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Winners are grinners. Rich Froning taking it all in. Source: YouTube



AFTER four days of gruelling competition, Rich Froning faced a cheering crowd with his arms spread wide.

He was embracing the moment for he had just won his fourth consecutive CrossFit Games and was now considered the fittest person on Earth.
“It feels good,” he told CNN following his 2014 CrossFit Games victory.
“It’s what I train for all year, it’s the ultimate goal. The title’s just the title. Winning the CrossFit Games is what I’m most happy about.”
The 27-year-old had just spent the past four days running, swimming, climbing, pulling, pushing and squatting his way to victory against 43 finely tuned athletes.
“CrossFit is lifting heavy weights, being strong … it’s also running, it’s swimming, it’s rowing, it’s biking. It’s getting outside the gym,” he said.
“I think we did a lot of outside-the-gym CrossFit this year and that was a little different than years past.”
Immediately following his victory, Froning announced he was retiring from professional competition, which no doubt came as welcomed news to those who felt the wrath of the athlete over the past four years.
Now, as the 2015 games approach, a new breed of competitors are getting ready to battle it out for the title of the world’s fittest person.

And the gladiators who sign up for punishment at this year’s games will really have to earn the title.
Elite competitors Miranda Oldroyd and Pat Barber have both admited to puking during competitions.
“I have noticed a major correlation of vomiting when the stakes are raised,” Oldroyd told The CrossFit Journal.
“I have never gotten through an entire competition without puking at least once.”
As the event changes its platform each and every year, the 2015 competitors are in for new challenges never seen before on the world stage.
But, just how does one create a gruelling environment to challenge some of the most in-shape athletes in the world, while also providing riveting viewing for avid spectators of the sport.
For CrossFit co-director of training and Games director, Dave Castro, the planning starts a year in advance with his ideas posted to a massive whiteboard.
“I take inspiration for CrossFit Games workouts from everything from sports to art to theatre,” he told Men’s Health.
One such source of inspiration came while Mr Castro was watching the sprint biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
In the event, athletes cross-country ski three laps around a three kilometre track, while taking 10 target shots between each lap.
If the athlete misses a shot of the target, they are required to ski a 150 metre penalty lap. The first participant to finish all three laps wins.
“I loved the event,” he said.
“I wondered how can I incorporate that concept into The Games?”
As a result, a signature challenge known as the “muscleup biathlon” was debuted at the 2014 CrossFit Games.
The event saw athletes perform a 400 metre run before performing a set of 12 to 18 unbroken muscleups (a body weight pull-up followed by a dip).
If the participant failed to achieve the required set of muscleups, they had to perform at 200 metre penalty lap. Similar to the Olympic race, the first person to finish the task won.
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The CrossFit Games push competitors to the limit. Source: Supplied



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Dave Castro, the sadistic man behind the CrossFit Games. Source: YouTube



While wanting to create an event that pushes some of the world’s fittest athletes to breaking point, Mr Castro said he is very diligent in ensuring the competition remains viable.
According to the 37-year-old, it is lifting heavy weight that usually troubles athletes the most.
To counter this, he spends time in CrossFit gyms analysing the sports best athletes.
“I constantly monitor what kind of numbers the top competitors are putting up,” he said.
However, Mr Castro is quick to admit, as the sport evolves, the numbers these athletes can handle improves.
“I never thought we’d include 400-pound dead lifts,” he said.
“We recently included a workout that had a 405-pound dead lift for reps. It’s completely possible that we’ll have a 500-pound dead lift in the next five or ten years.”
Mr Castro added, such is the competitive nature of the games, even with weight entirely removed, competitors constantly push the limits.
“Even if the workout is something like 100 air (body weight) squats for time, the athletes will do them incredibly fast,” he said.
“The stakes are so high that anything becomes a great test.”
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Rich Froning is the fittest man on Earth. Source: Supplied



To truly test the ability of the athletes on the sport’s biggest stage, Mr Castro said the competitors will only have details on half of the workouts prior to the event.
He said some events only become known to athletes 30 seconds before the starting whistle.
“We want the athletes to be able to perform on demand,” he said.
“Being truly fit it is the ability to show up and do something without having time to rehearse.”
Mr Castro said all these elements help make the event a spectacle for sports fans wanting to catch a glimpse of the athletes undertaking these gruelling challenges.
“We design the workouts so you can see the athletes advancing through the event,” he said.
“You should be able to get up, get a hot dog, and then come back to your seat and see whose winning.”
 
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