"The workouts always win," Clever says.
Kristan Clever is one of CrossFit’s most recognized and admired athletes. Winner of the CrossFit Games in 2010, second place finisher in 2011 and first place at the SoCal Regional in 2012, Clever has stayed in the top five since her first trip to the Games in 2009.
At a time when even casual CrossFit competitors have coaches who program cycles focused on hitting certain goals, it stands to reason Clever would have a well-planned training regimen, focused on peaking in time for the Games.
When I asked Clever about her game plan for the time between Regionals and the Games she was silent for a few seconds.
“There’s no real plan,” Clever finally says. “I make sure I do strength every week, but there’s no consistent schedule. I take classes at the gym. I follow the main site when I can, but I have no idea what I’m going to do tomorrow.”
Clever doesn’t have a coach. She isn’t working off a strength cycle or met-con cycle that will taper to a maintenance cycle — she just shows up and works out. When asked why she takes this approach, she says, “It’s just what I’ve always done. I make sure I work on stuff I’m not as good at, like rowing and wall balls.”
This is nothing new for Clever. “It’s pretty much what I did last year,” she says.
Just don’t call her approach relaxed. “It’s not relaxed, it’s less structured.”
Clever shows up and works hard, but then she’s done. She does mix in unusual movements and different combinations in an attempt to train for the unexpected element of the Games, but there’s no plan there, either. “I try to make things different,” she says. “I combine odd or high skill movements, like really high box jumps or a bench press combined with a handstand walk.”
Clever’s Competition
This year will be Clever’s fourth time at the Games, and her experience shows in her calm, measured approach. Her strategy is to control what she can, and not to worry about anyone else.
So, who does Clever see as her biggest threat at the Games this year? “My biggest competition is Dave Castro,” she says dryly.
Castro, CrossFit’s Director of Training, is a driving force behind the programming at the Games.
“The workouts always win,” she explains. “It never doesn’t hurt, but hopefully there will be something I’m super good at. If it’s something I can’t do, I’ll just try it anyway.”
Clever says she doesn’t consider herself to be really good at one thing. “There is no one thing I’m best at,” she says. “I think that’s why I like CrossFit.”
The level of competition has changed considerably since Clever first competed in 2009. Clever says she is excited to see the women’s field of competition grow so much this year. “Now we’re seeing more women with better ability; there could be some big surprises,” Clever says. “This is the biggest field yet. In previous years, maybe a fifth of the girls would have a shot at the podium. This year I think half the girls have a shot. The playing field is leveling out. It’s great to have a bigger field. It’s us against the workout.”
A Fun Game to Play
“It seems like her head’s not in the game,” Rory McKernan said about Clever on the June 13 CrossFit Games Update show, despite the fact that she won the Open and her region this year.
I asked Clever if people were underestimating her — does she still have the same fire as in years past?
“I don’t have any terrible driving force,” Clever said. “I’ve never had that. I just see how it goes. It’s a fun game to play. I don’t understand when people talk about a fire inside of them.”
While many of her competitors will most likely be fighting nerves and struggling to remain calm before each event of the Games, Clever says she doesn’t get nervous when competing — even at the Games. “I wouldn’t say I get nervous, but I do get jacked up and excited to see what will happen.”
To Clever, CrossFit is just another game – a game like Scramble with Friends and Angry Birds, her favorite pastimes when not in the gym. Instead of getting wrapped up in a complicated training regimen, Clever shows up at the gym and works hard. Instead of looking to the side and worrying about her competitors, she views each competition as herself against the workout.
After the Games are over, Clever isn’t planning a break or a long vacation. She might take a week off, but after that, “It’s back to training.”
