Two-time podium finisher, Sara Sigmundsdottir joined Morning Chalk Up’s Editor-in-Chief Justin LoFranco for an exclusive sit down at Studio CrossFit in Barcelona, Spain and opened up about coming back from injury and her new approach to training.

“In Dubai, I was so nervous it was like I was competing for the first time again,” Sigmundsdottir admitted in the interview.

Despite the early jitters, she finished third overall in a very tight race to the finish. Only seven points separated first through fourth going into the final event.

After two sanctioned events, Sigmundsdottir looks to be as healthy physically as she’s been since the 2017 CrossFit Games.

“My self esteem crashed a little bit after having to withdraw from the Games cause of my rib.”

Charting a New Path Forward

“I’m still on my way to where I was [but] I knew I could come back because I had already done it before,” Sigmundsdottir said.

Sigmundsdottir, a four-time CrossFit Games athlete, is coming off her most disappointing season after she fractured a rib for the second time in a year.

Despite the setback, shortened training schedule, Sigmundsdottir placed 21st worldwide in the Open, second in Iceland, and third at the Europe Regionals behind Annie Thorisdottir and Laura Horvath.

Unfortunately, another stress fracture to her rib occurred while competing at the 2018 CrossFit Games, forcing her to withdraw prior to Event 10. She was in 11th place overall, which included four top 10 finishes.

“My self esteem crashed a little bit after having to withdraw from the Games cause of my rib,” Sigmundsdottir admitted.

Back to the Basics

“My problem is I just started CrossFit by myself and I skipped all the basic stuff. I finally found a coach that’s very good with movement,” Sigmundsdottir said. “Everything is pretty science based now, which I’ve never done before, I just did a CrossFit workout because I felt like doing that today, as hard as I can, every time.”

Coach Phil Mansfield was brought on in September 2017 as her mental coach. Then just a week before the 2018 Regionals, Mansfield stepped in to oversee all aspects of Sigmundsdottir’s training.

“We plan the whole year, each phase so I can see the goal in each phase. Now I haven’t been lifting much but I know that I’m starting lifting again on Monday. It’s really good mentally to have a plan.”

The plan and training appear to be working as Sigmundsdottir has walked away with two straight third place finishes. She’s also slated to compete in a few weeks in London at the Strength in Depth Sanctional, then later again this year at the Rogue Invitational.

“We plan the whole year, each phase so I can see the goal in each phase. Now I haven’t been lifting much but I know that I’m starting lifting again on Monday. It’s really good mentally to have a plan.”

“My goal with these competitions isn’t to win them all, it’s just to get my momentum back. I was a little bit scared after my rib. I was competing at the Games but I wasn’t myself.”

“I just talked to Phil and I said, ‘I really want to keep this momentum because I want to be better in competition than in training, and for now I’m better in training than competition.’”

Sigmundsdottir is scheduled to compete next in London, February 22 – 24.