Join Sevan Matossian as he finds out how 2009 CrossFit Games champion Mikko Salo and Reebok CrossFit Games Open winner Dan Bailey approach the offseason and stay fresh for upcoming competition.
“I’ve had it ingrained into my head by some coaches in the past that champions are made in the offseason, so I still put in a lot of work,” Bailey says. “It’s definitely dialed back a little bit, just the volume.”
Bailey says he plans the year with strength training early on and then ramps up the intensity and trains more specific to CrossFit as he gets closer to competition.
Salo has a different training plan.
“I don’t think there is an off-season,” Salo says. “For me, like I focused on my weaknesses, doing a bit different kind of strength training,” he says. “I believe you should be, like, 85-90 percent of your maximum results all the time.”
The two discuss their training and that of Graham Holmberg, who finished fourth in the 2011 Games and first the year before. Bailey says he himself might have pushed too hard and not rested enough before the 2011 Games. He finished in sixth place. Salo says there isn’t a one-size-fits-all scheme to training.
6min 27sec
Additional reading: Get Ready for 2012.