1) Who is Caroline Kerridge? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I was born and raised in Hull, UK. After spending seven years at Uni in Leeds, I ventured south in 2013 and now live in Wokingham. I am a neuropathologist/ biochemist by trade but currently working for the government in Regulation, as well as doing what I love and coaching CrossFit.
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started CrossFit four years ago for something to do on an evening, and gradually I’ve fell more and more in love with it. Although I’ve always been relatively active I didn’t come from any speciality, basically fell out of the pub one day and ended up at CrossFit Ascot!
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)
As CrossFit is so multidisciplinary I think the hardest part of the journey is having to strip everything back and go back to basics, working on my weaknesses. For me, I’ve always been relatively strong (mass moves mass and I’m a big girl) as well as fit, so the hardest part for me is having to scale down doing what I love, and going back to basics with movements I really struggle with- handstand walking, muscle ups, strict gymnastics, rings etc. It’s hard to find motivation and enthusiasm to do stuff you are s**t at.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I have an awesome coach at CrossFit Ascot, Danny that has influenced me and inspired me from day one. He’s always there to help out, motivate and advise. My programming is done my Mike Catris with The Athlete Program team. I’ve been with them about one year and I’ve progressed leaps and bounds. I train twice a day, five days a week, with an active recovery type day where I swim with the Berkshire Triathlon Club. My diet is relatively good and clean, eating well makes me feel better so I have lots of meat, diary, fruit and veg in my diet. I am not strict with it, I eat when I’m hungry and have what I want. Friday nights sometimes get out of hand though (see question 6), but its FriYAY right?
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future).
I’ve learned the importance of other aspects of life, not just going to the gym and working out. There’s lots of info I have read recently about the benefits of sleep. There’s an awesome podcast with Matthew Walker, and his book, ‘Why we sleep’ is highly recommended. It’s quite cliché, but hard work pays off. There’s no easy route to becoming a ‘good’ CrossFitter, its dedication and consistency, day in, day out, in all aspects of your life. You can buy all the supplements and equipment in the world, but if you don’t work your ass off, rest when you need to, eat well, sleep well and hydrate you aren’t going to be the best you.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Does 10 pints of lager class as a cheat meal?
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
I’m not huge on supplements, tried and tested quite a lot of things but not many things have made noticeable changes. The few that I do rate is Creatine for strength (5g/day) and concentrated beetroot juice (Beet Active) that really benefits my aerobic capacity.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
At the beginning I would ignore my weaknesses. If strict gymnastics was programmed I would kip rather than scale and work on it. Four years down the line it’s catching me out left, right and centre. So now I am having to really go back to basics a lot of the time and catch up (*eye rolls*).
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
One of the things I love about CrossFit is the community, whether that be down the box or on social media. I follow many people on Instagram and there are so many amazing athletes that day in, day out, as well as getting their own training done, encourage, educate and motivate others. These are the people that I look up to. Here’s some of my favourite follows- @mikekratos, @thehealthcoachuk, @sonnywebstergb @squat_university, @cfsheli
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Enjoy it. Life is too short. If you don’t enjoy it, do something else. Of course, mid WOD when I feel like I am dying, my inner chimp is telling me that I hate it, but I always smile at the end.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
I have just competed at my first elite Sanctional event in an amazing Athlete Program team at Filthy150 in Dublin. It was such an incredible experience, I have my horizons set on getting there again! We finished 16th which exceeded our expectations, but now I have a target… get there again and beat our previous finish.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Instagram @cazkerridge
As CrossFit is so multidisciplinary I think the hardest part of the journey is having to strip everything back and go back to basics, working on my weaknesses. For me, I’ve always been relatively strong (mass moves mass and I’m a big girl) as well as fit, so the hardest part for me is having to scale down doing what I love, and going back to basics with movements I really struggle with- handstand walking, muscle ups, strict gymnastics, rings etc. It’s hard to find motivation and enthusiasm to do stuff you are s**t at.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I have an awesome coach at CrossFit Ascot, Danny that has influenced me and inspired me from day one. He’s always there to help out, motivate and advise. My programming is done my Mike Catris with The Athlete Program team. I’ve been with them about one year and I’ve progressed leaps and bounds. I train twice a day, five days a week, with an active recovery type day where I swim with the Berkshire Triathlon Club. My diet is relatively good and clean, eating well makes me feel better so I have lots of meat, diary, fruit and veg in my diet. I am not strict with it, I eat when I’m hungry and have what I want. Friday nights sometimes get out of hand though (see question 6), but its FriYAY right?
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future).
I’ve learned the importance of other aspects of life, not just going to the gym and working out. There’s lots of info I have read recently about the benefits of sleep. There’s an awesome podcast with Matthew Walker, and his book, ‘Why we sleep’ is highly recommended. It’s quite cliché, but hard work pays off. There’s no easy route to becoming a ‘good’ CrossFitter, its dedication and consistency, day in, day out, in all aspects of your life. You can buy all the supplements and equipment in the world, but if you don’t work your ass off, rest when you need to, eat well, sleep well and hydrate you aren’t going to be the best you.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Does 10 pints of lager class as a cheat meal?
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
I’m not huge on supplements, tried and tested quite a lot of things but not many things have made noticeable changes. The few that I do rate is Creatine for strength (5g/day) and concentrated beetroot juice (Beet Active) that really benefits my aerobic capacity.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
At the beginning I would ignore my weaknesses. If strict gymnastics was programmed I would kip rather than scale and work on it. Four years down the line it’s catching me out left, right and centre. So now I am having to really go back to basics a lot of the time and catch up (*eye rolls*).
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
One of the things I love about CrossFit is the community, whether that be down the box or on social media. I follow many people on Instagram and there are so many amazing athletes that day in, day out, as well as getting their own training done, encourage, educate and motivate others. These are the people that I look up to. Here’s some of my favourite follows- @mikekratos, @thehealthcoachuk, @sonnywebstergb @squat_university, @cfsheli
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Enjoy it. Life is too short. If you don’t enjoy it, do something else. Of course, mid WOD when I feel like I am dying, my inner chimp is telling me that I hate it, but I always smile at the end.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
I have just competed at my first elite Sanctional event in an amazing Athlete Program team at Filthy150 in Dublin. It was such an incredible experience, I have my horizons set on getting there again! We finished 16th which exceeded our expectations, but now I have a target… get there again and beat our previous finish.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Instagram @cazkerridge
