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The 5 principles that helped Tia-Clair Toomey become the fittest woman in the world — and how she trains to stay there

Apr 26, 2020, 16:15 IST
Insider
Tia-Clair Toomey has won the CrossFit Games for the past three years.Michael Valentin
  • Tia-Clair Toomey has been the women's champion at the CrossFit Games for the past three years, making her officially the fittest woman in the world.
  • When preparing to compete, Toomey trains for 10 hours a day not only in the gym, but also swimming, cycling, and running.
  • The Australian, 26, spoke to Insider about how she got to where she is today, sharing five key mental principles that have led to her success.
  • She embraces pain, focuses on improving her weaknesses, and consistently asks herself: How good can I get?
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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When it comes to fitness, there's being-able-run-for-the-bus-without-collapsing fit, and then there's fittest-woman-in-the-world-three-years-running fit.

While most of us are happy to reach the former level, Tia-Clair Toomey decided she wanted to take things up a level or 20 by becoming the latter.

Toomey, 26, has won the CrossFit Games for the past three years which officially makes her the fittest woman in the world.

While the uninitiated might think CrossFit simply involves being super strong, competitors at last year's Games had to perform incredible feats of endurance, speed, and power as well — think rope climbs, swimming, squat snatches, handstand walks, running 1.5 km with a 50lb weighted rucksack, muscle-ups, clean and jerks, paddle boarding, burpees, and more.

She trains for 10 hours a day in the lead-up to a competition.Duke Loren

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Oh, and all done over consecutive days with barely any recovery time. It's enough to make the average person collapse just thinking about it.

Not Toomey though.

The Australian, who also won gold for weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and competed at the 2016 Olympics, spoke to Insider about how she got to the top — and how she trains to stay there.

Toomey nearly quit CrossFit after one session

Growing up in Queensland, Australia, Toomey had an active childhood and loved playing competitive sports, but she was mainly into track and field.

It wasn't until her then-boyfriend and now-husband and coach Shane Orr convinced her to go along to a CrossFit session with him back in 2013 that she tried any sort of strength training.

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And she nearly didn't go back.

"I just didn't really connect with the coach that was coaching at the time," Toomey said.

Toomey is certainly strong now.Duke Loren

But after having a few awkward encounters with the coach outside of the gym and no real reason as to why she didn't want to go back, Toomey gave in and decided to give it another try.

She had to sign up for a month, and by the end of that month, she was hooked.

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Toomey already considered herself to be fit, but "running fit," not CrossFit fit. And she says it was "eye-opening" to learn new techniques.

But CrossFit also taught Toomey the importance of mental strength, which she maintains is 80% of the battle when competing.

The 5 key principles that led to Toomey's success

1. Not putting limitations on yourself

Toomey wanted to compete at the Olympics from a young age, even when she didn't know what for.

"I just felt like that was what I was meant to do," she said.

"Constantly putting the work in, working really hard to achieve a goal — I had no idea what I wanted to do because I never really wanted to put limitations on myself."

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But she's continually asked herself: How good can I really get?

Toomey said she had wanted to compete at the Olympics from a young age.Lindsey Miller

2. Focusing on improving your weaknesses

When Toomey first started lifting weights, she said she "can't express how bad [she] was at it." But this made her want to work at it all the more.

"Because I was so bad at it, it was something that I really wanted to focus on and try to improve."

And this is a mentality she maintains till this day: When Insider asked Toomey if there are any disciplines or exercises she hates training, she explained that she simply considers the harder movements something to work on, so she enjoys it.

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3. Embracing the pain

Toomey knows that embracing the pain is a necessary part of getting stronger in every sense.

"Whether I'm very comfortable at doing a particular movement or whether I really have to work hard for it, I love the process so much because I just know how much better I'm getting by doing that," she said.

Muscle-ups, for example, are painful and "very taxing," but this makes Toomey want to work at them more.

"I'm constantly trying to get better," she said. "I never want to become complacent. And so by doing that, I embrace the pain a lot and it's just a part of what I do and who I am."

When she feels like everything is burning and she can't possibly carry on because it hurts so much, Toomey asks herself: How much do I want this?

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The athlete is "constantly trying to get better."Michael Valentin

4. Wanting to prove people wrong

Toomey has always been driven and determined, and never more so than when someone suggests she can't do something.

"If someone told me I couldn't lift something or I can't do something, I've always been so strong-minded that all I want to do is prove them wrong," she said.

"I think that that's what really helped me build my strength and made me super determined to just go out there and say: you know what? I'm not going to let those people tell me how to live my life."

5. Not beating yourself up on days where you're not feeling it

As fitness is Toomey's career, not training when she isn't in the mood isn't really an option. That said, she doesn't beat herself up on those days.

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"As long as I show up, as long as I get the work done and I do my very best that day with what I have, I can't ask for anything more," she said.

"Yes, the intensity might not be there for that particular day, but that's OK. As long as you can go to bed that night thinking that you did your best."

Toomey trains for 10 hours a day before the CrossFit Games

"In order to stay the best I have to put in that work," Toomey said. And boy, does she work.

Toomey trains with Orr and the reigning CrossFit Games men's champion, Mat Fraser.

No two training days are the same, but when the duo are preparing for a competition, they do three long workout sessions a day.

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For example, they might go on a two-hour bike ride in the morning, then do a five to six-hour gym session, and finish off with two hours on the track.

You have to be fast as well as strong in CrossFit.Duke Loren

Just reading that may make you feel the need to lie down, but Toomey said they have to train for so long because there are "just so many elements" they have to focus on in CrossFit.

"You've got your squats, you've got your Olympic lifts, you've got your gymnastic strength and skill, and then you want to do a variety of different Metcons [metabolic conditioning workouts, which are short periods of high intensity].

"There's just so much to think about because we've got so much to cover and we have no idea what we're going to be doing for the CrossFit Games."

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Even when Toomey's not preparing for a competition, an average day might involve four hours in the gym in the morning, a break for lunch, then an hour and a half swimming in the pool.

"That's a nice, comfortable day," she said, adding that it's what she does just to maintain her baseline level of fitness year-round.

She's had to adapt during lockdown

Toomey, who lives in Cookeville, Tennessee, has had to change her lifestyle due to the coronavirus pandemic just like everybody else. So there's no going to the gym, pool, or running track for her either.

That said, she's fortunate to have a pretty decent garage gym where she trains with Fraser.

However, in what Insider swiftly learned is classic Toomey style, she doesn't see the current restrictions as a setback, but as an opportunity.

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Tia-Clair Toomey.Michael Valentin

"Something that's been really cool is we've been able to evolve and just work with the things that we have," she said.

"We are doing the very best that we can with what we have. And I definitely feel like my strength is still up, my fitness level has definitely increased, and I'm very, very happy with where we are, even though there've been changes throughout our training regime.

"I really believe that we will all come together in this, learn so much, and be stronger for it."

The 2020 CrossFit Games are still meant to be taking place, although they won't be open to the public and the date is yet to be confirmed.

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Whenever they take place though, Tia-Clair Toomey will be raring to defend her title.

Tia-Clair Toomey stars in 'The Fittest,' the new documentary from The Buttery Bros available to download globally on iTunes and Amazon.

Read more:

I've spent 4 weeks trying home workout livestreams on Instagram — here are the 5 best ones

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I have no workout equipment at home and can't go to the gym. Is running enough to stay fit?

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