Spirit of the Games: Part 1

Speal! My favorite!

My two favorite CrossFitters are Speal and Greg A.

Chris, you were fully deserving of that award. Congrats, buddy.

Love his attitude and work ethic. Pound for pound the most amazing athlete!

Spealler is my Hero. Always will be. You're the man Chris

Gnarly.

What song is being used for the video?

I thought it was awesome how the dog was walking out to him outside during the interview.

And I was wondering too, what is the song in the background? It's awesome.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Spealler at this past weekend's Oahu certification, and it happened to be my bar that he used to demonstrate the thruster standards for the cert-wide Fran that was about to ensue. (Imagine dozens of bars surrounding the giant pull-up rack and Jason Khalipa standing on a box directing everyone's attention toward Speal.)

From my vantage point, I could see some very interesting aspects of his technique. He never really seemed to bear the full burden of the weight. He was constantly making the most rapid and infinitely tiny adjustments, straightening his back, re-racking the bar a centimeter higher, lifting his elbows, or shifting his hips beneath him more. I'd go so far as to say that the management of his own body comprised the majority of his efforts, as opposed to heaving the weight one way or another.

He was always slightly ahead of the bar as a result. When he first cleaned it or when it came down from overhead, his rack was perfectly in place a split second before the bar made contact. He would toss it slightly with his shoulders and draw huge, audible breaths to lift his ribcage. The bottom position of his thruster, consequently, was more solid than the dip in most folks' jerks.

To label him merely a 'beast' is to do him a disservice. He is a very highly disciplined athlete; the closest analogy that comes to mind is a ballet dancer.

Unfortunately, I couldn't quite apply these lessons as I wheezed through my own Fran moments later, but I've kept them in mind ever since.

I am a big Mikko fan. I wish he would have one the games. That said; I believe Speal is clearly the best representation of Crossfit both in terms of performance and persona that we have seen yet. Congratulations on your well deserved success Chris.

Spealler is simply awesome. Pound for Pound easily the best crossfitter on the planet.

AMAZING!! Its impossible not to love Chris...such a nice guy!

What crossfit does for Chris is nothing compared to what he does for crossfit!

@ Thomas. Great description mate. Don't be too hard on yourself though; its a bit like watching footage of Kelly Slater or Mick Fanning surfing then paddling out and wondering why you always fall off, or watching Tiger crush a 300m drive and wondering why yours end up out of bounds. Some blokes are just at one with their sport.

bring on part 2!

How excellent to see Speal looking so comfortable (maybe even satisfied?) with his effort or performance or result - whichever, well deserved and well earned! Inspiring as ever.

Thomas - keen observations, well put.

Who is this "Speal" guy, anyway? ;-)

What a great "Face" for the sport of CrossFit. A true gentleman and...a Beast

I absolutely LOVE Spealler... embodies everything good in CrossFit!!

Quick question though, did he actually hit 225 on the "Shoulder to Overhead" max?? Both from what I remember from in person at the Games, and from what I see in the video, I only see him doing 205, which is the combination of a 45# bar, 2 45# plates (blue), 2 35# plates (yellow).

Please, I want someone to tell me I am wrong and just need more sleep...