"I'm gaming my workouts a lot better and I'm taking notes out of the book from guys that are the best in the business like Rich Froning and a guy I look up to a lot, Rob Forte."
Two-time CrossFit Games athlete Brandon Swan was a force to be reckoned with at the 2014 Australia Regional.
After fracturing his tibia and damaging cartilage in his knee during Legless at the 2013 Games, he was forced to withdraw from competition. Swan was set for a tough year preparing for the 2014 season.
It was to be the impetus for the development of Brandon Swan version two—arguably the most improved athlete in the Australia Region.
“My injury forced me to sit back and think about what I was going to do for the next year,” he said. “I had another knee injury back in December on the other leg, which put me out for a little while, as well. So I’ve had a terrible run of injury this year but I’ve actually got a new coach and I’m working with Rob Downton from Raw Strength and Conditioning.”
“Between that and having to sit back and come up with other ways to train and keep fit, I really exploited my weaknesses in the offseason,” Swan continued. “I’ve gotten lighter as an athlete and I know it’s very cliché but it’s been pure hard work. I worked really, really fucking hard.”
Swan’s dedication paid off with a second-place finish at the regional, just 1 point behind three-time Games athlete Rob Forte.
Swan’s only weakness came in Event 5 where he was confronted with the movement that put his 2013 Games campaign on hold: legless rope climbs.
It was the only event where Swan placed outside the top six over the three days, finishing in 23rd with a time of 4:11.
“I’d practiced them a lot in training but given the last time I was competing and doing legless rope climbs and what happened, I was nervous,” he said.
“I really just wanted to be measured in my performance and make sure I didn’t fail any reps because that would have been costly, and I was already in a good position in terms of standings, but it just turns out our region was incredibly strong on that workout.”
The decision to deliver a measured performance was a game plan, which was part of Swan’s new approach to competition.
“I looked at being a lot smarter and knowing where my limits are,” he said, “and not being stupid and naïve and trying to just beat everyone.”
“I’m gaming my workouts a lot better and I’m taking notes out of the book from guys that are the best in the business like Rich Froning and a guy I look up to a lot, Rob Forte,” he added. “They’re very smart in the way they game their workouts and they stick to their game plan better than anyone.”
Swan has practiced developing a game plan throughout the year and developed it into a skill; something he believes will make the difference at the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games.
“I’m very confident that if I can stick to my game plan, and do as I did at regionals, that I’m going to finish very strong at the Games this year,” Swan said. “I’m coming into my own as an athlete and being one of the more experienced guys there this year I think I have a very good chance of finishing strongly. I’ve also been a lot more abstract in my training, in sport and a lot of different avenues.”
He continued: “I’ve tried absolutely anything and everything I can in the hope that I’ve at least somewhat covered anything that’s going to come up at the Games, whereas in previous years I’ve focused on more quintessential CrossFit and haven’t explored those abstract movements applied to us during the Games.”
Swan decided to shift to more abstract movements and exercises during his countless solo training sessions where he got to thinking about programming during the CrossFit Games season.
“It’s a big pyramid scheme,” he explained. “You talk about CrossFit and the pyramid and the idea of learning and playing new sports is at the top, basic conditioning at the bottom and then gymnastics and weightlifting.”
“If you look at the whole structure of the Open, the regionals and the Games it really follows that same pyramid effect,” he added. “The Open is very much based on metabolic conditioning and they dabble in gymnastics and weightlifting; the regional is more heavily based on high-skill gymnastics and heavier weightlifting; and the Games is where you learn and play new sports. It’s the application of fitness on the fittest people on Earth so you’ve got to expect weird shit to come up and you’ve got to be ready for it.”
As a result of the abstract training, Swan isn’t stressed about what might get thrown his way in Carson, California, later this month.
“I’m not going to stress if something comes up and it’s out of my wheelhouse,” he said, “because it’s probably out of a lot of other people’s wheelhouse, as well.”
“The goal at the end of the day is to get there and do well and to be consistent,” Swan added.
Part of finding that consistency for Swan is spending the two weeks leading into the CrossFit Games training with some of the biggest names in the sport. Swan flew to America recently, and is staying with Pat Barber and will train with NorCal CrossFit athletes, Barber and Jason Khalipa.
“It helps me to stick with my game plan,” Swan said. “It’s not going to feel like I’m going out into the stadium with all these superstars if I’ve trained with the best in the business for a couple of weeks prior. It’s just going to feel like I’m training and throwing down with the boys and it’s probably going to ease the nerves and help me stick to my game plan when I get out there and all these guys are moving fast, as well.”
He added: “I’m not going to get distracted.”
