With the Open now closed and CrossFit® fans experiencing a little downtime until the Regionals kick off on May 18th, CrossFit HQ has launched the first of their Road to the Games documentaries for the 2018 season. Episode 18.01 is called “Nordic Goddesses” and it’s wall-to-wall Dottirs.
Annie Thorisdottir, Sara Sigmundsdottir, and Katrin Davidsdottir are followed in Reykjavik as they train, eat, train. The official synopsis reads,
In 2017, Iceland’s famous Dottirs vied for spots on the podium in one of the most heated women’s competitions in CrossFit Games history. In the end, Annie Thorisdottir, Ragnheidur Sara Sigmundsdottir and Katrin Davidsdottir were stacked together in positions three, four and five, respectively. And they’re far from satisfied.
This episode of “Road to the Games,” the first in the 2018 series, follows Iceland’s top three female CrossFit athletes in the months after the 2017 Games.
Watch it below.
Sure, there are a lot of well-filmed, well-scored workouts in the 30-minute movie, but we learn some interesting facts about the athletes, too.
Katrin Davidsdottir Was Doubting Her Abilities
If you saw The Redeemed and the Dominant, you saw how upset Davidsdottir was with her 5th place finish. She says in the Road to the Games,
“Right after the Games, I think I thought I was so hungry. And maybe I was, but then when I started getting back at (training) for real, I wasn’t quite ready to feel the hunger yet. I know I will be, but right now I’m working hard but also just trying to have more fun with it. But it’s taken longer than I thought to get into the mode of like, ‘OK i’m going at it.'”
Sara Sigmundsdottir Has Changed Her Training
“I’ve competed at the Games three times now, and I’ve never peaked at the right time. I’ve never had a plan before for the whole year. And now I have a coach, we’ve planned out the whole year, how each phase should be. So hopefully it will go well this year.”
Annie Thorisdottir Does Blood Flow Restriction Training
“It’s like doing tempo squats with weight, but you don’t have to load your system up with weight. Because the legs want more oxygen, it’s meant to increase the muscle fibers without me needing to load up very heavy. The first time I did this, I did start crying.”
[Does blood flow restriction really work? Read our article on the pros and cons.]
Sara Sigmundsdottir Is Paleo
While more and more athletes are happy fueling up with grains and legumes, Sara Sigmundsdottir is still full paleo. She calls it “not Paleo because I can eat sweet potatoes,” but we’re pretty sure sweet potatoes are Paleo. Note that she also likes to fuel up with buckwheat, a pseudocereal (like quinoa) that isn’t actually a grass, like wheat is. It also has a complete amino acid profile and while Sigmundsdottir eats it like cereal, it’s great in a chili.
We Got a Lot of Glimpses Of Their Workouts
Looking for inspiration for your own programming? Here are some of the workouts Davidsdottir completed.
Run
Run 18min, Rest 3min
Run 12min, Rest 2min
Run 6min
Handstand Push-Ups
Max strict, 11 inches high
Max Kipping, 11 inches high
50 strict, for time
Wall Balls/Pull-Ups
4 Rounds for Time
30 wall balls, 20lb to 9ft target.
30 abmat situps.
30 chest to bar pullups
10-Minute AMRAP
3 burpee box jump overs
3 deadlifts, 144lb
Add three reps every round
Don’t see enough heavy work? Sigmundsdottir also discusses a solid strength workout of reverse lunges, deadlifts, seated dumbbell shoulder presses, and power snatches.
The next Road to the Games will focus on the sport’s Australian contingent: Tia-Clair Toomey and Kara Saunders (formerly known as Kara Webb), who came first and second in last year’s Games.
Featured image via CrossFit® on YouTube.
