Brent Fikowski Talks Training Think Tank, Traveling, and the 2023 Season

Canadian Brent Fikowski has been a mainstay at CrossFit Games for nearly a decade–since his first appearance in 2016, he’s racked up seven event wins and gained a name for himself as a quiet, strategic athlete (“the Professor,” as he’s so lovingly called). But as the sport has evolved, Fikowski has had to evolve too. This season, he’s made a pointed shift in the focus of his training. In previous years, the first months of the season have been solely centered around making it to the Games–with the differences in programming between stages of qualification, Fikowski has tailored his training specifically to what’s coming up next. This year, he’s only got one thing on his mind: the Games. This content is available exclusively to Members Become an member and start enjoying full access to all our community and sports content, and an ad-free experience. PROMO Exclusive content Ad-Free web/app experience Comments on articles Exclusive 15% WIT discount $1 per month for the first 4 months, $8 each month after Get Started for $1 Exclusive content Ad-Free web/app experience Comments on articles Exclusive private Facebook Group Regular coffee breaks hang outs Exclusive 15% WIT discount Get Started $5/month billed annually Already a member? Log In. “I absolutely don’t regret having that strategy in prior years; because if I hadn’t had that training focus I likely would not have made it through the 2018 Open or the 2021 SemiFinals,” Fikowski said. “However, now with the addition of Quarterfinals and the gradual shift of programming I’ve seen at Semifinals, this strategic change makes sense for me.” This shift in focus has meant spending more time on stimuli that were previously reserved only for Games training–running and long endurance workouts, Fikowski said. In addition to a shift in his programming, Fikowski and his long-time coach, David Spurr of Only Training, decided that switching up his training was necessary to gear up for Semfinals. Fikowski has always notoriously trained alone but found that it left a missing piece from his game. “There is a new level of intensity that you can only get with competition and I wanted to tap into that before competing to qualify for the CrossFit Games,” Fikowski said. “I felt there was a workout or two in the offseason competitions in Dubai and Wodapalooza where I could have maybe pushed a little bit harder, so I wanted to get that out of my system right away.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brent Fikowski (@fikowski) This motivated Fikowski to make a trip down to Alpharetta, GA to train with the crew at Training Think Tank. While he maintains that training alone is still the best option for him–he says the autonomy to focus on whatever he needs to is an important aspect for him–training with a big crew of elite athletes was energizing. “The biggest difference is that it is more fun, but because I like to chat it takes me more time to get through the same amount of work,” Fikowski said. “It was a good reminder that however you choose to prepare there will be compromises, and likely the best approach is a mixture of training environments depending on what your goal is for each training session.” (function($) { $.ajax({ url: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', data: { action: 'mcu_get_wa', page: 'https://morningchalkup.com/2023/04/19/brent-fikowski-talks-training-think-tank-traveling-and-the-2023-season/', hide_ads: , show_ads: , hide_advertisers: , show_advertisers: , }, }).done(function(msg) { res JSON.parse(msg); var ad_html ''; if (res.type 'image') { ad_html ` From Our Sponsor Continue for More Content `; } else if (res.type 'video') { ad_html ` From Our Sponsor Continue for More Content 0) { window.open($(this).data('link')); $.ajax({ url: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', data: { action: 'mcu_track_ad_click', page: window.location.href, ad_id: $(this).data('id') }, }); } }); if (res.type 'video') { const vidAds document.querySelectorAll('.video_ad_video'); observer new IntersectionObserver(entries > { entries.forEach(entry > { if (entry.intersectionRatio > 0) { entry.target.play(); } else { entry.target.pause(); } }); }); // var node document.createElement("LI"); vidAds.forEach( vidAd > { observer.observe(vidAd); $(vidAd).closest('.from-sponsor-vid').prepend(""); $('.volume').click(function() { if (vidAd.muted) { vidAd.muted false; $(this).find('svg').attr('data-icon', 'volume-mute'); } else { vidAd.muted true; $(this).find('svg').attr('data-icon', 'volume'); } }); $('.play').click(function() { if (vidAd.paused false) { vidAd.pause(); $(this).find('svg').attr('data-icon', 'play'); } else { vidAd.play(); $(this).find('svg').attr('data-icon', 'pause'); } }); } ); } }); })(jQuery); Of course, a weeklong trip to a different country–five weeks away from Semifinals–isn’t an easy task. Fikowski said he had to plan ahead and organize himself so his week of training could go as smoothly as possible. This meant prioritizing sleep and food. “The biggest things that help (are) getting as much sleep as I could, napping whenever I had a chance and trying to keep up my good sleep habits in the hotel,” Fikowski said. “The other big help is planning all my food in advance. I have to eat a lot in a day so if I don’t plan ahead I’ll get hangry.” Now back home and going through the last few weeks of work before Semifinals, Fikowski is making a run at his eighth CrossFit Games appearance. He’ll compete at the North American West Semifinal where nine men will earn a ticket to the 2023 CrossFit Games.

Brent Fikowski Talks Training Think Tank, Traveling, and the 2023 Season

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