Jamie Simmonds
Jamie Simmonds (nee Greene) is currently one of the fittest women on the planet after coming third in the 2019 CrossFit Games. Born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand, this Kiwi proudly represents her country on the world stage. As all Kiwi kids, Jamie played all sports and was fiercely competitive with her younger sister, who is a prominent athlete herself. A strange combination of Gymnastics and Rugby were Simmonds chosen sports growing up, with the dream of one day representing the New Zealand Black Ferns Rugby team. This all changed in 2013, when after a few years of going out and partying a lot and just scraping through, Jamie’s mother decided she needed to get her life on the right track. She bought Jamie a six-week pass to a CrossFit gym in Dunedin, which set her life on a completely different path.
Within a year, Simmonds had moved to Abu Dhabi as a personal trainer and quickly immersed herself in the CrossFit scene in the UAE. Winning the 2014 Dubai Fitness Challenge, Jamie was showing early signs that she had the talent to one day compete at the CrossFit Games in America. In 2016, Jamie came out of nowhere to win the The Open CrossFit competition, putting her name on the map. But at this time she was concentrated on representing CrossFit Yas in the teams event at the 2016 CrossFit Games, where they placed third.
Getting a taste of the games, Jamie decided to go ‘all-in’ into becoming one of the top CrossFit athletes in the World. Improving her nutrition, hiring a coach, focusing on recovery and training twice a day, were key to Jamie’s success over the next few years. Simmonds placed 8th in 2017 CrossFit Games as an individual, showing good signs to be one of the top competitors in 2018. But over the course of the next year, a major shoulder injury, over training and added pressure she was putting on herself lead to the feeling being burnt out, which resulted in a disappointing outing in the CrossFit Games. This was a huge learning experience for Jamie and she decided she needed to bring back the enjoyment to her training and focus more on her mental skills. This change in mindset and training style paid off big time at the 2019 CrossFit Games, with a podium finish placing third and had truly solidified her position as one of the best CrossFit athletes in the world.
In this episode, Simmonds with host Logan van Beek discuss the key moments to Jamie’s journey to date. From dreaming of becoming a Black Fern Rugby player; to Mum’s Intervention - First taste of Crossfit; Starting a new adventure - Moving to Abu Dhabi as a Personal Trainer; Competing at the CROSSFIT GAMES for the first time in 2016 - "I'm all in now"; A day in the life of Jamie Simmonds - Training/Eating; The turning point at the 2018 CROSSFIT GAMES; How Jamie mentally pushes herself past the breaking point; How has life changed since the 2019 Crossfit Games; Jamie's Key to her Success on the Crossfit World Stage; Moving forward - Goals and what the future holds for Jamie.
Chapters
Lockdown in Abu Dhabi (2:13)
Childhood in Dunedin/Competing with Sister Becky/Lessons from Parents/Dreams of a 16-year old Jamie (4:40)
Dreaming of becoming a Black Fern Rugby player (12:03)
Mum’s Intervention - First taste of Crossfit (13:42)
Starting to take Crossfit a little more serious – snapping Achilles (15:53)
Starting a new adventure - Moving to Abu Dhabi as a Personal Trainer (20:13)
Winning the Dubai Fitness Challenge in 2014 (24:27)
The dramatic rise in The Open CROSSFIT competition - 391st... 102nd... 1st... (26:54)
Competing at the CROSSFIT GAMES for the first time in 2016 - "I'm all in now" (30:06)
A day in the life of Jamie Simmonds - Training/Eating (33:45)
How getting the Nutrition right, improved Jamie's performance (38:36)
Jamie Simmonds Cheat Meal (40:04)
How to train for The CROSSFIT GAMES - what does the program look like? (41:49)
The turning point at the 2018 CROSSFIT GAMES (44:55)
Enjoying Crossfit - How Jamie focused more on having fun rather than being too serious (48:28)
How Jamie mentally pushes herself past the breaking point (50:31)
The 2019 Crossfit Games experience - 3rd Fittest woman on Earth (53:41)
How has life changed since the 2019 Crossfit Games? (56:17)
Meeting husband Elliott - how he has helped Jamie in her Crossfit career? (57:54)
Time off in NZ - getting married and feeling refreshed (59:44)
Jamie's Key to her Success on the Crossfit World Stage (1:01:10)
Jamie's Motivational Tips (1:03:31)
Moving forward - Goals and what the future holds for Jamie (1:05:47)