Day in the Life: Training for the CrossFit Games with Brent Fikowski
It’s been twenty months since The Professor, Brent Fikowski, competed at an in-person event. We were able to talk with the Torque Captain as he trains for the upcoming 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games. From sweet potatoes to muscle scrapers & training highlights, we cover what Brent’s training has looked like in the year of the unknown.
As an elite athlete, Brent Fikowski is constantly challenged to improve, experience more difficulties & excel at his passions. When faced with difficulty, Fikowski ponders various quotes. Recently, he has resonated with ‘romanticizing the future’. Coming to this understanding through our human tendency to ‘romanticize the past’, he has chosen to ‘romanticize the future’. Before a difficult workout he meditates on this thought and is able to think about how he wants to feel when the tough workout is finished. Is the goal to be satisfied with the most viscous effort, or to regret a job that could have been done better? For Fikowski, the answer is obvious. Romanticize the future & Don’t Quit. Ever.
Throughout the global pandemic, Brent faced uncertainty, crowdless competitions and separation from communities he was deeply part of. Rather than using the experience as an excuse to plateau or decline, Brent chose to root deeper in his routine. Last minute changes were not enjoyable, but they did not differ him from the primary purpose of growing stronger and pursuing the commitment he made to enduring the journey to the Fittest in the World. Even with the ruckus of the world, Brent was able to experience training highlights and improve his workouts and movements on a technical level. The opportunity to be at home, train in-house and be without the constant hustle guided Brent to a stronger path than before - it also helps that Brent thrives on alone time rather than social hour!
Preparing for the CrossFit competition season brought on long hours of training and preparing to train. From the TANK to dumbbells & Torpedo Bags, Brent has been utilizing various pieces of Torque equipment to fully prepare for the battle ahead. Using the TANK for CrossFit Games training has been incredibly exciting for Brent. Here’s what he had to say,
“Pretty much every year at the CrossFit Games they have us moving a sled whether it is a push or a pull, so it’s been great to have a TANK which is way more consistent and convenient for training. I know in years past I would load up a normal friction sled on asphalt with six or more 45lb plates, and it would still slide too easily. The setup time was a real pain and then the workout stimulus wasn’t appropriate anyway. With the TANK the setup has been way quicker and there has been no hiding regardless of what surface I’m using it on.”