Since making the decision to make CrossFit her profession, Dani Speegle has not only found her athletic calling but she’s also become an inspiration for women to embrace their strength as equally their beauty and never be scared to enjoy a good cookie.
While gearing up for her fourth CrossFit Games, which begins Aug 3, the Conifer, CO, native took Muscle and Fitness through a day in the life before she heads to Madison, WI, for the five-day event.
Dani Speegle Has a Daily Routine To Dominate CrossFit
9:30 am: Speegle wakes up. Then it’s off to the bathroom to brush her teeth and just clean up.
9:30 – 10:15: Speegle’s first meal, a protein shake (Dymatize usually cocoa pebbles flavor), followed by coffee at home, going over emails as the coffee is brewing. She’ll spend some time playing with her dog and also spend 20 minutes reading.
“I usually wake up and there’s a book in my hand,” Speegle says. “My nose is literally in a book as I’m pressing buttons on the coffee machine. I love escaping the world and getting into a book and not thinking about everything that I have to do during the day. So that’s the quiet before the storm. Usually, the dog will go outside, or I’ll play fetch, but a lot of the time, the priority is the coffee and the reading.
I’m pretty eclectic with my choice of books. I’ll read everything from the most popular to the smutty, Tik Tok stuff. Right now, I’m reading a book called The Henna Artist. I’m also reading a book from the Crescent City Series. That’s one of the popular books that people on TikTok are talking about. Tell Me Everything is another book I’m reading, and I went back and read “Of Mice and Men.” The next one I’m going to read will probably be “They Both Die at the End.” I have the biggest to-be-read shelf ever. I’m never without a book. “
10:15: Speegle departs for the gym, tuned into whatever style of music suits her mood that morning. Still focused on her coffee as well.
“Usually, my phone will connect to the car and whatever is on, is on and that’s the vibe for the day,” she says. “I’m really not a morning person at all. Once I get to the gym and start moving around, it’s easy. But that drive is really rough for me. I’m focused on one sip of coffee at a time.”
Trevor Knoll (@rmk.visions)
10:30: Arrive to the CrossFit gym.
10:30 – 10:45: Warmup. Foam roller work, followed by elastic band work to stretch out and open her shoulders. Then it’s Isolated work in the gym, along with some discussion with fellow athletes at the whiteboard to plan out the WOD.
10:45 – 12:30pm: The workout begins. Metcon workout. Strength (squats, cleans, snatches, deadlifts) comes after the workout with accessory volume and pulling work (gymnastic stuff, mobility, bodybuilding, sandbag hold to work on posterior hang strength to work on core).
“I think with any CrossFit, it’s kind of you just want to get to the end because no matter what, it’s painful,” Speegle says. “You’re trying to get to the end, but you also analyze the workout, you know the things you can attack, what you need to work on, and the aspects of a workout you need to push yourself in. You always have this goal that you have going in. Everything is four times each, so it’s how can I get through this the fastest way 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 training session.
12:45 – 1pm: Speegle heads back home, stopping to grab her second coffee of the day locally at her favorite coffee shop. Usually, a latte with oat milk and a shot and half sweet.
It’s usually only two cups of coffee a day. Three only happens during competition. Typically, training days start around 10 am, and even if we have to go in late for the second session, we’re still done by 7. In competition, I’ve had events start at 9:30 pm. If I’m having a third cup, it’s because I have to compete late at night.
1pm – 1:45: Running intervals consisting of different speeds of distance is 3-5 mph. Could have days that she is doing 400M easy or 400M hard. In this event, she is focusing on a harder intensity of speed.
“If there is interval work, it’s typically in the middle of the day,” she says. “It can be running, biking, rowing, or swimming. A lot of the time, I’ll do running intervals. I’m more of a sprint and power athlete. Forcing myself to do that longer endurance stuff on the bike and running is more important to me. When I retire from CrossFit, you will never find me running again (laughs).”
Trevor Knoll (@rmk.visions)
1:45 to 2:30: Lunch at home. Meal prep with Trifecta. Dani’s knowledge of consumption and macros knowledge has been something she has a good understanding of. She does not monitor macros religiously and eats to replenish the body and workload she is taking on. Rest days will be lighter on carbs than usual. More conscious and aware during a hard day of training like this leading into the CrossFit Games.
“Trifecta has made things so easy,” she says. “Usually, the morning session is a huge portion of the training day. Then I have some interval work and by the time lunch rolls around, I’m exhausted and ready to fall over. I remember when I first started upping my volume and training to make this a profession. Eating was so difficult. I would just end up eating what was easy and convenient. It was more snacking than fueling my body because the thought of coming home and cooking was the worst. I wasn’t fueling myself properly for the first year. To be able to come home and pop one thing into the microwave is so easy.
They have the a la cart options, so I have my carb, vegetables, and proteins — you can just pop things into the air fryer or microwave and it’s ready to go. Occasionally, we’ll have our pizza night but since I started working with Trifecta, I literally haven’t had anything else to eat.”
2:30 to 3:45: It’s chill time, as Speegle grabs another coffee from the fridge, then lays by the pool for a bit, reading followed by a nap.
3:45 to 4pm: Speegle heads back to gym for the second session of the day.
4 to 7:30: Second session begins. The afternoon session is longer than the morning session. Starting off with cardio-based strength and more strength under fatigue. Timed intervals and focused on endurance training.
This is followed by a two-part workout that is strength-based. The last thing is body building focused or shoulder accessory work and then glute and ab work. Cashing out the day with core which is 4 to 12 minutes in total.
“Every single day, you leave and you’re walking to the car just dreading driving home because you’re so tired (laughs),” she says. “A lot of the accessory work is to strengthen the shoulder girdle, which to me, is a little bit of the recovery work. It’s making sure my shoulders are prepared for the next day. Stretching with bands, rolling out — that’s the decompressing part and letting my body relax.”
7:30 to 8pm: Stretching at the gym followed by a post-workout protein shake.
8:00 to 8:15: Get several bags of ice before heading home.
8:30 to 9pm: This time is usually reserved for a sauna and ice bath recovery session.
9pm to 9:30: Time for a quick shower then dinner.
9:30 to 10:30: Shut the phone off. read, stretch. maybe watch a movie. eat a Crumbl cookie.
“Around about 8 pm, my phone is on Do Not Disturb,” Speegle says. “It’s charging and out of sight. People make jokes all the time about if there’s an emergency, don’t call Dani because I won’t be available (laughs). Here, we do things like play board games, so we’re away from the blue light. We’re doing things where we can interact and socialize. Once that’s over, I’ll be reading and it’s time for bed. I’ll have had a solid 2-3 hours where I haven’t looked at a phone before I go to sleep. I’ve found it makes a huge difference in my quality of sleep. The days when I get sucked into a Tik Tok hole, I do notice a difference in how I feel the next morning. It could be mental, but I have to believe it’s not.
My Tik Tok feed is a lot of people talking about books. It’s called Book Tok. I scroll and it’s a food video, it will be an animal story or a dancing video. I would give up my whole 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 those almost every single week, but Crumbl has become this thing where it’s fun and it’s a social thing. We love to go get it every week and people will reach out to me on Instagram waiting for my Crumbl rating. It’s become this way to engage with my following and that’s the fun part.”
10:45 to 10:59: Brush teeth, then it’s off to bed.
