The Sport of Fitness Podcast

“We all have our weaknesses. We’re all exposed at some point.” — Stacie Tovar
Eight-time CrossFit Games athlete Stacie Tovar and Games athlete, coach, and CrossFit analyst Adrian Conway join host Chase Ingraham on the podcast to recap Open Test 23.3 and look ahead to Quarterfinals.
In today’s episode, Ingraham, Tovar, and Conway give their initial reactions to the final Open test. They offer their perspectives about the six-minute time cap, including the value of a short time domain, and discuss different varieties of intensity levels. The crew also discusses the coach’s role in athletes’ growth from failure and/or challenges.
The group reflects on the Open as a whole, sharing their opinions on the balance of the tests and lessons they’ve learned as coaches and athletes. They also highlight surprising performances and moments from the three-week competition.
With the Open behind us and Quarterfinals up next, Ingraham and the crew throw around possible movement combinations and workout structures they'd like to see in the next stage of competition with Tovar recognizing, "anything is possible with Boz at this point."
Also in this episode, hear from Mal O’Brien as she chats with Sean Woodland about her performance in the live announcement of Open Test 23.3.
Join the conversation about this year’s Open and get ready for Quarterfinals. Individual Quarterfinals begin March 16.
Learn more about Quarterfinals here → https://games.crossfit.com/article/what-are-2023-crossfit-games-quarterfinals

“It was definitely a really, really good test of fitness. I enjoyed it.”
Eight-time CrossFit Games athlete and co-owner of Big Omaha Fitness, Stacie Tovar, returns to break down both parts of Open Test 23.2 with host Chase Ingraham.
After giving her initial thoughts about the second test of the Open, Tovar shares her perspective as an affiliate owner about setting up, programming, and preparing her athletes for 23.2. Tovar and Ingraham also discuss the new thruster standard, referring back to the standards listed in Thruster Ladder from the 2011 Regional.
The pair dive into some of the top scores on the leaderboard and discuss Roman Khrennikov’s and Pat Vellner’s performances at the live announcement.
Get Tovar’s and Ingraham’s predictions for 23.3, leaning on past Open experiences to make their guesses, and hear from Tovar on hosting the live announcement of 23.3 and joining Sean Woodland and Annie Sakamoto on the broadcast at CrossFit Omaha.
Also in this episode, Tommy Marquez chats with Pat Vellner about his approach to Open Test 23.2 and his experience at his fourth live Open announcement.
Tune in on Thursday, March 2, at games.crossfit.com to watch Mal O’Brien go toe-to-toe with Danielle Brandon in Open Test 23.3, live from CrossFit Omaha.
Presented by RP Strength. RP Strength is giving away an all expense paid trip for two to train with Rich Froning. Enter for a chance to win → https://cf.games/23open_rp

“This is the first stage of finding the absolute fittest person in the world and to see where we’ve come from, just think about this workout being written in 2014 … it’s just kind of crazy to think about. … I look at that leaderboard and I can’t even believe these numbers that I’m seeing. … It’s just mind blowing.”
Eight-time CrossFit Games athlete Stacie Tovar joins host Chase Ingraham on the podcast to break down Open Test 23.1, a repeat of Open Workout 14.4, and share her predictions for Open Test 23.2.
After sharing her story of becoming an affiliate owner, Tovar — owner of Big Omaha Fitness, home of CrossFit Omaha — breaks down the men’s and women’s 23.1 leaderboards with Ingraham. The pair highlight top scores, and also discuss the impact and evolution of CrossFit athletes’ fitness over the years.Tovar reminisces on her own performance from 14.4 and explains how her strategy from 2014 still worked for her years, heading into 23.1.
Tovar also pulls from her past experiences as a competitive athlete and offers advice to the younger generation of up-and-coming competitive athletes saying, “Soak it up, surround yourself with people willing to help you, go all in.”
Hear more from Tovar on why being an affiliate owner brings her so much joy, how Haley Adams is inspiring others to be vocal about the challenges of being a competitor, and what movements she thinks could appear in Week 2 of the Open.
Also in this episode, hear from CrossFit Games athletes Lazar Dukic and Laura Horvath — who, along with Gabi Migala and Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, helped kick off the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open from Madrid, Spain — as they share their movement strategy and overall opinions about their performances in the live announcement of Open Test 23.1.
Watch the live announcement of Open Test 23.1 on the CrossFit Games YouTube channel.
Presented by Chipotle. Join Chipotle Rewards for Freepotle → https://cf.games/23open_chipotle

“There are some pretty extreme situations out there that we don’t want to have as a barrier for people who legitimately want to qualify and compete. Those were the problems we’re trying to solve with this exemption region, is how do we take care of particularly the athletes that are going to have to travel for Semifinals and the Games? How do we take care of those athletes that find themselves on the margins of this citizenship qualification process?.” — Adrian Bozman
Athlete Communications Manager and CrossFit Coach (CF-L4) Becky Harsh and Competition Director Adrian Bozman join host Chase Ingraham to talk about competition region exemptions.
New for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games season, individual athletes who reside in a region outside of their country of citizenship and believe they may advance to an in-person Semifinal competition were able to request an exemption to be placed in a different competition region.
Harsh and Bozman give insight into how and why this exemption process came about, and review and clarify the process from start to finish, digging into the criteria and information athletes needed to provide in their application.
The pair also share examples of cases they viewed this year and encourage anyone with questions to reach out for further information and clarification.
Learn more about competition region exemptions and other uncommon situations in Section 1.09 of the 2023 Rulebook at games.crossfit.com/rules.
Presented by NOBULL.

“The worldwide ranking will have an effect on how many final positions there are out of your Semifinals and into the Games, but the process of getting (to the Games) has not changed.” — Adrian Bozman
Competition Director Adrian Bozman and Senior Manager of the Competition Team Dave Eubanks join the podcast to explain the strength-of-field calculation for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games season.
Last episode, Bozman and Eubanks described a new worldwide ranking system — a sliding two-year span of data where athletes earn points based on their performances during the Games season — and explained that one of the system’s functions would be to finalize the number of Games-qualifying spots for each Semifinal event.
Each competition region has the opportunity to add to its minimum number of guaranteed Games-qualifying position(s).
(Watch “Worldwide Ranking System Explained” here → https://youtu.be/bsXOGSnZGeM)
CrossFit will use the top 100 athletes in the worldwide rankings* after the 2023 Quarterfinals to determine the relative strength of field at each Semifinal.In this episode, Eubanks and Bozman fully break down the formula — based on the D’Hondt method — used to calculate the strength of field, and give an example of how it will work. The pair also give insight into how the D’Hondt method was chosen and why the top 100 athletes in the worldwide ranking is the pool size used in the calculation.Learn more about the strength-of-field calculation and see it in action with a hypothetical distribution of the top 100 women here → https://games.crossfit.com/article/strength-field-explained
Sign up for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open at games.crossfit.com.
*Note: the top 100 in the worldwide rankings are based on the previous two years of competition results. This list is not simply the top 100 athletes from the 2023 Quarterfinals competition.
Presented by NOBULL.

“The basic system is very simple — as athletes compete through the season, they can gain points for each stage of the season that they compete in. Obviously, you’re gonna get more points for placing higher and less points for placing lower, and your worldwide ranking will be determined based on the total number of points that you’ve accumulated over the season, or in this case, two years.” — Adrian Bozman
A new worldwide ranking system was recently introduced for the 2023 CrossFit Games season.Using a sliding two-year span of data, athletes will earn points — based on their performances during the four stages of competition — that will be used to calculate their ranking. Available points will increase as athletes advance through the season. One of the worldwide ranking system’s functions will be to determine the final number of Games-qualifying spots at each Semifinal event.
In this episode, Competition Director Adrian Bozman and Senior Manager of the Competition Team Dave Eubanks join host Chase Ingraham to explain this new system in depth and give insight into the thinking and decision-making behind this new process.
Hear from Boz and Eubanks as they break down the point system, explaining how athletes will earn points during each stage of the season and how many are up for grabs, and briefly explain how this ranking system will be used to determine the strength of field at Semifinal competitions.
Learn more about why athletes will be ranked on a worldwide level during the Open and Quarterfinals, and how points will be allocated during the Semifinal and Games stages.In order to earn points toward your ranking, you’ve got to play. It all starts with the CrossFit Open.
Sign up today for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open at open.crossfit.com.

“(Adrian Bozman) is probably about to dose us up with what we’re missing or what he thinks we’re missing.” — Adrian ConwayFormer CrossFit Games athlete and coach
Adrian Conway joins host Chase Ingraham on the podcast this week to review the newly released equipment list for the online stages of the 2023 season and talk about how to prepare for the upcoming CrossFit Open.
“The equipment list for not just the Open — that’s the thing. The equipment list just got unveiled from CrossFit, and it said ‘All Online Competition’ equipment list.” — Chase Ingraham
The launch of early registration for the Open and the recent unveiling of the equipment list for the online stages of competition provide affiliate owners, athletes, and coaches an opportunity to get ready for the upcoming season.
In this episode, Conway offers ways athletes can begin prepping for the Open, noting that consistency is a great place to start. Conway and Ingraham also break down the equipment list in full detail and let their imaginations run wild, sharing their ideas for new “outside-of-the-box” movements that the community might see this season.
Are you ready to party? Sign up for the CrossFit Open today at games.crossfit.com.
Presented by Wilde Brands. Get 20% off your first order at wildebrands.com using code WILDEFIT20.

“What we really aspire people to leave with regardless if they’re showing up as a spectator or as a competitor is (to) really embrace the community. … Take the focus off of yourself a little bit, regardless of what stake you play, and invest in other people and watch other people compete. … Everybody can inspire you.
”Wodapalooza (WZA), co-founded by Peak 360 CrossFit owner Guido Trinidad, began as a one-day fitness competition in Miami in 2012. Since then, the competition has evolved into a four-day fitness festival, uniting the local Florida community and athletes from around the world in a celebration of fitness, community, and life.
Trinidad joins host Chase Ingraham to dive into the competition’s 11th season, running Jan. 12 through Jan. 15.In this episode, Trinidad reflects on the evolution of the event, its impact on the CrossFit community, and how it remains true to the ethos of the competition.
He also shares the importance of providing an excellent experience for everyone participating in the event — not just athletes — and hopes the competition will continue providing “an experience unlike anything else” to the community.
New this year due to the design of the schedule, individual athletes will also be able to compete in the team division. Trinidad gives his insight on the team competition and how he approaches programming to provide athletes with a mental and physical challenge that is safe, fun, and exciting.
Find out more about why Wodapalooza is such a well-known and special competition, and what Trinidad is most looking forward to this year.
Can’t experience Wodapalooza in person? Watch the live stream on YouTube and/or the CrossFit Games website to be part of the action.
Presented by O2 Recovery.

“How can we Tetris together seven different events over every continent in the world that does then fit in to meet the criteria for a great location, great test, and a great community and athlete experience?”
Senior Manager of Events John McLaughlin — better known as JMac in the community — drops in on the podcast to discuss the recent announcement of CrossFit Semifinal locations. CrossFit has worked toward releasing information about the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games season early to give the community ample time to plan and prepare ahead of the new year. Most recently, locations for Semifinals — the third stage of competition — were released through the Hopper.
Read more here → https://games.crossfit.com/article/2023-nobull-crossfit-games-semifinals
In this episode, McLaughlin sheds light on what key factors played a role in selecting venues for Semifinals around the globe, citing venue availability, competition footprint, and spectator and athlete experience as part of the considerations.
CrossFit also announced this year that the number of Semifinal events would be reduced from 10 to seven, all with standardized programming and with CrossFit running the North American and European Semifinals. After reviewing the locations and schedule, McLaughlin provides insight on these changes and CrossFit’s connection and role in supporting the additional four Semifinal competitions.
To close out the show, McLaughlin shares what he’s most looking forward to in the new year, especially during the Semifinals stage of competition.
Subscribe to the Hopper and sign up for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open at games.crossfit.com.
Presented by Wilde Brands. Get 20% off your first order at wildebrands.com using code WILDEFIT20.

“It’s just what we do. We do things that make us uncomfortable, we do things that challenge us because we know they make us better. And that is the Open. That is CrossFit.” — Adam Neiffer
Nicole Christensen, owner of CrossFit Roots and CF-L4 trainer, and Adam Neiffer, owner of CrossFit Fort Vancouver and coach to two-time Fittest Man on Earth Justin Medeiros, pop in on the podcast to share their insights on the CrossFit Open, why they encourage others to participate, and how they create an exciting atmosphere for their members.
The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open is quickly approaching and as longtime affiliate owners, Christensen and Neiffer have a bank of ways to make the competition fun and memorable.
After sharing what gets them excited about the Open, the pair gives a plethora of examples of activities and competitions they’ve run alongside the Open — such as an intramural competition, talent shows, and trivia games — that make the experience more enjoyable and fosters a supportive, encouraging, and unified culture inside their gyms.
With a diverse level of athletes training at their affiliates, Christensen and Neiffer also provide insight on how they balance the competition for everyday athletes and competitive athletes, agreeing that it’s “easy.”
“I think the Open does such a good job — and especially the last few years — of making it accessible for not just adaptive athletes, but foundations athletes, scaled, Rx’d,” Neiffer says. “Everybody gets to play and finding the right version is easy because it’s already done for us. It’s just a matter of supporting each person at the gym as an individual, and that’s no different from what we do every day in the gym.”
Throughout the podcast, the group also touches on how the Open can be a motivator and catalyst for strengthening relationships among their members, explains how the Open offers athletes an opportunity to set up goals for the new year, and gives advice on how to coach and guide athletes who are hesitant to participate in the competition.
Sign up for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games today at games.crossfit.com. Presented by O2 Hydration.