CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdottir: ‘It is not about how you look but what you can do’

The Fittest Woman on Earth, Annie Thorisdottir, is visiting the UAE to open the CrossFit Gold Box in Dubai. She tells how she first became inspired by CrossFit and how it has helped her to achieve her fitness goals.

CrossFit athlete Annie Thorisdottir. Courtesy CrossFit Gold Box

Anyone following the meteoric rise of two-time CrossFit Games champion and social media celebrity Annie Thorisdottir will recognise the apt translation of her last name.

As if channelling the combined strength of the Norse gods, the 26-year-old Icelander can lift weights more than twice her 69 kilogram body weight, effortlessly flip tractor tyres and perform endless push-ups with ease.

The athlete earned the title of Fittest Woman on Earth after winning the CrossFit Games in 2011 and 2012 and is gearing up for an effort to reclaim that title next year.

She is in the Emirates to participate in the Dubai Fitness Championship and will be taking a masterclass at the opening of the new CrossFit Gold Box in Dubai today.

How did CrossFit become your sport of choice?

I had been doing gymnastics as a kid for 10 years, but stopped in high school. I needed something to fill that gap, where I was once training four hours for six days each week. I started signing up for different sports and ballet in Iceland, and one of them was CrossFit.

I ended up doing really well in the 2009 CrossFit competition, which made me realise that I had finally found something that worked for me 100 per cent.

Does your gymnastics training come handy in CrossFit?

Sports in general heighten body awareness. Doing gymnastics requires a lot of skill, so you get to know and trust your body and learn how it works.

So I think I have an easier time picking up new things and learning new movements faster.

Why do you think CrossFit is gaining in popularity as must-do training?

What makes it popular is that it is a fun training system. It is easy to see your progress, see yourself get stronger, fitter; and it teaches body awareness.

It also creates a sense of community. As you get older, there are very few sports you can do, but CrossFit works for people across all age groups.

There have been reported safety concerns in this sport. Are they valid?

I understand the concern but I don’t agree with it. CrossFit actually teaches functional movement, which means it should, in fact, prevent injuries that are happening to people outside of the gym. You are learning to move better, pick up your groceries, hold your kid. As for doing it professionally, it is not any more unsafe than other sports out there, be it gymnastics or track and field, but then you are working with high volume. A normal person isn’t training 25-hours-a-week like I am.

My parents and grandparents do CrossFit and they are in the best shape of their lives. I wouldn’t like them doing it if I didn’t believe it would make them live longer.

A large number of women are taking up CrossFit now. Yet, there is still some stigma around women who lift weights about losing their “femininity”. Are your surprised that such a debate still exists?

I’m very lucky that in Iceland it isn’t frowned upon that women lift weights. I agree with the point that not all women need to look like bodybuilders. But the cool thing about CrossFit is that it is not about how you look but what you can do.

Women are afraid because they are not used to lifting free weights. I had the same fear when I started.

But I can promise every woman who is afraid that they’ll get too much muscle that it’s not going to happen all of a sudden. You need to work really hard and you still won’t get all bulky. I train so hard to get into the shape I am in.

What’s the worst mistake a CrossFitter can make?

It has to be thinking about weights over technique and form. You also want an instructor that can help you learn the right technique in the beginning, because it is hard to fix if you learn it wrong from the start.

You had to withdraw from the final day of this year's CrossFit Games because of heatstroke. How are you preparing yourself to prevent this in the future?

In January, I’m going to start working with a woman who deals with female hydration and heat training. I’ll be making sure my body is completely prepared for the next competition.

What CrossFit workout do you dislike the most?

Right now I dislike running and swimming. That’s because I’m not doing a lot of it.

• Annie Thorisdottir and CrossFit athlete Noah Ohlsen will open the CrossFit Gold Box, Noor Islamic Metro Station, Dubai, today (December 9), followed by a class and Q&A from 5pm. To register, email [e-mail]