Dan Bailey is one of the most recognizable CrossFit athletes, alongside Richard Froning. The athletes even trained together for a long time. For three years Dan beat Rich and his “Rogue fitness Black” team, which brings together the best CrossFit stars, in almost all competitions except the Games. The only reason the athlete did not do this at the CrossFit Games is that his “Rogue red” team never got together with their full star roster in the competition itself, as usually most of the participants in the main squad prefer to compete in the individual event.
Bailey became a successful athlete, in many respects, thanks to his sports philosophy. He always believed that in order to constantly get better yourself, you need to train with the best.
“If you're the best in the gym, then it's time for you to look for a new gym,” says Dan Bailey.
Short biography
Dan Bailey is the exception to all the rules in CrossFit. What is its exclusiveness? The fact that there are no sharp turns in his biography.
He was born in 1980 in Ohio. Already from childhood, the future famous athlete was an active boy, so at the age of 12 he successfully played in the football team. After leaving school, the parents paid for the guy to study at the state technical college, which Bailey graduated without much success. Having worked for a year and a half in the profession, he did not forget about his sports training for a single day. The young man regularly visited the gym and periodically tried himself in various sports.
Introducing CrossFit
Bailey met CrossFit in 2008. He loved the very idea of competition and universal training. The athlete quickly switched to training using this system. For almost 4 years he just trained, not thinking about any serious competition. But one day, friends and colleagues at work noticed his stunning changes. The athlete gained more than 10 kg of lean muscle mass and gained a beautiful body relief. Under the pressure of friends, the athlete signed up for the Open competition.
Already at the first tournament, he was able to show an impressive result, becoming the 4th in the competition and the 2nd in his own region. A successful start to his career as a CrossFit athlete gave Dan the opportunity to immediately participate in the CrossFit Games. Unlike most other athletes, he had no illusions about winning, but at the start he was able to enter the top 10 crossfit athletes of our time.
Rapid development of a sports career
From that day on, Bailey's life changed slightly. He gave up the job because the proposed contract from Rogue meant that he should devote more time to training. Moreover, the monetary remuneration from the company provided him with twice as much income than he had received at work before. The amount of income was about 80 thousand dollars a year.
The next year, the crossfit performed slightly worse due to the wrong approach to the training complex. This, coupled with many minor sprains and dislocations, greatly angered both Bailey himself and the Rogue leadership, who wished to break the contract with him. However, the 13th year showed Bailey that CrossFit is transforming, and therefore, the approach to nutrition and training needs to be changed.
Immediately after that, the athlete was able to regain his good performance. He finished the season without leaving the top 10, and took first place in the regional competitions in the category "individual - men".
Rogue red invitation
In 2013, Bailey was contracted to play for the Rogue Red team. For the athlete himself, who was somewhat isolated from the main crossfit community outside the competition, this was an excellent opportunity to drastically change the approach to training. In the same year, he first met his main opponent at that time, Josh Bridges, who was eliminated immediately after the competition due to his injury. However, despite the lack of coordination, the team was able to take an honorable second place.
It was then, in the middle of the season, in many small competitions, Dan first encountered Fronning. Of course, he had met him before in individual competitions during games, however, now the confrontation has acquired a personal character. Thanks to their coherence, already in 2015, they with the Rogue red team were able to bypass Rogue fitness black. At the same time, it is worth noting not only the fact that Bailey performed excellently as the captain of the national team, but also the fact that it was he who made the decisive factor in the team's victory. Every time they came across Rogue fitness black, Bailey showed phenomenal performance that impressed everyone around him. What was the secret? It's simple - he just wanted to fight Fronning.
Career today
After the 2d15 season, Bailey decided to focus entirely on team competition, he spends a lot of time traveling around the country in order to better coordinate with his compatriots on the team. In addition, according to his own words - 30 years, this is the period - when you can no longer compete on an equal footing with 25-year-olds, and the point is not that you are weaker, you simply cannot recover as quickly as they do. And even if on the first day you kill them all, at the last moment you will be forced to leave the race, while these stubborn "teenagers" will run and push, even if they bleed from the whole body.
At the same time, immediately after the end of his individual career, Bailey began active coaching. He does all this not only for the sake of money, but in order to prepare the next generation of crossfit athletes, each of whom, in his own words, can become a real champion, exceeding the current ones dozens of times. In addition to the training itself, he also develops the CrossFit methodology, which will allow many to join and achieve high performance in the shortest possible time, regardless of the initial physical form.
Unlike most, he supports Castro in his sadism, as he believes that it is the preparation for unusual competitions and exercises that can distinguish crossfit from other types of power all-around.
Achievement statistics
If we consider the statistics of Bailey's games, then we cannot show phenomenal performance. At the same time, when he entered the team competition, the team under his leadership immediately rushed up. As for his results in the Open, then, despite the wide spread of results, it is worth noting one important factor that many people forget. Dan, like all representatives of Rogue Red, does not put Open on a par with other competitions. His only task on this round is to gain enough points to qualify for a regional competition.
Like Josh Bridges, he executes and records all programs the first time. All this gives him a huge advantage, and almost completely removes the psychological burden.
According to Bailey himself, he considers himself much stronger and more prepared than competitors. However, age and psychological pressure are two factors that prevent him from taking the very top line.
You should always have a competitor that will make you stronger and faster. Otherwise, competition doesn't make sense, Bailey says.
CrossFit Regionals
| 2016 | seventh | Individual classification among men | California |
| 2015 | first | Individual classification among men | California |
| 2014 | third | Individual classification among men | Southern California |
| 2013 | third | Individual classification among men | Central East |
| 2012 | second | Individual classification among men | Central East |
CrossFit Games
| 2015 | fourth | Individual classification among men |
| 2014 | tenth | Individual classification among men |
| 2013 | eighth | Individual classification among men |
| 2012 | sixth | Individual classification among men |
Team Series
| 2016 | second | Rogue fitness red | Graeme Holmberg, Margot Alvarez, Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet |
| 2015 | second | Rogue fitness red | Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, Graeme Holmberg, Annie Thorisdottir |
| 2014 | second | Rogue fitness red | Lauren Fisher, Josh Bridges, Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet |
Basic indicators
If we consider Bailey's basic indicators, then you can see that he is the fastest strength athlete. The athlete is practically devoid of strength endurance in its classical sense. But this does not prevent him from taking peak weights well over 200 kilograms in many exercises.
Basic exercises
Popular complexes
| Fran | 2:17 |
| Grace | – |
| Helen | – |
| Filthy 50 | – |
| Sprint 400 m | 0:47 |
| Rowing 5000 | 19:00 |
Interesting Facts
One of the most interesting facts about Bailey's career is that he has a namesake who plays American football professionally. The professional careers of both athletes began at the same time, but most importantly, both of them peaked in 2015. At the same time, both Dan never crossed paths in real life and until this information surfaced in the media, they did not know about the existence of each other.
But their coincidences don't end there. Both have the same weight, besides, Bailey the crossfit has also tried his hand at American football, and the footballer Bailey uses crossfit constantly as part of his daily training.
Finally
Today we can talk about Dena Bailey (@ dan_bailey9) as one of the promising crossfit athletes who could not reach the top in individual competitions, but, nevertheless, became the captain of the Rogue red star team.
Although a direct official face-to-face competition between Bailey and Fronning has not yet taken place, there is not long to wait. Two years later, the athlete moves to the 35+ category, and Fronning should follow him into the same category. That is why the 2021 season can be the most interesting, as only in it we can watch the battle of the titans. And who will emerge from it the winner by that time is rather difficult to predict. After all, Fronning's form, unlike Bailey's, has a very specific coloration. Today he is weaker than himself in 2013 in some indicators, but he has noticeably increased in strength and other coordination movements that help the legend to pull his team out at the games.
