Whatever it Takes: Jakob Magnusson

April 23, 2014

Facundo Etchecolatz

“Winning the Open is just a ticket to the regional. It is there that you have to show what you are made of.”

Iceland native Jakob Daniel Magnusson finished sixth at the 2013 Europe Regional and fifth in 2012. Now, he sits in the No. 1 spot in Europe heading into regionals.

The 25-year-old athlete from Reykjavik trains without a coach and doesn’t follow a specific diet. He said he worked on his weaknesses to make 2014 his year.

Magnusson played ice hockey for more than 18 years and competed at a junior level. He was a globo gym regular until he decided he was up for a new challenge.

“When I heard that my first CrossFit workout was 50 burpees for time, I said to myself, ‘That’s going to be a walk in the park,’” he recalled. “After only 30 burpees, I crashed.”

Today, CrossFit is a large part of Magnusson’s everyday life. He works full time as a coach at CrossFit Hafnarfjörður. Every day is focused around training and coaching.

“I feel privileged to be in the head coach position. Of course it is a dream of mine to be one day a professional CrossFit athlete, just competing and working out. But for now, I am grateful to be a full-time trainer,” he said. “There are always small gaps in the schedule, where I can jump in to train and get a quick WOD in. It is all about how you manage your time. If you know that you have only one hour at the gym, you just hit it as hard as you can.”

Magnusson wakes up at 5 a.m. and starts coaching at 6. He does his first workout between 9 and 10 a.m., coaches another class at 10, does two workouts between 11 and noon, then coaches again before heading home for food and a nap. Then, two more hours of coaching follow.

Despite all the coaching he provides to others, Magnusson trains without a coach, and describes himself as “a self-coached athlete.” 

He recently had good showings at local competitions, garnering first- and second-place finishes with a personal best Total of 242 kg (534 lb.)—a 112-kg (247-lb.) snatch, and 130-kg (287-lb.) clean and jerk.

“I know that nobody is going to push me as hard I can push myself. And I need to, if I want to be successful,” he said. “There are so many talented guys out there. I need to work harder than them to beat them.”

Magnusson enjoys working with other athletes—often from other sports—who might give him extra incentive to push himself even harder.

“It is important for me to find people that are better than me in certain areas,” he said. “For example, if there is a (running workout), I will try to find a runner to train with.”

Most of the time, however, Magnusson works with his training partners and friends, Magnús Snær Arnason and Arnar Sigurðsson. Sigurðsson finished 34th in Europe in this year’s Open.

“Jakob just never looks tired even when he’s going through hell,” Sigurðsson said. “If someone passed by and saw us working out, you might say that I looked like I was about to faint, while Jakob looks cool and composed.”

“On the other hand, Jakob’s mental game is just ridiculously strong,” he added. “He remains calm and focused no matter what. In regionals, everyone is talented, everyone trains hard. What separates the great ones from the good ones is their mental game. I am sure that this year he will go to the Games.”

Magnusson refuses to follow a fixed program and prefers to choose what to work on and where to put special attention on a daily basis.

“A normal day consists of two or three workouts,” Magnusson said. “I try to include some Olympic lifting or powerlifting with (metabolic conditioning) at least twice a day. I have some clear ideas about the strength movements to be included, but I decide on the (metabolic conditioning) as I move from workout to workout. I just look back a couple of days and decide what to do. Often I go online for inspiration. I constantly work on my weaknesses and try to find other weaknesses to work on.”

Based on his performance at the 2013 Regional, weaknesses have become a priority.

“Last year’s regional was the toughest so far. (Event 4), the 100s (100 wall-ball shots, 100 chest-to-bar pull-ups, 100 pistols and 100 one-arm dumbbell snatches), included two of my (worst) weaknesses: chest-to-bars and pistols,” he said. “I really struggled there and by the time I was through with them all, my strength was gone. It was the worst workout I have ever done.”

Magnusson, who missed qualifying for the Games the past two years, confessed he has his “eyes on the Games and will do whatever it takes to go to L.A.”

Recently, he’s improved on his personal bests, which now include a 225-kg (496-lb.) deadlift, a 135-kg (298-lb.) clean and jerk, 120-kg (265-lb.) snatch and a 185-kg (408-lb.) back squat.

“My religion is a big part of my training,” he said. “When I compete, I am so nervous that I mostly try to find a quiet corner and listen to Christian music and pray. My Lord is my strength throughout the regional, and it is His plan to lead and guide me to the Games.”

Despite sitting in first place after the Open, Magnusson knows what lies ahead at the regional in Denmark will not be easy.

“Winning the Open is just a ticket to the regional,” he said. “It is there that you have to show what you are made of.”