he isn't really that strong in regards to the world of strength training.

His 5k time while it isn't to your elite level is probably top 1% of the population

his rowing 1:20 for a half marathon shows he has endurance, what is your time for that in comparison?

He has done events with swimming and running and done well. I have no clue about anything with bikes but as others have pointed out on a watt bike he had power so some time in the saddle would probably make him quick.


He is literally the guy you say is capable of being the fittest he just needs to get a bike and not hate running (he is quotes as saying he hates running and I'm there with him)

Actually after hearing that the events of crossfit are kept secret to last second....I'm more in agreement that Froning very well could be the fittest man....that is until he dies at age 55 from steroids......

.....but wait...he denies steroid use w a blank, innocent stare, seems like an all American stand up guy, and gives a lot to charity. Nobody in this world could be that much of a lying hypocrite for so long a time....oh wait woops.........

He doesn't run a good half-mary because the demands of his "sport" do not necessitate training for it, but you can not deny that his rowing suggests his aerobic capabilities are pretty impressive.

He is trying to put "fitness" into a neat little box to support his own triathlete narrative. So myopic.

And that is stated, not in pink, knowing that endurance sports are just as (if not more rife) with anabolic and other PED use as any athletic endeavor on the planet.

Keep in mind, that for well above average runners, 1:30 is still very pedestrian...if your a world class athlete. I think Appollo Ohno can run a 1:30 right now.

My PR is actually 1:17... I just picked 1:30, because that sounded like a mark he'd still struggle to hit. I'm sure he could run sub 1:20 given a year or so to train.

I think you're still missing my point. To be the fittest you need to apparently be really good at strength events...and I guess rowing, just ok at cycling and comparatively suck at running and probably swimming too. That's still doesn't hit my definition of fittest. But if it does for you, great. I just expect more from the fittest guy in the world.

So why isn't an athlete that very good at running, swimming cycling, and probably rowing too I imagine, but sucks at lifting, be the fittest? So 3 out of 4 is OK for a cross fitter, but not OK for a triathlete? To clarify, I'm not proclaiming Gomez, or LVL as the fittest in the world. I don't think a competition exists currently to clearly identify that individual.

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So what about an athlete that seems to be quite good at those things and doesn't' suck at lifting?

I can understand fixating on say a half or full marathon from an endurance standpoint, I think in order to say you are the fittest you have to show some aerobic endurance, which is why I laugh at the decathlon claims when the longest event is sub 5 minutes. If you turn that endurance into the rowing he has proven he can do and not fixate on running for a second then he has shown he has it.

You are the one saying he can't do a sub 1:30 half marathon but his 5k time and rowing times would indicate he could, he hates running so you probably won't see him do it.


You are right there really isn't an event that proves it all, CF happened to trademark it, your beef is with them not him. What makes him any less able to use his title then the heavyweight champion of the world? or Ironman champion?

Doesn't nutrition play a small part in fitness? Sounds like the guy's a cheeseburger away from a heart attack.

He is stronger (by almost every available metric) than 99.99% of adult males, can row (for short or long distances) better than 99.99% of adult males, and can beat 95%+ adult males in a 5k run...all at the same time. You need to get it out of your head that SBR for long distances is the only component of fitness; he would not just beat, but embarrass any professional triathlete at anything "fitness" related that isn't SBR for long distances. Not at just three things, but at anything.

Stop with the "fittest man" nonsense that you have already concluded is impossible to determine (yeah, it is because the definition is totally subjective). If you have a competition and pick at random 100 different fitness-related endeavors, IMO Froning has a solid chance of winning. A pro triathlete, or endurance athlete of any kind, does not.