Sean: I first met Claudia in May 2021 at CrossFit Grillen. A few months later, I joined her team to work with her on endurance and respiratory training.
Over the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to see her grow, first as an amateur athlete and then as a professional athlete in the sport of CrossFit®.
In this article, I wanted to share a side of Claudia Gluck that isn’t often talked about: the journey that led her to high-level CrossFit® and all that it entails. Her love of competition and her victories, but also her difficult moments and sacrifices.
Because top-level sport is about much more than training and competing.
I hope this article will inspire tomorrow’s athletes to follow their dreams and live them to the full.
How did you get started competing in CrossFit®?
Claudia: Before CrossFit®, I practiced rhythmic gymnastics. It was more at an amateur level, but right from the start of my practice, we were introduced to small competitions. That’s how you evolved little by little each year. I think it forged in me a competitive spirit that developed over the years.
After gymnastics, when I did my first CrossFit® training session, I immediately wanted to progress further and further. My coaches were already competing and organizing competitions at their box. So they were the ones who encouraged me to sign up for the box competition.
Then, little by little, they suggested other local and then national competitions. I could see that I could progress and perform in competition even while I was studying abroad.
I’d say the trigger was my first participation in the Semifinals in person (Lowlands Throwdown 2021), where I said to myself that if I devoted even more time to training, I could certainly go further. So I finished my studies and made decisions to gradually enable myself to perform at a higher level.
What sacrifices have you made to devote yourself full-time to training?
I really struggle with the notion of sacrifice. To me, I’m building the life I want, and it’s a bit like living the dream of being a full-time athlete. Of course, it requires a lot of hard work. But I don’t see my choices as sacrifices, rather as conscious decisions to achieve my goals.
Of course, there are difficult moments. I also have to forego certain family dinners or other social events that might be too close to a deadline during the competitive season.
But overall, I try to have a balance between my life as an athlete and my social life that keeps me happy and passionate, while following a routine that allows me to perform at the highest level.
How do you stay focused on goals that can take years to achieve?
I think my dreams grow with me as I develop as an athlete. For me, it’s important to have a long-term vision, which can obviously evolve, but at the same time to have several small short- and medium-term goals.
When I started CrossFit®, my studies were my number one priority. But at the same time, I was enjoying training and competing more and more. And I think having these two parts of my life allowed me to concentrate on the present moment. For my studies, I had to change environment every term (Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, USA…), so I had to develop great flexibility and good time management. As a result, when I was training, I was totally focused on what I was doing; and conversely, when I was in class, I was out of the CrossFit® world.
All this to say that I didn’t start CrossFit® thinking that I was going to be a CrossFit Games athlete, but rather that I grew through my practice and discovered that I could become one through a range of experiences, both inside and outside the world of sport.
What have been the hardest moments of your professional career so far?
The Semifinals in 2023 in Berlin were, until now, the hardest moment of my career. I went to this competition with the aim of securing my first ticket to the CrossFit Games (world championships), and that didn’t happen. I felt like a big failure. I had finally finished my studies and started to organize my life around training, working part-time on my own.
I had started working with a mental coach, a running coach, an agent, and set up lots of other things to enable me to perform at my best. And despite all this, I didn’t manage to reach my goal.
How did you cope with these difficult times in your career? What helped you get through them?
After a few difficult months, with a lot of soul-searching, and an even stronger desire to achieve my goals, it was first of all time for myself that enabled me to reflect and change elements in my environment. Secondly, I worked a lot with my mental coach to develop my mindset and become aware of the person I was and wanted to become.
Finally, my family and friends helped me a lot. Spending time with them, outside the CrossFit® world, and knowing that whatever happens in my career, I remain just as important to them.
What role do your family and friends play in your life as a professional athlete?
My family and friends play an essential role in my life. I grew up in a loving and caring environment, for which I am extremely grateful. I was always pushed to achieve what I thought was best for me. At the same time, when I wanted to quit something when I was younger (like gymnastics at one time, or my studies at another), I was taught to persevere. I understood that I had the support of my family, as long as I finished what I chose to start.
Then I made the choice to gradually devote myself to life as a professional athlete, but I wasn’t dependent on anyone. I continued to work in parallel until I was gradually able to make a living from CrossFit®. From my very first competitions, my parents have always been there, even before gymnastics. They’re still there today.
We’re very close and spend a lot of quality time together as a family.
What are your least favorite aspects of being a professional athlete?
I love my sport and am so grateful for it. However, my least favorite part of being an athlete is the unknown surrounding the evolution of my sport and the elements of the season that sometimes remain non-transparent and inconsistent from year to year.
At the same time, it’s great to be able to be part of this evolution, but it can be difficult to manage a set of unknowns that are an integral part of this sport. Perhaps I’d also add the management of social networks, which can become, at times, worrying and time-consuming.
How do you deal with the pressure of social media and the expectations of those around you?
Social media is an integral part of being an athlete these days. In fact, it’s mainly thanks to social media that you can make a living from it. I think it’s important to recognize their importance from the point of view of the image you need to develop, but at the same time to know how to detach yourself from them in the important moments.
I know I have to be present on social media and share my journey and my life as an athlete, while respecting who I am and keeping part of my private life outside. Finally, and I think the most difficult part is not to fall into comparison and spend too much time comparing myself to others, and realize that we mainly share the “highlights” of our lives.
What have you changed most in your approach to training over the last two years?
There have been lots of little changes, but I don’t think there have been any drastic ones. I think the approach to training needs to be adapted to individual needs. For me, after Berlin 2023, I feel like I’ve become more and more involved in making decisions about my training.
We’ve created a team with Luc, Basile, Max and Sean, and this collaboration is constantly evolving. At the start of the season, we agree on the main objective, then we work together to coordinate the training phases and continue to improve.
What are the main 3-5 elements in your daily routine that enable you to perform at the highest level?
- My sleep.
- My routine.
- Communication and feedback with my coaches.
- My nutrition.
- The ongoing search for ways to improve my day-to-day performance.
Where do you think you can improve your training routine in the future?
I’m convinced that you can always improve your routine. However, I know I can’t change everything at once. So I try to make changes gradually, observing what works for me and eliminating what’s less effective, so as not to overload myself.
What has been your greatest sporting achievement so far in CrossFit®?
My first qualification for the CrossFit Games at the French Throwdown 2024 in Lyon.
What did you take away from this experience for the rest of your adventure?
It’s important to have a vision and to believe in it.
After that, it’s the present moment that counts. #chaud
What advice would you give to young athletes who want to become professional athletes?
Dream, dream big, both in and out of sport. It’s important to have balance, to evolve as a person and not just as an athlete. Especially when you’re very young, because the road to the top is a long one.
Surround yourself with people who believe in you, but who also help you keep your feet on the ground and move forward little by little, while being happy in your practice.
What are the pitfalls to avoid if you want to become a professional athlete?
For me, the main pitfall is trying to go too fast, or comparing yourself to other athletes. Everyone is so different, with different backgrounds, needs and experiences. It’s important to get to know each other, to surround yourself with people who really care about you and understand your project.
At the same time, I think that having goals outside sport to develop as a person is also important when growing up, to allow you to disconnect at times and enjoy life in general, so as not to fall into “burn-out”.
Finally, I’m all for finding pleasure in what you’re doing, in the training process, and not taking yourself too seriously while doing things seriously and conscientiously.
Featured image credit: Julian Grochowicz
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