Audio only on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/barbell-shrugged/id509969439

BarBell Shrugged: Ep. 2 with Rich Froning and the “Entourage”

Doug Larson: So you guys know Rich right?

Mike Bledsoe: That’s right

Doug Larson: You know Rich Froning.

Mike Bledsoe: Screw interviewing Rich, we jut want the friends of Rich.

Mike Bledsoe: So your name?

Jacob Johnson: Jacob

Mike Bledsoe: Jacob, Jacob what?

Jacob Johnson: Jacob Johnson

Mike Bledsoe: What are any notable accomplishments?

Jacob Johnson: Notable? I’m just apart of the entourage man I really don’t do anything.

Mike Bledsoe: So rich has an entourage?

Rich Froning: He was there at sectionals. The first time we met. He didn’t compete but he was there, me him and Darin.

Mike Bledsoe: I remember Darin. Are we recording? Okay, cool. All right, I’m Mike Bledsoe here with obviously Doug Larson…

Doug Larson: Obviously

Mike Bledsoe: and Doug is here every time. I’m here with Jacob Johnson and Rich Froning Junior.

Rich Froning: Yeah Junior, for some reason that has been added in the past few years. I am a junior but everybody kind of puts more emphasis on it all the sudden.

Doug Larson: I heard your dad is exactly like you.

Rich Froning: My dads exactly like me? No.

Doug Larson: That’s what Johnson told me.

Rich Froning: The real Rich Froning, that’s how he’ll introduce himself.

Doug Larson: He told me all about your dad on the way over here.

Jacob Johnson: He is a wild man.

Mike Bledsoe: Oh really, actually I had the pleasure of eating steak with your father in Colorado.

Rich Froning: Oh yeah you did. He is a great guy.

Mike Bledsoe: He seemed really cool.

Rich Froning: Yeah, he is a great guy.

Mike Bledsoe: All right, so Dan Bailey has moved in with you?

Rich Froning: Yep. Lives upstairs

Mike Bledsoe: He lives upstairs? And you live upstairs too?

Rich Froning: No I live downstairs. Me and her would rather live downstairs.

Mike Bledsoe: I was wondering what your wife might of thought about sleeping on the couch.

Rich Froning: I know. Actually when we get in fights, she always like your going to sleep in Dan’s room; and Dans like okay we’re going to build a fort and paint on the walls. So it’s always a joke.

Mike Bledsoe: Awesome, All right Dougy. So Rich has an entourage?

Jacob Johnson: Oh yeah.

Mike Bledsoe: Lets move up to the microphone or move pull the microphone to you that’s fine. There you go.

Rich Froning: Welcome to the party, Johnson.

Mike Bledsoe: So your part of Richs entourage?

Jacob Johnson: I like to think so.

Mike Bledsoe: Is it like that TV show?

Jacob Johnson: Actually we were just talking about that earlier.

Rich Froning: Just mentioned that last night. I’ve never watched it.

Jacob Johnson: Yeah see he didn’t get the reference, so it just didn’t click.

Mike Bledsoe: So you all live in a big house together?

Rich Froning: No, no

Jacob Johnson: I would be nice. I threw it out there. He didn’t really pick it up.

Mike Bledsoe: Hey Rich, you buy a big house….

Doug Larson: So hoping Reebok will get Rich a house one of these days and you can move in.

Jacob Johnson: Oh yes

Doug Larson: And kick Dan out, then you will be number one.

Jacob Johnson: That’s why I’ve been training.

Rich Froning: Training to dethrone Dan.

Mike Bledsoe: Oh man. So training with Dan that’s obviously… has it up your game at all or do you feel like…

Rich Froning: Yeah its been good; its been good for both of us. He is obviously good at running being an ex-track guy, and I’m not a big fan of running. So he makes me run. So it has been good. We kind just bounce ideas off each other. Its been cool.

Mike Bledsoe: Who is programming for you guys or are you guys programming for yourself?

Rich Froning: Program for ourselves

Mike Bledsoe: How far out do you like to program? Two days, three weeks?

Rich Froning: What is today? When I walk in the gym in the morning.

Mike Bledsoe: Really?

Rich Froning: We kind of have a set strength schedule more or less other then that….

Mike Bledsoe: The conditioning is pretty random…

Rich Froning: Conditioning just random. I like to do some rowing intervals everyday or airdyne intervals of some sort of.

Mike Bledsoe: I think I heard you were rowing a lot.

Rich Froning: I was rowing a lot.

Mike Bledsoe: not any more?

Rich Froning: Well yeah still, just that kind of fluctuates too. It’s like everyday, kind of like how do I feel today and go with it.

Mike Bledsoe: Got ya. Are you doing anything with the football program at Tennessee Tech?

Rich Froning: Yeah. We just got don’t there on spring break. Now, when they come back, they will be on spring practice. We did some good stuff this fall or actually this spring I guess it was. I had some pretty big numbers on… We got rid of the back squat, not this season but this cycle we were going through, and just had them front squat and they got pretty strong. A lot of squats, a lot of cleans.

Mike Bledsoe: I think there was an article, I didn’t get a chance to read it but I was discussing it with somebody and they were informing me and they were talking about the top seven exercises posted an article posted by elite fitness. The top seven exercises for football players and one was front-squat box-squats. The other one was just straight up dead lift. Those were two of the seven. I don’t recall what the other five were….

Rich Froning: Right.

Mike Bledsoe: But they were common exercises….

Rich Froning: Common exercises

Mike Bledsoe: So you guys do any front squat box squat?

Rich Froning: We don’t do any front squat box squat but we did a back squat banded box squat a little bit. Some speed stuff

Mike Bledsoe: So do you guys use some of the bands?

Rich Froning: Yeah. College football players are dumb, so we don’t like to give them things where they can injure themselves.

Mike Bledsoe: So do you find a lot of the freshman that come in and basically are being taught how to squat essentially?

Rich Froning: Oh gosh, yeah. Even when I started, because before Chip was kind of over, or under manned. I guess you could say.

Mike Bledsoe: Chip who?

Rich Froning: Chip Pugh the head strength coach

Mike Bledsoe: Chip Pugh?

Rich Froning: Pugh. Chip who? The Chip Pugh

Mike Bledsoe: Make sure that we got that. I just want to put that out there for everybody.

Rich Froning: Yeah, Chip Pugh

Mike Bledsoe: I knew that, yeah.

Rich Froning: The head strength coach was under manned before me. Well now Dans on the staff and we’ve got two other guys on staff. Before that it was just him with about 100 guys, so it got kind of tough for him because the GA’s before us. I’m not going to say they weren’t, you know, good coaches. I don’t think they had the background that me and Dan do with Crossfit and actually seeing athletes and making athletes squat and that type of stuff.

Mike Bledsoe: Part of it is probably just being sold…

Dough Larson: Yeah.

Mike Bledsoe: Being like, I know this works. We’re going to do this and…

Rich Froning: Exactly … They were just like okay.

Mike Bledsoe: make people better, and their like, “oh yeah, we’re just going to follow the program”.

Rich Froning: “Yeah, we’ll just do whatever Chip tells us to.”

Doug Larson: Yeah, most GA’s I’ve ever met have just gotten a degree and their training experience is lacking in a big way. Usually.

Rich Froning: Oh yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

Mike Bledsoe: Oh yeah, yeah

Doug Larson: So actually with respect to chains and bands, how much have you incorporated it into your training? You do much chain and band work? Like a Powerlifting style train?

Rich Froning: Not really I did for a little while; I guess it was last year, right after the games in 2010. I did a little bit and then I just got to where I was like I’m just going to squat normal. You can’t really test that in Crossfit, so really what’s the point of working with it that much. Odd objects and picking that kind of stuff up. I like that type of stuff. It is just fun, But the bands and chains and all that stuff.

Doug Larson: You felt like you didn’t get much out of it really.

Rich Froning: I mean one rep max yeah you do a one rep max often, but its not the biggest part of the game. So it is more like higher reps. The Wendler type stuff. I messed around with Wendler quite a bit. Its been pretty good doing the five reps.

Mike Bledsoe: the 531

Rich Froning: yeah, 531

Doug Larson: 531 is a solid program. There is nothing fancy about it. Its straight up and you work super hard on the basics, and you get stronger. It’s perfect.

Rich Froning: That’s right.

Mike Bledsoe: That’s one thing I like about it, that its so simple. I think a lot of times I talk to some Powerlifters and they’ll take 531 and then they will start tweaking it to a degree that bastardize it. And I’m like you are missing the point.

Rich Froning: I think people get too complex. And try too many different thing when stuff has been proven use it, you know, you don’t really have to make it your own. I mean you can add your own special flavor to it. It works, that why it’s so popular. Don’t change it.

Mike Bledsoe: I think a lot of people their getting results, and then they want to change something. And they think if they keep changing it the results will stay on the same track. No, just keep doing the same thing your doing.

Doug Larson: Shinny object syndrome, we talked about his, find what works and stop doing it. That’s the key to success. Isn’t that right Johnson?

Jacob Johnson: Oh yeah

Mike Bledsoe: You need to speak up here at some point.

Jacob Johnson: I’m just zoned out man.

Doug Larson: Every five minutes I just want you to go, yeah.

Jacob Johnson: Sound like a rap video, yeah.

Rich Froning: What!

Mike Bledsoe: I want you to ask Doug a question. You got a question for Doug? He knows a lot about Kinesiology and fish oil.

Doug Larson: If you tell him what that means…

Jacob Johnson: And fish oil?

Doug Larson: Fish Oil, that’s right.

Jacob Johnson: What do you know about fish oil?

Doug Larson: Well we talked about that but you’ll have to watch my episode one, part four on Barbellshrugged.com or FITr.tv. You can learn all about it. Facebook that.

Mike Bledsoe: Facebookfitr.tv

Doug Larson: Like our page

Jacob Johnson: I have to like it? Like fit-r or fitter?

Mike Bledsoe: Like f-I-t-r .TV

Doug Larson: It’s very trendy the way we spell it. FITR

Rich Froning: Kind of like how my dad does text messaging.

Mike Bledsoe: It is because he is with the times right?

Rich Froning: That’s right, L-U-V U, you too Dad.

Mike Bledsoe: Awesome. So Jacob ask him a question besides about his fish oil.

Jacob Johnson: Man I really want to know about the fish oil.

Doug Larson: Do you take fish oil?

Jacob Johnson: No.

Doug Larson: No? Why not?

Jacob Johnson: Why should I take fish oil?

Doug Larson: Oh turning it around on me. Flippin’ the script. I can see you in a bar talking to a girl and she’s like why should I date you? An your like ahh shit. Why shouldn’t you date me? You tell me. Fish oil for you…

Mike Bledsoe: What are your goals?

Doug Larson: Yeah tell me a little bit about yourself.

Jacob Johnson: I’ve been pretty inconsistent with my training. I like long walks on the beach, aromatherapy candles, and a nice latte.

Rich Froning: Okay now go ahead and tell them a little about your fitness background.

Jacob Johnson: My fitness background. I was what you call a meathead. For sure. First time I ever did Crossifit, I had known Rich for quite a while. He had started his own little box up across town. I had accidently looked through all my contacts one day.

Mike Bledsoe: So you’re from Cookeville?

Jacob Johnson: I’m from the neighboring town so pretty close

Rich Froning: Just tell them you’re from Cookeville. Don’t tell them where your from it’s a crap hole.

Jacob Johnson: Yeah it is.

Mike Bledsoe: I hope the microphones picked that up.

Jacob Johnson: I was actually going to call him to get something to eat with me. He’s like ‘hey man come tryout Crossfit. I’ve heard about that, no way man I am going to loss so much mass, that’s stupid. He’s like okay just get your food and come over. So I come over and I’m sitting here eating and I see this 130-pound kid throwing down on weights. I’m like man I probably couldn’t do that. Here I was coming in; I was every bit of 230-235.

Mike Bledsoe: Really?

Jacob Johnson: Dude, I’m like 180 right now.

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah

Rich Froning: Standing shoulder… shoulder press 245.

Doug Larson: Damn

Jacob Johnson: Up and down

Mike Bledsoe: It’s like my bench press.

Jacob Johnson: It was all upper body.

Mike Bledsoe: And Doug’s back squat

Doug Larson: Easily… For half a rep all the way down.

Jacob Johnson: A house on toothpicks, house on toothpicks man. It was embarrassing man. It was humbling.

Mike Bledsoe: You were terrified of losing mass then you were embarrassed when you got there?

Jacob Johnson: Oh dude, because I was getting killed. When we would do pull-ups, I would have to use the band because I was so inflexible that I couldn’t fully extend.

Mike Bledsoe: your shoulders?

Jacob Johnson: Yeah, I could do a muscle up not even close man. I couldn’t get it tight enough to my body.

Mike Bledsoe: So what did you do to improve your mobility?

Jacob Johnson: A lot of it was losing, cutting down a lot. It was slow.

Mike Bledsoe: You were just massive.

Rich Froning: Too swole, he was a large human being from his waist up.

Jacob Johnson: Yeah that’s what I’m saying. It was too thick for me man.

Doug Larson: That’s not the first time anyone has said that to him.

Rich Froning: Ouch that was cold.

Jacob Johnson: Its cold outside, its cold at night.

Doug Larson: So how long ago was that?

Jacob Johnson: Its probably been about 2, 2 and a half years ago.

Rich Froning: 2 years? right before March of 2010, around there, right

Jacob Johnson: I thought it was earlier in the year, it had just turn…

Mike Bledsoe: So I feel like that’s a pretty common concern with a lot of guys who don’t come in the gym. I call it like frat boy mentality. Its like I don’t want to do Crossfit because my bench will go down. That’s pretty much the thing that happens. What changed for you?

Jacob Johnson: It was actually convincing myself to do it was the hardest thing. I like it if I could be more consistent now though. Ill be honest that my biggest thing. Is that I am so inconsistent with my days.

Rich Froning: Problem is that he didn’t have anywhere to workout. He can’t afford the place he was at now or work schedule.

Jacob Johnson: He just calls me poor but… I mean I love it man. I’m stronger, faster, and leaner, feel better, look way better.

Rich Froning: That’s a opinion but

Jacob Johnson: Hey, hey

Mike Bledsoe: I remember back before I discovered weightlifting, in and after discovering weightlifting, I discover Crossfit. I trained for the soul purpose of putting on muscle mass. So I was on the same boat, but I squatted.

Jacob Johnson: Lucky you

Mike Bledsoe: But I remember those days. Its one of those things, where convincing you that doing some cardio and high rep stuffs, is actually going to be beneficial. Its hard to swallow when all your worried about is your physique. And it’s funny when you start doing Crossfit your probably happier with the way you look any way.

Jacob Johnson: Oh yeah, no doubt.

Mike Bledsoe: I think we had more questions prepared for Rich, what was it? I don’t remember. I think they are on your computer.

Doug Larson: They might be.

Mike Bledsoe: Doug is the organizer of the group.

Doug Larson: So had your guys been in the Arnold before?

Jacob Johnson: Last year

Rich Froning: Last year, yeah we came and he hadn’t been but Darin came with me last year.

Mike Bledsoe: Oh yeah, how is Darin doing?

Rich Froning: He is good. He tweaked his back a couple months ago and he complains about it all the time.

Jacob Johnson: He’s just a complainer.

Mike Bledsoe: He did really well last year.

Rich Froning: Yeah real well. He still, mentally you cant there’s still something in that kids head that he doesn’t like to lose or to stubborn to quit. I watched him and I think his max is 225 power clean. We did a workout that had probably 15 power cleans at 225; by the end of it he had a busted nose when he got them all done.

Mike Bledsoe: How did he bust his nose? With a barbell?

Rich Froning: I have no idea.

Mike Bledsoe: Does he know how he busted his nose? Probably not

Rich Froning: I just look over and he has blood pouring from his face. I was like what’s your problem take it to 205. He was like ‘no’.

Jacob Johnson: The top of the head snatch is the best.

Rich Froning: Or 155 snatch, he had to do like 55 reps. It was like 10 down to 1 latter tire flips. It’s hitting him in the head and he is pushing it up.

Doug Larson: Pressing it off his head…

Mike Bledsoe: I have seen that before in the Faction games. Some dude was snatching a weight up that was on his head and he goes. And the judges are looking over at me and I’m like I guess that counts.

Doug Larson: Its fine, whatever.

Mike Bledsoe: Dude that was impressive. You may not want to call it a snatch but its impressive.

Rich Froning: Cleanish, jerkish, snatch kinda combo??

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah, our main focus. Since we’ve been here, we’ve been getting a lot of video of the weightlifting. We’ve been following one of our friends , Zach Krych. He bombed out. He missed his first three snatches and he went on. I’m glad that he did do the three clean and jerks, because he ended up PRing on his clean and jerk by two kilos. I think two kilos.

Doug Larson: Three Kilos. 192 was his old max and he got 195, 429.

Mike Bledsoe: The guy weighs 187 pounds.

Doug Larson: Pretty solid. He beat the 94 kilos class.

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah but not the 105. Well Donny Shankle got 205, but anyone that wasn’t Donny Shankle. I want to say Zach Krych beat them.

Doug Larson: Yeah. I think Don opened at 195. He opened up when everyone was done. He, Jonny Shankle aside, would have won the 105 also. He’s an 85-kilo guy, so ridiculous.

Rich Froning: Holy crap

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah, has it ever crossed your mind to focus on weightlifting or anything like that?

Rich Froning: Yeah I mean it has…

Mike Bledsoe: Your happy with Crossfit?

Rich Froning: I like to weightlift but if there’s anything that, you know, my kind of secret. That’s what I do when I’m bored I mean its weightlifting. I do a lot of, I usually snatch twice a week and clean and jerk or just clean twice a week. So definitely work on those two a lot.

Mike Bledsoe: You do a lot of lifts obviously.

Rich Froning: Yeah

Mike Bledsoe: Because you guys are programming on a day to day basis.

Rich Froning: Yeah, right

Mike Bledsoe: Your throwing them in there pretty frequently.

Rich Froning: Its so beneficial those two movements; they are just fun for me. I want to get better at them so I do them pretty often.

Mike Bledsoe: What’s your best snatch and clean and jerk?

Rich Froning: 275 not kilos, pounds is my best snatch, and then…

Doug Larson: How many kilos is that?

Rich Froning: No idea.

Doug Larson: Quick math on the spot.

Mike Bledsoe: Let me get my calculator, I can tell you.

Rich Froning: And then…

Mike Bledsoe: Its 125 kilos actually

Rich Froning: Last week, I think I power cleaned and jerked 325.

Mike Bledsoe: Ah shit…

Rich Froning: It wasn’t the prettiest power clean but it was a power clean nonetheless. I don’t know. I’ve squat cleaned 335 before, and the jerks not a problem I just didn’t try to jerk it that time.

Mike Bledsoe: What do you weight?

Rich Froning: 195

Mike Bledsoe: 195? Dude you need to go compete.

Rich Froning: That would be fun.

Mike Bledsoe: You know what next year…

Rich Froning: after the games?

Mike Bledsoe: Talk to me and we’ll get you. You just need to do a meet sometime between now and next year nationals. Or American Openings are in December. That would be way better for you. Like December is way more off-season for Crossfit. You ought to just qualify go to the American open and you wont be last.

Rich Froning: Hey, as long as I don’t get last. That’s the way I started Crossfit just don’t be last.

Jacob Johnson: If your not first your last.

Mike Bledsoe: That’s Jacob Johnson.

Mike Bledsoe: That’s quite an accomplishment, if you can show up to a very specialist competition and not place last. Where you have to qualify because you can’t just show up to the American Open.

Rich Froning: Right

Mike Bledsoe: You know you have to hit a certain total.

Doug Larson: Just going to the American Open means you got some skills.

Mike Bledsoe: My goal this year and just to go to the American Opens. Just qualify and go maybe to Nationals.

Rich Froning: In December?

Mike Bledsoe: And ill probably finish last, if you go, if I can qualify. But yeah you should do that.

Rich Froning: That would be fun. December?

Mike Bledsoe: December, it’s usually…

Doug Larson: Is it Birmingham usually?

Mike Bledsoe: Its been in Birmingham, its been in Shreveport and it has been in it was near Phoenix this last, I think not this last year but the year before. I don’t know. It seems to go back to Birmingham pretty frequently so its not far.

Rich Froning: It’s not a bad drive, its like six hours from here.

Mike Bledsoe: All right guys I think we’re going to take a break real quick, so James and Chris will show you a cool video then we’ll come back.
****************Video by James and Chris****** (21:00)
James Cheney: My name is James Shanny. I am a filmmaker. And we are in the process of producing a documentary film about Olympic Weightlifting, as we lead up to the 2012 Olympic games in London this summer.

Mike Bledsoe: Olympic Weightlifting is a really fantastic sport. Its actually one of the most spectator friendly sports at the Olympic games. It draws really big crowds and gets really big wows. These guys lift a lot of weight and move really fast. It’s almost inhuman.

Doug Larson: If your not very familiar with weightlifting, that’s because in America its not the biggest sport right now. In other countries especially like the Middle East, Eastern Europe and China, Olympic Weightlifting is absolutely huge. Go to Europe and all their biggest athletes on all their billboards and all the busses are there Olympic Weightlifters.

James Cheney: The United States has some really amazing Olympic Weightlifting athletes. What we want to do is to follow the top athletes and their competitions, as we lead up to the 2012 games in London. So these athletes are amazing people. They are super dedicated. They get paid hardly any money or any money at all. They work other jobs, one guy we know works as a janitor, and he is one of the best weightlifters in the world.

Mike Bledsoe: As of right now we have put together some of the production and some of the filming has taken place. We do have enough equipment to make it happen. We would like more equipment, and higher quality computer gear and stuff like that so that we can edit quicker. Also we need money to travel. We need money to send at a minimum of two videographers to Guatemala and to London.

Doug Larson: So as you probably already know, Olympic Weightlifting, as a sport is very underrepresented in the United States. And a documentary film like this has never been done before, even though these guys are World known class athletes.

Mike Bledsoe: One of the reasons we want to do this and think we can do it better than anyone else is both Doug and myself have competed in the past in Olympic Weightlifting. We’ve done many competitions and been members of USA Weightlifting for years and years. So we know the people who are involved. We’re familiar with the coaches. Their familiar with us and I think we will be able to make the connections necessary to get the best footage possible. Were not going to get this opportunity again. The Olympics only comes around every four years and our opportunity to follow these particular athletes is never going to happen again.

James Cheney: If you like this project, like this idea and like what we’re doing just check out the side of the banner next to the video and you can see what kinds of benefits you can get from helping us out finically, with this Kickstarter campaign. Thanks a lot for watching. We hope you like our idea and our projects and what we’re trying to do and with your help we will see you in London.

*************************End of Video************************ (23:40)

Mike Bledsoe: All Right guys, Mike Bledsoe back here still Doug Larson and Rich Froning but we switched out our other guest for Tyler Peak.

Tyler Peak: that’s right

Mike Bledsoe: Jacob Johnson didn’t say much so we were like we got to change this guy out.

Doug Larson: We gave him the ax he is gone.

Mike Bledsoe: So your apart of the entourage as well?

Tyler Peak: I am, I kind of got drawn in…

Doug Larson: Like you didn’t want to be apart of the entourage?

Rich Froning: Act like it’s such a bad thing

Doug Larson: He was like ‘I really didn’t want to do it but nobody else let me in’.

Mike Bledsoe: Is there like a tryout?

Tyler Peak: No there is no tryout.

Rich Froning: They don’t know there’s a tryout but there’s a tryout. There’s like a probationary period and he already passed it so he is alright.

Tyler Peak: There a text you get at seven in the morning that’s says ‘Hey Tyler lets work out’.

Rich Froning: Too early in the morning…

Mike Bledsoe: My tryout would be more like it’s seven am ‘Hey go get me a coffee and meet me at my house and bring it to me’.

Rich Froning: No, there’s a much more rigorous test.

Mike Bledsoe: What is it?

Tyler Peak: I don’t know what it is? I must have done it, I don’t know.

Mike Bledsoe: All right so, one of the things I think that Crossfit did that was genius, mostly Greg Glassman, was to actually define fitness. So in doing so they ended up creating the Crossfit games, and if you win the Crossfit games you’re the fittest on the earth. So as far as that goes you’ve won the Crossfit games once?

Rich Froning: Once, yes

Mike Bledsoe: And the time before you were damn close, but for some reason the rope climb eluded you.

Rich Froning: Rope climb it eluded me.

Tyler Peak: Here he goes again.

Doug Larson: He’s like I don’t want to fucking talk about it.

Rich Froning: Ah smash, I thought that was over.

Doug Larson: Why you got to bring up old shit?

Rich Forning: Is that why you brought me on here?

Mike Bledsoe: So I mean in my opinion and probably the opinion of a ton of other Crossfitters, you know your hands down the best Crossfitter in the world. As far as the rest of the fitness community, obviously with the Arnold Classic or Arnold Sports Festival as its referred to now, there is all sorts of versions of fitness walking around. If I pick up a triathlon type magazine or other fitness magazines they will be referring to some Ironman triathlete as the fittest guy on earth, right? So how do you see the general fitness public accepting Crossfit fittest man on earth, fittest women on earth stuff like that? How do you think that works?

Rich Froning: Its definitely tough, because like your saying if anyone asks who the fittest one on earth would be a few years ago when Lance Armstrong when all that stuff… of course that’s the number one answer. That’s what’s in the public eye and all that stuff.

Mike Bledsoe: For Americans…

Rich Froning: For Americans, that’s true.

Mike Bledsoe: You go to another country and it’s whoever their guys that’s doing well in a sport.

Rich Froning: That’s true.

Doug Larson: France is like we don’t know who that is.

Tyler Peak: We just don’t like France.

Doug Larson: Talking about him is illegal.

Rich Froning: Yeah, it’s kind of tough though like your saying. If you don’t have a definition of fitness then how can you make that claim? I think Greg has done a great job of making that claim or at least the criteria for what fitness is.

Mike Bledsoe: It’s a fantastic argument, when presented its obvious.

Rich Froning: That’s the thing it has got to be presented. Most people are like Crossfits stupid or you know how can you say you’re the fittest? Then you kind of have to break it down to them. And even then you have to say the fittest tested. Who knows if there’s some freak, I’m sure there’s some freak in Kenya that could throw something in there.

Doug Larson: Sure. I actually really appreciate the 2012 Crossfit games shield where is says ‘Prove Your Fitness’. That’s the perfect logo or motto really for this years game or for any years games. Regardless of what your definition of fitness is you can come in here and you can compete. And anyone can compete it is open to anybody. And you can see where you stand. That’s fantastic. No other sport is like that. Its not like anyone can try out for the NFL any year and make there way to the NFL.

Rich Froning: Yeah, like they say world champion of football but I mean it’s the best team out of high school, College and professional. Who knows if there is another team somewhere else?

Mike Bledsoe: Right.

Doug Larson: So on that note, the games have evolved a lot over the last four or five years. Every year it’s fucking totally different. So last year do you feel that it was the most honest representation of what true fitness is, the most diverse.

Rich Froning: Of course it is, which one?

Doug Larson: The only problem you could see with the Crossfit games and even in coming years is its got to be TV friendly. Which also helps a guy like me that nobody wants to see somebody just row a 10k or run a 10k. It’s not fun to watch.

Mike Bledsoe: I thought you were talking about your abs. If you do that rest of this podcast with your shirt off I will give you $100.

Tyler Peak: I’ll do it for $50.

Mike Bledsoe: I think your worth about $5.

Doug Larson: In any of those cases you don’t have that much money.

Rich Froning: You know because everybody’s like well they don’t have a purer test of cardiovascular fitness or there is no real ultra long event. If you think about three days, 10 workouts it’s a pretty long event.

Mike Bledsoe: I say put a triathlete in that. Swim, pushup, squat, pushup, run they would be sucking wind at the end of that. No way.

Rich Froning: Yeah, I about died.

Doug Larson: Not to totally not triathletes but I’m going to not triathletes. Whenever we get endurance athletes that email me and say that I am an endurance athlete I do a lot of running and a lot of swimming, I’m like ah fuck. I’m like this is going to be the worst. They always think they are and they’re always the worst. Usually actually because of mobility, their endurance is okay and, their strength is usually so so depending on who they are. But their mobility is just terrible and they cant even do the movements. Let alone do them well.

Rich Froning: One of the best comments I ever saw was so-and-so ran a marathon in two hours and something minutes, then the person said ‘I beat I could run a marathon before they would be able to clean and jerk 225’.

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah, that’s for sure.

Rich Froning: So you know, whose fitter?

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah

Rich Froning: Like we were just talking, you have to define it first.

Mike Bledsoe: Yeah. I think as a genius from a marketing perspective as well. So being at the Arnold Sports Festival your sponsored by BSN?

Rich Froning: Yeah

Mike Bledsoe: You been at the booth quite a bit.

Rich Froning: Yes I have. Lots of people, lots of large, large people

Mike Bledsoe: So what’s been your roll at the BSN booth?

Rich Froning: Sign autographs to people that have no idea who I am.

Mike Bledsoe: That was going to be my next question, like how many people walk into the Arnold and are like ‘oh, it’s rich!’.

Rich Froning: I have had a few, but not nearly to the guy to the left of me that his arms are as big as my head.

Mike Bledsoe: Right

Rich Froning: They did a little circuit challenge. It was a ‘circuit’ they cant really call it Crossfit so they just did two rounds and put people through…

Mike Bledsoe: I like poods.

Rich Froning: We put people through some pull-ups, pushups and air squats. It was pretty funny to actually watch some of these people… die.

Doug Larson: Yeah. Actually how much resistance do you get with this type of crowd? Do you get the bodybuilders, powerlifters and any other you know.

Rich Froning: The guy next to me just thought we were crazy. And the girl to my other side was like I was thinking about starting to try that. And I was like try it out and she was more of a figure not like a jacked grossly…

Mike Bledsoe: Figure is my favorite actually. Bikinis nice, figures kind of pretty much where its at… and bodybuilding nah.

Doug Larson: No. That’s on its way out in a big way. Female bodybuilding especially

Mike Bledsoe: So Tyler what’s your favorite: Bikini, figure or bodybuilder?

Tyler Peak: Definitely the figure, I was there at the booth. I saw that lady. She won that competition.

Mike Bledsoe: The competition in your mind?

Tyler Peak: Yeah exactly

Mike Bledsoe: So how long have you been training Tyler?

Tyler Peak: It’s been about a year and six months maybe, maybe less than that.

Mike Bledsoe: You trained with Rich?

Tyler Peak: I used to a lot more than I do now. Now it’s just kind of like just come over whenever and I got a place at home where Rich will come over and come up and throw down.

Rich Froning: Tyler lives about ten minutes from me. And he started working out… Ill take this from here Tyler.

Tyler Peak: Alright man

Rich Froning: He worked out with me for what a year? Then when we left Mayhem and went with Crossfit Cookeville…

Tyler Peak: He left me.

Rich Froning: His dad built him a little shed in the back.

Mike Bledsoe: You sleep there too?

Tyler Peak: I think that was the general idea.

Rich Froning: Actually his dad is pretty good with metal. He can make anything so he’ll go on Rogues site and make stuff for Tyler.

Tyler Peak: They put their measurements online. It’s not very smart.

Rich Froning: Tylers dad is pretty good at making stuff.

Mike Bledsoe: I think Rogue’s pretty genius because they do put… See you dad can do it for cheaper, right? Like if I were to go hire a welder and say ‘hey welder dude, here is all the dimension can you build this for me?’ And they’ll come back with a quote. Sorry Rogue I’ve done this. They’ll come back with a quotes that’s actually higher then what the actually product at Rogue will be. So I’m giving them a free plug essentially but you know. They’ll be like ‘hey you want this pull-up rack this rig or whatever, how much can it be built for?’ And they come back and its like a thousand more dollars then what I was going to just spend at Rogue.