It’s safe to say that CrossFit has some pretty incredible athletes in its midst. We see displays of their absolute perfection and excellence in the sport annually at the CrossFit Games, and recently we’ve had a chance to see some of the strongest and most technically sound go up against each other worldwide in the first-ever CrossFit Liftoff competition last week.

I don’t know about you, but when I checked out some of the lifting totals, my eyes totally bugged out of my head.

There were definitely some of the expected athletes in the top 10 for the men. The unstoppable Rich Froning and the 2015 CrossFit Games champion Ben Smith both made appearances in the top 5.

Finishing third is a personal favorite athlete of mine to follow, Jeff Evans. Admittedly, I love pretty much anyone who competes in the South East region — and even more so when they’re from Florida — but this dude is pure beast mode.

If you don’t follow CrossFit closely, his name might not be familiar to you, but regionally he’s extremely well known. His best showing was in 2014 when he came out of the South East Regional in second place and finished an impressive 35th place in his rookie season at the CrossFit Games. His finish at the Games was propelled by a number of strong showings including a fourth place finish in event 2 — the overhead squat — where he posted an impressive 375 pounds.

In the recent CrossFit Liftoff competition, consisting of a one-rep max snatch, one-rep max clean and jerk, and a 12-minute AMRAP workout consisting of snatches, clean and jerks, chest-to-bar pull ups and double unders, Jeff dominated, placing third place overall for his efforts. He sits at a 223 pound body weight and found himself snatching 305 pounds in the first even, clean and jerking 405 pounds in the second event and posting 432 reps in the third. For more videos of Jeff and other athletes, visit the CrossFit Liftoff page.

Jeff took a few minutes out of his training and coaching at Hyte Crossfit to give us some inside lifting tips, nutrition pointers and to have some fun answering our completely random questions.

FHQ – How long have you been Olympic lifting? Did you get into it because of CrossFit, or were you a lifter who found CrossFit later?

J.E. – Since high school, but I never had any real coaching on it until college, and even then it wasn’t pretty. I played college football at Southern Illinois University from 2007-2010.

FHQ – What is one piece of advice you have for someone just starting to learn Olympic lifting?

J.E. – Building a base is the most important thing. “The wider the base, the higher the pyramid” is a great quote I feel applies to athletes. The more sound you are at your fundamentals, the better chance you’ll have reaching your true potential.

FHQ – Do you do any sort of mental preparation heading into lifts? Tips or tricks?

J.E. – This is my exact routine. Set your feet, hands, engage my lats, two slow breaths in hold and go.

You can check out video links to his snatch and clean and jerk to see his routine in motion.

FHQ – For an athlete who has been struggling to find a new PR, do you have any tips to get over that hump?

J.E. – Honestly, the easiest way for me to think of all this is: I’m only working out. (laughs) I don’t take it serious anymore as far as putting pressure on myself. Just have fun doing it, and make sure you are technically sound at the fundamentals.

FHQ – What does your typical nutrition look like? What is your hands down favorite thing to eat?

J.E. – I use Fia’s Paleo meal service (writer’s note- they offer international delivery!), but I’m also macro-based. I also have RP Strength set my nutrition plan up. My favorite thing to eat is cheesecake, but I can’t have that too much!

FHQ – Do you have any gear that you can’t live without?

J.E. – My Nike Metcons.

FHQ – Are you taking any supplements regularly? What products would you recommend to other athletes?

J.E. – Currently I’m on the Xendurance line of products. They have everything you need, and it’s geared towards endurance athletes. Also, I just started taking ATP Extreme and its definitely a product I would recommend on top of Xendurance.

FHQ – What’s one thing you want all your fans to know about you? Is it still totally weird to actually have fans who love watching you work out?

J.E. – I love to help people reach their goals. Any time people hit me up and ask for advice, I try my best to help. It’s cool having fans. I still see myself as a normal person though, so sometimes it’s weird. I’m the type to hang in the crowd and meet people.

FHQ – What’s one item on your bucket list that isn’t CrossFit related?

J.E. – I would love to win the Powerball (laughs). Really, I don’t have one. I love being in this field because I travel all over now and meet new people all the time.

FHQ – And finally, for the ladies, you single bro?

J.E. – Haha. I’m not single. Been with my girlfriend for over 3 years now.

Well readers, whose performance were you most impressed with at the CrossFit Liftoff? What athlete would you like to hear tips from? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Credit: Top photo used with permission of photographer Preston Smith.