Exercise Scientist Critiques UNBEATABLE CrossFit Champion
In a Nutshell
Tia-Clair Toomey trains up to five times daily—15K runs, weightlifting, strongman, and gymnastics—while maintaining a resting heart rate of 48, showing elite aerobic conditioning. Her weightlifting background gives her direct advantages in CrossFit events, and she deliberately lifts under fatigue to match Games sequencing. High-volume training produces pronounced core development and work capacity, while recovery decisions rely on correlating wearable data with actual performance rather than single-day metrics.
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Workout number three for the day. Tia-Clair Toomey, seven times CrossFit Games champion, has won another one, making eight total. She begins her day with a 15K run at 8:00 a.m., followed by gym work at 10:00 a.m., and strongman training at 1:00 p.m. Her resting heart rate is 48, and she mentioned it gets closer to 44 or 45 closer to the Games.
Tia-Clair Toomey comes into CrossFit from a weightlifting background, which provides three major advantages: CrossFit competitions include weightlifting movements directly, many movements are derivatives of weightlifting such as squats and push presses, and weightlifting develops strength and flexibility in ways almost nothing else does. The sport of weightlifting is distinct from bodybuilding or powerlifting.
CrossFit athletes at elite levels develop pronounced abdominal muscles due to being lean while maintaining extremely strong cores required for hoisting heavy weights. This results in the characteristic "poofy abs" seen in athletes like Annie Thorisdottir.
The 15K run left her feeling like she was "sucking through a straw" while breathing, with heart rate reaching 183. For her age (around 30), maximum heart rate is typically around 190, though some gifted athletes can reach the 200s. The run occurred in heat conditions.
Element electrolyte drink is recommended for CrossFit athletes training in heat who sweat heavily and need rapid replenishment during all-day training sessions. The company has reformulated their canned product to half the original salt concentration, making it both tastier and more optimally hydrating.
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