Athlete Feature
Dani Speegle
#TeamMVMNT
Dani Speegle is part of Team MVMNT, and is one of 60 athletes competing in the online CrossFit Games starting September 18, 2020. Dani recently won Season 2 of the Titan Games! She’s a hard working athlete but is not afraid to enjoy delicious food. Get to know Dani a little more through the questionnaire she had completed.
WHAT GOT YOU INTO CROSSFIT?
My journey into CrossFit is much like a lot of other athletes. I grew up very athletic and bounced around from sport to sport. I grew up a competitive gymnast but a back injury took me out and after that I bounced around from volleyball to track to diving and even did rowing my freshman year of college on scholarship. My senior year of college I had a friend bug me consistently about trying out a CrossFit class but I was hesitant for a while calling those people “crazy”. Eventually I was roped into going and it took all of that one class for me to never look back.
“It took all of that one class for me to never look back.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MVMNT VIDEO?
I honestly love any video that really targets my hips and ankles. Stretching out my hips always feels amazing - I could live in a frog pose haha. I have terrible ankle mobility so any video that helps with that is always a plus in my book. Recently I’ve been really getting into the shoulder videos trying to get my shoulder back to where it was before my stem cell procedure where I repaired a torn labrum.
But if I HAD TO narrow it down I would say my favorites are “Butterfly” for hips and shoulders (this is actually one I’ll hit tonight ), “Tribituary” for feet and ankles, and “Cernach” for full body melting. Who doesn’t wanna just melt into recovery?
WHAT CONTINUES TO MOTIVATE YOU IN YOUR TRAINING?
I love continuing to push myself and the boundaries of what my body and my mind can achieve. I love watching progress. I love feeling progress. I love looking back and seeing how far I’ve come and that pushes me to continue to break barriers.
I’ve always wanted to be a strong role model for women and to prove that women don’t have to be just one thing. They can be strong AND beautiful. Powerful AND graceful. Athletic AND intelligent. I want women to look at me and realize that we can break stereotypes. And honestly, not just women - anyone and everyone. I love inspiring the younger generations as well to want to be strong, to be healthy, to be powerful, to be influential. My drive to inspire and motivate others keeps me going.
“My greatest accomplishment is that this sport has allowed me to live the life I want. I get to wake up everyday and do what I love because of this sport.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CROSSFIT BENCHMARK WORKOUT/LIFT?
Gotta love DT - give me all barbell! But honestly I loved the Diane version that was in the CrossFit Open this part year!
Favorite lift is the snatch.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN CROSSFIT? AND WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ULTIMATE ACHIEVEMENT IN THE SPORT?
My greatest accomplishment within this sport isn’t the stereotypical one. It isn’t “oh I placed this at this event....” or “I’ve been doing this for this many years......”
My greatest accomplishment is that this sport has allowed me to live the life I want. I get to wake up everyday and do what I love because of this sport. I created my own business because of this sport. I have so many opportunities because of this sport. I get to wake up and watch videos of kids saying that they want to “be like Dani Speegle when they grow up”. In my eyes there’s no greater accomplishment. However - winning the CrossFit Games and getting that title of Fittest on Earth wouldn’t be too shabby either ;)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK?
This is always the hardest question for me because I LOVE food! But I would say my 3 biggest go-to snacks are homemade açaí bowls, honey mustard pretzel chips with smashed avocado chicken salad dip, and cucumber salad.
WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN THE GYM, WHERE CAN PEOPLE USUALLY FIND YOU?
My ass is IN BED I spent so much time in the gym, or at a recovery appointment (massage, cryo, chiropractor, PT, etc), or working with clients that when I have time to myself I am in bed watching Netflix or cuddling up with my dog and cat with a book. My last read was “Art of Resilience” by Ross Edgley - HIGHLY recommend by the way!
IF YOU WERE ON DEATH ROW, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST MEAL?
Oooooooo another tough one! Again I’m gonna have to give you a top 3! it would either be a HUGE sushi boat with all my favorites, Ramen from my favorite spot in Hawaii, or like 73 tacos from this one spot in New York. I’m the worst with names but if people wanna reach out and ask about them I promise I’ll find the names so people can go try haha
“I’ve always wanted to be a strong role model for women and to prove that women don’t have to be just one thing. They can be strong AND beautiful. Powerful AND graceful. Athletic AND intelligent. I want women to look at me and realize that we can break stereotypes. And honestly, not just women - anyone and everyone.”
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU KNOW WILL HELP YOUR PERFORMANCE, BUT HAVEN'T STARTED YET?
I feel like I really struggle with taking the proper time to recover after events.
I take rest days during the week and my regular training schedule is great - however - after an event I am always so eager to get back into the gym that instead of taking maybe like a week to recover I take a couple days and then I get FOMO and end up back in the gym.
WHAT BOOK SHOULD EVERYBODY READ?
Oh I feel like I answered that one already!! See question 7!! It really is a must read and not just for athletes!!
WHAT IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE GYM HAVE YOU NOTICED SINCE STARTING A REGULAR MVMNT PRACTICE?
Honestly it’s mainly my recovery practices. I’ve learned to take the time to do the right stuff for my body. It all starts and ends with stretching and it helps me do other recovery protocols that I need. It keeps me honest and it keeps me on track.
