Rich Froning’s Team Mayhem or Die Rows for 24 Straight Hours in Rogue’s “The Standard” Challenge
Four-time “Fittest Man on Earth” Rich Froning continues to perform impressive fitness feats despite hanging up his competitive CrossFit cleats (he competed as an Individual until 2014 and then in the Team division as the leader of CrossFit Mayhem until 2022).
Case in point: Froning saw Rogue Fitness’s “The Standard” Challenge and participated with his team. “The Standard” tasked contestants to row for 24 consecutive hours for total distance. The challenge allowed for Individuals or Teams of two, three, or four members to compete. Froning teamed with Ben Davidson and Scott Vander Sloot.
Froning shared the coverage of his team’s performance on YouTube to kick off 2024. Check it out below:
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24-Hour Row Strategy
Froning was inspired by his friend, Brian “Tosh” Chontosh, who performed a transatlantic row in about 30 days with an American rowing team composed of four U.S. Military veterans. Froning and two of his friends decided to replicate that in Rogue’s “The Standard” Challenge, rowing nonstop on the rowing machine for 24 hours.
Froning’s strategy was to have each team member row five kilometers every hour for 24 hours. Between the three of them, that’s 360 kilometers total. To achieve that, Froning’s group, Team “Mayhem or Die,” needed to maintain a two-minute per 500-meter split.
Multiple teams were side-by-side on the row machines. Froning and his team rowed for approximately 20 minutes per set — how long it took to complete five kilometers — before tagging in a teammate. The gym was brimming with high-calorie foods loaded with simple sugar to replenish energy stores.
Froning’s WHOOP band showed him at a strain of 18.5 a quarter of the way through after six separate five-kilometer rowing sessions. His team used stretching, carbohydrate loading, and ice baths to remain as fresh as possible for the remaining 18 hours.
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Digging Deep with Rich Froning
At the midway point, Froning described how he panics in the latter stage of a rowing session before it melts away at the tail end. Luckily, with a team of three, Froning could rest for approximately 40 minutes every hour.
During this process, Froning discovered the best time to eat was right after getting off the machine. This allowed for the most time to digest before rowing another large set.
Froning consumed sour gummies, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, donuts, bowls of cereal, Uncrustable sandwiches, and caffeine. While this isn’t a diet Froning would ever recommend, he thought it fun to include junk foods in the challenge.
Staying awake for 24 hours is a hurdle. Once the crew hit the halfway point, it was 8 p.m. One of Froning’s teammates expressed how it already felt like struggling through the early hours of the morning. At the 12-hour mark, they were ahead of their target by roughly 2,500 meters.
Eventually, the five kilometers per person per hour strategy faltered due to massive fatigue. Froning audibled to have each teammate perform 10-minute sets to cover 2,500 meters through the final stretch.
Around 4 a.m., the team felt loopy, rowing with every bit of strength and endurance left. Their grip, shoulders, back, glutes, and legs were gassed as they lay in between the ergs more often than not through the final four hours.
The Results
Once the clock hit 8:05 a.m. the following morning, Froning and crew officially completed “The Standard” Challenge. They rowed 360,909 meters in total, surpassing their goal by 909 meters.
Froning, Davidson, and Vander Sloot were spent. Checking their WHOOP bands, Froning and Vander Sloot achieved an otherworldly 20.7 strain. Vander Sloot burned 11,600 calories; Froning burned 9,600.
“The Standard” Challenge was a brutal test of mental and physical fortitude for all who participated. In the end, Team Mayhem or Die scored first place overall for teams of three, winning by nearly 40,000 meters.
Featured image: @richfroning on Instagram