Since making the decision to make CrossFit her career, Dani Speegle has not only found her sporting calling, but has become an inspiration for women to embrace their strength as well as their beauty and never be afraid to have a good one to enjoy biscuit.
As she prepared for her fourth CrossFit games, which begin August 3, the Conifer, CO, native took Muscle and Fitness through a day of her life before heading to Madison, WI for the five-day event.
Dani Speegle has a daily routine for dominating CrossFit
9:30 am: Speegle wakes up. Then it's off to the bathroom to brush your teeth and just clean up.
9:30 – 10:15: Speegle's first meal, a protein shake (Dymatize usually flavored with cocoa pebbles), followed by coffee at home, checking emails while the coffee brews. She will play with her dog for some time and also spend 20 minutes reading.
"I usually wake up with a book in my hand," says Speegle. “My nose is literally in a book when I press buttons on the coffee maker. I love to get away from the world and get lost in a book and not think about everything I need to do during the day. So this is the calm before the storm. Usually the dog goes outside or I play fetch, but most of the time coffee and reading take precedence.
I'm pretty eclectic with my book choices. I will read everything from the most popular to the dirty tik tok stuff. I am currently reading a book called The Henna Artist. I'm also reading a book from the Crescent City series. This is one of the most popular books people are talking about on TikTok. Tell Me Everything is another book I read and I went back and read Of Mice and Men. The next thing I'll read will probably be They Both Die at the End. I have the largest shelf to read ever. I am never without a book. "
10:15: Speegle goes to the gym tuned to the style of music that suits her mood that morning. Also still concentrating on her coffee.
"Usually my phone connects to the car and what's on is on and that sets the mood for the day," she says. "I'm really not a morning person at all. Once I get to the gym and start moving, it's easy. But this ride is really tough for me. I concentrate on one sip of coffee at a time.”
Trevor Knoll (@rmk.visions)
10:30: Come to the CrossFit gym.
10:30 – 10:45: Warm up. Working with foam rollers followed by working with rubber bands to stretch and open up her shoulders. Then it's isolated work in the gym, along with some discussions with other athletes on the whiteboard to plan the WOD.
10:45 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.: The training begins. Metcon training. Strength (squats, cleans, snatches, deadlifts) comes post-workout with added volume and traction exercises (gymnastics, mobility, bodybuilding, punching bag grip to work on rear hang strength to work core).
"I think with any CrossFit, you just want to get to the end because no matter what happens, it's painful," says Speegle. “You try to get to the end, but you also analyze the training, you know the things to attack, what you need to work on and what aspects of a training you need to push yourself. That's what you always aim for. Everything is four at a time, so how can I get through this as quickly as possible while being efficient and getting better?”
12:31: It's time for a Dymatize ISO 100 shake and Gatorade to replenish ATP and glucose levels after a hard workout.
12:45 – 13:00: Speegle returns home and stops at her favorite coffee shop for her second coffee of the day. Usually a latte with oat milk and a shot and half sweet.
Usually it's just two cups of coffee a day. Three only happens during competition. Usually the training days start around 10:00 and even if we have to be late for the second session, we still finish by 19:00. For competitions, I started the events at 9:30 p.m. If I have a third cup, it's because I have to play late at night.
13:00 – 13:45: Run intervals consisting of varying distance speeds are 3-5 mph. Might have days where she does 400m easy or 400m hard. In this event, she focuses on a harder speed intensity.
"When there's interval work, it's usually in the middle of the day," she says. “It can be running, cycling, rowing or swimming. Mostly I do running intervals. I'm more of a sprinter and strength athlete. Forcing myself to do those longer endurance things on the bike and run is more important to me. If I retire from CrossFit, you'll never find me running again (laughs)."
Trevor Knoll (@rmk.visions)
1:45 to 2:30: lunch at home. Meal Prep with Trifecta. She understood Dani's knowledge of consumption and macros well. She doesn't monitor macros religiously and eats to replenish the body and the workload she takes on. Rest days are lower in carbs than usual. More aware and conscious during a hard day of training like this leading up to the CrossFit games.
"Trifecta made things so easy," she says. “Usually the morning session is a big part of the training day. Then I have some break work and by the time lunch rolls around I'm exhausted and ready to drop. I remember when I started increasing my volume and working out to make this a career. The food was so difficult. I would end up just eating which was easy and convenient. It was more snacking than strengthening my body because the thought of coming home and cooking was the worst. I didn't really fuel up the first year. It's so easy to come home and pop one thing in the microwave.
You have the a la carte options, so I have my carbs, veggies, and proteins - you can just pop things in the air fryer or microwave and it's ready to go. Occasionally we have our pizza night, but since I started working at Trifecta I literally have nothing else to eat.”
2:30 to 3:45: It's chill time as Speegle grabs another coffee from the fridge, then lounges by the pool for a bit, reads, and then takes a nap.
3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Speegle returns to the gym for the second session of the day.
4 to 7:30: The second session begins. The afternoon session is longer than the morning session. Start with cardio-based strength and increase strength with fatigue. Timed intervals and focus on cardio training.
This is followed by a two-part strength training session. The last is bodybuilding-focused or shoulder accessory work and then glute and ab work. Cashing out the day with Core, which takes 4 to 12 minutes total.
"Every day you go away and you go to the car and you're afraid to go home because you're so tired (laughs)," she says. “A lot of the extra work is strengthening the shoulder girdle, which for me is a bit of recovery work. It makes sure my shoulders are ready for the next day. Stretch with bands, roll out – that's the decompressing part and let my body relax.”
7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: Stretching at the gym followed by a post-workout protein shake.
8:00 to 8:15: Before heading home, grab several bags of ice cream.
20:30 to 21:00: This time is usually reserved for a sauna and ice bath recovery session.
21:00 to 21:30: Time for a quick shower, then dinner.
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Turn off the phone. read, stretch. maybe watch a movie. eat a crumb cookie.
"Around 8 p.m., my phone is set to do not disturb," says Speegle. "It's charging and out of sight. People joke about it all the time, if there's an emergency don't call Dani because I'm not available (laughs). Here we do things like board games, so we're off the blue lights. We do things where we can interact and socialize. When this is over I'll read and it's time for bed. I've had a solid 2-3 hours where I don't look at a phone before going to sleep. I've found it makes a huge difference in the quality of my sleep. On the days I get sucked into a Tik Tok hole, I notice a difference in how I feel the next morning. It could be psychological, but I have to believe it's not.
There are a lot of people talking about books on my Tik Tok feed. It's called Book Tok. I scroll and it's a food video, it's going to be an animal story or a dance video. I would give up my entire CrossFit career if I could dance like some of these people on Tik Tok. I love people who can move their bodies.
My friend who lives in Orlando FL has her own cookie company called Phat Ash Bakes and her cookies are amazing. I order these almost every week, but Crumbl has become this thing where it's fun and a social thing. We love getting it every week and people will be reaching out to me on Instagram waiting for my Crumbl review. It's become like connecting with my following and that's the fun part.”
10:45 to 10:59: Brush your teeth, then off to bed.
23 o'clock: Night night.
