RICH FRONING

He won the CrossFit Games, one of the toughest tests of fitness, a staggering four times. Back in 2015, we spent a day with the man who dominated the sport to find out the secrets to his success

We’ve seen the likes of Dwayne Johnson and Kellan Lutz play Hercules onscreen, but for our money, the only modern mortal fit to portray the legendary hero is Rich Froning. In July 2014, the former firefighter won the CrossFit Games title for the fourth year running, confirming his status as the fittest man on Earth.

It’s a feat he had to work hard to accomplish. At his first attempt, in 2010, he came unstuck on the rope climb during the final event and missed out on first place. Since then, he has learned to prepare for any scenario, iron out every technical flaw and turn his few weaknesses into strengths. His secrets? Smart programming and heavy lifting.

Body moving

It’s 8am at London’s CrossFit Thames gym when Froning gets to work. He has barely got his feet on the ground after a long-haul flight from his home in Tennessee, but already he’s going all-out on the rowing machine. Two minutes later he marches over to the rack for some front squats: eight reps each of 70kg, 90kg, 110kg and 130kg.

Now warm, he begins hefting a heavily laden bar overhead. Overhead squats, snatch pulls, snatches and some power cleans for good measure. Then four sets of three back squats. To finish, Froning powers through a more traditional CrossFit workout, rotating four sets of max-rep pull-ups, glute-ham raises, GHD sit-ups and back extensions.