5 Graham Holmberg: World's Fittest Man on CrossFit and Turning Your Life Around

I've never seen someone turn their life around as much as Graham Holmberg. I've known Graham for nearly 10 years, and he had a completely different attitude and mindset on life back then. One of the best athletes I know, I'd watch him chew tobacco and drink his way through college as we'd play Dave […] Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

• 0:09Speaker 00

  Hello everyone and welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, I'm an author, lifestyle entrepreneur, former pro athlete and world record holder in football. My goal with the School of Greatness is to share with you stories from the most inspiring business minds, world-class athletes and influential celebrities on the planet to help you find out what makes great people great. So please leave us a review over on iTunes and join us on the web at schoolofgreatness.com to be notified of each episode when it comes out. Now let's get after it.

• 0:57Speaker 00

  Hey everybody, today I have the world's fittest man on to talk about what it takes to win what I would say is the most challenging physical contest known to man, the CrossFit World Championships. Now our guest Graham Holmberg is a personal friend of mine. I've known Graham since college. We were football teammates, we were both wide receivers at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. I taught him how to play the guitar. We had many, many late nights playing poker in the college dorm and all sorts of amazing stories I could share with you at another time. But Graham is really the guy who got me back into shape. After I got injured playing professional football, after I was recovering, I went

• 1:38Speaker 00

  to Graham to figure out how I could lose the weight and really get back into peak performance. He told me about this new thing he was doing called CrossFit and he introduced me to this workout that's really transformed the way that I run my life and my fitness levels. And Graham won the CrossFit World Championships in 2010 and has since then been to two other games, done extremely well and continues to be one of the leaders in the CrossFit community. So I hope you guys enjoyed this interview as much as I enjoyed doing the interview with Graham.

• 2:12Speaker 01

  How you doing my man?

• 2:12Speaker 02

  Good. Thanks for having me.

• 2:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, so tell me, why are you so passionate about CrossFit?

• 2:18Speaker 02

  It's a pretty tough question to kind of nail in one easy sentence. It's almost the same kind of approach when somebody asks you, what is CrossFit?

• 2:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 2:27Speaker 02

  You know, it's like, well, how much time you got for me to explain it all? But the, you know, I think my original start into CrossFit was just a, almost a pride thing and an athlete and being competitive. It was like, there's a competition, I want to go win it. And so my training was all just designed just to be the best and go win. And as I kind of learned more about the sport, learned more about running an affiliate, being a personal trainer, and then just being involved with a great community of people, it's awesome to be a part of so many people's lives, to impact, to inspire, and just to be able to coach people on a day-to-day basis, and just help people reach their goals, just like I originally was able to reach my goal.

• 3:10Speaker 01

  Right, so tell me about, let's get back into kind of your youth. Tell me about your story as a kid, were you always an athlete, or was this something you became an athlete later in life?

• 3:19Speaker 02

  Always an athlete, as far as I can remember. My dad always had me in sports. I had three older sisters, all were in sports, and my dad was my coach, and probably the most competitive person I've ever met. And so I think that competitive streak obviously transferred into me, and just growing up, it was always, you gotta train, you gotta train harder than everybody that you're going against, everybody's gonna catch up. And I don't know if it was necessarily that, you know, I was born with just great athleticism, or if it was just my dad just pushed, pushed me to my, you know, my limitations, and then beyond what I thought I could ever do. So as, as I grew up, it was just always instilled in me, give everything you got, you're at

• 4:02Speaker 02

  the field longer than everybody else, till it got dark, always doing one more extra round, one more extra set, doing the extra mile. So that was just kind of growing up until, till I kind of started reaching in high school, and kind of almost started getting my own kind of a mentality of what I wanted with life, and obviously girls started to come into the equation, the party scene, everything started coming into play, so. Views and my mentality and focus started kind of steering in a different direction.

• 4:31Speaker 01

  Right. So now, we played college football together, obviously. And tell me about your experience in college, because it's much different now from when college used to chew tobacco, drink a lot of alcohol. You know, there was the girl thing all the time. I mean, tell me about your experience in college, and did you feel like you were on your right path in college?

• 4:48Speaker 02

  I probably wouldn't admit it at the time, but obviously, looking back, I can definitely say I remember getting recruited by Division One schools for football and baseball in high school, offered scholarships.

• 5:02Speaker 01

  Because you were all-state, right, in both football and baseball?

• 5:05Speaker 02

  I was all-league in our school, but again, kind of going back, just always remembering, hey, you need to keep training hard, training hard. I was always one of the best athletes in our city growing up.

• 5:14Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:15Speaker 02

  And you kind of thought, oh, what he's saying isn't going to really ever apply. Everyone will catch up.

• 5:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:21Speaker 02

  And so that kind of started happening. Everyone started catching up.

• 5:23Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:24Speaker 02

  And at that point, I kind of lost some of that work ethic that I originally was instilled with. So, yeah, so almost going to a smaller Division Three where I ended up playing football and baseball at, probably was just shy of really the end result of what I probably could have got myself to if I'd have kept pushing, pushing hard.

• 5:44Speaker 01

  Now, did you end up becoming an All-American in baseball, or all-conference, or what?

• 5:48Speaker 02

  All-conference.

• 5:49Speaker 01

  All-conference?

• 5:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, all-conference in baseball. Football, I had to end up changing positions because I was behind an All-American quarterback.

• 5:55Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:55Speaker 02

  So I switched positions to receiver, but ended up starting half of our junior year.

• 6:00Speaker 01

  Right.

• 6:00Speaker 02

  And then all my senior year. So, yeah, it was just some adversities that happened, and had to change, and had to start working hard to try to catch up. But almost at that point, it was almost too late for the sporting career that I originally kind of hoped and dreamed of.

• 6:17Speaker 01

  Baseball or football, right?

• 6:18Speaker 02

  Right.

• 6:19Speaker 01

  So now, why do you think you partied so much in college? Because you partied pretty hard from what I remember.

• 6:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's funny to think of as I grow up, you know, you go to these, you hear these health classes and stuff of like peer pressure and this and that and you're like, ah, no way, I'm above that. And it happens. I mean, it just, it flat out happens. And I think it was my sophomore year in high school, got introduced to dip and tried it, chewing tobacco. And it's like, oh, I actually kind of liked it. So started doing that on a regular basis, started, you know, partying, had older sisters. So, you know, they, I could get alcohol or, you know, if I wanted to smoke some weed or something, I, you know, you knew the right people or could get connections. So, yeah, I mean, and then at the same time, you're thinking, oh, I can still do this and I can still play sports and still be successful

• 7:07Speaker 02

  in my sports. It's not really slowing me down. It's not really gonna, it's not gonna hinder what I'm doing. Yeah. So, once I started dipping, drinking, smoking weed, it wasn't, it really didn't seem to affect.

• 7:19Speaker 01

  Because you can still compete at a high level.

• 7:20Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  You were a good enough athlete to compete in high school and in college.

• 7:23Speaker 02

  Yeah. And then obviously, girls, I mean, it's just another distraction.

• 7:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 7:27Speaker 02

  Dating girls, in and out of relationships. And it's like, oh, that's not gonna deter, you know, me from training or screw me up on the court or on the field.

• 7:34Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 7:35Speaker 02

  And I really didn't see much, kind of, much problems with it because I was still successful and still had, had good, good, good performances and good games.

• 7:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:45Speaker 02

  But, yeah, there was definitely, I could tell that there was a lack or there was a piece missing from like my work ethic and just didn't excel or didn't perform to, I think, what I always perceived that I was capable of.

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Right. Now, you don't do dip, you don't drink, you don't smoke anymore, right?

• 8:02Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:03Speaker 01

  So, what was the thing, either during college or after college, that made you decide that you wanted to give it all up?

• 8:09Speaker 02

  Yeah. Yeah. So, obviously, high school, still doing that, that carried right over through college. Maybe got amplified a little bit more. Now, you're living on your own. You didn't really have to hide anything from your parents as much because they weren't around. So, it was just you doing your own thing and kind of experiencing life as your own young adult and trying new stuff.

• 8:29Speaker 02

  And it just, like I said, just kinda got amplified a little bit more. But I was still able to, you know, get good grades and still compete, still do well. And it honestly lasted all the way through, all the way through all my sports. Yep, all the way through my senior year. It wasn't until after I graduated from school or getting ready to finish graduating. And had kind of a tragic accident happen with our family. With my cousin passing away in a car accident. And it was a pretty, pretty horrendous moment, just, um, just it kinda shocked me. Kinda shocked, obviously, our family and it just kinda resorted back to me always thinking, oh, I'm invincible. Had a fast car in high school, had a fast car through college. And just making dumb decisions and thinking that it's not gonna happen to me.

• 9:13Speaker 02

  That happens to other people, that it won't ever happen to me. And so when that moment kinda hit and kinda saw the, kinda the broken family in the hospital. That started kinda tearing into my heart a little bit. And I was raised and growing up in a Christian family. Church going, even a couple of times through college, found myself in church a few times on Sunday mornings. Just kinda knowing that there was something that, um, I was getting tugged, knowing that there was something missing. Were you bringing tobacco in at church? I was not bringing it. So, once, uh, once that kind of started resettling in again. It was kinda the end of, end of December of 2007, right after I'd finished school and graduated.

• 9:56Speaker 02

  And I decided to kinda get my life back on track with the Lord. And just kinda re-accepted Jesus Christ in my life and, and asked Him to be my Savior again. And just lead me and direct me, cause obviously I was trying it on my own and it wasn't working. And just didn't wanna be kinda left by myself. I just, like I said, felt empty. Now, how close were you with your cousin? Did you guys grow up together? Did you guys, was he your age? Uh, no, I was 21, he was 17, so he was a junior in high school. But he had just started maturing, started, kinda just reminded me of me, uh, myself a little bit. He played different sports, played football, lacrosse and wrestled. But he was starting to become a young man, starting to, starting to lift weights. And it was just cool to kinda see him like, it always seemed like he was so young.

• 10:40Speaker 02

  And now he's finally was grown up. And then to just get that kinda ripped from him. And it just hurt me because it was like that could have easily been me and he didn't get to experience the same stuff I could have and it just I almost saw in him some of the work ethic and stuff that I potentially wanted and uh yeah that just really just kinda tore into me.

• 10:58Speaker 01

  So you think he had more of a better work ethic than you like coming into high school or coming in going into college I guess you think he was more focused was he kind of going off the path you were or was he more straight focused?

• 11:09Speaker 02

  You know I'm not real sure uh you know obviously I was always around him um multiple times throughout the year definitely holidays when we lived just right next to the same cities uh his mother my mother sisters so it was I I never knew him as to be like a party kinda kid he was always super quiet really humble um he I mean he'd always just kinda have this little smile kinda smirk just always a happy kid and uh definitely there I saw parts of me kinda in him with you know just kinda that that happy always always kinda good lucky kinda personality but I was definitely more um way more outgoing lot more pride very cocky and uh

• 11:47Speaker 01

  I remember.

• 11:48Speaker 02

  Definitely was not gonna be missed out at the party scene and so I didn't know if that really is anything that he was connected with

• 11:54Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:54Speaker 02

  Um but if it was it was it was never anything obvious.

• 11:58Speaker 01

  So after you graduated wedding college where was your life headed at that point? You were you're chewing tobacco you're smoking you're drinking you're doing the girl thing the party scene where was your life headed and uh where do you think it was gonna go if you didn't have this tragic accident in your your family?

• 12:16Speaker 02

  Honestly um I thank the Lord that it um that I don't know where it was gonna end up going cause honestly I didn't have a clue um I basically picked a very easy major through college.

• 12:27Speaker 01

  You were gonna be a teacher right?

• 12:28Speaker 02

  I was gonna be an art teacher

• 12:29Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 12:30Speaker 02

  Cause I kinda wanted to be a teacher and a coach

• 12:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:32Speaker 02

  Being involved with sports and uh yeah I just didn't know and I really didn't have a passion for that

• 12:37Speaker 01

  Right.

• 12:38Speaker 02

  But it was like this was an easy major I could do my art classes and stuff when I needed to um on the side and so uh I just like I said it was just empty I just knew it was like I'll I'll end up figuring something else out that was always kinda like kinda my mentality was it's definitely a procrastinator and like I'll figure it out when it comes up or when it's when the pressure situation comes I'll I'll make a decision and it'll work and um. Yeah, so I just didn't want to live like that anymore. So started to get a little bit more organized. Started, I think I picked up like three or four jobs. Right there in the beginning of January 2008.

• 13:12Speaker 01

  After the accident.

• 13:13Speaker 02

  Right. I picked up a coaching job. So the high school that my cousin went to, I became the freshman baseball coach there. And so that definitely just further helped me. It was like, I don't want to be a hypocrite to these kids and inspire them and coach them up and teach them the right habits if I'm doing bad stuff as well. So that kind of just, again, just furthered. Really, it was kind of all built up and helped, you know, through my faith as well. And once that started rolling, you know, things, good things started to happen. I started working out a lot more, started finding myself back in the weight room again. And I was like, maybe I'm going to try to pursue going back after baseball again. And I'm just going to get in the best shape I possibly can and just be Mr. Hustle and just be the guy that just does all the dirt.

• 13:56Speaker 01

  Scrappy.

• 13:57Speaker 02

  Yep. Everything that you have to do, the coach needs you to do, I'll do. And I always kind of used to despise that kind of player, like, ah, whatever, I'll just, I'll just hit the home runs and strike people out and.

• 14:06Speaker 01

  Steal bases.

• 14:07Speaker 02

  Steal bases and just, you know, I'll be the star and make the stats work versus, you know, being Johnny Hustle, I guess. So as conditioning and everything started rolling, I was like, well, maybe I'll be a personal trainer and help share this experience to people and.

• 14:21Speaker 01

  And that's about when we started training, right?

• 14:22Speaker 02

  Yeah. Yeah, so you had kind of left Capital for a while, you were a year ahead of me and came back in, you're like, jeez, you're just, you're going nuts in the workout room and just, I got to do this with you.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  I remember you doing the 300 workouts, right?

• 14:34Speaker 02

  I was doing it like every day. I thought like that's what they did in the movie 300, they were doing that 300 workout every single day. So, yeah, I got pretty good at that workout. And that was kind of like the first CrossFit type really workout that I was doing. But, you know, running, jumping, being an athlete is involved with CrossFit. So when I started getting into CrossFit workouts more in detail, it wasn't a huge adjustment because it was like, I already been doing this stuff my whole life.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  Right. So when did you stop? When did you cut off all the bad stuff in your life? Was it right after the accident? Was it progressive?

• 15:05Speaker 02

  It was cold turkey. It was cold turkey right there on that spot.

• 15:08Speaker 01

  No smoking, no drinking, no dip? You didn't have another pack of dip in your mouth, right?

• 15:11Speaker 02

  Right. Yeah, it's been, let's see, almost six years now.

• 15:15Speaker 01

  Wow. So it was cold that day when you found out you stopped?

• 15:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, I made a decision to just completely wipe that stuff out of my life and not really let it control me anymore.

• 15:26Speaker 01

  Interesting. And do you feel like? If you'd still be living that lifestyle, having the substances in your body, do you feel like you would have the opportunity to be a CrossFit world champion?

• 15:40Speaker 02

  I definitely can't say that that would be the same case. There's definitely a scripture that talks about water coming out of a spout being salt water or fresh water, and it can't be both. You know, and so for me, it's, I can't be, I can't be this kind of party animal and live in my own lifestyle and then also trying to pursue this dream that requires a different lifestyle. It's just not going to work. So, I have made mistakes. I have drank, you know, since then. I've had, you know, a cigar with, you know, with my father-in-law and, you know, out on a golf course or something.

• 16:13Speaker 01

  You get married?

• 16:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, I've gotten married, but as far as, you know, as the drug consumption and, you know, drinking and partying multiple times throughout the week and weekend.

• 16:21Speaker 01

  It's not part of your life.

• 16:22Speaker 02

  It can't be.

• 16:23Speaker 01

  So what was the, so you started training more, you started cutting the bad stuff out of your life. What inspired you to get into CrossFit? How'd you find out about it? What really got you going?

• 16:33Speaker 02

  When I heard about CrossFit, I was still in school and it was just one of my friends that I played football with. And he said, "I see you working out at the Caps Center all the time. You should look into CrossFit. They kind of do the same stuff."

• 16:44Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:44Speaker 02

  And I thought, "No, what I'm doing is way harder than what anybody else is ever doing." And I was kind of like, yeah, still had a little cocky attitude with me. And it was like, I was challenged. I would just flat out put the challenge to people. I'm like, "I almost want to put a video out and just say, 'Anybody in the world wants to come try to beat me in these workouts.'"

• 17:00Speaker 01

  You were a freak, I remember. It was insane.

• 17:03Speaker 02

  So, it was, it was kind of a fun, kind of cocky miss with it all, but at the same time, it was still kind of a learning experience and still developing the skills. As I became a personal trainer and got more and more delved with, back with Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting and introducing tires and more and more pull-ups, sandbags, just more awkward objects, kettlebells. So I was really doing a lot of CrossFit movements that you incorporate in the Games and every day in CrossFit gyms. I just didn't know that that's, like, that there was CrossFit affiliates that were doing that, like we were doing at the facility I was training at. So my partner... Or he was just another trainer at the same facility. He had kind of heard about CrossFit before I did.

• 17:46Speaker 02

  And really didn't say too much because he wanted to go get certified and go learn more about it just for his own expertise. But the more he started looking into it and searching on YouTube and seeing these guys, he's like, "You gotta do this, man." He's like, "I think these guys can beat you in these workouts." And I'm like, "No way." So, we started looking into it. And I think that was when I saw like Jason Kalipa had just won the 2009 Games. So, that was the end of- 2008 Games, because you competed- Sorry, yeah, 2008 Games. He had just won the Games in 2008. So, the end of 2008 and then the beginning of 2009, that was right when I first heard about it and started searching it. And so, what happened next? You started training for it? You started, what happened? Well, found CrossFit, obviously got onto CrossFit.com and started looking at what the workouts were.

• 18:30Speaker 02

  And they weren't that much different from what I was doing. They were just a little more organized. I was just kind of a- Throwing something together. I was just crazy. I was almost like, just take as much movement as you can, throw a bunch of reps with it and just kill it as fast as you can. And if you weren't dying on the ground, exhausted, you didn't go hard enough, kind of idea. So, more kind of structure with my training also started happening. As that structured training came around, Brandon, my friend and training partner at the time, goes, "There's a regional coming up. They now have to have, you have to qualify to make it to the Games." CrossFit Regional in 2009. And it was in May and I had about three months to prepare for it. So, we just started going nuts, training really hard.

• 19:12Speaker 02

  And I was super confident going into it, telling my parents, "Yeah, best shape of my life." Telling my parents, "I'm gonna win this thing. Come out, watch me crush this. Like, this is what I do. I'm beating these guys' times. I'm beating the previous champ's times on the workouts that he's posting." So, I was definitely ready for it. 2009 Regional rolls out and I get smashed on the first workout. Like, it kicked my butt way worse than like any workout I ever did. What was the first workout? It was 21:15-9.

• 19:42Speaker 02

  With 275 pound deadlift and chest to bar pull ups. So it just ripped my hands open, like my back was fried, uh, like my technique on kipping pull ups wasn't as good as it needed to be at the time. This was regionals? This is at the regional level. So I'd still really just learned how to do kipping pull ups better. And that workout just smashed me. And then we had to come back later in the day and do a double kettlebell, thruster and burpee workout. Was rough. And then we ended with like a long row, a two, a 2000 meter row to finish the day. And, uh, the first workout was humbling. It was like, I was like 25th right after the first wad. In regionals? In regionals. Wow. And I'm thinking, I'm, I'm gonna win this. Top two go?

• 20:24Speaker 02

  Top, at this time, the, the, um, setup to make it to the games was different. Okay. So this, this region allowed the top six to make it. Okay. And, uh, You're in 25th and you gotta be in top six. Right. To go to the world championships. Yep. So I just kept clawing, scratching, fighting back. And, uh, last workout going into it, I think I was in seventh place. So I was one place out to make it to the games. Wow. And, uh, ended up getting third on the final workout, like third fastest time, just by like two seconds. I was only right there, tied, almost tied the first and second place and jumped from seventh and got fourth place and qualified for the games. Wow. So kind of your make or break moment, you made it so you could at least qualify to see if you could compete at the games. Right. Okay. So what happened next? You go to the world championship?

• 21:08Speaker 02

  2009 games and, and honestly, just all the buildup and all the hype getting into the, that regional, I felt like it just wasted my, I lost so much energy and so much focus and so much, uh, Cause you didn't win the regional. Yeah. So it was, it was really, really exhausting mentally and physically, just all the hype building up for that regional. Yeah. So it was tough for me to kind of refine that, that spark in my training. Right. I was almost burnt out. Sure. As the games kind of came up, but I was still in, you know, awesome shape. I was trying to get a little bit stronger and, uh, I think I gained about five more pounds in the next couple of months to try to be stronger for the competition. Right. And, uh, 2009, 2010 game, sorry, 2009 games. Right. Kind of the events start rolling out and, uh, yeah, I just didn't do as well as I wanted. You think you'd win? 2009?

• 21:53Speaker 02

  I was very high expectations. I felt, okay, I'm stronger. I'm still in great shape.

• 21:59Speaker 02

  I was confident that I was gonna do very, very well. I didn't necessarily... I had the, you know, you wouldn't go out there and compete if you didn't think you were gonna win. You weren't sure what to expect. Right. I had no clue what to expect. I knew this was my first exposure to this whole event. First time ever going to California, so there's just a whole new experience involved with it. And, yeah, the event started kinda coming out. What were the results? Well, I ended up 19th out of, I think there was 74 guys. The first event was a 7K mountain run. Wow. So there's no mountains in Ohio, so I really hadn't done any long distance, any kind of hill running. Yeah. So I got 56th on the first workout. So I just had to keep clawing and fighting back and...

• 22:41Speaker 02

  They made cuts after day one, and I think I, they took the top 16 to day two, and I was 19th place. So I was three spots off of making it to day two. So tell me about how you felt after you got 19th in 2009?

• 22:56Speaker 02

  I had my whole family basically saying, "Oh, you did so great," and everybody was so proud, so happy. And I was so disappointed because that was not what I'd set out to do. And just watching the competition the next day and just like, I need, I should still be down there. I should still be competing. I just messed up, you know, it was like, I didn't train right and I was very, very upset and like, just... Just almost upset, like, are the people still competing? Like, it was their fault that, you know, that I wasn't down there with them still. But, you know, on the flight home, I turned to my parents. I'm like, "I'm coming back. I'm gonna win it next year." Because I just, I knew, I'm like, that was my first exposure to this. I know I can, I know I can do this stuff. I know I can be better than these guys.

• 23:40Speaker 02

  And I just gotta, just kinda keep redirecting my focus and make sure that I'm training a little bit smarter. Not necessarily not training hard, but training smarter versus just trying to just kill myself every day. So then that whole next year was more just focused training. A little bit more detailed structure of kinda what I was doing each day. And then obviously started really focusing more on my technique and understanding the lifts better. Because there was a lot of kinda holes in my game and just my training approach. Stuff that I thought I knew or I could just kind of be athletic and muscle my way through it. But it was, it's not just a sport of just who's got the most capacity, but it's technique and skill. And you know mindset as well.

• 24:21Speaker 01

  Interesting. So you had a full year to think about getting 19th and losing basically. When you worked on your technique, you worked on, you know, structure of the workouts as opposed to just doing whatever you could do.

• 24:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:35Speaker 01

  What did you think about, I guess, every day? Were you thinking about winning the whole time? Were you thinking about just getting faster, stronger and having a more balanced life? Or what was the main thing you were focusing on of your thought?

• 24:45Speaker 02

  Um, you know, I guess the thought of winning, you know, maybe here and there it would kind of pop in. Um, you know, there's definitely like a kind of a gap, I guess, that I feel like it was just back to the drawing board, just back to training again. And, uh, yeah, cause, cause the games, it just kind of kept, you know, comes around once a year.

• 25:02Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 25:03Speaker 02

  So, yeah, it was, it's just like you said, just, I'm just gonna get stronger, just gonna get faster, I'm just gonna get better. And work on some weaknesses, run a little bit more, cause the, the run destroyed me. And yeah, I just thought, okay, well, I'm just gonna try to up my whole game and come back at it strong next year and, and just have a better approach.

• 25:23Speaker 01

  Right. So tell me what it was like, the, the whole experience was pretty interesting at CrossFit 2010.

• 25:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:31Speaker 01

  World Games. You went in there feeling confident, you went in there feeling strong, ready, healthy, right?

• 25:35Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:36Speaker 01

  But you almost didn't win. Weren't you down in like 10th place leading up to the last couple of events or tell me how that worked out?

• 25:44Speaker 02

  The, uh, the 2010 games moved from Aromas, California, which was out on like this ranch to this, the new, new facility in Los Angeles, the Home Depot Center. I'm not sure how new it was, but it was definitely new from where we were out on like dirt and mountainside. Like it's down to, you know, it's in the city, you have stadiums, you're down in this, um, you know, there's a track. It was, it was like, this is a legit competition now. Cameras and stuff every, everywhere, like real designated warm-up areas, locker rooms. It was like, okay, this is, this is the real deal now. So it was just kind of, I think maybe some guys maybe just got caught up in the, that whole, now this whole new scene. And, um, Yeah, I just, I'm just gonna stay focused and just go out there and just do it.

• 26:28Speaker 02

  Run my pace, run my race and you know, just hopefully get to see how it works out. I think after the first event, I was in 11th place. So I did well on the first event, not bad out of 50 guys. And the second event, I really didn't think it was my event. It was a lot of running and I was like, oh, there's other guys that'll win this workout. And ended up winning that workout, get first on it. And then there was a heavy, heavy lift that followed immediately after that workout. And I think their whole idea was whoever wins this workout is not gonna get the big, heavy lift. And I am getting first on the long workout and then third on the heaviest lift. Out of 50? Yeah, so it was, I almost was like, won the workout back to back, which was kinda not what they thought was gonna happen.

• 27:11Speaker 02

  They thought the fast lighter guys will win the workout and the heavier guys will win the strength. And so it'll kinda even everybody out. So that helps, that kinda separated me from the field pretty quick. So I was like in first place, pretty much the whole first day, or really it would've been day two, leading into the final day, day three, had kind of a bad event the end of day two. So I got bumped to second place. So I stayed in second place all the final day. The third day? Right. Okay. And just had to keep clawing back, keep fighting, keep fighting. It's like, I'm sitting right here, I can win this still, just a few points behind the person who's in first. And yeah, the last events, they ended up kinda hiding us. So we couldn't see the events, didn't have any idea what it was gonna be. They brought us out, they explained the workout and it was go.

• 27:56Speaker 02

  So like, you didn't have any time to think about it. And I liked that, cuz I felt like in my training, as I got closer to the games prep, I started just, if I walked in the class and liked the class workout, I would just do it. I didn't have time to think about it, like, just jump in and just go. So I didn't give myself a chance to overthink things and just trust on my speed, technique, and just my conditioning to just go and not have to try to figure out the workout and what my pace is gonna be in my head. And I ended up doing really, really well through the kinda the final three pieces of the last day, last workout. And yeah, ended up coming back right there at the end. The guy who was in first had kind of a mess up on the last piece.

• 28:39Speaker 02

  And you know, that's just kinda how sports go. You know, you come out, everybody's, everybody's prepared, everybody's training. Sometimes, sometimes you mess up, sometimes you call the wrong play. Sometimes, uh, somebody makes a mistake and the other team, you know, capitalizes on it and wins. And that was just kinda what, what ended up happening.

• 28:57Speaker 01

  So the game was basically on the line, the last minute. What do you think separated you from the rest of the field?

• 29:04Speaker 02

  Uh, it's funny that, you know, it was just, I could hear, I could just hear kinda like everyone's like voices. Like my family and friends were like right there, right on the edge. I could just hear them just yelling like, just go, go, you know, just finish this, finish this. You, you finish this workout, you're gonna win the whole thing. So it was just that mindset. It felt like the first couple of times I ever got into those workouts where you just were dying. And it's like, I'm almost at the end, I'm so close, just keep going, just get the next rep, just keep moving. And you're gonna finish. And, uh, so it was just all that training that had led up to the last couple of years of conditioning and working out. It's like, just could feel it like right there, just finish this, everything you got.

• 29:43Speaker 01

  Right.

• 29:43Speaker 02

  So it was really a pretty, uh, pretty exhausting mentally and physically moment, but it was definitely worth it.

• 29:49Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 29:50Speaker 02

  So kinda another thing that was really tough at the finish there is that's, it's kinda the unofficial result. So everybody that did those final events, you didn't know who, who scored on what before. So the points still all had to be kinda finalized and figured out. So they just kinda took us back. We were in this kinda waiting room, we had to get drug tested. So it's kinda like this almost anticlimactic finish. We were like, I don't even know if I won, where did I end up finishing? And just in a room of like five guys, so we're all sitting there basically knowing one of us won. We're all sitting here, we just didn't know who. I thought, uh, you know, I was second place going into the last event, thought I did really well in the last three parts. So that I have to, you know, I gotta be first or second. So I was happy regardless, but I knew it was just so close and just wanted that, that, that victory.

• 30:34Speaker 02

  So we go out, they bring us out and, um, we're standing there and, and finally they're, you know, they're announcing third place, second place. And obviously after they announce second place, it's like.

• 30:45Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 30:46Speaker 02

  It was, this is me, you know, I won it. So just kinda standing up on that podium and just, you know, standing there and looking out at the crowd and seeing my, my parents crying and seeing my wife, well, at the time, just my girlfriend, just crying and just, uh, and I didn't cry and it was funny that she was like, "It didn't seem like you were, you know, so, super happy." And it was, it was so much of just the journey and the path leading up to that, that moment. Like, all that energy, all that sweat and tears and pain and stuff that you experienced going into it was almost just like this, this moment, just at the top, standing there like, "I won this. I did it. Like, I achieved, achieved what I was, you know, going for, you know, two years ago." And, uh, it was just an awesome moment.

• 31:24Speaker 01

  Wow, that's really inspiring. So what is it that motivates you to work so hard? I mean, you said you spent two years to get to that moment of being, I mean, a champion. What motivates you every day?

• 31:35Speaker 02

  Um, you know, I, I think of just, you know, for my own kinda self, you know, looking at it, relying back even on what I was in high school and, and college. It was a lot of my own self-relying, self-relying and I, you know, when I chose that path, um, there was times of success and there was definitely times of failure. And, and then sometimes you're just really, really hard on yourself because you're, um, you're just expecting so much out of yourself. As I kinda grew my relationship with the Lord and, and started relying that what I'm doing and what I'm trying to train for is a bigger purpose than just myself. Um, it's, it's not just to inspire my own self and inspire my wife and inspire my family. It's, it's, there's a community of people out there that need to be inspired about what we're doing in this movement of CrossFit. Um, so definitely being able to

• 32:20Speaker 02

  kinda focus and, and prey on it and, and know that it's not just about me. It's not Graham Holmberg's story and, you know, if you, you really sit back in the, the timeline of existence of people, um, we're really just gonna be a small kinda piff of what, what actually is existing. So, uh, I just knew the moment was, this moment and as I continue to train is much bigger than me. So, having, knowing that, it's, it just allows me to kinda just be free and not, uh, too, too much stress on myself and, and just be able to just have fun with what I'm doing.

• 32:51Speaker 01

  Sure, sure. So, so how much of being a champion and winning, getting first place, is physical and how much of it is mental?

• 33:00Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah, that's tough.

• 33:02Speaker 01

  Because you're a strong guy.

• 33:03Speaker 02

  I'm a strong guy, and if you look at like the stats and, you know, the conditioning stats and the running stats and the weightlifting stats and all the, all the different benchmarks and times that you can roll into CrossFit, um, kind of, uh, you know, graphing and any way you want to look at it, I'm not the guy who you would say is like, "That guy's gonna win it every year." I was just kind of good across the board and, um, didn't really have anything that was like, "How did this guy win?" He wasn't any better than everybody else. He just kind of was good at everything. And, uh, I guess that was kind of what CrossFit wants, is they want, they didn't want somebody to be specialized in one area and then be okay at everything else. Because if that event rolls out for him, he's gonna definitely do awesome at it, but he's gonna be okay at everything else.

• 33:44Speaker 02

  Sort of really, you know, hammer it out if it's physical or mental. I still can't, I still couldn't even say if it, you definitely have to be able to do the stuff. You know, it's not, it's not like you can just have like this awesome mindset and go out there and lift 300 pounds or whatever the event, you know, asks you to do. If you can't physically do it, you can't do it. But I, I, I think that there's, there's a reason there's obviously some people win and some people don't. And you, I think out of the 50 guys that are out there, obviously everybody got there. Everybody qualified. Everybody's good enough to be there. But why does some people, why do some people always find themselves in the top 10 or top 5 or top 20? Or why do some people always just kind of finish in the middle or just really bomb out? And it's, you know...

• 34:29Speaker 01

  What's the difference between first and second place? If the guy in second place was just as strong, just as talented as you, probably more physically ripped, everything, right? What's the difference between you winning and him getting second?

• 34:41Speaker 02

  Definitely, I was gonna, you would have to say mindset. Mindset and mental approach.

• 34:45Speaker 01

  Mental approach. Cool. So do you think being a champion is something that only a few people are born with, or can anyone learn how to become a champion?

• 34:57Speaker 02

  Very tough. You know, I think we're all put on this earth for a certain reason. And, you know, obviously, kind of that whole nature versus nurture and how you're raised and how you're grown up, definitely plays into that. Some people are, you know, God gifted and can can jump through the ceiling, or they're six foot seven, or they're, you know, they can run a 4340. Some of that is just God given ability. And to a certain extent, I think there is definitely some pieces you have to be born with to have have some of that. In the same right, I don't think that, you know, I'm not six seven, I'm not the biggest guy, I'm not the fastest guy, I wasn't the strongest guy, but it was definitely

• 35:40Speaker 02

  something that I felt like I could train and push myself to become with the with kind of the right teamwork, with the right network of people, with the right support group, with the right mindset, and then obviously just putting myself in the right positions to succeed.

• 35:54Speaker 01

  Right. So what's your definition of success, Graham?

• 35:58Speaker 02

  Well, I would have to say in the in the CrossFit world, or if you're looking to be a top elite CrossFitter, winning a regional or qualifying at a regional level to make it to the Games would be, you know, one category of success. Being at the Games level and winning, you know, the whole competition, you could obviously say is is success. You know, I think I think it can be deeper than that, you know, as far as, you know, if you're happy at the end of the day, if you're proud of what you've accomplished, if, you know, you can put a smile on your face and and walk away knowing that you gave it everything you had, you know, I think at the end of the day, you're successful. And it kind of

• 36:39Speaker 02

  comes back to, we even talked about the mindset. And I think some people are so down on themselves or don't believe that they can even achieve something. And doesn't mean that they can't be successful, maybe not, but it might be very, very difficult for them to, in their own mind, to think that there's heavy success.

• 36:59Speaker 01

  So Graham, for any young athlete or any professional or business owner out there on their own journey, what type of inspiring advice could you give them to kind of take it over the edge and help them become their own champion?

• 37:11Speaker 02

  I think it's definitely gonna have to start, I think, within. It's gotta be something that you want, it's gotta be something that you're willing to sacrifice and make some serious adjustments to get yourself in the right position. You gotta be able to look at where you've came from, your past, what you've done, what's what you've learned from, what didn't work, what has worked, and start being able to kind of mesh that all together with your goals and know where you're going. Because, you know, it's funny, I used it in the class the other day, we were just talking about positions and doing a movement right. And like, if we can't even start or be in the position that we need to finish in, or

• 37:54Speaker 02

  if we don't know where we're going, how are we gonna get there? You know, it's just gonna be this kind of zigzagged lost journey, and we're gonna make mistakes along the way. And, I mean, that's gonna happen with everybody, but having a good mindset, knowing where you're going, starting to be able to take sacrifices because you're gonna have to cut some things out and you're gonna have to make some adjustments. Having an awesome support team, network of people, because you're not gonna be able to do it on your own. You just can't do it on your own. It's impossible.

• 38:23Speaker 01

  Awesome. So Graham, thanks so much for coming out, my man.

• 38:26Speaker 00

  I'll tell you what, guys, this is some extremely powerful stuff. I think it's really valuable to hear that even the best in the world have lost their focus time and time again. The biggest difference is that champions get back out there and keep on going. So if you guys wanna learn more about Graham, make sure to check him out on Twitter, @GrahamHomerberg, or check him out on his Facebook page, facebook.com/GrahamHomerberg. As always, feel free to head over to schoolofgreatness.com to sign up for free to be notified of our next episodes. And if you appreciate the show, then we would appreciate it if you leave us a five-star review over on iTunes, because we would love to get the positive message out to the world. Until next time, thanks for listening, guys, and make sure to do something great.

• 41:29Speaker 03

  Wow! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

• 41:39Speaker 03

  Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!