CROSSING THE LINE THE UAE’S GRID IRON SQUAD GET PHYSICAL (P34)

ExErcisE NUTRITION GEar HEALTH LifE SPORT styLE

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THE UAE’S FITTEST MAN

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And the CrossFit workout that got him there

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Men’s Fitness May 2012 39

{Report}MARCUS SMITH{Report} MARCUS SMITH

Marcus Smith is the UAE’s fittest man and he’s out for Asian domination. Contenders be warned, he’s not taking any prisoners.

For the second time in two years Marcus will head to the Asia regional CrossFit games

proudly brandishing the crown as the fittest man in the Emirates. But it’s not a title he’s overly proud of any more. He’s reconfigured his aim since last year’s event, and it’s got the CrossFit world finals in Los Angeles written all over it.

“I don’t just want to be the fittest man in the UAE,” he says dismissively.

“I’ve proven my ability at a local level. It’s time to move for-ward. I want to qualify from this month’s Asia regionals and book my place in LA.”

To get this far, 60,000 competitors from all over the world took part in the five week CrossFit open, involving five gruelling work-outs. Participants were then ranked globally, with the top 60 from every region qualifying for the next stage. Marcus came top of the Middle East region, and he’s already got his sights firmly on going a step further at the regional event in Korea this month.

“Going to the CrossFit Asia Regionals was great last year. I learned a lot and the experience has done me a lot of good.

“But last year of the six workouts, there were two that I couldn’t even do. That’s the kind of experience it was. I was happy to put it down to a learning curve.

“In the end I came 5th at the Asia regionals, but from the mo-ment I got home from I started to prepare for this year’s event – both mentally and physically.”

Having beaten hundreds of others to come 9th in Asia this year and win his right to compete in Korea this month, this time around Marcus is fine-tuning his body and his mind to peak just at the right time. And you can tell. There is something measured about the way he looks ahead to his challenge. Not allowing him-self to get overly excited about things, even though you can feel he’s aching just to get down to action. As are many hundreds of other CrossFit athletes all over the world.

CrossFIt and its constant variedness is something you either love or hate, but judging by the uptake of the sport in the US, the majority of athletes conform to the former.

There are more CrossFit gyms being built in the US, than there are Starbucks being built – that tells you a little about the way in which the sport has taken the world by storm.

Constantly varied, high intensity, functional fitness is the tag. Marcus says it’s the functionality of the movement that makes CrossFit such a hit.

“Do I need to be able to walk 60 metres on my hands? No. I don’t need to climb 15 feet up a rope or carry an anchor around with me all day either, but applying fitness to everyday skills and challenges is something unique and importantly it’s a lot of fun.

“The fact that it’s constantly varied means you don’t get bored with the same routines day in day out either. You never know what you might have to do next.”

Leading up to the main event, Marcus’s typical day begins with a thirty-minute stretch at 5am, followed by an hour’s worth of CrossFit training and conditioning. By 7.30am he’s working then from 5.30pm onwards, he switches tact to work on his brand Inner Fight or train again in the evening.

“I try not to train twice everyday though because the body just gets too tired,” he says.

“I have a target number of hours a week I have to sleep. I try to get between 7-8 hours sleep a night during the week, and 8.5-9 hours on the weekend. I’m pretty structured about it.”

Whether Marcus makes it through to LA or not this time around, one thing is for sure – through a combination of experi-ence, preparedness and focus, he’s already gotten a step closer to it. The rest comes down to how he performs on every given day.

“I have to win in Korea to get through to the finals in the US, so I know exactly what I need to do.

“You have to be the best to get through. I’ve made a lot of sacri-fices to get to this stage, I’ve done everything off my own back.

“So am I ready for it? Definitely.”

// Marcus Smith competes in the Asia Reebok CrossFit Games Finals on May 4/5/7. For more information on CrossFit go to games www.crossfit.com.

// For more information on Marcus go to www.innerfight.com

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pull ups on the rings> Marcus – This move takes gymnastic strength and great core TUBCJMJUZ�UP�FYFDVUF��"OZPOF�USZJOH�UIJT�GPS�UIF�ËSTU�UJNF�TIPVME�look to get their body position right before getting too carried away. It’s a great exercise that I do a lot of.

Rope climb> Marcus – It takes power… a lot of power, but it also requires a lot of technique. I’m not just pulling with my arms but I’m pushing with my feet, which are wrapped around the rope. At CrossFit you may have a 15ft rope to climb repeatedly.

walking handstand> Marcus –�5IJT�JT�UPVHI��"U�UIF�ËOBMT�MBTU�ZFBS �POF�HVZ�NBO-aged to walk 70-odd metres. The pressure on your shoulders and forearms is immense and all the time you’ve got your core locked to stay balanced. I walk for as far as I can or as far as I am told…then turn around and walk back.

Anchor walk> Marcus – This is 85 kgs of dead weight, which is tough enough to lift, let alone carry. Again, technique is crucial here because MJGUJOH�JU�Pë�UIF�HSPVOE�JT�UIF�IBSEFTU�QBSU��0ODF�ZPV�SF�VQ �XBML�GPS����NFUSFT��3FTU �BOE�TUBSU�BHBJO��*�USBJO�EPJOH�ËWF�TFUT�PG�UIFTF��

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