A look inside the gear of a two-time CrossFit Games champion.
In the history of the CrossFit Games, Justin Medeiros has already stepped onto rare air. A two-time reigning Fittest Man on Earth®, the 23-year-old is only the third men’s CrossFit athlete, alongside legendary Rich Froning Jr. (2011-2014) and Mat Fraser (2016-2020), to win the title on at least two occasions . Now, as the start of the 2023 CrossFit Open draws near on February 16, 2023 — as Medeiros prepares for his next hopeful title defense — he recently shared an intimate look at his training process.
On February 4, 2023, Medeiros published a video on his YouTube channel where he gives a full tour of his own home gym. The facility appears adequately stocked with the necessary equipment Medeiros needs to excel as an elite CrossFitter at the top of his game.
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After a quick, light-hearted back-and-forth with his friend CrossFit athlete Ellie Turner about what constitutes a pull-up bar at Medeiro’s home gym, the athlete jumps right into the tour.
Steel rig
The steel rig at Medeiros’ gym would probably be impossible to miss. After all, the multi-faceted device covers an entire wall. According to Medeiros, the athlete seems to use it as a storage device, like for his resistance bands. More often than not, however, Medeiros allows for different types of bars for different movements, such as pull-ups and muscle-ups.
“We set all the pull-up bars to the same height as the CrossFit Games…” Medeiros said. “We just have the boards for different types of holds, hangs, pull-ups…”
Squat rack, storage
Directly below Medeiros’ steel rig is a squat rack with a full set of bumper plates and side-by-side dumbbells, including a range of dumbbells ranging from 5lbs to 125lbs. If that wasn’t enough, right next to this extra storage space is a shelf with kettlebells up to 70 pounds and even more bumper plates.
steel arch
According to Medeiros, where he has his steel bow is “the coolest part of the gym.” The bow connects both ends of his steel rig, allowing him to hang tools like Olympic rings and ropes over it.
“I’ve never been on such a stable drilling rig,” explained Medeiros. “It’s crazy. It’s not bolted to any of the walls and doesn’t wobble.”
Belt squats
According to Medeiros, he has a belt squat machine at his gym — mounted under a pull-up bar — that helps with personal hygiene and injury prevention. The athlete claims he can alternately use it for pull-up and squat moves.
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dumbbells
In another corner of his gym, Medeiros has reserved space for a variety of barbells like the EZ Curl bar, Axle bar, and Arched bar. There are also some heavier dumbbells, a log lift tool, and a multipurpose lat pulldown machine.
Heart
In a basic area of the Medeiros gym, he has all his cardio training in one place. This star CrossFitter’s cardio section has almost everything from rowing machines to assault bikes.
Steel Rig, continued
On the other side of Medeiro’s steel rig is an inverted hyper-attachment, a pad that helps stretch the back and hamstrings, building strength and relieving pain. Next to it are more bumper plates, some medicine balls and punching bags (including a 150lb medicine ball and a 300lb punching bag), and various jump ropes. As if that wasn’t enough, there is another squat rack in this part of Medeiros’ gym.
breadboard
In the final main section of Medeiros’ gym is a pegboard designed with a Plexiglas backing to mimic the setup found in many CrossFit competitions. Next to this last wall is also a section for plyometrics as well as jerk blocks.
“My dad came out and installed the plexiglass. We have our pegboard in here. We wanted to make sure we had plexiglass because that’s what we use in competition… The spot where your feet go is different in every gym, I’ve done it on brick, I’ve done it on wood, I’ve done it on Plexiglas…” said Medeiros. “So we really tried to replicate everything we do in competition as much as possible when we train.”
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Should Medeiros repeat himself as Fittest Man on Earth® again, he would still need to work on catching corresponding legends like Fraser (five titles) and Froning (four titles). However, with Medeiro’s blistering pace and this kind of sport-specific gear pushing him forward, it could only be a matter of time before he tops the men’s roster of CrossFit legends of all time.
Featured image: @justinmedeiros34 on Instagram
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