1. h wrote...

As cool as that is, there won't be a single competitor there for that prize money. It's for something else, and that something else is what drives me to get better every day.

2. Freddy the Follower wrote...

Yeah, me too...I want people, no, I want COACH to like me...

3. Miranda 801 wrote...

NICE!! Just another reason to leave it all out there I guess!! Good luck everyone. I hope the person who deserves it the most gets it.

4. Surrey Sterling wrote...

I don't get F.T.F comment....Nice to see the prize money is not some large sum of cash. Keep'in it about the prestige of competing with the best in the world. Very nice!

5. Kris Shamloo wrote...

[creepyinternetcrush] The winner last year got to hug Nicole! Thats prize enough [/creepyinternetcrush]

6. Dan wrote...

Deadly serious, Greg

7. James wrote...

$5k should just about cover the plane ticket, hotel, car, gas, and food to fly out and compete. But don't forget about the lifetime supply of Panda Express!

Fittest On Earth is a sweet trophy to have on the mantle and worth more than any cash. But damn, next year I'll hit up blackberry for more. Economy ain't that bad.

8. Joshua Eckert wrote...

Two questions.

1. Did I hear right that Coach Glassman is changing the competition and adding new workouts that no one has done yet?

2. Why haven't I heard about this making a TV network, you'd think at least something like VS would be interested in it. I mean you've got competition, showing hot girls for the guys (and some girls), showing hot guys for the girls (and some guys) what would could be better for TV.

9. Martin wrote...

The winner should consider donating the money to a cause (e.g. family fund for fallen heroes). Sponsors should match the amount.

10. Jake wrote...

I wish this event were untainted by money. Utopian thought, I know, but it would be nice if it were done just for the love of this sport. The thing is, the money is not needed, everybody there just loves to compete.

11. Dave wrote...

I'm with Greg on the "fittest person on Earth" stuff. It's great that the winner gets some prize money.

12. Chef wrote...

Greg, Suggest to 'your' candidate for Fittest Person On Earth that the winner of the CF Games would like him/her to join a challenge. 15 events from their camp, 15 events from CF put into two hats: three of their random pic and three of ours over three days. Two a day.

13. jamie@CFA wrote...

Greg... When someone goes faster than anyone else in the world in an event that last less than 9 seconds we call him the fastest man on earth.He is the fastest man on earth until someone proves they are faster. Why should that not apply when some goes the fastest over 4 workouts that span broad time and modal domains? seems there is more evidence here than in a 9 second sprint. The invitation was put out last year by Dave to prove it wrong .. no one did... he offered money for someone to prove him wrong... he even went as far as saying he would go to aromas and set it up for that person to challenge the claim.. still no one did .. So other than you're opinion can you provide something with some substance.

14. KTB wrote...

Are you kidding me with the first post??? Why do you think people compete? So that we can feel good about ourselves? No...that is why we train hard, so we feel good! You compete to win...and if you aren't there with aspirations to win then why the hell even show up? I hate defeatist attitudes when it comes to competition...if you are gunna show up you better win...not just compete for the sake of competing

15. KTB wrote...

and to answer Joshua's (2) comment

The reason that there is no TV coverage is because this isn't some sanctioned sport. It is a great event...but at the end of the day...it is still just working out. TV companies run off ratings and I am sorry...CrossFit just doesn't have the national pull to draw millions of viewers to a TV show. These TV companies make money off of the advertisements that they run during commercial and if there aren't enough people watching...then the advertisers aren't going to show up

16. Kat wrote...

It's great that there is more prize money and sponsorship involved, because like someone else said that $5,000 (depending where you are from) will help pay for the airfare and hotel to get to the Games.

But I know the majority of the competitors aren't there for the money or prizes. The title of 'Fittest Man/Woman' and winning the competition is enough. Everything else is bonus.

17. Greg H wrote...

What's the deal with Panda Express as a sponsor? Seems a bit out of place compared with the other sponsors...

18. Michael "Matraca" Bledsoe replied to comment from KTB...

Actually, there was rumor that they had been approached by Spike, or Fuel or some TV station like that. The TV people had some requests that CrossFit just wasn't going to make room for.

19. Ken wrote...

Greg,

Trust me, there is no point in raising this issue. While crossfit is a great program, it has been severely tainted by nutjobs and elitists who want to carve their name into athletic history. All you'll get is ridiculous comments like Jamie's, where they will somehow see it feasible to compare the competitor pool of the games to the olympics. The absurdity of that statement alone should let you know it's a lost cause. In fact, when a few people raised the fact a couple months ago that quite a few of the regional qualifiers winners had only been crossfitting for a couple months, they were met with absurd rambeling about modal domains and the time-space continuum.

Enjoy the games for what they are, and try to tune out the whackjobs rabble rousing in the corners about how this decides the fittest person on the plane. It's a great competition, but just that.

20. SSgt B USMC MCAS Miramar wrote...

"Fittest person on the planet"

Worthy title if you ask me.

21. d.dot wrote...

Regards to TV coverage. I happen to know (i work in the industry) that many production companies have approached regarding coverage of the sport/Games but most have had their own agendas on how to "tweak" the sport to make it more "tv friendly". Because of this, no deals have been made and the integrity of the Games and CrossFit remains intact.

22. sam wrote...

Shouldn't the title of fittest person on earth go to the world record holder of the decathlon?

Crossfitters are very fit people, but can they match the elite times of the top decathletes?

For example, the best decathletes run 100m is less than 10.5, 400m in less than 46 seconds, javelin throw > 70m, shot put > 18m.

They are incredibly fast, strong and skilled. I have never met a Crossfitter who ran 400m in less than 50 or a 4 min mile. Bear in mind these guys are strong too, they can jump high (2m+ high jump), throw the javelin very far, put the shot etc.

Also, the top decathletes have mostly been training for most of their lives to reach this elite level. Crossfit has been going a few years. To call the top Crossfitters the fittest athletes in the world in comparison to these guys seems like hyperbole to me.

To those people saying, "well if these Olympic athletes are so fit, why don't they come to the games?".

Well there are numerous reasons why they wouldn't:

1) Crossfitters are specialists too, they practice kipping pull-ups, Olympic weightlifting, thrusters etc, all of which may be new movements to a decathlete or other elite athlete. Why would they show up to a competition to compete in events they never trained for?

2) No reason to compete. Crossfit is a small phenomenon, why would an elite Olympic athlete compete in a competition, in events they never trained for specifically, for scant reward, little recognition, and increased chance of injury?

23. Badnews wrote...

I think the fittest person on earth can be a meaningful conversation if only...

I think everyone who practices crossfit agrees in the principles of broad time and modal domains.

calling the top crossfitter the fittest person is like calling the nba champions world champs in a competition that takes place in one league in one country.

BUT i think we all agree with the principle that the more elite athletes that are drawn to crossfit the more they can claim that title. and hypothetically the point behind crossfit is to establish measurements with which to determine fitness. if people from outside the community came in and dominated everyone in the community would integrate their programming. debate over.crossfit is like the borg its all enveloping!!

24. Dave wrote...

Ken,

Well said. The problem with Chef's suggestion "Suggest to 'your' candidate for Fittest Person On Earth that the winner of the CF Games would like him/her to join a challenge. 15 events from their camp, 15 events from CF put into two hats: three of their random pic and three of ours over three days. Two a day. " is that the candidates who I would suggest are all getting paid a lot of money already. UHM...they are called professional athletes. For example, Georges St Pierre is a little busy training for his sport. Has anybody seen this guy fight? Does anybody doubt that he do 25 rds of Cindy/sub 3 Fran/sub 2min Grace etc..? Nate Robinson is a 5'10" 190 lb pt guard for the Knicks who can bench press 300 lbs, deadlift 475 lbs and jump over Dwight Howard to dunk a basketball, and can run fast and can run all day. Would anybody really suggest that he wouldn't be the favorite to win the X Fit games if he simply focused on it for about an HOUR. The NBA, NFL and OLympics are littered with athletes like this. The reason they aren't winning the Crossfit Games is because they are getting paid REALLY well to compete at their sports. How much money would Dave offer a guy like Nate Robinson to prove him wrong? It's just silly.

Crossfit is a great program, and there is quite a bit of empirical evidence to suggest that training this way will improve anybody's work capacity ABTAMD. There is no doubt about that. The winner of the X Fit games deserves the title of the "Fittest Athlete in the Crossfit Community". By the way...that's a helluva compliment as there are some incredibly fit/strong athletes. To suggest "fittest man/woman on planet" is just absurd.

25. Dave wrote...

Bad News---the guys who potentially would come in from outside the X Fit community and dominate probably wouldn't do so because of better programming, but rather because they are simply better athletes doing the same kind of programming.

26. S. Castro wrote...

"Fittest Person on the Planet" is a title. Like Miss Universe...does everyone REALLY believe she's the most beautiful, talented, poised woman in the universe?...I don't think so. But for that competition, for the effort she has put out...she is. Just like the athlete who will put in his/her effort for The Games, is titled "Fittest Person on the Plant"...deservingly so. Enough already...quite trying to burst the bubble of the true Crossfit community. Go do a WOD.

27. Russell wrote...

Disagreeing with the title "Fittest man on earth" on the basis of who didn't participate is a logical fallacy: you can't prove a negative.

Ken, I'd also like to know why you wouldn't compare a CrossFitter to someone in the Olympics. I'm just curious what qualifications you would suggest a sport or an athlete have in order to be comparable to one another. Could we compare the world's best arm-wrestler, Travis Bagent, to an Olympic sprinter? Just curious.

It would also appear that many of the criticisms surrounding the use of that title might really be better directed at our definition of "fitness".

I think assuming the lack of "big" prize money at the CrossFit games corresponds to a lack of "elite" competition is another mistake. I do agree it's fairly obvious that making CrossFit an extremely profitable sport would draw more genetically gifted athletes, but it's also pretty well documented that most great professional athletes, unless they are doing what amounts to CrossFit already, are running around with at least one or two major deficiencies in their work capacity.

the bottom line is, we can argue about it all day long, but the only thing that matters is physical evidence. So far, nothing.

28. BAM wrote...

I was already excited to compete in Aromos to be the fittest man on earth. Now this is just another motivator to train those extras im not good at. I love to see CrossFit growing like this. Steroid Testing is the next step in making this a legitimate competition.

29. Ken wrote...

S. Castro,

Where you are getting confused is that a large amount of people actually believe that whoever wins really is "the fittest person on the planet". Quite different from your Miss Universe analogy. Additionally, the terms "fittest person on the planet" and "miss universe" are quite different. One is an implicit assumption that involves every person, as opposed to just those who competed. Can you spot which one?

30. Emaumau wrote...

People - Greg is a troll. If you don't know what that is, look it up.

You people are fools to engage in a discussion that has been rehashed a million times already. I could keep this thread going for days simply by cutting and pasting arguments from the main site.....

31. BigMike wrote...

Correct me if I am wrong (but I am not); Coach Glassman said the winner of the games had 'legitimate contention as fittest person on the planet'... Hmm, sounds just a slight bit reasonable, no? What does that retired, 68 year old Decathlete look like, feel like, live like? Is he/she functional? If the answer is in the affirmative, then I would bet they are living a 'crossfit-esque' lifestyle. In the end that is what this means to me. I want to be healthy and functional for the rest of my days. God bless me if I can pass away as I collapse under a 225# split jerk!

God bless the troops & Semper Fi!

32. greg white wrote...

The title "Fittest man/woman on the planet", is very appropriate. Crossfit's definition of fitness is very specific. Is there any arguement on Crossfit's definition of fitness?

One important detail that is a con to "The Games" is the age of Crossfit. As a program and as a community, Crossfit is young. The pros are in the concepts and theories.

If celebrity athletes do not want to compete in the games for whatever reason, that just means they don't care to compete. It does not mean that they can/or want to argue the definition of fitness that the Crossfit Games upholds. If a celebrity athlete does compete and wins, that doesn't discredit Crossfit. It means that that man/woman is the fittest athlete.

All sports require specific training. Nobody can really argue that. However, Crossfit has always encouraged functional movement as the modal domain. There are much more than 10 functional movements that athletes could be competing in at the games. The number of functional movements that each Crossfitter should be ready for is more like 40+. What other competition can demand that from their athletes?

Coach Glassman will pin the title "Fittest man/woman on earth" on the chest of the person who wins with great confidence. As he should. If someone, anyone, has something to argue, compete or shut up!

33. S. Castro wrote...

Sorry...S. Castro...is for Sherry Castro. I'm a novice when it comes to Crossfit...in fact, I don't enjoy it much...but I do find it as a necessary evil in my fitness regimen. I admire those that are dedicated to Crossfit and I appreciate their strength and endurance. I won't argue over the appropriateness of the title any longer. I will say, to all the competitors...GOOD LUCK!...only 25 days to go until game time...WOO HOO!...see you at The Ranch!

34. ken wrote...

No one is bashing on crossfit. What people are calling for is a healthy dose of reality instead of exaggerated claims and the continual pissing on other sports greater achievements that is rampant on here.

35. sam replied to comment from greg white...

greg white,

The only way you could legitimately say that the winner of the Crossfit Games was the fittest individual in the world, would be if everyone in the world trained for and competed in the games.

As has been pointed out earlier, all those people who are exceptionally gifted genetically, compete in pro sports or the olympics and are sponsored millions. Examples: Usain Bolt, Michael Johnson, Rafael Nadal, Georges St Pierre. etc

Does anyone doubt that if Usain Bolt decided to start working on some Crossfit workouts, he couldn't crush them? He's undoubtedly already strong (100m sprinters do a lot of strength training), powerful, and has an inhuman anaerobic capacity.

Another example is Roman Sebrle, the only man to ever have gone over 9000 pts in decathlon.

Not saying that the athletes at the games aren't amazing but to say the winner is the fittest in the world, especially when selecting from such a small sample is pure zealotry.

36. cam birtwell wrote...

If the fittest person at last year's games was the best overall across broad time and modal domains then why were all of the major competitors finishing all of the events within 3 to 7 minutes?? Make the claim to test fitness across broad time and modal domains then ACTUALLY test across the same.

I could look at OPT in 2007 and consider him to be closer to being the "fittest person on the planet" than Khalipa in 2008 due to the actual testing of broad time and modal domains that occurred in 2007.

Regardless of perceived deficiencies in work capacity, athletes in "specialist" sports that have long histories and high profiles are the most physically genetically gifted people in the world. I support the suggestion that with limited exposure to crossfit these individuals would dominate who is crowned "fittest on the planet".

I do hope though that the ego-stroking claim by Coach will attract attention, controversy, and new challengers. Possibly in the future, the claim may actually be close to being true.

37. bret wrote...

Doesn't anyone think $5,000 is grossly underpaying these guys? Where's all the money going? Sponsors, participants and spectators are paying money towards this event.

I DO agree it shouldn't be about money and that the powers that be should get their money for putting on this event. However, $10,000 total is going out for an event that is probably raking in at least 5 to 10 times that. I mean 2nd and 3rd place will get some gear from sponsors. Somebody is banking on this and it's not the athletes

38. Russell replied to comment from bret...

I'm fairly sure that if you were to add up all of the costs of operating these games, including staff, facilities, medical and security, salaries for the full-time employees doing the work, web-design, media crews, etc. etc. you would find that whatever profit margin CrossFit is making is probably going largely back into the games themselves.

If HQ was interested in "banking" on CrossFit, we would all be working out in our living rooms with CF DVD sets.

39. ken wrote...

Russell, you can't honestly believe that crossfit is running on a small profit margin. If you don't think someone, and that someone should be obvious, is pulling bank on this whole ordeal, than you are very gullible. It amazes me that people cry Hosanna over the fact that the WOD's are free, as if this somehow is some sign of generousity by HQ. How do you think they reel people in for certs, affliation fees, merchandise, etc etc.

I have no problem with the crossfit business model, but the idiots out there claiming that HQ is some selfless "mother theresa-esque" group are sadly mistaken.

40. KTB wrote...

Ken,

I don't know who you are...but it is so nice to finally see somebody else on this Main Site that has some sense of sanity about them. There are far to many "lemmings" that have drank the CrossFit Kool-aid...

To further solidify Ken's previous comment...they charge a thousand god-damned dollars to show up for a Level 1 Cert. That is a 2-day event...and guess what...you can't fail...you just go and "learn". CrossFit has so many asinine certifications (I am still waiting for the $595 Double-Under/Jump Rope Certification to come down the pipe)...and seeing what all goes into these certs (a whiteboard, plastic chairs, and some (actually) very good insight from smarter people than I). Somebody (i.e. Gla$$man) are making a killing...and that isn't a bad thing. That is the great thing about capitalism and free-market...you can make as much money as you want.

and getting to Russell's ignorant comment about CF DVD's...try the CF Journal (which you have to pay for)...and worthwhile video that they put on the Main site is a snip-it from the journal and they just give you a teaser. But...I would like to see a P90X athlete show up and give all of these "great" CF athletes a run for their money at the games

41. Russell wrote...

I'm sure this debate has been all over every form of CrossFit-related message board. I'm also sure that most of what has been written on this thread wouldn't really fall into the category of debate... I'd say it probably comes closer to whining resentment. Even though I've got plenty of other things I should be doing right now, this thread could use some more intelligent discussion, so I'm going to try to provoke some.

Can the winner of the CrossFit games call themselves "The world's fittest person"? I'm inclined to say yes for two basic reasons:

1. The claim of "fitness" is a definition unique to CrossFit, but applicable to all. Anyone can compete, and the measurements are fixed, objective, and comparable.

2. CrossFit spans most of the globe, and has enough publicity to attract the attention of a substantially large group of athletes world-wide. This means that just about anyone, within reason, can find a way to compete if they desired.

Here are the more legitimate criticism of the title I've read so far and my reasons for disagreeing with them:

1. --"The only way you could legitimately say that the winner of the Crossfit Games was the fittest individual in the world, would be if everyone in the world trained for and competed in the games"

As I said before, this is asking CrossFit to prove a negative... a pretty illogical suggestion. This point would basically have us believe that every record ever set by a human in any sport is illegitimate because not everyone has tried it yet. And what about infants that just aren't old enough to compete? Sure. Because I like competition, and because being able to fight for titles like this is human nature, I'd rather work off the premise that if there was someone fitter out there, they should show up and prove it.

2.-- "If the fittest person at last year's games was the best overall across broad time and modal domains then why were all of the major competitors finishing all of the events within 3 to 7 minutes?? Make the claim to test fitness across broad time and modal domains then ACTUALLY test across the same."

Not a bad point. I think I'd wager that these athletes would still come out in nearly the same order if their time-domain was extended indefinitely, but I certainly see what you are saying. Trying to come up with a test that can accurately determine something as broad as "fitness", however, sounds pretty difficult to me. I'd say they did a pretty damn good job considering.

3.--"Does anyone doubt that if Usain Bolt decided to start working on some Crossfit workouts, he couldn't crush them? He's undoubtedly already strong (100m sprinters do a lot of strength training), powerful, and has an inhuman anaerobic capacity."

I'll take him on any time

And as much as I dislike these kinds of conversations:

--"Russell, you can't honestly believe that crossfit is running on a small profit margin."

Never said that. I hope it's 50%. Good for them. I said the CF Games are probably not running a very high profit margin. That's just a guess of course, but I think a fairly accurate one.

--"and getting to Russell's ignorant comment about CF DVD's...try the CF Journal (which you have to pay for)...and worthwhile video that they put on the Main site is a snip-it from the journal and they just give you a teaser.

The Journal offers you the largest source of functional-fitness and exercise physiology related media on the internet, with continually updated material, run by probably a dozen full and part-time employees, and you get to have it all for one yearly payment that's the equivalent of a single hard-back book from a book store. What are you upset about again?

42. Gregory/M2 wrote...

Is it really the fittest person on earth, or is now moving into the strongest person category? Unless the amount of weight moved is proportioned to the body weight of the athlete, it is not a true test of fitness between athletes.

Bigger athletes can move heavier weights then lighter athletes with less effort. This does not necessarily mean they are fitter.

Greg G.

43. ken wrote...

Russell,

Don't fool yourself, you're not offering anywhere near what could be mistaken for intelligent conversation. What you are offering, if it is any small consolation to you, is a line of reasoning that is anything but well thought out.

Not much to comment on your first point seeing as it mainly illicits an "...what's your point?" response. You're second point has a few glaring holes in it's premise and conclusions. "Crossfit spans the globe...", try again. There is a substantial difference between being in many places, and having many members. If tomorrow there was a crossfit gym in every country, but each gym only had 5 members, you would be an idiot to see that crossfit is a global sensation. Crossfit is still in fact not known by "many peole" if you are talking a scale based on the entire population. Honestly, world-class athletes aren't showing up to compete because...they don't care or they don't know. It's that simple. Why would they be concerned about the challange?

You're comments about proving a negative are also poorly thought through and sound like a sophomoric attempt at applying high school philosophy curriculum. It is irrelevant for this very reason, which many have said. The chances of finding someone off the street who, after a few months training, could beat usain bolt in a foot race, micheal phelps in the pool, lance armstrong on a bike, etc etc, are for all means and purposes zero. The chance of finding someone off the street who could, after few months training, win the crossfit games, is relatively high, as evidenced by many of the qualifiers winners. So your rambling about disproving every single human record ever set is just that, pure rambling.

Whining resentment? It's amusing how whenever someone, who usually is a crossfitter him/herself, tries to talk reason into the overzealous members on this site, there is always some claim about either "whining" or "send a video of yourself in!!1111!!". The Crossfit Games is a really great event that promotes a sense of community and competition. Is it impossible to just leave it at that without making moronic caims and assertions?

44. BigMike wrote...

As a Marine veteran, I am certain I can beat the last 4 post'ers asses. I can grind you into the ground with out a doubt. Why? Because I am a Jar Head and you are undoubtedly pussies, that have neither served nor put your ass on the line for anthing worth fitghting for. I certainly could be wrong. However, I would put Jason Khalipa on your doorstep, and back his ass up to the hilt! If you wish not to be part of our cult, tis your wish and God bless. However, if you want the Marine to show up on your back porch for mere folly sake, then reap the consequence bitches...

45. sam replied to comment from BigMike...

BigMike,

You may have missed the entire point of this thread of conversation. All of the participants are Crossfitters and all enjoy being part of this community. However, the point in question was whether the winner was worthy of the title "Fittest Person on Earth".

Debating this point doesn't make someone un-patriotic, neither does it mean we don't like or are being unfaithful to Crossfit. Additionally, debating certainly doesn't make someone a pussy. However, making baseless ad-hominem attacks over the internet is a waste of your time and ours.

Crossfit is based on the principle of challenging long held beliefs about nutrition and exercise science. The rest day discussions are there to encourage debate between people of different backgrounds and beliefs. If Crossfitters can't debate Crossfit without boorish posts such as your own, then what is this community coming to?

46. Dave wrote...

The problem with Russell's claim "if there was someone fitter out there, they should show up and prove it" is empty for so many reasons. Some of which were nailed by Ken. But Imagine if some of the following professional athletes decided for God knows what reason that they wanted to compete in the Crossfit games. Reggie Bush , Ladanian Tomlinson (430 lb bench, 500 lb deadlift and can run a little faster than ...well...any Crossfitter competing in the games) , NATE ROBINSON.. 5' 10" 185 lb pt guard for the Knicks who can Bench 310, DL 455 and jump OVER Dwight Howard to dunk a basketball, nevermind run very fast and can run all day, etc..... Again, the NBA, NFL and Olympics are littered with athletes like this. Is there any doubt that EVERY NFL Running Back isn't incredibly adept and balanced at the 10 general physical skills that Crossfit postulates as defining fitness? Just read them off and you will find they ALL have it.

Russell...the reason they don't show up to compete in the Crossfit Games should be fairly obvious. They are getting paid a LOT of money to do exactly what they are doing. Something tells me if any of these guys spent about an hour learning a kipping pull-up and a thruster, these guys would figure out the rest. Anyone who can't acknowledge that if Reggie Bush spent about a day learning some of these movements, that he wouldn't be a favorite to win the X Fit games is fooling themselves. Being a world class athlete matters.

I also agree with Ken's assessment about measuring different time domains.There should always be a WOD which takes 20+ mins to complete, but I also think that when measuring an athlete's capacity/fitness/athleticism speed should matter. Throw a 100 meter dash into the mix as a 5th event...every games. Why not? The fact that it's even possible to win the X Fit games while actually having the slowest 100 meter run doesn't seem to fit. I have no idea how fast j Khalipa can run the 100 mtr dash, but if it's slower than everybody else who's competing, shouldn't that matter?

Crossfit as a program is second to none. It will clearly increase anybody's work capacity ABTAMD. That's great and that's why we do it. But let's recognize that part of the reason we do it, is because we were never good enough to get paid to play a sport. The guy who wins the X Fit games is the fittest Crossfitter in the world. That's a pretty big deal when you look around and see guys like Spealler, Everett, J Khalipa, Dutch etc...competing. I think what Spealler does is unreal, especially for his size. I'm rooting for him to win it this year without question. But please don't try and convince me that the fittest/best athletes are Crossfitters. The best and fittest athletes are NFL (mostly running backs), NBA and Olympic athletes. Stop the insanity!!!

47. Omar Klos replied to comment from BigMike...

Why are you bragging about a 225lbs split jerk?

48. Jamie@CFA wrote...

Ken,
i am not going to try to bash you with insanity ... If you read what I wrote my comparison was used only as an example but I appreciate you putting words in my mouth .. its typical of internet bashers. In any sport someone can come out of the woodwroks and become the next best thing .. IN every sport their were those who were considered the greatest or best until someone bested them .. the greatest basketball player that ever played the game has changed as the game has grown .. undoubtedly it was some guy in his back yard that was untouchable... Do you think he could even hold on to the ball around a professional player now? You are trying to compare apples to oranges... Dave the organizer as I said before welcomes anyone to challenge the title. there are no zealots here (well some lol) Coach himself says show him a program that lends better to general physical preparedness and he will promote it. As for the claims about certs and such.. this shows that you really have little to no idea about CrossFit... The main page was around long before the certs .. it has always been free... Cert's came about because those who were crossfitting back then requested some subject matter expertise...Is there any doubt money is being made now.. none what so ever ..but as you claim of the page being bait on the hook shows that you truly are a troll and not an openminded athlete

49. Schyler wrote...

Well, I can't say a whole lot other than what's been said already. But anyway...

I feel that people that disagree with the title, "fittest on the planet" are simply taking it a tad too literally. "Well they not everyone on the planet competed in the games." No shit, logistically that's impossible. That would equate to lining up people across a continent to see who could run the 100m fastest. It's just stupid. Is it possible that someone out there is stronger than Mariusz Pudzianowski? Absolutely, but did he/she COMPETE? No.

Perhaps the title isn't 100% accurate, but it's not as if it's completely devoid of any legitimacy either. Stop getting so caught up in petty shit like that and enjoy the games for what they are. Watchin' people take each other on to try and decide who is the most competent at the greatest amount of things is pretty cool to me.

On a different note, I would like to see a broader scope of challenges for the participating athletes. In my opinion, the games ideally should be spread over about 10 days or so, to allow the different domains and modalities to be more accurately represented and tested. There are just too many variables to cover in only 4 workouts.

50. Ryan wrote...

Decathletes, running backs, NBA superstars...no doubt they are amazing athletes. Lebron could probably kill me with his bare hands. A decathlete could throw a javelin straight into my heart from a long distance, but no one has mentioned the power output of any of these athletes.

How much power does a decathlete put out? What about an NBA player? Have any of you who say that they are more fit ever measured their work capacity or are you just saying that they would win because they are good at their sport?

Didn't Glassman say that there will be a lot of movements in the 2009 games that no one has done in competition before? If that is the case, do you think a decathlete or michael phelps is going to have higher power output than someone who trains specifically to have increased power output? Don't all those pro athletes train specifically for their sport? I don't know. If they were to win the crossfit games, would they have to change their training or keep doing what they are doing?

I just know that whenever I see that commercial of Kobe Bryant for a more "in shape" America where he is doing dumbbell incline bench I laugh and wonder how that helps him play bball haha. I know that if I did dumbbell flys and bicep curls I wouldn't have a chance in the games. When I played basketball, that's how we all trained in the weight room. We did sprints and sweet 16s and ran up and down the court a lot during practice and games as well. Then the first time I did a crossfit style workout I had to lay down for 30 minutes because I felt so sick.

51. Ewen replied to comment from Ryan...

Ryan, by all means, compare your training experience and fitness level to Kobe Bryant's. It really helps dispel the myth that CFers are arrogant and ignorant.

52. spicoli wrote...

Ken, right on dude. Big mike you are the quintessential Marine moron. Go google quintessential to find out what it means you cerebral infant. Moving on, everyone will have differing opinions of fitness. Triathletes, cyclists, soccer players and so forth, anyone can make a case for who is the fittest person on earth. CF is a good gauge of overall fitness but not the end all be all. In my opinion BUD/S or BRC would be the measuring stick of true fitness. I wish the competitors all the best.

53. Russell replied to comment from Dave...

Dave,

speculation about how well professional athletes would do really doesn't mean much outside of your imagination. There are plenty of people way stronger than myself, and way faster, who I can beat at sprint/deadlift workouts. This is an effect of work capacity we have seen time and time again.

one more question- you obviously disagree that the winner of the Games should get this title.

so how would you go about proving who the fittest man on earth is? what would be an accurate test?

54. ken c wrote...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_re_us/us_texting_championship

the world champion texter just won $50K! that's right $50 fuckin K for being able to text message quickly and accurately. they had her text blindfolded and also while walking through an obsticle course. seems like we could come up with more money for the fittest man and woman on the planet. crossfit hq makes ten times more money in one weekend of certs than what will be paid to the winners. pay more money to the winners, attract more athletes to the games and dispell this idea that if the prize money was there it would bring out the real athletes. i'm just sayin. $50K for TEXTING! makes me want to throw up.

55. Corey Blankemeyer wrote...

its their event who cares what they call their title do you really think that they are naive enough to think that their athletes can beat professionals? they are people who workout on their own time who have other jobs. If you raise the money get TV time you will start getting professional caliber athletes.

56. sam replied to comment from Ryan...

I hate to carry on posting on this topic because it's gone too far already, however I have one point to make here.

You question the power output of decathletes. Well a number of their events are all based on power output. For example: the 100m sprint. Being a good 100m sprinter is all about work capacity and power output. That's part of the reason why Olympic Weightlifters are such good sprinters. In fact, Coach mentions this fact himself in numerous pieces of Crossfit literature.

Also look at the shot put and javelin. Both events where the decathlete has to output a large amount of energy in a short amount of time (aka high power output).

I actually think though, that the best Crossfitters in the world would be the Olympic level Oly Weightlifters, from the lower weight classes. For example: Taner Sagir ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taner_Sagir ). He weighs 170lbs and snatches 368lbs and C&J 430lb. Teach this guy to kip, send him to last years games and watch him clean up.

57. justin wrote...

Arguing on the internet? Seriously folks?

58. Alan replied to comment from KTB...

Such a true comment.
I remember when Eco-Challenge was in its full glory. All of us competitors felt it was the greatest thing in the world but at the end of the day. No one else cared what a small number of unique athletes in the world could accomplish. CrossFit has a long way to go before becoming mainstream enough to attract the necessary big ad dollars to make it a viable TV project. It would be nice to see it happen but the level of fitness, the level of intensity and the commitment that CrossFitters have to their sport will not be understood by the masses until a massive "Tipping Point" is reached.

59. JoeM wrote...

What the naysayers like ken fail to understand for all their logic is that the people that do the events are irrelevant. The right to call the winner of the games the fittest person on the earth comes not from their times of the events but its a function of the event itself.

Using CF's definition of fitness (unless you care to provide us with a better one), the CF games is an avenue to test athletes across broad time and modal domains (someone really needs to come up with an acronym for that). Yeah you might have problems with the events that come up but they were randomized from the hopper. Go blame the hopper if you have problems with it.

So if your superstar athletes want to win CF's title of fittest person on the earth, just have them email coach and see if they can get a spot. I'm sure they will be more them welcome and if they win maybe we can ask them what their workouts look like.

60. Harper wrote...

If you are making clams that you are a better athlete than a professional you need a good dose of humility.

But that's the problem with the games, pros don't want or need to come to the games because they are making millions playing their sport. Unless they were offered a large sum of money or had a really big ego and just wanted to shut up the average joe about being "more fit" than they are they wouldn't come. Makes sense and no one can blame them for that.

It doesn't seem to matter what anyone says or proves for that matter. Look at the 1:57 Fran time that was posted on the main site. Instead of kudos for setting the record for Fran almost everyone bashed Rhabado (however you spell it). Claiming that they could do that if their range of motion was that "short" or "crappy." Like your ROM is 100% when you are going balls to the wall on Fran or any other WOD. So even if lets say Reggie Bush came out and won the CF games alot of people would make the claim that they were just as fit if not fitter than him. They would brag about how they only finished X minutes, seconds behind Reggie Bush and he's a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE!

Seems to me that people are confusing fitness and athleticism. When someone beats someone else in a WOD they automatically believe they are a better athlete than they are. That's not what the WOD proves but in the back of your mind you think you are a better athlete than the person you beat (and don't try denying it). People on here are saying bring on Usain Bolt, Reggie Bush, and Kobe Bryant; you're crazy. You are out to prove that you are a better athlete than they are not that you are more fit than they are. The truth is that they are better athletes than you are, that is why they get paid and you don't. It's already been said before on here that being an elite athlete matters. If you were to take on one of these pros my money would be on the guy who makes a living being an athlete not the guy who worksout on a 3 on 1 off schedule.They are ELITE because they are BETTER than you at being an athlete. Let it go!

61. DT wrote...

Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of the day, everything about CF is Greg Glassman's world, nobody else's, and you either accept it or reject it. The entire company is his domain, and he can claim whatever the heck he wants, and has every right to do so. Just like any other cult, CF absolutely refuses to coexist with other fitness disciplines. If you want to see the long-term effects of powerlifting and gymnastics, take a look at Greg and Rip. Is that what you want to be?

As stated before, this is ALL Greg's world, love it or leave it on his terms; there's some good in it. End of story.

62. ken c wrote...

if we are to take glassman at his word, there are numerous pro athletes who do crossfit as part of their training and none of their times on benchmark workouts are close to the top performing crossfit athletes. pro athletes are obviously very fit but most are fit within their specialized sport. i have no doubt that many of the pro athletes that have been mentioned on this thread could do very well within crossfit if that became their focus. but if you accept the crossfit definition of fitness (and no one else has ever defined it) then until one of these pro athletes comes to a competition and wins it, then the winner of the games deserves the title of fittest person (and that doesn't mean best athlete).

i don't see it as being any different than the world strongest man competitions. i'm sure there are some very strong NFL guys out there or others that could do well in that competition but until they show up and compete, the winner can call himself the strongest man in the world.

63. ken wrote...

Direct Quote,
"Greg... When someone goes faster than anyone else in the world in an event that last less than 9 seconds we call him the fastest man on earth.He is the fastest man on earth until someone proves they are faster. Why should that not apply when some goes the fastest over 4 workouts that span broad time and modal domains? "

I put no words in your mouth. You and many other people somehow think it is feasible to compare someone winning the olympics with someone winning crossfit. This has been said time and time again...the chances of finding a Joe Shmoe off the street who doesn't train swimming and could beat Micheal Phelps in the pool is realistically zero. The chance of finding someone off the street who doesn't crossfit and could clean house at the cf games...high.

Winning an event at the olympics =/= Winning CF games.

The disparity between these two is so huge that it is crazy you don't realize this. Some of you act like you honestly think that circuit training and the concept of "work capacity" never existed before in other forms.

64. Dave wrote...

Harper,

Right on. The notion that an NFL Running Back wouldn't win the Crossfit Games after learning what a thruster is (something tells me Reggie Bush would figure out how to do a 95 lb thruster very quickly) is just absurd. They are genetic freaks of nature, and will do anything better than we can if it deals with any kind of athleticism. Take a look at Crossfit's definition of fitness, namely being balanced in all 10 categories. Isn't it fairly obvious that an NFL running back excels at all 10 of these qualities? These were the guys who were always the strongest/fastest in High School, then College and now they are getting paid millions of dollars because they are so gifted. Reggie Bush would do a 90 second Grace tomorrow...I'm sure of it. 135 lbs must feel like PVC pipe to that guy. Some of these posts are just comical.

Of course some yoyo will post something like "you have no evidence...they should show up etc..." Well, they aren't going to show up...not yet. Maybe when the prize money gets to a level where it's worth their time. Until then, everybody just keep workin hard and be the best that you can be. Crossfit is a great program, and doing it helps most people get into better shape than they've been in a long time. What else really matters?

65. DT wrote...

Speaking of the $5K prize money for the games, in Glassman's "How did we get here" video that was posted today, he mentions that CF has almost 1,300 affiliates and 30,000 journal subscribers. Let's do the math here...($1,000 x 1,300) + ($25 x 30,000) = over $2 million in revenue from those two activities alone...and the flagship competition for the company has $10,000 in prize money for the winners?!

That is absolutely BRILLIANT business sense. I mean, who among the followers dare bring this up in a comment blog on the main site for fear of getting dogpoiled, ridiculed, and ostracized? Glassman's a genius...and I'm not referring to his definition of "fitness."

66. JoeM wrote...

DT i'm so astounded by your ignorance that I have to post this.

the website alone has 37,000 unique visitors a day and pushes how many terabytes of data per month across to its users for free? Can you imagine how much that costs HQ. Not to mention salaries for the staff, plane tickets for each cert, hotel rooms for the trainers that visit, food, gas, rental cars, insurance, and the enormous logistics train that has to accompany the games. I'm sure the list goes on.

I'm glad they pull in a lot of money, they deserve it. If it's all about the money for you DT, then you're in the wrong community.

67. grambo wrote...

I love CrossFit and train it, but as pointed out, many people here (Ryan) need a dose of reality. Elite pro athletes, olympic decathletes etc. are on another level. It's absurd to compare yourself to them. Given the time and motivation in learning the movement standards they would dominate the games. And yeah, questioning the power output of a decathlete compared to a CF'er is hilarious.

68. Ryan replied to comment from grambo...

haha why do you guys take this so seriously? just such a big serious argument lol. Who cares? NFL players are buffer and faster than you and so are all the elite crossfitters.

69. cam birtwell wrote...

Ryan, health and fitness are serious issues bro. So is the claim to being the "fittest person on earth". Strong opinions and intelligent critical thought help us all grow and learn. If you can't keep up, step down.

In regards to the hopper deciding the 08 games workouts, I actually have my doubts about that. Given the format with the timed workouts, it really doesn't seem logical to me that the hopper would have been used. If one workout came out that lasted 20minutes or more, the whole balance of the competition would have been thrown off. I would suggest that there was a slight "selling out" of the ABTAMD concept for the sake of the spectators and spectacle of the games.

I would support a points format as that is the only way BTAMD can be used without biasing towards longer events.

I really am looking forward to what the 09 Games hold, I'm sure Coach has some aces up his sleeve that we will both marvel at and question for the next year.

70. Jon wrote...

If NFL players competed in the CrossFit Games who do you think would win? My guess is Adrian Peterson. He has to be one of the top three best athletes in the world.

71. DT replied to comment from JoeM...

JoeM, the last time I checked, HQ CF paid $40K for a $500K insurance premium, and the rest of the followers coughed up the rest. Look, I'm not knocking CF as a business, because you're right, nothing is free. I'm just saying that the idea of CF being a grass-roots, free "for the people" movement is a bit naive. Glassman's making a mint, and he has every right to do so. Furthermore...if he's only paying out $10K for prize money at his Games, do you REALLY think his full-time staff are well-paid, or is he counting on their "passion for excellence" to get them involved in the company?

None of this is bad...it's just business. Nothing personal.

72. greg white wrote...

I do not bust my ass every WOD because I have the hopes of being paid some large amount by Coach Glassman!

I don't keep good form during my WODs because someone is dangling $100 bills in front of my face!

I don't teach my passion of health and fitness to my clients because it makes me rich!

My opinion is to keep Crossfit clean by not making it about prize money. I do believe money is the root of all evil. Crossfit is a great sport because it hasn't ever been about that for the enthusiasts. I would travel and teach Crossfit for a salary that would be considered minimal by most people. It's for the belief, love, passion of the sport.

If there are other Crossfitters out there who agree, make it known!!!

To all who continue to argue that celebrity athletes and olympians would dominate the games:

The CFers who are there can't compete against anyone who isn't. If celebrity athletes and olympians were there, I truly believe that nobody would make as big a deal out of it as you guys are.

Good luck to all who are competing! See you next year!!

73. Ryan replied to comment from greg white...

Money is not the root of all evil....the LOVE of money is the root of all evil

74. Jay wrote...

Why does everyone get sucked in to these discussions? How about some positive commentary. But while I'm here...I have seen a current NFL outside linebacker get humbled by a 40yo mother of three on his first visit to a local afflilate. She had been doing Xfit for 6 months previous. He joined to get in better condition. You should have seen his reaction. And the trainer scaled the WOD for him. Also, I work w/one of the top middleweights in the UFC(who is 7 years my junior) and we do the Xfit wods at work and I can usually beat him in the WOD's. Draw your own conclusions.

I would like to see some longer WOD's at the games,though. Close to Murph or Filthy Fifty.

Lighten up, people.

Reagrds.

75. Harper wrote...

Yeah a heavy Murph would be a great games WOD. I would like to see people's reactions to a full Murph with a 40lbs vest (or heavier)!