1) Who is Cheryl De Guzman? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I grew up in a small Chicago suburb: Morton Grove, Illinois. I was raised by immigrant parents and grandparents, who came from the Philippines to the United States in efforts to work for the life the always desired: out of poverty, full of knowledge, and the ability to support their family and contribute to society. I can truly attribute much of who I am and what I value today--to them.
Before I became a full-time CrossFit and Nutrition Coach at CrossFit Des Plaines, I was a full-time middle school teacher. What started as my after-school hobby, has now transformed into my full-time focus and occupation. Aside from coaching, I also train somewhat competitively in the sport of CrossFit; I get joy out of trying to be a better version of my old self every day.
Outside of the gym, I’m mostly a homebody! I enjoy making coffee (sometimes too much of it), reading books, listening to music of all kinds, and spending time with my dog, Mr. Murphy, and my family and friends. Aside from that, I enjoy traveling at least once a year--anywhere warm is where I really belong!
2) How many years have you been training?
I’ve played all kinds of sports and have been active for as long as I can remember. However, I started CrossFit in 2013, and I started training more seriously in 2015
3) What’s been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far and how have you overcome them (setbacks, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
Whoa. There are so many layers to this. I’ll try to boil it down to this:
I am my biggest critic, and this has fostered several internal battles and what has seemed like a lifelong war with myself and my thoughts on just about everything I’ve ever done in my life. This applies to self-image, academics, athletics, and even in relationships.
I recently just wrote a blog on “My Perspective Shift on Failure”. In this article, I reflect back on the reasons why I’ve always held back, or have been hard on myself--surprisingly, it has taken me a LONG time to figure this out--and I am just now starting to jump this hurdle!
Competitive CrossFit training, and even coaching others in CrossFit, has helped me overcome this so much more in the most recent years. I’ve set concrete goals, sought out a small, but strong support circle, and have tried my best to ignore unnecessary noise or distractions otherwise. Training has empowered me in a way that many external factors can’t; I’ve found more of a drive within myself to fail more, in order to succeed more. Part of this may have come from a perfectionist mentality growing up, but now that I’m older, and my mental and emotional maturity has advanced, I’m becoming less of a perfectionist and focusing more on self-improvement. I’m shifting my focus from the outcome, to the process.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
Hm--they look very similar each day, and most of my schedule and nutrition currently revolve around my training schedule. I usually wake up around 7am, have a breakfast with protein, carbs and some fat by 8:30, train from about 10-12:30 PM, and have some liquid nutrition with carbs and protein. When I get my appetite back around 1:30 or 2, I’ll have lunch--protein, carbs, some fats. A snack before I go back for an evening accessory work session or class workout, coach CrossFit in the evenings, dinner with protein, carbs and more fats around 8 PM, and fulfill the rest of my macros around 10 PM before bed. This is when I usually have one of my favorite parts of the day: PB&J toast (which actually, I have in the morning too). I don’t deviate from this too much. I’d say that I mostly follow an 80/20, but when in competition season, more like a 90/10--90% regimented, 10% flexible and loose with my nutrition.
I’ve played around a lot with different types of diets, but what’s worked for me is different from anyone else, and that’s the best nutrition advice I can give to any of my athletes or clients. It takes time to figure out what works for you, but when you do, it’s pretty damn cool (training, recovery, energy, and mood-wise).
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
I’ve learned about just how much my body demands of me from the type of training that I do. This really came to fruition as I transitioned out of my teaching job and became a full-time coach and athlete. For a couple years, I was likely undereating and under-recovering from training. I didn’t really have a clear vision of what I wanted out of my CrossFit workouts. I was stuck between wanting to achieve a certain aesthetic and still increasing my performance on lifts and workouts, and that was just the result I was getting: getting stuck. It wasn’t until I honed in on training for sport and performance and let go of achieving a certain body composition that allowed me to eat sufficiently, get me to bed on time, and gave me a reason to make more sacrifices for training. Clarifying my goals helped me adjust my lifestyle habits, and that has been a major game-changer.
6) What’s your favourite cheat/treat meal?
As a nutrition coach, I’d have to say… Birthday Cake Halo Top or Quest Bars ;)
As a human being, I’d definitely have to say pizza and donuts for dessert (80/20, am I right?)
7) What’s one supplement that you could not live without?
Driven Nutrition Vanilla Whey protein powder. I need it for my Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats! And in general, I usually have a hard time meeting my protein macros without supplementing with this good stuff each day.
8) If you had to start your journey from scratch with your health and physique what would you do differently and why?
I would challenge myself to lift heavier weights (not impossible weights) earlier on, and to support that, I would have liked to know as much as I know about nutrition for sport and performance as I do now. This would be a fantastic recipe for being a more competitive athlete, being almost 5 years into CrossFit. I feel like I have disadvantaged myself by not doing some of these things earlier on in my fitness journey, however, I did also re-focus my goals just recently, so I can’t be too upset about it. Physique-wise? I would like to accept myself--my body type, the way it builds and changes, and what it can do--at the start of it all.
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
Wow, there are so many superhuman athletes out there, as well as epic coaches that I can name here. Just to name a few athletes: Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, Sheila Barden, Chyna Cho, Lauren Fisher, Josh Bridges, Rich Froning, Dan Bailey… and so many more for their determination, discipline and athleticism in CrossFit alone. Coaches: CJ Martin, Ben Bergeron, my own coach, Scott Pecucci… because of their unrelenting will to help people be the absolute best they can be. My training partners at the gym because I would not get better if it weren’t for their support and side-by-side suffering with me.
On a more personal level, and outside of the traditional “CrossFit” arena, I really look up to a trainer named Betina Gozo. I attended a Nike Training class with her once in Chicago, and a couple years later, she is named the Women’s Health Next Fitness Star of 2017, and is making a major impact on so many individual athletes! She represents a very unique population of Asian American athletes, especially female athletes, and it’s a relief to finally see someone that looks like you--in the industry that you are working your tail off in. She’s breaking barriers and stereotypes, and whether she means to or not, I really do look up to her for that reason.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Just let go of your fears--or if you can’t, then let go of your ego, so that you can let go of your fears. Given that you find a good program, a good support system, and you commit to it, you will go so much further in your journey if you go in knowing that you may not be great in the beginning! You may not see the outcome after 3 days, or 3 months, but stick to it. Every great story takes time to develop, so forgive yourself of your faults when it comes down to it, and learn from your mistakes. Your journey will always be developing, but first you have to start it.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
In this year’s CrossFit Open, I’d love to earn myself within the top 2%tile in the North Central region, which would affirm an improvement from last year. This would also align with future goals of possibly qualifying for the CrossFit regionals (hopefully as a team!). Professionally, I’d love to expand my horizons with nutrition coaching and work with more sport-specific athletes such as weightlifters, wrestlers or fighters, and even teams. I’m excited to have the chance to have an endless amount of possibilities within my new profession as a coach.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Blog: cd-fit.com
Instagram: @cheryldeguzy
Twitter: @cheryldeguzy
