1) Who is Nicole Capurso? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I am an only child from Staten Island NY (just outside of NYC). I played basketball division one and basketball at Hofstra University. Since I have found both crossfit and weightlifting. I have been to CF Regionals 4 times (2 team, 2 individual), and to the CF Games once on a team (2016). Also I have competed in 8 USA National weightlifting meets.
Currently I own a gym (Honor Your Barbell) as well as a nutrition business (Honor Your Nutrition). I am living in Springfield, MO with my fiance and our two dogs: Loki (blue nose pitbull) and Biggie Smalls (rottweiler).
2) How many years have you been training?
I have been "training" since I was 8 years old. I have literally been playing sports (very competitively) and working out since I can remember. I graduated college in 2012 which is when I first found CrossFit and weightlifting as my first favorite training method.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
Two months ago my fiance and I opened a gym. I now run two businesses, personally manage about 125 clients acriss both (and program/coach them all individually). Im doing all of this while easing my way back into training regularly. This has been pretty challenging as I have been learning how to simultaneously manage everything and it’s been hard! But, with the help of Brenton and all of the passion I have for everything I do daily I am managing to adapt quickly and learn heaps along the way!
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4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
My workout routine has changed a handful of times throughout my career and honestly it changes from month to month depending on the season (crossfit or weightlifting) I am in and what I am training for. I’m currently training for USAW Nationals (4 weeks away) - This is my main focus. Generally I do about and hour of weightlifting a day plus a crossfit workout 4x a week with a min of two full rest days.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
The understanding I have gained in regards to knowing that I do not need to do tons of volume everyday to make progress as an athlete. My body is pretty beat up from years of basketball. I've had two knee surgeries before the age of 18 - one removing nearly all of my meniscus. When I was newer to the sport I use to do tons of volume because that seemed to be what "everyone else" was doing and I needed to keep up. Over the years my body broke down and those injuries started bothering me again. Last year I took about 6 full months off and used it to rebuild my body back up. That was difficult mentally for me but taught me a lot. I am now back training regularly, and I know understand and appreciate lower volume at high quality being WAY more valuable to me than running myself into the ground and always hurting.
6) Whats your favorite Cheat/Treat meal?
I am REALLY happy you used the word "treat" as one of my biggest stances as a nutrition coach is that no meal is ever a "cheat" meal because cheating is negative and consuming food should never be negative. Personally, I love fried chicken tenders and real New York pizza.
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
Coffee.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
Honestly not much except to change my attitude early on. I think that I had such high expectations of myself and such a fear of failing after coming off being a division one athlete. I was SO HARD on myself in my early years of crossfit for not being as good as I thought I should be, or not being satisfied with small victories and accomplishments along the way.
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
One of the main people I look up to is Krissy Cagney of Doughnuts and Deadlifts. When I first started coaching nutrition back in 2014, it was honestly accidental and I was lost! I read everything I could of hers and reached out to her for help. She helped me in every way she could, even though she had a similar business of her own. I knew it was cool then, but now looking back, I appreciate it even more. We need more people in the industry that are not afraid to help someone else succeed in the same field. We are all in the business of making people's lives better - the stronger our army against obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, the more people we can reach!
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Find someone you trust to lead you, have them lay out a plan for you, and STICK WITH IT. Stick with it even when its hard, even when you may not see how it makes sense - just keep showing up, keep tracking your food, keep executing your small goals along the way and eventually you will look back and have made great progress.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
Training goal: I am lifting at USA Weightlifting Nationals at the end of May (26th) in the 69kg weight class. My best total to date is 182kg so my goal is to best that.
Business goal: For both HYB and HYN, I want to continue to grow our platform and reach as many people as possible. I would especially like to grow our team of youth weightlifters at Honor Your Barbell as more and more American kids now have a barbell in their hands!
Life goal: I am getting married in May of 2019 and the goal is to spend the next year learning how to be the best wife I can be to Brenton.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
The main form of social media I use is Instagram:
Personal - @ncapurso22
Gym - @honoryourbarbell
Nutrition - @honoryournutrition
I am also on Facebook as well as Nicole Capurso.
