Is Rich Froning the next Lance Armstrong?

[Jason A Smith]

Originally Posted by Tim Alford

hahaha ok, my bad on that. Although I am pretty sure Spealler is like 140ish and he's a monster. Still, I don't see a 165 Bridges ever winning the Games. He has heart, he has relative strength, and he has willpower, unfortunately I don't think he can take it. I'd love to be wrong about that, though!

It is age more than anything. This is a younger mans game simply because of the recovery it takes between events to bounce back.

I believe Josh is about 32. And that is starting a downward trend. Look a guy like Neal Maddox who is a genetic freak and can still hang with guys 10-12 years younger.

I still believe a guy with unreal strength and aerobic capacity in the 77-85KG weight class could do some serious damage at the Games.

Back to talking about PEDs..............

[Dare Vodusek]

Quick question about age...how come anything above 30 is considered too old for CF but in sports like boxing it is not? Boxers come into their prime age at 30+ and can easily go up and beyond 40. Current heavyweight champ is or will be 39 this year.

And I find boxing a very taxing sport in terms of physical performance, a man needs to be big, fast, agile, recover fast between rounds, etc etc...(lets assume he is injury free), similar to CF...

[Tighe Crovetti]

Originally Posted by Jason A Smith

I still believe a guy with unreal strength and aerobic capacity in the 77-85KG weight class could do some serious damage at the Games.

You've got Dan Bailey and Troyan both at 82kg, probably looking at a combo of those two guys as an 82kg winner...that's a pretty stout combination. Hard to envision guys lighter than them, up to a full 5kg under, having the strength numbers, on top of the required engine, to win the Games.

Ben Smith, a favorite to win one of these years, is 86kg. And wow, just saw that Fraser is only 82kg and 5'6"? And Panchik, who seems only "average big," so to speak, and is only 5'9", is 86kg. Seems like 82kg is really the floor, I think, and it's only going to go up as they continue to increase the weights they make these guys throw around in Carson.

[Drew Cloutier]

Originally Posted by Tim Alford

No, I think WE must assume he is clean. This is America, we think innocent until proven guilty (although we've all been burned by that way too many times). I'm trying to keep my faith in humanity!

I would love the weight class system except: WORLD'S FITTEST MAN (between 160-210 lbs.) doesn't quite have the same ring to it! I think that would be acceptable for smaller competitions but I don't foresee crossfit going that route. It kind of changes the "broad and inclusive" theme that they have. That is why they have a run/swim event, a 1RM type of event and then good ol' crossfit metcons to try and even it out. Nothing was harder to watch then the 2014 (maybe 2013) cinco 1 and cinco 2 and watching Bridges not even get past the deadlifts at 405. What does Bridges weigh? 145? That's a superhuman feat of strength. But, he can't rep that out like a 195 Rich Froning can. Maybe someday, when the Games are the super bowl of sports then they will be big enough for weight classes (like weightlifting and mma).

Oh, and as for the test results. I wouldn't hold my breath about those being released. Crossfit is pretty tight lipped about that kind of stuff and would only produce those results if there was a big enough stink for them to squash rumors. (This thread isn't big enough lol)

Like someone else said he's not that small, easily 165-175 and he's said as much. I think you would potentially get more "big" guys into crossfit if there were weight classes, it wouldn't just attract more lil dudes.

BUT I don't know if it would really fly, I know with WSM they now have weight classes (90kg and 105kg) and really ya its cool, but no one cares about it as much as the open division.

Originally Posted by Tim Alford

Alright I'll concede. This is America and we all have the right to freedom of speech (at least for now) and we are all entitled to our opinion.

Once again I'd love to see it, I just don't see Crossfit doing a classification system any time soon.

Based on Crossfit's modus operandus I think they'd rather never release the test results simply because they love to play the Devils advocate and do their own thing.

But its not America.

Its the internet AND technically the Games are an international event...

I agree on HQ and the devil's advocate thing though

Originally Posted by Dare Vodusek

Quick question about age...how come anything above 30 is considered too old for CF but in sports like boxing it is not? Boxers come into their prime age at 30+ and can easily go up and beyond 40. Current heavyweight champ is or will be 39 this year.

And I find boxing a very taxing sport in terms of physical performance, a man needs to be big, fast, agile, recover fast between rounds, etc etc...(lets assume he is injury free), similar to CF...

Most strength sports the athlete peaks later (late 20s early 30s) BUT there's no real pounding on the joints from kipping and running like there is in crossfit. Also to compare to your boxing analogy, there are different kinds of boxing styles (same with MMA) and some styles you can maintain well into your late 30s early 40s. Look at Chuck Liddell though, he was a counter puncher who relied on speed+accuracy to dodge punches at the last second and counter lightning quick, he aged out to the point that he could no longer fight this way.

crossfit on the other hand doesn't really lend itself to changing your style...its all about lifting more, or doing more faster...

[Patrick Rushbrook]

Originally Posted by Jason A Smith

Look a guy like Neal Maddox who is a genetic freak and can still hang with guys 10-12 years younger.

....

If I was gonna pick out any of the top guys for using it would be him, purely for the fact you just stated. You can't stop the aging process. You can delay it a bit, but not by much. I'm still a believer in innocent until proven guilty though. I wish Crossfit would be and stay clean, but there will always be people who cheat to get ahead.

[Dare Vodusek]

What do you think is the age when performance starts to decrease just because of the age? Are there any studies behind that number?

[Ryan Pye]

Originally Posted by Dare Vodusek

What do you think is the age when performance starts to decrease just because of the age? Are there any studies behind that number?

Power peaks at 28-30 in baseball. Tons of studies on that. I'd imagine that extrapolates pretty well to sports in general.

[Dare Vodusek]

Originally Posted by Ryan Pye

Power peaks at 28-30 in baseball. Tons of studies on that. I'd imagine that extrapolates pretty well to sports in general.

Is that due to drop of testosterone levels?

[Drew Cloutier]

wouldn't part of that have to do with your shoulder taking a beating in a baseball career and lots of wear and tear?

[Ryan Hoegner]

Originally Posted by Dare Vodusek

What do you think is the age when performance starts to decrease just because of the age? Are there any studies behind that number?

when you have kids and a full time job...