Fitness
Fitness Training
"Doing less for more": Noah Ohlsen's training secret for peak performance
Functional fitness pro Noah Ohlsen reveals why cutting back on volume can boost performance – and how smarter training keeps him at his best.
Noah Ohlsen is one of the top functional fitness athletes in the world and has been at the elite level for over a decade. Since his first CrossFit Games in 2014, he's qualified every year, consistently finishing among the sport’s best and earning a reputation as one of its most respected competitors. Not only has he stood on the podium at major events, he's also tested himself in other formats such as HYROX, which combines running with functional fitness stations.
This year, Ohlsen lines up for the World Fitness Project finals in Copenhagen, Denmark. The WFP is a new tour-style league that challenges functional fitness athletes' strength, endurance and skill across varied workouts and events, with a season culminating in its final championship. Before the final showdown, Red Bull caught up with Ohlsen, who – now in his 30s – is still performing at a high level. In an exclusive interview, he explains why he feels as strong as ever and shares the training twist that has helped him maintain and even improve his fitness through the years.
Noah Ohlsen is one of the most recognisable faces in fitness competition
© Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool
You've competed at an elite level for many years. Looking back, what qualities or habits do you feel have allowed you to stay so competitive season after season?
Being able to balance the highs and lows, and staying determined throughout. I think that has allowed me to have a long career. The journey is never linear and perfect. There are always going to be ups and downs, and if you get discouraged by some of the downs, then the journey could have ended a long time ago. If I got too excited and celebrated the highs, then maybe I would have not had any more motivation to continue.
Alongside that determination, finding joy in the process is important to be sustainable. If I didn't have any joy and I was just grinding the whole time, just stacking up the wins – but they didn't mean anything to me – then I probably would have stopped a long time ago.
Ohlsen has seen competitive fitness change a lot since his 20s
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
Some of the weights that people are hitting now would have been unfathomable 10 years ago. Nobody would've ever thought that we'd be able to do what we’re doing
How has training changed for you now compared with earlier in your career?
Definitely, things have changed. We joked last night that the difference in the last 10 years from when I was 24 to now, being 34, training has changed, because my body is slightly less durable. I've been lucky that I haven’t had any major injuries, but I'm not able to just jump right into a workout, do that and bounce back for another one the same way that I could a long time ago. I've had to adapt my training a little bit, be smarter with the volume that I do and the workouts that I choose.
Also, my motivation has changed a lot over the years. It used to be just competing for me and I wanted to be the best. Now, I compete because I have the opportunity to provide for my family, make them proud and have a group of supporters that motivate me to continue.
What's the biggest challenge in staying among the fittest year after year?
Things have changed so much from when I started the sport to now. Some of the weights that people are hitting now would have been unfathomable 10 years ago. Nobody would have ever thought that we'd be able to do what we’re doing now. Some of the weights that people were lifting for their one‑rep maxes 10 years ago are now in workouts for multiple reps. I'm trying to keep up by continuing to train really hard and seeing what other people are doing.
It has been a challenge, but an exciting one, because the better people are, the more that you're pushed. Staying on top of training, always pushing it and genuinely having really cool brand partners has allowed me to stay at the top, because the partners that support me allow me to focus my full time and energy on being able to train.
If you're in your 30s, the amount of volume that you need to do is less than when you're younger
How important are recovery and maintenance habits like mobility and stretching?
All the small things are important. At the beginning, they're more important, as they then turn into habits. Now, I don't have to think about them, they're just part of my lifestyle and I do them out of routine. It almost feels like it doesn't take any effort to maintain good sleep, stretching and good eating. One pro tip would be to join them into your lifestyle. That makes it a lot easier to maintain them.
I like to go for walks every day. I have a dog and my wife and I will sometimes go for walks together. That helps to get your blood flowing, get you breathing in some fresh air. It's not necessarily a pro tip, but that’s something that I think helps me stay feeling good. My favorite warm‑up exercise is probably an inchworm. I always will do those. Go down and touch my toes, walk my hands out and you can do a lot of variations on the stretch there: lift your chest up, downward dog, lunges.
Training in your 30s is about maintaining the base you built in your 20s
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
What advice would you give to someone in their 30s who wants to stay fit long-term?
If you're in your 30s, the amount of volume that you need to do is less than when you're younger. Your body isn't going to be able to probably tolerate high volume the way that you could in your 20s. Especially if you want to be competitive, a lot of people get very caught up in looking at the younger guy who's training all day. You don't need to do that, especially if you spent your 20s putting in a lot of volume. Once you’ve crossed over into your 30s, it’s okay to pull back on the volume.
I know for myself, I was training six hours a day, every day, for most of my 20s and now that I'm 34 and I just had a baby, my training volume has gone down significantly, almost to the point where it's in maintenance mode. I built this foundation and now I just have to keep all of those skills sharp. I haven't really seen any decrease in my performance. Stay motivated, have fun and you only need to work out maybe an hour or two a day, as long as when you're in there, you’re really getting after it.
