Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Kyle Ruth | The Athletes of the 2024 Legends Masters CrossFit Games

Transcript

Kyle Ruth | The Athletes of the 2024 Legends Masters CrossFit Games · Clydesdale Media Podcast

• 0:09
  Hey, hey, still.
• 0:12
  Let's go.
• 0:13
  I was born a killer.
• 0:14
  I was meant to win.
• 0:16
  I am down and willing,
• 0:17
  so I will find a way.
• 0:18
  It took a minute,
• 0:19
  now it didn't happen right away.
• 0:21
  When they get hot in the kitchen,
• 0:22
  you decide to stay.
• 0:23
  That's how a winner's made.
• 0:25
  Stick a fork in the head.
• 0:34
  What's going on, everybody?
• 0:35
  Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 0:37
  where we are highlighting
• 0:38
  the athletes of the 2024
• 0:40
  Legends Masters CrossFit Games.
• 0:43
  And I have with me none
• 0:44
  other than legend OG
• 0:48
  CrossFitter Kyle Ruth.
• 0:49
  What's going on, man?
• 0:51
  I'm not sure I deserve legend status yet.
• 0:53
  I have some more stuff I
• 0:54
  want to do before I get legend,
• 0:56
  but I appreciate that.
• 0:58
  Also, that intro is sick.
• 1:00
  I love it.
• 1:01
  Yeah.
• 1:02
  I, you know, after five years,
• 1:03
  we finally figured out
• 1:04
  something that worked.
• 1:05
  Um, yeah.
• 1:09
  And I love the music.
• 1:10
  Like when you find the right song,
• 1:12
  like the rest of it just comes together.
• 1:13
  Yeah, for sure.
• 1:14
  That was awesome.
• 1:16
  Uh, so if for people don't know,
• 1:18
  Kyle is with TTT, you are a coach.
• 1:22
  You are the director of education.
• 1:24
  Yep.
• 1:26
  Is the director of education
• 1:28
  something new or have you
• 1:29
  always been that role?
• 1:31
  That's a role I took over in
• 1:34
  2021 when we started
• 1:35
  developing our new courses.
• 1:38
  So originally Max and I
• 1:39
  created some educational courses.
• 1:42
  I worked on our energy
• 1:45
  system training course in 2014,
• 1:47
  which we released late 2014
• 1:50
  and he created a strength course.
• 1:51
  Then we kind of collaborated on
• 1:54
  you know, like a program design course.
• 1:56
  Those were our,
• 1:57
  our generation one courses.
• 1:59
  We did that for a long time.
• 2:01
  Then we shifted to a
• 2:02
  subscription based
• 2:03
  education platform called
• 2:04
  the classroom that we ran
• 2:05
  with from like 2016 to 22.
• 2:08
  We kept, we stopped updating about 2021.
• 2:12
  And at that point we decided
• 2:13
  we wanted to go back into
• 2:14
  the long form course creation mode.
• 2:17
  And so I took over as
• 2:17
  director of education.
• 2:18
  So that's been my,
• 2:21
  Um, but I wouldn't call it the main thing.
• 2:23
  My main thing is still coaching athletes.
• 2:25
  And I think anybody who's
• 2:26
  going to educate people about how to
• 2:29
  coach people in the,
• 2:30
  in the CrossFit space or in
• 2:31
  the competitive space needs
• 2:33
  to also have a foot in the
• 2:34
  door in coaching.
• 2:35
  And, you know, that's still my main thing.
• 2:38
  But yeah, it's been, it's been a good,
• 2:40
  a good run.
• 2:40
  We've now released our,
• 2:41
  released our movement course.
• 2:43
  We did that first.
• 2:45
  And that's more like assessment and,
• 2:48
  you know, how,
• 2:49
  how to improve people's movement.
• 2:50
  One of the basic foundations of sport.
• 2:53
  And then we released that in 20,
• 2:56
  we'll say January of 2022.
• 2:56
  And then we,
• 2:59
  In December of 2023,
• 2:59
  we released our coaching strength course,
• 3:02
  which is, honestly,
• 3:03
  I would say probably the
• 3:04
  best strength education
• 3:06
  information that exists in the space.
• 3:10
  So this is specifically for coaches.
• 3:13
  Yes, specifically for coaches.
• 3:14
  And we,
• 3:16
  even though it's not necessarily
• 3:17
  created specifically for CrossFit, we,
• 3:20
  we use our, you know,
• 3:21
  I I've been coaching
• 3:23
  competitive CrossFitters for, uh,
• 3:25
  12 or 13 years now.
• 3:27
  So we use our tilt mine, uh, you know, Max,
• 3:30
  I'll have the owner of
• 3:31
  training think tank coach to, you know,
• 3:33
  multiple podium games, athletes, um,
• 3:37
  That's a, if you go on there,
• 3:39
  you can download the game
• 3:40
  day fueling guide if you want.
• 3:41
  We actually just launched that.
• 3:42
  Um, but if you go into education,
• 3:44
  our coaching movement,
• 3:45
  coaching strength and
• 3:46
  coaching conditioning courses are, um,
• 3:48
  those are our flagship courses.
• 3:49
  And basically that's our, um,
• 3:52
  that's us just pouring all
• 3:54
  of our systems into an
• 3:56
  education platform.
• 3:58
  Um, it's not just information.
• 3:59
  The biggest thing that we try to do is,
• 4:01
  is teach people how we
• 4:03
  approach the program design process.
• 4:05
  So there, um,
• 4:07
  Yeah, I think they're both pretty cool.
• 4:08
  And we're currently working
• 4:10
  on the conditioning course,
• 4:11
  although that's taken a
• 4:12
  little bit of a backseat
• 4:13
  since we just moved into
• 4:14
  our new facility.
• 4:16
  Literally had our first class on Friday.
• 4:20
  So it took a little bit of a
• 4:22
  backseat for the last couple of weeks,
• 4:23
  but that's what I'll be
• 4:24
  working on outside of
• 4:26
  prepping for the CrossFit Games.
• 4:29
  How long does one of these
• 4:30
  classes take to get through?
• 4:32
  Well, the coaching movement course has,
• 4:35
  I believe,
• 4:36
  13 or 14 hours of video content
• 4:39
  and a 200 page manual.
• 4:42
  The coaching strength course
• 4:43
  has a 300 page manual and
• 4:46
  is over 20 plus hours of
• 4:48
  video content that includes coaching.
• 4:51
  Everything from how do you
• 4:52
  onboard a new client to
• 4:55
  Alexis Raptus' case study
• 4:57
  from her games prep,
• 4:59
  the strength pieces from
• 5:01
  her games prep last year
• 5:02
  for the 2023 CrossFit Games.
• 5:04
  I mean, they're in-depth.
• 5:09
  Just that aspect alone would
• 5:11
  make some people want to
• 5:12
  jump in and check that out.
• 5:14
  Yeah,
• 5:14
  there's a lot more to it than that as
• 5:16
  well,
• 5:16
  because I know a lot of people don't
• 5:17
  work with elite athletes.
• 5:18
  And so, you know,
• 5:20
  they're built so that it's
• 5:21
  it provides a foundation
• 5:22
  education for people that
• 5:23
  are say you've been just
• 5:24
  coaching CrossFit for two or three years.
• 5:26
  You know, you're a level one,
• 5:27
  you're two years in,
• 5:28
  but you want to start
• 5:29
  learning how to program design.
• 5:31
  They meet you there.
• 5:32
  But also we kind of show you
• 5:34
  underneath the hood a little bit.
• 5:36
  If you're working with real
• 5:37
  if you ever are curious,
• 5:39
  what is a high level
• 5:40
  athletes strength program look like?
• 5:43
  But also at the same time,
• 5:43
  what you'll see in a high
• 5:44
  level athlete strength
• 5:45
  program are a lot of the
• 5:46
  basics that we discuss all
• 5:48
  throughout the course.
• 5:49
  It's always in there.
• 5:50
  Yeah, there's some more complex elements,
• 5:52
  but the basics are always there.
• 5:55
  It's funny, like,
• 5:57
  so Carolyn Prevost is my
• 5:59
  co-host on Sunday nights
• 6:01
  and her and I will have
• 6:02
  conversations and it'll
• 6:03
  come to programming and I
• 6:05
  get lost so quick.
• 6:07
  And she just like,
• 6:08
  she can see a picture of
• 6:09
  something Dave put out and
• 6:11
  piece it together into a full workout.
• 6:13
  Yeah.
• 6:15
  And I'm just like, what's going on,
• 6:16
  Rain Man?
• 6:16
  Like, I can't even keep up.
• 6:19
  Well,
• 6:19
  at some point when you've done this
• 6:20
  for a really, really long time,
• 6:23
  you kind of see the trends
• 6:24
  and you see some of the, you know,
• 6:27
  the things that stand out
• 6:29
  and you can pick out, oh, you know,
• 6:30
  that's a sled.
• 6:31
  The sled loads can be X, Y,
• 6:32
  and Z. You know,
• 6:33
  you can figure out a lot
• 6:35
  just from a little bit of context clue.
• 6:38
  Literally, just before we got on,
• 6:40
  Dave put out clips of the clean ladder.
• 6:43
  Yeah,
• 6:43
  I just saw that actually right before
• 6:44
  we got on here.
• 6:45
  Yeah,
• 6:46
  she has all the weights already
• 6:47
  listed out for men and women.
• 6:50
  And I'm like,
• 6:51
  how did you get that from
• 6:52
  Sidney Wells lifting one bar?
• 6:54
  Yeah, well,
• 6:55
  you can assume that if you have
• 6:57
  the weights,
• 6:58
  you know what the starting
• 6:58
  loads are going to be.
• 6:59
  And then from there,
• 7:00
  you can extrapolate what
• 7:01
  the men's weights are going to be.
• 7:02
  Yeah, this is what we do.
• 7:05
  The mind of coaching.
• 7:06
  And you can learn all about
• 7:09
  that through your education program.
• 7:11
  Yeah, for sure.
• 7:12
  And I will say at the competitive coaching,
• 7:14
  when it comes to competitive coaching,
• 7:16
  when you bring an element
• 7:18
  of competition in,
• 7:19
  then people start to really, you know,
• 7:22
  that's when this type of stuff happens,
• 7:25
  you know.
• 7:27
  So it's been a busy month for TTT.
• 7:31
  Yes.
• 7:32
  So just a couple months ago, Travis had,
• 7:37
  was it United Performance?
• 7:38
  Yes.
• 7:38
  Yes.
• 7:39
  there was TTT.
• 7:40
  Now they are one entity.
• 7:42
  Yes, that's actually, I'm wearing my, my,
• 7:44
  we are united TTT.
• 7:46
  This was, um, part of our,
• 7:48
  our grand opening, uh, that,
• 7:51
  that we had on,
• 7:52
  on Friday and Saturday this,
• 7:53
  this past week where
• 7:55
  basically what happened is,
• 7:56
  is training think tank.
• 7:57
  Um, we,
• 7:58
  we purchased a united performance from,
• 8:00
  from Travis and our Travis is,
• 8:02
  is part co-owner.
• 8:03
  Um,
• 8:05
  I don't know if co-owner,
• 8:06
  but he has an ownership
• 8:07
  stake in Training Think Tank.
• 8:08
  We combined the gyms and we
• 8:10
  moved from the location
• 8:12
  where United Performance
• 8:14
  and Training Think Tank
• 8:15
  shared a big L-shaped gym.
• 8:17
  We were in one part of the L,
• 8:18
  they were in the other part,
• 8:19
  to just a giant box.
• 8:22
  Um, and,
• 8:23
  and it's all set up to facilitate
• 8:26
  training everybody from, you know,
• 8:28
  the elite games athletes,
• 8:29
  Travis and Alexis and Linda
• 8:31
  and everybody that trains on site, um,
• 8:34
  to people that are just, you know,
• 8:35
  interested in, in general fitness,
• 8:37
  we've expanded the
• 8:38
  programming options pretty
• 8:39
  dramatically so that there's,
• 8:41
  we're even starting to get
• 8:42
  into things like some high
• 8:43
  rocks programming and
• 8:43
  things like that on site.
• 8:46
  Um,
• 8:46
  integrated some nutrition
• 8:47
  coaching and elements like that,
• 8:49
  that we originally training
• 8:50
  think tank had just for remote athletes.
• 8:52
  And now we brought it in for, you know,
• 8:54
  everybody onsite.
• 8:55
  So I think it's been a,
• 8:57
  obviously for the community,
• 8:58
  it's going to be a change
• 9:00
  and change is always hard,
• 9:01
  but at the same time,
• 9:02
  I think there's so much value add.
• 9:04
  for everybody involved that
• 9:06
  it's going to be a major positive.
• 9:08
  But we literally, yes, we just did that.
• 9:13
  The gym,
• 9:14
  when I was in there a week ago Tuesday,
• 9:17
  was like just a pile of equipment.
• 9:20
  And I stayed home for two days because,
• 9:22
  you know,
• 9:22
  I'm also prepping for the CrossFit Games.
• 9:24
  I had a couple training days
• 9:26
  I did in the garage and
• 9:27
  just worked at home.
• 9:28
  And I went back in and it was like –
• 9:30
  the thing was done and it was,
• 9:32
  it was crazy to see how
• 9:34
  fast everyone was able to
• 9:35
  come together to get it done.
• 9:38
  It's amazing when you move
• 9:39
  into a new facility to like
• 9:40
  how everything looks brand new again.
• 9:42
  Yes.
• 9:43
  All of there.
• 9:44
  I mean, yes,
• 9:44
  we cleaned all of the
• 9:45
  equipment thoroughly and all that,
• 9:46
  but like you're a hundred percent,
• 9:48
  a hundred percent, right.
• 9:49
  We even brought the old
• 9:51
  stall mats over from the other gym to,
• 9:53
  cause there's basically two sections,
• 9:54
  you know,
• 9:54
  there's a rig in the middle and
• 9:55
  then there's one section
• 9:56
  over here and one section over there.
• 9:58
  And we filled up one of the
• 10:00
  sections with the old stall
• 10:01
  mats and we cleaned them.
• 10:02
  But man, they look new.
• 10:04
  You couldn't tell the
• 10:04
  difference between the two sides.
• 10:06
  So it's been, you know,
• 10:07
  the biggest difference
• 10:08
  though is there's climate
• 10:10
  control in this new facility.
• 10:12
  And I can tell you the
• 10:13
  difference between training
• 10:15
  in the middle of old TTT,
• 10:17
  which we just called the death zone.
• 10:19
  It was like right in the
• 10:19
  middle where neither of the
• 10:21
  big ass fans could, could move air.
• 10:23
  And it was just this
• 10:24
  humidity dead zone that
• 10:26
  would get up to like one 10,
• 10:28
  but then with humidity, right?
• 10:30
  Like it's not like one 10 out in,
• 10:32
  you know, in, in Arizona, whether, or,
• 10:34
  you know, they might get up to one 15,
• 10:35
  one 20, it gets hot.
• 10:37
  I'm not saying it's not hot,
• 10:38
  but we have humidity plus
• 10:40
  the temperature in the
• 10:41
  middle of that gym.
• 10:42
  And it was brutal.
• 10:44
  And training in the new facility with,
• 10:46
  with climate control has been like,
• 10:48
  I don't know.
• 10:49
  I've never experienced
• 10:50
  anything like that in my
• 10:51
  entire CrossFit career.
• 10:53
  So in the old place,
• 10:54
  you could actually train
• 10:55
  for Fort Worth dead zone.
• 10:59
  Yes.
• 10:59
  A hundred percent.
• 11:00
  You could,
• 11:00
  you could set yourself up as
• 11:01
  close to Texas as possible.
• 11:03
  And maybe even a bit like Birmingham.
• 11:05
  We'll, we'll have to see what the,
• 11:07
  how the weather pans out a
• 11:08
  couple of weeks.
• 11:10
  Oh, wow.
• 11:11
  So I know that you have a
• 11:13
  swimming background.
• 11:14
  We talked about that last
• 11:15
  time you were on the, on the show,
• 11:17
  get any Olympic coverage in,
• 11:19
  or have you been too busy?
• 11:20
  Of course, um, I've, I catch it all as,
• 11:23
  as you know,
• 11:24
  the reruns or go back and rewatch.
• 11:27
  Um, but both my daughters are,
• 11:29
  are swimmers.
• 11:31
  And so there's no way we could get around.
• 11:33
  watching it.
• 11:34
  They're, they're totally into it.
• 11:35
  Um, my wife and I we've, you know,
• 11:37
  we've watched the Olympics
• 11:38
  since we were together now, you know, 16,
• 11:40
  18 years ago.
• 11:41
  So it's been like a big part
• 11:43
  of us just watching the
• 11:44
  Olympics and stuff.
• 11:45
  And yeah, so I've watched swimming.
• 11:47
  I also love watching track and field.
• 11:49
  I watched Noah Lyles, um,
• 11:51
  bust out the wind recently.
• 11:53
  That was, that was incredible.
• 11:54
  I couldn't even,
• 11:55
  there's no way you could
• 11:56
  have told who won that race.
• 11:59
  You know what I mean?
• 11:59
  Like they had to go to the,
• 12:01
  to the freeze frame, but yeah, it's been,
• 12:02
  it's been great to watch
• 12:03
  some of the Olympics and
• 12:05
  also be reminded of how slow I am now.
• 12:08
  Amen to that.
• 12:11
  Yep.
• 12:12
  Yep.
• 12:13
  You know, again, I'm older than you are.
• 12:15
  So like my times are real slow,
• 12:17
  but that Noah Lyles thing, like I didn't,
• 12:20
  I didn't know it was the
• 12:21
  torso now instead of the
• 12:24
  head or the foot or the
• 12:25
  hand it's first torso to cross the line.
• 12:28
  Yeah, what a great, I mean,
• 12:29
  we've seen people in
• 12:30
  CrossFit take advantage of
• 12:33
  when the chip timer is on
• 12:36
  their ankle and be able to
• 12:38
  get that ankle across the
• 12:39
  finish line a little bit before.
• 12:41
  And so, you know,
• 12:42
  they have that little bit of awareness,
• 12:45
  enough awareness to get that ankle over.
• 12:48
  For him to have the awareness, and I mean,
• 12:50
  yes, this is his sport,
• 12:52
  and it's a repetition sport,
• 12:54
  so obviously he's practiced this.
• 12:55
  But for him to have the
• 12:56
  awareness to get that much
• 12:57
  lean to get the torso through,
• 12:59
  that was crazy.
• 13:00
  It almost looked like he was
• 13:01
  falling when you watch it in real time.
• 13:05
  Well,
• 13:05
  and you saw one of the Jamaican
• 13:06
  runners throw a leg out and that's,
• 13:08
  that's actually throwing your torso back.
• 13:10
  Like, yeah.
• 13:11
  So it's like, that was,
• 13:12
  that was what maybe used to
• 13:14
  be a successful finish,
• 13:15
  but now the finish, if it's the torso,
• 13:17
  you got to get the lean.
• 13:19
  It's crazy to see that.
• 13:20
  I think that level of
• 13:21
  awareness when they're
• 13:22
  moving that fast is insane.
• 13:25
  Yeah.
• 13:26
  So are you coaching anybody
• 13:28
  at the games this year or
• 13:29
  just going to help out?
• 13:31
  no individuals at the
• 13:32
  CrossFit games this year,
• 13:33
  no teams at the CrossFit games this year.
• 13:34
  It's one, you know,
• 13:36
  I think last year was
• 13:36
  actually the first time
• 13:37
  that I didn't have any individuals, um,
• 13:40
  or, or teams competing.
• 13:43
  Um,
• 13:43
  But for me, it's actually been,
• 13:45
  I have to admit,
• 13:47
  it's been kind of nice to
• 13:48
  have this period of time
• 13:49
  just to be able to train.
• 13:51
  I would say I've just been training,
• 13:53
  but obviously I have a lot
• 13:55
  of other things on the plate,
• 13:56
  but it's been kind of nice
• 13:58
  to just focus on my
• 14:00
  training and then helping
• 14:01
  my athletes build their
• 14:03
  off-season training,
• 14:04
  which I actually really
• 14:05
  like coaching the off-season for people.
• 14:08
  I also like coaching competitive prep, but
• 14:11
  There's something about the
• 14:13
  linearity of good off
• 14:15
  season training that,
• 14:16
  that really works well with,
• 14:18
  with my brain.
• 14:20
  So you've been to the games
• 14:21
  yourself on a team.
• 14:22
  This is your first time as an individual.
• 14:26
  Yeah.
• 14:26
  Yeah.
• 14:27
  I, uh, in 2013,
• 14:30
  I finished one point out
• 14:31
  from qualifying and
• 14:33
  uh, at the mid Atlantic regional,
• 14:35
  I finished fourth by a point,
• 14:37
  which still stings to talk
• 14:39
  about a little bit, even though we're,
• 14:41
  we're 11 years removed.
• 14:43
  Um, but yeah, that was the, the,
• 14:45
  that was when I was closest.
• 14:46
  And then, you know, I was on the team.
• 14:49
  So in 2020, I had a pretty good season,
• 14:51
  but they canceled the
• 14:53
  canceled the games for masters,
• 14:55
  obviously.
• 14:55
  And then 2021,
• 14:57
  I was able to go with a group of my,
• 14:59
  best friends here at
• 15:00
  Training Think Tank and do that.
• 15:02
  And then I've been fighting,
• 15:03
  I think I was like 12th
• 15:05
  when they took 10 and then
• 15:07
  like 16th or something last
• 15:09
  year when they took 10.
• 15:10
  And so to be able to be in
• 15:12
  this kind of expanded field,
• 15:14
  I'm really grateful that
• 15:15
  they did choose to expand the field.
• 15:19
  Because once again, I wouldn't be in,
• 15:20
  I think I finished 25th.
• 15:21
  So with the smaller 10 person field,
• 15:24
  I wouldn't have qualified,
• 15:25
  but I think it's gonna make
• 15:26
  a much better story
• 15:28
  on game day with, with the group that they,
• 15:31
  they have going this year.
• 15:33
  Well,
• 15:34
  two big things in my opinion is that one,
• 15:38
  everything is videoed and
• 15:39
  online up till this point.
• 15:41
  And we know that that,
• 15:42
  that has its fallacies across the board,
• 15:45
  right?
• 15:46
  Two, when you had 10 people at the games,
• 15:49
  nobody could fall too far.
• 15:50
  If you had a bad event,
• 15:52
  fall 10 spots that's it yep
• 15:54
  where you have a 40 person
• 15:55
  field you mess up an event
• 15:58
  it can make a major
• 15:59
  difference in the
• 16:00
  scoreboard I think the same
• 16:01
  can be said for having good
• 16:02
  events you know I've been
• 16:04
  to I've competed in a
• 16:06
  number of events in the
• 16:07
  last few years masters
• 16:08
  events and one of the
• 16:09
  things that tends to be the
• 16:11
  hallmarks of the off-season
• 16:13
  masters competitions like
• 16:15
  masters fitness collective
• 16:16
  or uh I won wadapalooza
• 16:18
  masters in in 2022
• 16:21
  And the thing has always
• 16:23
  been that the field isn't that deep.
• 16:25
  And so it's always been like going,
• 16:28
  you know,
• 16:28
  I'll win an event and then
• 16:30
  Julian Cerna will win an
• 16:31
  event and then I'll win and
• 16:32
  then he'll win the next one.
• 16:33
  It just, who,
• 16:34
  who takes a third or a fourth?
• 16:36
  Right.
• 16:37
  That's what had happened in the past.
• 16:38
  And in an event like this,
• 16:40
  that isn't going to be the case.
• 16:42
  Right.
• 16:43
  There isn't going to.
• 16:44
  And now, granted,
• 16:45
  there might be some
• 16:45
  athletes like a like a Will Morad who can,
• 16:48
  you know, average first, second,
• 16:50
  third across this.
• 16:51
  But for me,
• 16:52
  a bad event isn't going to be a
• 16:54
  second place.
• 16:54
  A bad event is going to be
• 16:56
  hopefully not a 40th.
• 16:58
  But, you know,
• 16:58
  it might be in the mid 20s or 30s,
• 17:02
  depending on, you know,
• 17:03
  this is a great field.
• 17:04
  And so any little slip up is
• 17:06
  going to result in a problem.
• 17:09
  But that's also a good thing at the top,
• 17:11
  too.
• 17:12
  So if you are fighting for a podium spot,
• 17:14
  you know,
• 17:15
  it allows for some some dilution
• 17:17
  or some separation if
• 17:18
  you're really consistent,
• 17:19
  like a Will Morad kind of athlete.
• 17:21
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 17:43
  And I just had Kevin Jones
• 17:44
  on who told me he's going
• 17:50
  to win the lifting events.
• 17:51
  For sure.
• 17:52
  He's the 40th person in, and he's saying,
• 17:55
  I had a weird year where I
• 17:57
  didn't get as much training in,
• 17:59
  so I'm just going to win
• 18:00
  the lifting events.
• 18:01
  Yeah.
• 18:02
  Those are 100 points.
• 18:03
  Right.
• 18:05
  Those are 100 points.
• 18:06
  So right off the bat,
• 18:07
  if we get two heavy lift events,
• 18:10
  he's looking at potentially
• 18:11
  200 points just straight up,
• 18:14
  which that's the equivalent of like 10.
• 18:17
  If you get 20 points for
• 18:19
  30th place or something,
• 18:20
  I haven't seen the scoring system yet,
• 18:22
  but if you get 10 points for 30th place,
• 18:23
  that's the equivalent of 10
• 18:25
  30th place finishes in two events, man.
• 18:29
  That's a lot of points.
• 18:30
  So if you do have something
• 18:32
  that you're an outlier in,
• 18:34
  This format, the point-based format,
• 18:37
  rewards you so much more
• 18:38
  than the online qualifier
• 18:40
  format where it's one point per place.
• 18:43
  Yeah.
• 18:44
  I think it's going to be fun.
• 18:45
  It's going to make it a lot
• 18:46
  more interesting than
• 18:48
  Masters games in the past.
• 18:53
  Uh-oh.
• 18:54
  Did we lose you?
• 18:54
  I think Kyle froze up on us.
• 19:02
  Oh, here.
• 19:03
  Okay, there we are.
• 19:03
  You're back.
• 19:04
  We're back.
• 19:06
  We had a loading screen for a second.
• 19:08
  Okay.
• 19:10
  So, yeah,
• 19:10
  I think it's going to make it a
• 19:11
  lot more interesting than
• 19:11
  years past just with that fluctuation.
• 19:14
  Yeah,
• 19:14
  and I think people is going to make
• 19:16
  it way more interesting.
• 19:17
  I hope that the coverage of
• 19:21
  the actual events is also a
• 19:24
  little more dialed in than
• 19:25
  it was last year with the
• 19:27
  single camera covering the
• 19:29
  entire field kind of thing.
• 19:31
  Well,
• 19:31
  I think I can guarantee you that it's
• 19:33
  not an iPhone hanging from the ceiling.
• 19:36
  That's great to hear.
• 19:38
  And they're bringing in the A-team.
• 19:41
  You're getting Sean Woodland.
• 19:42
  Yes.
• 19:43
  Chase Ingram and Tommy Marquez.
• 19:47
  No way.
• 19:48
  That's our media coverage crew?
• 19:50
  Yep.
• 19:51
  Wow.
• 19:51
  I didn't know that.
• 19:52
  That's fantastic to hear.
• 19:53
  So we've got like they're
• 19:54
  giving the OGs to the OGs.
• 19:57
  yeah they weren't apparently
• 19:59
  they weren't good enough
• 20:00
  for the real games um so so
• 20:05
  the legends guys gobbled up
• 20:07
  sean woodland to to do the
• 20:08
  play-by-play oh I think we
• 20:13
  broke up again man
• 20:18
  that's going to make it
• 20:19
  really interesting if I'm
• 20:20
  if I'm a master's athlete
• 20:22
  and I hear sean woodland
• 20:23
  yelling my name um I think
• 20:25
  I've said it on other
• 20:25
  interviews that becomes my
• 20:27
  ringtone uh going forward
• 20:30
  uh just find that clip
• 20:32
  download it and it's my
• 20:34
  ringtone so uh we're just
• 20:37
  gonna hang tight here while
• 20:38
  kyle hopefully figures out uh
• 20:42
  internet issue that he's having.
• 20:44
  We were doing really good
• 20:45
  for about 20 minutes and
• 20:46
  then all of a sudden, bam, this goes out.
• 20:50
  Uh, Jay Birch and Corey,
• 20:51
  what's going on guys?
• 20:53
  Uh,
• 20:53
  our man Corey is doing the TFX
• 20:56
  qualifiers.
• 20:58
  That's going to be fun.
• 20:59
  Um,
• 21:01
  Jay Birch says CrossFit should put chip
• 21:03
  timers on the chest rather
• 21:05
  than the ankle.
• 21:06
  Uh, that would make it pretty interesting.
• 21:10
  Um,
• 21:11
  And you can't throw that leg out then.
• 21:14
  But so many close finishes have come down.
• 21:15
  Oh, there's Kyle.
• 21:17
  You're back.
• 21:17
  I'm back.
• 21:18
  I have no idea what's going on.
• 21:19
  There's no one else on the internet.
• 21:21
  It's like the middle of the day.
• 21:25
  I was just tap dancing.
• 21:26
  Oh, you're all good.
• 21:30
  So I think we were just
• 21:31
  talking about points and all that stuff.
• 21:33
  And so how excited are you going?
• 21:36
  How many are you taking
• 21:37
  people with you to the games this year?
• 21:39
  Yeah.
• 21:39
  I mean,
• 21:39
  given how close Birmingham is to Atlanta,
• 21:42
  we just mapped it out last night.
• 21:43
  It's like between two and a
• 21:44
  half to three hours.
• 21:45
  So we've got a really good
• 21:47
  crew coming from the gym.
• 21:49
  Plus my kids,
• 21:51
  my parents are going to bring
• 21:53
  the girls up Thursday evening.
• 21:56
  So they're going to miss the
• 21:57
  first day of competition,
• 21:58
  but then they're going to
• 21:59
  get to watch Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• 22:01
  And they haven't been at a
• 22:03
  major event that I've done
• 22:06
  I don't think ever like
• 22:07
  they've never been.
• 22:07
  They didn't get to go to the
• 22:08
  CrossFit Games because
• 22:09
  school here starts August 1st.
• 22:12
  So they didn't get to go
• 22:13
  when I was on team.
• 22:15
  And, you know, they've been to MFC.
• 22:16
  They went to Crash Crucible last year.
• 22:19
  But they're going to they're
• 22:20
  going to get to come out
• 22:21
  and actually watch some
• 22:22
  some really high level CrossFit stuff,
• 22:24
  which I don't.
• 22:25
  They've seen some some high level stuff,
• 22:27
  but nothing like a games level event.
• 22:29
  Um, and my parents are coming out and, and,
• 22:32
  you know,
• 22:32
  we got a lot of friends that are,
• 22:33
  that are planning on coming.
• 22:34
  So I think it's, it's going to be a, uh,
• 22:38
  I actually think that
• 22:39
  there's going to be a
• 22:39
  bigger crowd than people expect.
• 22:41
  Cause I,
• 22:42
  I think that there are 600 masters
• 22:45
  athletes competing.
• 22:48
  Yeah.
• 22:48
  I had it about four 50, but still,
• 22:51
  but then we have teams, right?
• 22:52
  Yeah.
• 22:52
  That's not even,
• 22:53
  that's just the main event.
• 22:55
  Yeah.
• 22:55
  So there's,
• 22:56
  I think 600 athletes or so
• 22:58
  competing in total.
• 22:59
  And if everybody just brings
• 23:00
  two or three people,
• 23:01
  like it's going to be a crowded event.
• 23:05
  I I've talked to some that
• 23:07
  are bringing 50.
• 23:08
  Yeah.
• 23:08
  I don't know if I'll have 50
• 23:09
  people in the stands, but,
• 23:10
  but given the proximity we'll have,
• 23:12
  we'll have a career and I
• 23:13
  think it'll be pretty good.
• 23:15
  Yeah, anybody in that like North,
• 23:16
  South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee,
• 23:21
  like it's a short trip for them.
• 23:22
  It is.
• 23:23
  It's totally.
• 23:24
  When they announced that we
• 23:25
  were in Birmingham,
• 23:26
  I was actually really
• 23:26
  excited just because it's a
• 23:28
  drive instead of a flight, which,
• 23:30
  you know,
• 23:30
  that makes travel so much easier.
• 23:32
  I can stop every hour and
• 23:33
  get out and shake the legs out,
• 23:35
  make sure I feel good.
• 23:37
  Yeah, I'm actually driving from Columbus,
• 23:38
  Ohio.
• 23:39
  Yeah.
• 23:39
  How long is the drive for you?
• 23:41
  Eight.
• 23:42
  That's not that bad.
• 23:43
  That's still within the 10
• 23:44
  hour window where I would
• 23:45
  kind of put a limit for myself.
• 23:47
  Yeah.
• 23:47
  And when I drive,
• 23:48
  I can take a lot more
• 23:49
  equipment than I can if I'm flying.
• 23:52
  So it just, if I can do the drive,
• 23:55
  I'm going to do the drive.
• 23:56
  We're bringing the dog.
• 23:57
  I'm bringing my, I'm bringing Puma.
• 24:03
  Wow.
• 24:05
  Is that,
• 24:05
  does that help like just make you
• 24:08
  feel more at home at the
• 24:09
  end of the day or?
• 24:10
  Yeah.
• 24:11
  We,
• 24:11
  we actually brought him to crash
• 24:13
  crucible last year.
• 24:14
  Uh,
• 24:14
  it's the first time we'd taken him to a
• 24:16
  competition and I loved
• 24:18
  being able to come back to the hotel and,
• 24:20
  and chill and hang out with them and,
• 24:22
  you know,
• 24:22
  get them up on the couch and
• 24:24
  then sit with them for a while.
• 24:25
  And, and yeah, it's,
• 24:26
  it's just something that, you know, one,
• 24:29
  having your kids there does the same,
• 24:30
  at least I've got older kids now, um, uh,
• 24:33
  eight and 12.
• 24:34
  So,
• 24:38
  They can handle themselves on a trip.
• 24:42
  There's never really any
• 24:44
  problems that you have.
• 24:45
  I remember competing at
• 24:47
  regionals when my oldest was like one,
• 24:51
  two, and three years old.
• 24:52
  And it was a challenge then.
• 24:54
  But it's a completely different thing now.
• 24:56
  They're just like, hey,
• 24:57
  we'll bring the Nintendo Switch.
• 24:59
  And it's like, hey,
• 24:59
  you want to play some
• 25:00
  Switch between events?
• 25:01
  We'll bust out some Mario Kart.
• 25:03
  And just, you know,
• 25:04
  it's like a good way to
• 25:06
  create some downtime versus
• 25:08
  I think what used to happen
• 25:09
  is I would come back and
• 25:10
  just stress about the events.
• 25:12
  But now I got some stuff
• 25:13
  that I get to do between events.
• 25:16
  I'm such an overthinker about everything.
• 25:19
  Like when even just doing interviews,
• 25:21
  like the night before I'll
• 25:22
  run the interview through my head,
• 25:24
  I find tricks to like shut my head off.
• 25:27
  Yeah.
• 25:27
  I'm, I'm very similar.
• 25:28
  I think that's a common,
• 25:30
  I think that's actually
• 25:31
  really common in athletes as well.
• 25:32
  Having coached, you know,
• 25:34
  a lot of people in the sport.
• 25:35
  Um,
• 25:36
  I think people have a hard time
• 25:37
  shutting their mind off the
• 25:38
  night before or the day
• 25:40
  before the hours before the
• 25:41
  minutes before they go out to compete.
• 25:44
  Are you an athlete that
• 25:46
  wants to know the events or
• 25:48
  are you okay with being
• 25:49
  surprised when you get there?
• 25:51
  I'm okay with both.
• 25:53
  I feel like I do a really
• 25:54
  good job if the events are
• 25:56
  announced beforehand of
• 25:58
  going through simulations
• 26:00
  and rehearsing the events
• 26:01
  and creating good strategies.
• 26:02
  And I'm good at creating a
• 26:04
  strategy and sticking to it.
• 26:06
  And I think that's probably
• 26:07
  from my swimming career
• 26:08
  where you just have to rehearse the same.
• 26:11
  You rehearse your flip turn
• 26:12
  over and over and over.
• 26:12
  I know exactly how many
• 26:13
  strokes I'm going to take.
• 26:14
  So I think there's something
• 26:15
  to be said that my
• 26:17
  experience lends me towards that.
• 26:19
  But at the same time,
• 26:20
  I've done this long enough
• 26:22
  and been in enough events
• 26:23
  where they just like surprise,
• 26:24
  we're changing it to this, um,
• 26:27
  that I can handle the
• 26:28
  unknown fairly well.
• 26:30
  And I know myself pretty well,
• 26:32
  especially if there's
• 26:32
  bottlenecks in there,
• 26:34
  things like peg boards or
• 26:35
  legless rope climbs, um,
• 26:37
  strict handstand pushups
• 26:38
  where you get muscularly bottlenecked.
• 26:40
  I know my, my limits pretty well.
• 26:43
  And I can ride right up to that limit.
• 26:45
  I think I get more
• 26:46
  challenged if they announce like, um,
• 26:49
  I don't know if it was
• 26:50
  really simple row bar facing burpee.
• 26:53
  And, you know, it's just announced like,
• 26:55
  you know, five rounds, 15 and 15.
• 26:57
  Like I would have no idea
• 26:58
  how to pace that appropriately.
• 26:59
  And I would get caught up
• 27:00
  into racing there.
• 27:02
  And there's definitely
• 27:03
  people that are fitter than
• 27:04
  me at stuff like that.
• 27:05
  So I would get caught up in
• 27:07
  the race and probably blow
• 27:07
  myself up a little bit.
• 27:10
  Yeah, I could see that.
• 27:13
  Off subject,
• 27:14
  you say when you were a swimmer,
• 27:15
  you rehearsed flip turns and rehearsed.
• 27:18
  Yeah.
• 27:18
  How does Alex Walsh do an
• 27:20
  illegal turn at the Olympics?
• 27:24
  How many times did you made that turn?
• 27:26
  You know, one of the things that,
• 27:28
  that I used to do and I was
• 27:30
  far from alone is when, you know,
• 27:32
  when you're doing a
• 27:33
  butterfly or a breaststroke open turn,
• 27:35
  you have to touch the wall
• 27:36
  with two hands and then you
• 27:38
  can execute the turn.
• 27:39
  And one of the things that
• 27:40
  we would do is we would practice,
• 27:41
  you know,
• 27:41
  coming in and maybe not quite
• 27:43
  touching the wall with,
• 27:44
  with both hands and that, you know,
• 27:46
  keeping it as close as you
• 27:48
  possibly could.
• 27:48
  Cause you're always trying to shake.
• 27:49
  I'm like,
• 27:50
  You want to tap the fingertips and go.
• 27:52
  And I think it's just one of
• 27:53
  those things that she
• 27:53
  practiced riding the line
• 27:55
  as close as she could.
• 27:56
  People do it in CrossFit all the time.
• 27:57
  They practice their wall ball where,
• 27:59
  you know,
• 27:59
  it's right at the edge where
• 28:00
  some judges will call it a no rep.
• 28:02
  Some judges will say it's good.
• 28:04
  And I think she just
• 28:05
  practiced riding the line.
• 28:07
  And that is what it is.
• 28:09
  That's the cost of trying to
• 28:13
  ride the edge.
• 28:15
  It just,
• 28:16
  that caught me off guard when she
• 28:17
  got the disqualification for that.
• 28:20
  I saw a frame-by-frame
• 28:22
  breakdown and she clearly,
• 28:23
  like it was clearly a valid DQ.
• 28:25
  Like it wasn't something
• 28:27
  that should be overturned
• 28:28
  or anything like that.
• 28:29
  It was a valid DQ.
• 28:30
  But at the same time,
• 28:32
  like when you're trying to shave,
• 28:34
  when one 100th or two
• 28:36
  100ths of a second matters, you know,
• 28:38
  they really do try and
• 28:39
  shave everything they possibly can.
• 28:41
  It's a tighter,
• 28:42
  the margins are way tighter
• 28:43
  in that sport than they are here.
• 28:46
  So back to you and training think tank,
• 28:48
  you know,
• 28:49
  that you guys are known for
• 28:51
  strategy and thinking about
• 28:54
  the breakdowns of every workout.
• 28:57
  you talk about like,
• 28:59
  if you have time to strategize,
• 29:00
  that's great.
• 29:01
  And sometimes you just don't
• 29:03
  know how to pace.
• 29:04
  If you don't have the plan going in,
• 29:06
  does that make you more worried,
• 29:08
  more anxious going into an event?
• 29:11
  No,
• 29:11
  because one of the things that I also
• 29:12
  recognize is that
• 29:13
  everybody's in the same boat.
• 29:16
  And the fact that I've,
• 29:17
  that I have spent a lot of
• 29:18
  time practicing breaking events down and,
• 29:21
  um,
• 29:22
  you know,
• 29:23
  helping other athletes create strategies.
• 29:25
  I think I have a little bit
• 29:27
  of an advantage there because I,
• 29:29
  I can very quickly break down.
• 29:31
  All right, this should, you know,
• 29:33
  this should probably take
• 29:34
  30 seconds or this is, you know,
• 29:35
  toes to bar it's 50 reps.
• 29:37
  I know I'm going to be able
• 29:38
  to do sets of 10 on a 42nd
• 29:40
  clock or a 32nd clock.
• 29:41
  Like I,
• 29:42
  I know a lot of the components in
• 29:44
  the sport fairly well.
• 29:45
  And so I,
• 29:47
  I don't think that it gets,
• 29:48
  it doesn't get in my head.
• 29:49
  Um,
• 29:50
  I just am more prone to miss pacing
• 29:53
  that way.
• 29:54
  I think is probably a better
• 29:56
  way to put it.
• 29:56
  But if, if given time with the events,
• 29:59
  I think a lot of times I
• 30:00
  can create a strategy that
• 30:01
  really does maximize my fitness.
• 30:03
  It doesn't mean I'm going to
• 30:04
  win by any means.
• 30:05
  Um,
• 30:05
  but it'll let me use the fitness that
• 30:07
  I've got to, to my,
• 30:09
  to the best I possibly can.
• 30:12
  Do you have expectations
• 30:13
  going into this year?
• 30:15
  You know, um,
• 30:17
  I looked back at some of the
• 30:19
  past legends workouts and, you know,
• 30:22
  I was looking at last year, I'm like,
• 30:24
  okay, there's a swim event.
• 30:25
  That would be a good one for me.
• 30:25
  There's some max lifts.
• 30:26
  Those would be really good for me.
• 30:29
  And then I was looking at
• 30:29
  some of the other events and I'm like,
• 30:30
  man, this would be,
• 30:31
  this would be a rough event for me.
• 30:33
  This one would be a rough event for me.
• 30:35
  So it's really,
• 30:36
  really challenging for me
• 30:38
  to set expectations based
• 30:41
  on like performance or
• 30:43
  based on what other people think.
• 30:46
  are going to do.
• 30:46
  So I try not to set my
• 30:48
  expectations relative to a
• 30:50
  placement or something like that.
• 30:51
  I try to think more about
• 30:54
  setting my expectations
• 30:55
  based on my own execution and effort.
• 30:58
  And, you know, at the end of the day,
• 31:00
  what I want to do is I want to walk away
• 31:02
  feeling like I did
• 31:04
  everything I could both in
• 31:05
  preparation and on game day
• 31:07
  to put out my best.
• 31:09
  And as long as I've done that,
• 31:10
  I'm going to be pretty
• 31:11
  happy with the result.
• 31:13
  It was a long time ago.
• 31:15
  In fact, that 2013 year that I referenced,
• 31:18
  I remember we were driving
• 31:19
  home and my wife asked if I
• 31:21
  was disappointed.
• 31:22
  And I was like, yeah,
• 31:25
  of course I'm disappointed.
• 31:26
  I just missed the CrossFit
• 31:27
  Games by a point.
• 31:28
  Had I done one more dumbbell
• 31:29
  snatch in the hundreds chipper,
• 31:31
  I would be going right now.
• 31:32
  I definitely could have done
• 31:33
  one more dumbbell snatch.
• 31:34
  But what I realized at that
• 31:38
  point is that I was
• 31:39
  disappointed in the result,
• 31:41
  but I was incredibly happy
• 31:42
  with my execution and how I
• 31:45
  handled myself and my effort.
• 31:47
  And like, what else?
• 31:48
  I'm not in control of what
• 31:49
  other people do.
• 31:50
  I'm only in control of my
• 31:51
  effort and execution.
• 31:52
  And so the way I try to set
• 31:56
  my expectations,
• 31:56
  I set up a effort-based and
• 31:59
  an execution-based strategy.
• 32:02
  um expectation and as long
• 32:04
  as I meet those I i end up
• 32:06
  coming away from these
• 32:07
  things happy I also
• 32:08
  recognize that I'm either
• 32:09
  the oldest or second oldest
• 32:11
  person competing
• 32:12
  in this division,
• 32:13
  I haven't gone through the
• 32:14
  entire leaderboard, but I'm 39.
• 32:16
  And I think there might only
• 32:18
  be one or two other 39 year olds that,
• 32:20
  that qualified this year.
• 32:21
  So also just know that I'm
• 32:23
  competing against some guys
• 32:24
  that are younger and some
• 32:25
  guys that are like truly
• 32:26
  professionals in the sport,
• 32:28
  like training is all they do.
• 32:29
  Um, so I recognize there's going to be,
• 32:32
  you know,
• 32:33
  I'm probably not going to come
• 32:34
  in and sweep, sweep to the podium,
• 32:36
  but I also,
• 32:38
  I'm not going to say that it's
• 32:39
  not possible for me to
• 32:40
  fight for a podium spot here.
• 32:42
  Depends on the events.
• 32:43
  Yeah.
• 32:45
  Two quick questions.
• 32:46
  One, you're going to be 40 next year.
• 32:49
  Does that excite you that you will be,
• 32:52
  you'll be the baby then in
• 32:53
  the next division?
• 32:54
  Yeah.
• 32:55
  Just, just a little bit.
• 32:56
  I'm, I'm, I don't want to,
• 32:57
  I don't want to look too far ahead.
• 32:59
  Cause I got this, you know,
• 33:00
  coming up in like three and a half weeks.
• 33:03
  Um, but yeah, I'm really excited for the,
• 33:05
  the 2025 season when I turned 40.
• 33:09
  The other thing is you
• 33:10
  mentioned like you went
• 33:11
  back and looked at legends.
• 33:14
  All of their workouts had to go through,
• 33:15
  I think, Boz to be approved.
• 33:18
  So as a person that's been
• 33:21
  around the sport a long time, yeah,
• 33:23
  legends did the workouts.
• 33:25
  They had to be approved by Boz,
• 33:26
  and they're probably
• 33:27
  tweaked at least a little bit.
• 33:30
  Do you lean more towards
• 33:31
  like what Boz's history is,
• 33:33
  or do you lean more towards legends?
• 33:36
  Man, it's tough.
• 33:37
  It's tough.
• 33:37
  I think I would like a
• 33:39
  blending of the two.
• 33:41
  What I would like is to get
• 33:42
  some of the swim and max
• 33:44
  lift and the structure from
• 33:48
  Legends and then get more
• 33:50
  of the high skill stuff from Boz.
• 33:52
  I'd love to see handstand
• 33:53
  ramp and stairs or pirouettes.
• 33:56
  I would personally love to
• 33:58
  see things like pegboards
• 34:00
  and crossover double unders
• 34:02
  and high skill movements,
• 34:04
  because those are things
• 34:05
  that I've taken the time
• 34:06
  over the last few years to
• 34:07
  really dial in and perfect.
• 34:10
  And I don't know how many other,
• 34:12
  a lot of the guys that are
• 34:14
  in the 35 to 39, you know,
• 34:15
  they've come up in some of
• 34:16
  Boz's programming for the last few years.
• 34:18
  But I don't know how many
• 34:19
  other people have spent the
• 34:20
  time to dial in some of those skills.
• 34:22
  So if we get some of the
• 34:23
  high skill stuff and we get
• 34:25
  some of the max lift and we get a swim,
• 34:27
  you know,
• 34:27
  I'd be a really happy CrossFitter.
• 34:30
  Yeah.
• 34:32
  That would make me a really happy guy.
• 34:34
  If, if what we see is more, you know,
• 34:36
  basic fitness testing, um, you know,
• 34:40
  similar stuff that you
• 34:41
  might expect to see in the
• 34:42
  open or a quarter finals.
• 34:44
  Um, you know, I'll be challenged.
• 34:46
  It'll be a challenge for me.
• 34:47
  It's just, that's,
• 34:47
  I'm not as good at that as
• 34:49
  I am the higher skill heavier and, and,
• 34:51
  you know, cyclical or type stuff.
• 34:54
  Uh, Corey Leonard says,
• 34:55
  I ain't going there for a haircut.
• 34:57
  Kyle Ruth, probably.
• 34:59
  I did just get a very nice haircut.
• 35:01
  So, uh,
• 35:02
  And Jake Chapman says,
• 35:03
  is it possible to be a
• 35:04
  Masters athlete if you
• 35:05
  don't have a beard?
• 35:07
  I don't think so.
• 35:07
  I think you're technically
• 35:09
  automatically not a Masters
• 35:10
  athlete if you don't have a beard.
• 35:11
  And people who have great
• 35:12
  beards can be honorary
• 35:13
  Masters athletes if they'd like.
• 35:16
  I think the minute you qualify,
• 35:17
  your hair grows 10 times faster.
• 35:19
  It does.
• 35:20
  You know,
• 35:21
  Travis has already got enough
• 35:22
  white in his beard that I
• 35:23
  think he should have
• 35:23
  qualified for Masters like
• 35:25
  two or three years ago.
• 35:26
  But, you know.
• 35:28
  It's hard to believe Travis
• 35:29
  is not a Masters athlete.
• 35:30
  Next year.
• 35:32
  He's just been around so long next year.
• 35:34
  He's officially a master's athlete.
• 35:37
  And you'll never have to
• 35:38
  face them because you'll
• 35:40
  age up as he ages up.
• 35:41
  Thank God.
• 35:42
  Cause I trained with him a
• 35:43
  lot this past year, early in the season.
• 35:45
  And then the last couple of weeks,
• 35:46
  and I don't think I beat him in anything.
• 35:48
  Like we we've probably done,
• 35:51
  we've probably done 30 plus
• 35:53
  workouts together.
• 35:53
  And I've,
• 35:54
  I have a total of zero victories
• 35:56
  in that space.
• 35:56
  That's not true.
• 35:57
  I beat him in two swim workouts,
• 35:59
  but he also beat me in a swim workout.
• 36:03
  Yeah,
• 36:03
  it was one arm dumbbell shoulder
• 36:06
  overhead.
• 36:06
  We had the 70s.
• 36:08
  I don't remember the rep scheme,
• 36:10
  but it was just a 50 swim.
• 36:11
  So, oh, I remember the rep scheme.
• 36:13
  It was 10, 8, 6, 4, 2.
• 36:14
  You do 10 on the left, 10 on the right,
• 36:17
  and then 50 swim, 8, 8, 6, 6, 4, 4, 2,
• 36:20
  2 with a 50 swim after each one.
• 36:22
  And his shoulder overhead
• 36:24
  cycle speed was so fast
• 36:26
  that I could not catch him in the waters.
• 36:29
  No matter what, no matter what.
• 36:31
  Now,
• 36:32
  the rest of the swim workouts we've done,
• 36:33
  I've been able to beat him.
• 36:35
  But those have been with longer swims,
• 36:37
  you know, hundreds, 150s, 200s, 500s.
• 36:40
  There's no chance if it's
• 36:42
  something that short that
• 36:44
  someone with that cycling speed,
• 36:47
  the guy was moving a 70
• 36:48
  like I move a 50 or a 45 pound dumbbell.
• 36:51
  It was crazy.
• 36:53
  So I'd be remiss to not ask
• 36:55
  about the athletes from TTT
• 36:57
  going to the games this week.
• 36:58
  We're in games week.
• 37:01
  I have Alexis on the podium in my picks.
• 37:05
  That's a good bet.
• 37:08
  You like that?
• 37:08
  Yes, I think that's a good bet.
• 37:12
  Yeah,
• 37:13
  everything I've seen of her in this
• 37:14
  offseason leads me to
• 37:16
  believe that she's in a
• 37:16
  great headspace and going
• 37:18
  into the games right at the right moment.
• 37:21
  Yeah,
• 37:22
  I just noticed this on Saturday when
• 37:25
  I was training there.
• 37:26
  I'm around them a lot.
• 37:28
  Maybe it was Friday.
• 37:28
  I don't remember what day it was.
• 37:29
  But anyway,
• 37:31
  Travis is still a little bit
• 37:32
  tired from the move.
• 37:33
  He did a lot of the – he did the mats,
• 37:35
  cutting the mats and
• 37:36
  mounting the rig and all that stuff.
• 37:37
  So he's clearly – he was a
• 37:38
  little tired still on Friday last week.
• 37:41
  But I saw Alexis,
• 37:42
  and she was literally like
• 37:43
  bouncing around before a workout.
• 37:46
  And just like, she had so much energy.
• 37:49
  Like it was clear that her
• 37:50
  taper was starting to take effect.
• 37:53
  And, you know, I think she,
• 37:55
  she timed it at the right spot.
• 37:56
  So I think she's going to be,
• 37:57
  she's going to be hard to
• 37:58
  beat in for most of those, those women.
• 38:02
  And you also have Linda Keisman going,
• 38:03
  right?
• 38:04
  Yeah.
• 38:04
  Linda, dude, Linda is,
• 38:06
  I think a dark horse.
• 38:07
  Nobody knows her.
• 38:08
  She's a freshman.
• 38:09
  at the CrossFit Games this year.
• 38:11
  And I think she's really
• 38:14
  powerful and really strong.
• 38:16
  We did this Miko's Triangle
• 38:18
  progression as they kind of
• 38:20
  like led into the games.
• 38:21
  And it was kind of like my base building.
• 38:23
  Even because our timelines
• 38:24
  aren't exactly the same.
• 38:26
  But man,
• 38:26
  she was hitting the same ski
• 38:27
  calories as me most of the weeks.
• 38:29
  And I'm like, man, you are one fit chick.
• 38:34
  I'm in trouble in a couple of years.
• 38:36
  I'm not even going to be
• 38:36
  able to beat the girls that
• 38:37
  come on site on the ergs.
• 38:40
  And then Travis is going, anybody else?
• 38:44
  We've got Bethany.
• 38:47
  Yeah.
• 38:48
  Bethany parent coaches her and she's,
• 38:50
  you know,
• 38:50
  I haven't seen as much as her of her.
• 38:52
  Cause I was actually out of town.
• 38:54
  We had our, our family vacation when,
• 38:56
  when all the people were in
• 38:59
  town to do the games prep camp this year,
• 39:01
  which is kind of sad.
• 39:02
  Cause I love those games, games,
• 39:04
  preps weekend.
• 39:04
  But yeah,
• 39:06
  I haven't seen a lot of her,
• 39:08
  so it's hard for me to say
• 39:09
  how she'll compete.
• 39:11
  I think the TTT compete team
• 39:13
  looks like they are in a good place.
• 39:16
  They're all in a great spot.
• 39:18
  Obviously, based on where they finish,
• 39:20
  they're not necessarily the
• 39:21
  top team with top expectations,
• 39:24
  but they work well as a team.
• 39:26
  They've been coached well.
• 39:28
  They've trained hard together,
• 39:29
  and I think they'll be able
• 39:30
  to go out and put on a good show.
• 39:33
  One interesting fact about Bethany,
• 39:35
  you know, she's never been cut.
• 39:38
  Really?
• 39:38
  I didn't know that.
• 39:40
  Yeah.
• 39:40
  Every time she's gone to a
• 39:42
  semifinal or regional,
• 39:43
  she's made it to the games
• 39:45
  and she's never been cut at the games.
• 39:49
  That is really impressive.
• 39:50
  I did not know that.
• 39:51
  Yeah.
• 39:51
  I just had her on the show
• 39:53
  maybe a week and a half ago.
• 39:54
  And like,
• 39:55
  it just always seems like the
• 39:57
  timing of her health lines up just right.
• 40:01
  That's always perfect.
• 40:02
  Yeah,
• 40:03
  that's the opposite for most athletes.
• 40:05
  Most athletes,
• 40:05
  they get one or two weeks
• 40:07
  out and they get this
• 40:07
  mysterious tweak that shows up.
• 40:10
  And it's always hard to
• 40:12
  predict when it's going to happen.
• 40:14
  But I've coached enough
• 40:15
  people at semifinals and at
• 40:18
  the games level that –
• 40:20
  It's almost like clockwork.
• 40:21
  They get these little tweaks.
• 40:23
  I remember there was one
• 40:24
  year Noah tweaked his pec
• 40:25
  two weeks before the ring
• 40:26
  dips at semifinals.
• 40:28
  I don't remember if it was 16 or 18.
• 40:31
  Another year Noah was in the
• 40:32
  hospital because of his
• 40:34
  back right before the CrossFit Games.
• 40:37
  Some of the athletes,
• 40:38
  when I coached Josh Miller,
• 40:40
  when he qualified for the
• 40:41
  CrossFit Games at a French throwdown,
• 40:43
  he had this massive knee
• 40:44
  tweak like five days before the
• 40:47
  and you know was barely
• 40:48
  going to be able to squat
• 40:49
  and all that and then he
• 40:49
  went out there and just you
• 40:51
  know cleaned house at
• 40:52
  french throwdown so it's
• 40:53
  like it's always these
• 40:55
  little tweaks that happen
• 40:56
  just a few days before and
• 40:58
  it's kind of nice as a
• 40:59
  coach that when it happens
• 41:01
  to me you know five days
• 41:03
  out I'm like oh I got a
• 41:04
  neck tweak I'm like oh yeah
• 41:05
  this happens to everybody
• 41:06
  and you're going to be fine
• 41:09
  well man this has gone long
• 41:11
  um way longer than I
• 41:13
  anticipated but as you're
• 41:14
  just great to talk to um
• 41:17
  Good luck on your health
• 41:18
  going into the games.
• 41:21
  We are going to be in Birmingham.
• 41:23
  We got full access to dual
• 41:26
  behind the scenes.
• 41:28
  So Ellie Hiller and myself
• 41:30
  will be back in the back.
• 41:32
  Ellie.
• 41:34
  You coach her?
• 41:35
  Yes.
• 41:36
  Oh, that's awesome.
• 41:38
  Yeah.
• 41:38
  So she lives in Birmingham.
• 41:40
  Yep.
• 41:41
  so uh I recruited her to be
• 41:43
  a part of our team for the
• 41:44
  masters games her and I are
• 41:46
  going to be back with
• 41:46
  cameras uh catching
• 41:48
  everything that goes on
• 41:49
  behind the scenes we're
• 41:50
  gonna have a couple
• 41:51
  videographers getting the
• 41:52
  stuff on the floor and
• 41:54
  we're gonna put that
• 41:54
  together in a cool documentary
• 41:56
  Ellie is awesome.
• 41:57
  She's a fireball.
• 41:58
  Just be ready.
• 41:58
  She's got so much energy.
• 42:00
  She's going to just run
• 42:01
  circles around everybody there.
• 42:02
  She's already put together
• 42:04
  some reels for us showing
• 42:06
  like restaurants and coffee
• 42:07
  shops and gyms and stuff
• 42:10
  like that that are in Birmingham.
• 42:13
  Yeah.
• 42:14
  Good choice.
• 42:15
  I can just say that you're
• 42:17
  going to have a ball of
• 42:18
  energy on your hands there.
• 42:20
  Yeah.
• 42:21
  Well, and she's a great athlete too.
• 42:22
  And she understands like what it means,
• 42:25
  what it's like to be an athlete.
• 42:26
  So it's going to give a great perspective.
• 42:29
  Hopefully she gets very biased,
• 42:31
  very colorful,
• 42:32
  positive feedback for me the entire time.
• 42:36
  You don't bury her.
• 42:37
  And when you get,
• 42:38
  when you get to turn around
• 42:39
  and be her coach again,
• 42:40
  she's a workhorse.
• 42:41
  She would be mad if I,
• 42:42
  if I wasn't burying her, to be honest.
• 42:45
  That's awesome.
• 42:46
  Yeah, she's a good kid.
• 42:49
  So yeah, we're super excited about that.
• 42:51
  And don't forget to like,
• 42:53
  subscribe to the channel
• 42:55
  where we have a ton more of
• 42:56
  these Masters profiles we're doing,
• 42:58
  trying to get as many
• 42:59
  highlights done before the
• 43:00
  games as possible so you
• 43:02
  know the athletes.
• 43:03
  So when Sean Woodland calls their name,
• 43:06
  you know who they are.
• 43:08
  And I was saying when we
• 43:08
  lost you for a second,
• 43:10
  if Sean Woodland called my name,
• 43:11
  that would be my ringtone.
• 43:13
  You'd set it as your ringtone?
• 43:15
  Yeah.
• 43:17
  I love it.
• 43:19
  Well, thank you, Kyle, for being here.
• 43:20
  Thank you to everybody in the chat.
• 43:21
  You guys make it awesome.
• 43:22
  As always,
• 43:23
  we will see everybody next time
• 43:25
  on the cloud.
• 43:26
  So media podcast.