Female CrossFit athlete and firefighter Sam Briggs is known as being super tough, both mentally and physically. She has some well-earned nicknames like “the engine,” or, “the machine.” She is relentless and has the mental focus necessary to reach the top of the CrossFit world. Keep on reading to find out her stats, diet, workout tips and more.
Sam Briggs CrossFit
CrossFit Athlete Sam Briggs
Sam Briggs is a popular female CrossFit athlete who’s best achievement was a first place finish in the 2013 CrossFit Games. However, she’s reached the top 10 in numerous other competitions and has been close to a podium finish at two other CrossFit Games.
A big story in 2014 was her failure to quality for the 2014 Games after winning the previous year. This was due to a poor performance on the handstand walk competition during the European regionals.
Life Before CrossFit
Briggs has always been quite active, participating in duathlons and triathlons as well as football (soccer) in the Northern Premiership League and rugby, competing at quite a high level before focusing on CrossFit. Oh yeah, and she’s also a world record holder for indoor rowing. Impressive, right? Another top rower is this athlete: Alessandra Pichelli CrossFit.
She previously worked as a firefighter for 10 years in England but took a sabbatical to concentrate full time on CrossFit. Briggs got her first taste of CrossFit in 2008 and has been hooked ever since! When she initially got started, she found the gymnastics events like walking on hand the most difficult aspect. Unlike many other female CrossFit stars, she never did gymnastics like many other CrossFit athletes (Jessica Griffith for example) when she was a kid so had to start from scratch.
Sam Briggs: Stats
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 135 pounds
Country: UK
Born: 1982
Affiliation: CrossFit Black Five
Nickname: The Engine
Most difficult movement for Briggs: Overhead squats because of her tight shoulders
Profession: Firefighter
Sammy Briggs
CrossFit Games Results
Briggs is most well known for winning the CrossFit Games in 2013, although she’s had some very good results in subsequent years.
The way she won in 2012 was all the more impressive considering that she suffered a serious knee injury in 2012, which prevented her from competing. She focused on rehab and then came back stronger and better than even, reaching the top of the podium! Since she couldn’t do a lot with her legs during that year, she focused on her gymnastics skills and it certainly paid off!
2013: 1st
2015: 4th
2016: 4th
2017: 9th
2018: 2nd (35-39 category)
2019: 17th
Benchmark Stats
Here are some of her top results.
Back Squat: 125 kg
Clean and Jerk: 100 kg
Snatch: 82 kg
Deadlift: 175 kg
Max Pull-Ups: 49
Fran: 2:35
Grace: 1:35
5 km run: 18:47
2000 m row: 7:14
FGB: 467
A Day in the Life of Samantha Briggs
Find out what a day in the life of a top female CrossFit athlete looks like!
CrossFit Tips from Sam Briggs
If you want to train like this superstar, here are a few tips to ensure your best performance.
Get Enough Sleep
Sam always makes sure to get enough sleep. 9-10 hours is ideal and she’s usually in bed by 9 or 10 at night. She mentions that it’s vital for her recovery after tough workouts.
Anyone can Get Started with CrossFit
The next tip is that you don’t have to be super fit to do CrossFit. Even 50 year old moms and dads can get started with it! There are classes that cater to all abilities and levels but the key is getting started.
Ideal for Busy People
Briggs also mentions that CrossFit makes the perfect lunch hour workout for busy people. If you only have 20-30 minutes, you can certainly get a quick WOD in and get a great workout. If you have this shorter amount of time, turn up the intensity and save the longer runs or rows for days when you have more time.
Eat Well
Fuel with healthy fats, including coconut oil, nuts, nut butters, avocados, etc. Sam Briggs finds that she gets some good results from either healthier fats vs carbs.
Know your Limits
Train smart by knowing your limitations. Don’t push yourself beyond what you’re capable of, especially when lifting. This can lead to serious injuries. Start slow and gradually work up to bigger loads.
Rock Tape!
Use the tape! Sam Briggs is a big fan of Rock Tape and it’s helped her compete even with some painful injuries. Ask your physiotherapist for some advice about how this product may work for you.
Listen to your Coach
Listen to your coach because they know best! If they’re telling you something, it’s for a reason and it’s meant to help you improve your performance. Be humble and be willing to be teachable and adjust your technique for example.
Rest Days are Important
Train hard but rest hard, and activity. Briggs is known to do some seriously gruelling workouts! But, she also takes time for recovery with easier workouts. She rarely takes an entire day off though and instead will do some biking, skiing or swimming on an off day.
Sam Briggs on How to Dominate Endurance Workouts
Do you want to improve your endurance? Then you’ll definitely want to get these tips and tricks from Samantha Briggs in this video below:
Sam Briggs Diet
In terms of training or non-training days, there isn’t a big difference in her diet. However, on training days, she will eat more carbs and her goals are to eat 3500 calories that consist of 375g of carbs (veggies not included), 175g of protein and 90g of fat.
In general, she tries to eat fresh food that isn’t processed. This may include things like organic chicken breast, carbs in the form of fresh veggies in a variety of colors (peppers, tomatoes, spinach, etc.) When she’s looking for a more starchy source of carbs, she’ll usually opt for a sweet potato or yam.
Typical Meals, Treats and Snacks
Before breakfast, she’ll have a fresh juice shot consisting of ginger, tumeric, lemon, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar.
For breakfast, Briggs eats he same every single day. It’s a scoop of protein powder wish coconut milk, 1 banana and then a scoop of peanut butter.
For lunch, she has a meal prep company prepare meals that fit with her macro goals. She often eats tofu with sweet potatoes or paella.
At dinner, she normally eats vegetarian but will add some salmon or other fish if she wants to add some more protein. Or, she may eat eggs on the weekend.
Her treats are chocolate and pizza which she may indulge in after a particularly tough workout. However, she avoids alcohol, mentioning that it has a really negative effect on her training.
Sam Briggs Instagram
Like many other famous CrossFit athletes, Briggs has a very popular Instagram account. To date, she has more than 600,000 followers and her handle is, “Biceps like Briggs.” You can check it out here:
Samantha Briggs, CrossFit athlete
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